FIRST FOX WITH THE .243

[mikee]

I had a call from a friend who works for a large farming chain asking if i could go and have a go at some foxes on one of the farms, when they were cutting some beans at the weekend 5 foxes were seen and have been spotted around the slurry lagoons since.

 

met him at 7pm for a look round the land in daylight as i'd not been there before, just to suss back stops and houses etc, we went back to his for a cuppa and set of about 9pm.

 

got to the first field and drove around and spotted 2 pairs of eyes in a thick hedge but couldn't get a safe angle to shoot so moved to the top of the same field and parked up and started calling, after about 15 minutes a pair of eyes appeared behind us on the crest of a rise, it wouldn't come down the slope so no shot.

 

we went to the next bean stubble field and got properly stuck in a muddy gate way, after about 15 minutes of swearing and shunting we eventually got free, I decided to call it a night as it was a bit to sticky on the fields and as the stubbles are likely to be about for a while, wait until they dry up a bit.

 

on the way back down the farm lane my pal said lets just look into this field and as soon as we shone the lamp across the field a pair of eyes shone back at us, it was about 150-180 yds away, because we had been leaving the rifle had been put away so by the time i had got the rifle out the fox had moved further out into the field and sat near a big old oak looking straight at us, i got my sandbag on the bonnet and lined up where i thought he might be and my pal turned the light on, i held the cross between where i thought his ears would be and let the 75gn v-max go, we heard a good solid thump so felt it was hit, as we had got stuck on the previous field we decided to walk to where it was standing but after about 30 minutes we couldn't find it so my mate went back this morning and found a dead almost full grown vixen, the bullet had entered in the front where the neck joins the chest slightly to one side and exited just behind the shoulder, the bullet had made a horrible mess he told me and it had still managed to run 30yds so that's why we couldn't find it last night.

 

having not done so much lamping for foxes range estimation in the dark was a bit off, i thought the shot was taken at about 200-225yds but in daylight when matey went looking this morning he reckoned it was getting towards 350yds, had i known it was that far i don't think i would have taken the shot, but even at that range it was crystal clear through the swaro, i think with a lesser quality scope it wouldnt have been visible, I think i need to get out more at night and get used to range estimation, but at least it was dead and didnt run off wounded.

 

mikee

[jay222]

nice one

[AndyCM]

Yep, range estimation at night is a lot harder

 

I've been caught out so many times in the past (on a slow night) with putting a rifle away too early, only to spot one ......now I only case the rifle when we're at the final gateway and have had the last flash around

 

Good shooting, lucky it was a .243 eh !

 

Cheers

AndyCM

[al4x]

thats a corker of a shot as drop would be over 6" so nice one. I've had similar and not been able to find them for love nor money and the next day stone dead and a lot further out. The only way round it is to keep the lamp on them and pick straight away though now I usually have the dog to do that part. Night is funny as it can make them look a lot further away than they actually are takes a bit to pull the trigger on some but as you've shown with a fox aim at the highest part you can see and you usually hit somewhere which with a .243 usually stops them straight away. The odd runner I've had has been hit too far back but they never go far and the trail is usually pretty apparent

[mikee]

al4x, that would seem to be about the right bullet drop from between its ears to the throat, the hand loaded v-max do seem to be a very accurate shell, they guy who is showing me the ropes with reloading did them for me after he had measured my chamber etc and set the length with 5 though off the lands, ive got a box of v-max and a box of 100gn sierra game kings waiting in the shop for my variation to come back

 

mikee

[DaveK]

In theory 6" may be an appropriate bullet drop at that distance but that's certainly not what I've found. But then again, having read it properly, yes it is. what a pillock. Note to self "READ IT RIGHT" (note I left the original so you can see what I'm fessing up to).

 

Nice one by the way. That first fox is always the best and the one that gets remembered. Now go and get some more.

Edited September 8, 2010 by DaveK

[gixer1]

I may have to give lighter bullets a try, i only really shoot PPU 100gr soft points and the other day we (myself and nipper) were shooting at a target at 300yards (measured with an RF) and the bullet drop was around 18"

 

Does anyone know if PPU do a lighter soft point as we only see 100 and 90's up here by PPU?

 

Regards,

 

Gixer,

[DaveK]

I may have to give lighter bullets a try, i only really shoot PPU 100gr soft points and the other day we (myself and nipper) were shooting at a target at 300yards (measured with an RF) and the bullet drop was around 18"

 

Does anyone know if PPU do a lighter soft point as we only see 100 and 90's up here by PPU?

 

Regards,

 

Gixer,

 

I think for .243 you've mentioned it.

[gixer1]

I think for .243 you've mentioned it.

 

 

No 55 or 75's from PPU then?

 

that's the only 243's at £11.80 i've seen!

 

edit - yup - they only do down to 90's....

 

http://www.prvipartizan.com/search_a.php

Edited September 8, 2010 by gixer1

[al4x]

I will add the drop was a complete guess from my perspective only going on what a mate was mentioning the other day hence the "over" before the 6"

[gixer1]

according to the only ballistics program i can find on my phone (winchester) a 55grn supreme ballistic tip drops 6.3" at 300yards........although the drift is 7.42"!!! (the 100gr drift is 8.0 though )

[DaveK]

I will add the drop was a complete guess from my perspective only going on what a mate was mentioning the other day hence the "over" before the 6"

 

In which case a damned good guess then. I compared 75gn with 95gn a while back at 300 yards over on Markbivvys patch. The 75's were about 5-6" low and the 95's (once we found where they were going) needed @ 12-15" holdover to get them somewhere close. On first read of the OP (wivout me specs on) I read 95gn instead of 75.

[DaveK]

according to the only ballistics program i can find on my phone (winchester) a 55grn supreme ballistic tip drops 6.3" at 300yards........although the drift is 7.42"!!! (the 100gr drift is 8.0 though )

 

Be interested to hear if results from doing it agree with what the ballistics claim though.

[gixer1]

Me too Dave for the 75 and 55 although it seems to be about right for the 100s. I will ask my mate to load up some different weights and set up a sheet of card board and report back!

[DaveK]

Good man :blink: