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FOX RIFLES


Frank
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Which Caliber Do You Prefer?  

90 members have voted

  1. 1. Which Caliber Do You Prefer?

    • .17 HMR
      4
    • .17 Remington Centerfire
      2
    • .204 Ruger
      2
    • .22 Magnum
      1
    • .22 Hornet
      2
    • .222
      5
    • .223
      20
    • .220 Swift
      0
    • .22-250
      10
    • .243
      19


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never use the range finder for foxing, but its useful to ping bunnies before setting one of the cannons on them.

when daylight calling i'll scan the area i'm calling to get an idea of the ranges where a fox might show its self. i find this is a great help

but i'll take a propper measurement once they have been shot

i use the range finder alot on all my land i just about know all the distances of all the fields, i have a mental note imprinted in my head which is invaluble as distances at night can be greatly deceiving

you realy do need to know your land to be sucessful :D

 

bunny bashing in the summer the lrf 1200 is a must just wouldnt go without one :)

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never use the range finder for foxing, but its useful to ping bunnies before setting one of the cannons on them.

when daylight calling i'll scan the area i'm calling to get an idea of the ranges where a fox might show its self. i find this is a great help

but i'll take a propper measurement once they have been shot

i use the range finder alot on all my land i just about know all the distances of all the fields, i have a mental note imprinted in my head which is invaluble as distances at night can be greatly deceiving

you realy do need to know your land to be sucessful :D

 

bunny bashing in the summer the lrf 1200 is a must just wouldnt go without one :)

yes we do similar, on the 1st visit to a new piece of land we will scan and range find a few land marks etc... by the end of the evening you know give or take 25yards every single range.

 

as we shoot the same land mainly we both know it like the back of our hands.

 

the trouble comes when we are shooting 150yards into the bottom of the valley...shots go a inch and a touch higher than they should. adds another complication to proceedings. (all part of the fun though)

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u cant reload rf bullets mate..........

the advantage of reloading your own

1/ accuracy (you can fine tune your bullet )

2/ consistancy

3/ cost (for adecent 223 round thats accurate through my gun nearly £1 a round :) & and i had to buy as many as i could store on my ticket to make sure i had all the same batch No :( £1 per shot "sod that" for a game of soldiers)

do a search on here "reloading" i'm sure you will find alot of usefull info

 

the cheap rounds you can usualy buy are mainly fmj's, millitary rounds and target rounds these are not to be used on live quary as they don't expand to give a instant kill :D

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Not much difference between factory bought ammo and home loads :D?? I'd beg to differ. I spose it depends if an inch group at 100 yards is ok or not. Personally i say not!!!!!

Of all the foxes i've shot i've only ever shot about 6 or 7 foxes above 300 yards. Not that proud of any of them to be honest (did 3 at long range in 1 night closest was 282 and furthest was 309 and finished with the night with 11 in total) Not sure why i shot them at that distance but it was probably me just showing off, luckily we picked them all up.

I much prefer to shoot them at close range (closer the better) then i know they aint getting away with a missing leg.

 

 

:)

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Nothing to do with location as i know the land i shoot over very well and never take an unsafe shot for the sake of shooting another fox.

Try shooting a piece of paper at a measured 300 yards and see what sort of grouping you get, then take into account the effect of wind at varying degrees and speeds and the SLIGHTEST movement at the rifle, which is obviously magnified at 300 yards down range. Then you might realise how easy it is to wound a fox given the target area for a clean kill.

You will also need something stable to shoot from.

This is where the problem exists in shooting consistantly at 300 yards.

Like i've already stated........ it can be done, but to do it time after time with 100% success is something else.

There are times when shots have got to be taken at these sort of ranges but if you do your job right it isn't really necessary.

Foxes are not good to have on any shoot but wounded ones can be worse.

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Well speak of the devil! Just came home from shooting three in that very field tonight, 2 at 100 yards with the bait and 1 at just over 200 yards that we watched come in all the way from the horizon where we first saw it with the lamp.

Fister, was that ment to be at me?? ???

Where are these pictures you promised us all then?? :D

Well, cat got your tongue?? ???

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I see the .22/250 calibre is doing ok in the poll but dont here many people mention using it for Fox. I was in my local gun shop today getting some help filling in my FAC application and they reccomended that if i'm applying for rabbits and fox to put down .22LR and .22/250 cf. I mention that i'd heard alot of people say use .223 for fox and they said there wasnt much between them. Is this true? or is it just down to personal preference?

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Ross, there's quite a lot of difference between them, I'm pretty sure I used to get approx 450fps more out of the .22-250 when compared to the .223 with the same weight bullet.

 

Couple that with more recoil, louder report, and the fact that they're renowned "barrel burners", and harder to get passed by the FEO. I'd stick to the .223 for foxes.

Edited by Browning
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I have voted 22-250. I have a Remington 700 Varmint & have no problems with it.

