casts_by_fly Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 If you are going to reload, you might as well go whole hog and get a 17 hornet. Sure you'll have to form cases and either have one built for you or find one already built, but you'll have what you want. It is cheap to reload, it has just the right power level and trajectory for mainstream rabbits to 250, but will drop fox out to 200. Zero'd at 200, you're +/- 1" out to 250. Point and click. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 What about the .17 Fireball anyone got one??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Charlie T is looking for one, rarer than hens teeth. Have you got your head round reloading yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 pav, I had a 221 (CZ 527) which my dad now owns. I have a 17 hornet. The 17 FB is the in between gun- same power as 221, same bullets as 17AH. Would be a good choice if you can find one. A 221FB would also do it for you. It is just a little more power than a hornet. You can reload it for just about the same cost (tiny bit more powder). And, they aren't as finicky to feed from various guns and magazines. Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Just out of interest some info plz on the Hornet set up, effective range, make, cost of rounds etc and if poss a pic would be nice. I think i need another Rifle i have a .17 HMR and a .243 and perhaps need a dedicated night vision set up that would cover Rabbits and Charlies. I have not had a play with a Hornet but it sounds Ideal............ We seem to be wondering around a bit and my definition of...... a dedicated night vision set up that would cover Rabbits and Charlies would not be any of the .17 centrefires! My opinion, others will have their own opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beno Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 I have a hatch fitted to my truck with a nice 360 foam rail all round and a front box that will take two rifles one held in a rest upright one on a foam pad in case i need it....... this came about as when out for rabbits i would see a fox and not be able to reach it with the HMR and of course i see rabbits when foxing and find it hard to drive past and leave them... I am very happy with my set up but i do like to look at all options Could you post some pics of your set up with your truck or send them to me, after some ideas for holding my rifes when lamping. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) For shots out to 200 yards it's fine but if you're taking mainly 200 yard shots then perhaps something bigger would be better. 200 is about the most you want to use the Hornet at and in wind it will move about a bit at that range. Here's a picture of the round. It's in the collection I had at the time of the photo being taken. Left to right is .22lr, .17HMR, .22 Hornet, .223, 6.5x55 and .375H&H..... This is the rifle. A CZ527 cut to 18" and fitted with an Ase S5 mod. The great thing about the Hornet is you can cut it short and not lose too much power. The CZ is supposed to be one of the best shooters out there!..... And here's a picture of a couple of young bunnies and a Fox. As you can see it doesn't blow up the bunnies, and the Fox is clearly dead! I wasn't sure this was the Hornet at first as the rifle is fitted with a Sak mod. Looking at the mag though it's definately the Hornet and not the HMR. The Sak is fine on there although not the best performer. Loaded woth Lil-gun powder the peak pressure of the Hornet is actually similar to a .22WMR rimfire so you'll not blow up a Sak (not to be used with factory ammo mind!)..... EDIT... Wrong photo, should be fixed now! Edited March 6, 2011 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 njc, hi, Just out of idle curiosity - it's on my mind because I'm just about to get the new 66 back from having the mod proofed and I've just been checking on the barrel twist rate - that 6.5 by 55 looks a long bullet, what twist rate would that need? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 I think my Tikka was 1-8, so quite a fast twist. 6.5 bullets are very long. The one in the picture was only 130gr and they go up to 160gr. A 160gr 6.5mm looks more like a spear than a bullet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) Could you post some pics of your set up with your truck or send them to me, after some ideas for holding my rifes when lamping. Cheers here you go fella took this morning so no Rifle in rack but you should get the idea, I can have one upright with a scope mounted lamp for when i do a sit out on my own, i can also have another laying in the box for if i need it, i have 360 deg shooting and fit a 240 blitzs lamp on a gimble for the driver to operate (when i have one) if not i drive to a field put a net over the truck and sit it out till charlie shows up..... if i have done my homework and got the right spot it can be very effective if used with a bait Edited March 8, 2011 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 does it demount easily or is it helping reduce your MPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 does it demount easily or is it helping reduce your MPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 see this ones a little off thread, but viewing that rack it again strikes me why a few more of us don't lamp on foot as its very much quieter and allows you to go places no 4wd can. Surely a little lightweight hornet with moderator is the ideal for this sort of work but driving a blooming big diesel truck around you actually need the bigger, faster, flatter cals? Each to thier own and i fully except that things are different in some parts of the country, round us you wouldn't get very far into the fields in a truck anyway, then again i actually enjoy listening to the sounds of the night and feeling the wind. Even though a carry a bigger gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I simply couldn't cover the amount of ground required of a decent night's foxing on foot. There's nothing more frustrating than walking for 3 solid hours with a heavy centrefire / lamp etc and still seeing nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 thats the problem here, big fields and fair distances between where shots are likely. I can cover 500 acres in not much over an hour you would struggle to do the same in a night. For wind in your hair you can't beat sitting out or up a high seat at dusk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) I have 650 acres to cover on my main permission and much of it is small cattle marsh with reed mace in ditches you cant see over on foot. From the truck parked up i can cover 3 or 4 marsh as i am high enough to act like a mini mobile high seat or when moving round I get to see lots of ground Edited March 8, 2011 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Obviously each to his own, but i doubt "the hornet" is the right gun for this work. To me it's not how much ground you cover but how well you cover it. I supose i go about things a bit differently " walk a little, look a lot" is far more than a tag line to me, game is were you find it and with eyes more tuned to darkness than ours and hearing far more precise with a sence of smell we cannot comprehend i remain to be totaly convinced that a 3.0ltr diesel is the way forwards as far as getting within 200 yds or less of our quarry and i doubt i would enjoy being out as much anyway but like i say take a truck into these fields and not only would you do more damage than the foxes might you will also need extracting with tractor after breakfast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 The only time I go on foot, is when it's simply too wet to drive. I've lost count of the sub 40yard foxes I've shot, after turning through a gap in a hedge just to see them sitting there (not bolting) Providing you are quiet, and drive slowly there should be no reason why fox control from a vehicle is an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 round us they do see a lot of cars though, I was leaving welwyn yesterday at 5.30 loads of traffic and saw a fox on the pavement facing traffic waiting for a gap to cross as soon as there was one it bolted across. Never seen anything like it before but round here if they were scared of cars they would never stop running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) round us they do see a lot of cars though, I was leaving welwyn yesterday at 5.30 loads of traffic and saw a fox on the pavement facing traffic waiting for a gap to cross as soon as there was one it bolted across. Never seen anything like it before but round here if they were scared of cars they would never stop running a few times now I have been round with all lamps on so they think i am a tractor since they see them all the time and they never get botherd by them............. I have the Quad for wet weather and thats fine for rabbits and my sunday rekkys when going round I look for scat and sent marking then visit them spots later on I have found a lot of Charlies my way will drop to the ground and make themselfs as small as they can if you catch them out in the open, thats fine by me Edited March 8, 2011 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I've seen that too Pavman, including the one I v-maxed @ 200 last week who thought we couldn't see him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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