I shoot on an estate, working with the keeper, who happens to be a very good friend of mine. When I first started using the rifle, I kept to 100-150 yards, as I had'nt got the skill or the experience on the longer range foxes. I'm quite happy to shoot them now at 300+ yards at night, as long as I can see them, and it's a shot. In my opinion when you look at the fox through the scope, you should know whether it,s a shot or not, be it 50 yards or 300 yards, and if it's not a shot, don't take it, there's always another day. Most of my shooting is done off of the back of a pick up, and the rest from high seats, so the weight of the gun does'nt matter to me, and I'm not puffing and blowing from walking around when I go down for the shot. I started of using the standard Federal soft point ammo, but know use the boat tailed hollow points, and at £20 a box they are quite expensive, but I find them extremely accurate. I zero the rifle an inch and a half high at a 100 yards at a target the size of a ten pence piece. This gives me enough confidence to kill the longer range foxes.

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With the recent accidents that have happened whilst shooting at night (one man shot in the chest whilst supposedly watching badgers with night-vision goggles, and one young lad shot dead whilst accompanying a group who were out lamping), it beggars belief that anyone out there is still shooting at ranges of more than 100 yds at night.

How on earth can you be sure of what you are seeing at 300 yds in the dark?;)

A fox is a very small target at 300 yds even in the day, so it must be almost invisible in the darkness with just a light beam shining in its direction.

Forget about shooting over these distances at night lads, because one day it won’t be a fox, it will be some young poacher crawling about setting snares, or trying to hide from your beam.

And it’s no use saying that it’s his own fault, because the people who are now looking at our shooting would simply love the opportunity to ban shooting at night.

And another accident whilst shooting at night could be just the chance they need. :thumbs:

G.M.

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Frank Posted on Feb 3 2006, 07:32 AM

  QUOTE (lazza @ Feb 3 2006, 05:12 AM)

This gives me enough confidence to kill the longer range foxes. 

 

 

What about win, haze, misty drizzle ect? 

From my experience so far, a fox at 300 +, is a very diffecult target at night. 

 

Frank I agree with you, and if i could'nt see or was'nt 100% sure, I would'nt take the shot,which on many times I have chose not to, but the gun is more than capable of doing the job. Something I maybe should have mentioned is that the fox is often first seen alot closer. When the fox is lamped it will then run to what it thinks is a safe distance, this is because the fox has probably been shot at before on the land ajoining ours. So the target has been identified, but even if that is'nt the case you can see the target with a good light. When the fox is at distance, we use a 5 million hand lamp,and if after that you can't see it properly-don't shoot it. I'm not saying that everyone should try to shoot at ranges that their not comfortable with, and I'm not saying that I do it regulary, but it can be done when it needs to be, and safely. As the man behind the gun, it is down to you to make the choice.

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there's only one rule when lamping

CANT SEE IT & BEHIND IT(and i dont just mean its eyes i mean all of it you need to be 110% sure it is what it is AND u need to know 110% you have a safe back stop)

DONT SHOOT IT.............

 

I myself will have not taken the shot alot more times than i have taken the shot for various reasons. if i was99.9% sure its not enough. there will always be a next time.

 

field craft comes to mind

try and get your fox wher u want him, use the wind to your advantage and the terrain of the land. i've been involved with field sports for over 30yrs and i'm still learning the art of field craft, FIELD CRAFT (THE NEVER ENDING LEARNING CURVE)

BE SAFE 110%

BE CONFIDENT

ENJOY WHAT YOU DO

REMEMBER YOUR NEVER TO OLD TO LEARN NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN AT THE GAME

HAPPY SHOOTING LADS

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Absolutely spot on Tommy i couldn't have put it better myself.

 

Fister...... i have put close to 2000 rounds throught my .22/250 rifle in the last 5 years and as yet the accuracy has been spot on. Even after i got it back from the police after they kept it for nearly a year it still shot to my original zero......it hadn't been cleaned when they took it either.

I've had it serviced since and no wear problems.(still not tried the .308 yet though but i will be trying it this weekend as i'm stalking on monday and tuesday so i'll post some pics when i get back)

 

Lazza.........5 MILLION CANDLE POWER!!!!!!!!!! CRIKEY i'd be surprised if the fox can see to run off after you have zapped him with that.. surely his eyes would have melted and you should be able to run up to him and stab him thus saving money on ammo. :thumbs: ;):lol:

 

Shot some foxes the other night but i can't upload as the files are too big.. is there a way round this??

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Absolutely spot on Tommy i couldn't have put it better myself.

 

Fister...... i have put close to 2000 rounds throught my .22/250 rifle in the last 5 years and as yet the accuracy has been spot on. Even after i got it back from the police after they kept it for nearly a year it still shot to my original zero......it hadn't been cleaned when they took it either. 

I've had it serviced since and no wear problems.(still not tried the .308 yet though but i will be trying it this weekend as i'm stalking on monday and tuesday so i'll post some pics when i get back)

 

Lazza.........5 MILLION CANDLE POWER!!!!!!!!!! CRIKEY i'd be surprised if the fox can see to run off after you have zapped him with that.. surely his eyes would have melted and you should be able to run up to him and stab him thus saving money on ammo.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

Shot some foxes the other night but i can't upload as the files are too big.. is there a way round this??

Is it to personal or can i ask why did the plod have your rifle for a year....... :thumbs: ;):lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

PS couriosity killed the cat :*) :*) :*)

Edited by hawkeye
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