ellebarto Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Just wanted to bounce a few things off any of you guys that go after Charlie. I've only shot .22RF and .17HMR before but there is a need on my land for a fox calibre. Officially .17HMR isn't sanctioned specifically for foxes. What I'm after is a calibre that has easily sourced and reliable factory ammo and isn't overkill for my quarry. If the ammo doesn't cost a fortune that woul dbe good but not vital. Anyone give me some pointers? I'm sure .22 hornet will come straight up but everything I read says factory ammo is comedy for it so in my mind Ive discounted that already. Re-loading is something I want to get into but need a house with more space first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 forget the hornet and forget overkill, it comes down to .223 or .243 if you want to go for deer at a later stage. Both are cheap to shoot on foxes, lots of factory ammo about and plenty of guns both new and second hand. You'll get every obsolete caliber under the sun mentioned and yes they all have their place but a lot are in cabinets not used bought as a good idea at the time. Simply there isn't a good gun for both rabbits and foxes so have one for each that does the job well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Any 22 centrefire... 222 223 22-250, or go 243. 223 wouldn't be a bad bet, for gun and ammo choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellebarto Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 forget the hornet and forget overkill, it comes down to .223 or .243 if you want to go for deer at a later stage. Both are cheap to shoot on foxes, lots of factory ammo about and plenty of guns both new and second hand. You'll get every obsolete caliber under the sun mentioned and yes they all have their place but a lot are in cabinets not used bought as a good idea at the time. Simply there isn't a good gun for both rabbits and foxes so have one for each that does the job well. OK, sounds like your on my wavelength. Do you know the pros and cons between .223 and .243. I will never be shooting deer. It will be dedicated to foxes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 .223 then simple cheaper to shoot and very effective, if you reload it uses less powder there are loads of guns both new and second hand about. Range wise you can shoot to your abilities its perfectly capable to 300 yards plus if you can put the bullet in the right place. Kills aren't marginal and it knocks down foxes very well. It is also slightly quieter than bother the 22-250 and the .243. factory ammo is available from £12 or so for privi upwards with decent ammo being about 75p to £1 a pop bearing in mind you don't plink with them its well worth the money as you rarely take many shots per outing and well if you had a good night its well worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellebarto Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 .223 then simple cheaper to shoot and very effective, if you reload it uses less powder there are loads of guns both new and second hand about. Range wise you can shoot to your abilities its perfectly capable to 300 yards plus if you can put the bullet in the right place. Kills aren't marginal and it knocks down foxes very well. It is also slightly quieter than bother the 22-250 and the .243. factory ammo is available from £12 or so for privi upwards with decent ammo being about 75p to £1 a pop bearing in mind you don't plink with them its well worth the money as you rarely take many shots per outing and well if you had a good night its well worth it Right thats a good starting point and all makes sense. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Fox Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Agree with Alex, 223 suits everything you require, cheaper to run than a 243 - I would have voted for 243 but if you dont want to take deer there is very little point in going down that road. A pal shoots a steyr 223 and its a nice bit of kit that kills brilliantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy dog Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I'm just going through my variations for .243 mate and this will be used mostly for foxes though deer will be sort after in time. I would have stuck on a .223 if my land hadn't passed for .243, being a little cheaper to run ammo wise for shooting fox. But a stuck with the .243 simply to keep cost down swaping the .223 for the .243 if an when i go deer stalking, hopefully soon. Better having a gun to do both jobs then buying one to swap it for another at extra expense a little further down the line. And as posted above, lot of ammo about for them both, so you can pick an choose whats right for your gun. Cant wait for mine to come through now lol. ATB DD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek.snr Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 as a fox only calibre .223 as stated is an ideal starting point ,ammo wise do not rule out privvy as the cheapest brand may be the most accurate in your rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 .22 CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 As I use a 22-250 I'd say go for that as it's my own preference, and I wouldn't swap it for any other calibre for Fox Control.My 2 mates use .22-250 too and they swear by this calibre for Charlie! As a gentleman said above any .22 Centrefire is good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) Go for the .17 Fireball. No issues with clearance and a blazingly fast round Edited April 7, 2011 by Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Just wanted to bounce a few things off any of you guys that go after Charlie. I've only shot .22RF and .17HMR before but there is a need on my land for a fox calibre. Officially .17HMR isn't sanctioned specifically for foxes. What I'm after is a calibre that has easily sourced and reliable factory ammo and isn't overkill for my quarry. If the ammo doesn't cost a fortune that woul dbe good but not vital. Anyone give me some pointers? I'm sure .22 hornet will come straight up but everything I read says factory ammo is comedy for it so in my mind Ive discounted that already. Re-loading is something I want to get into but need a house with more space first. After last night; first night out with new Hornet for a home load accuracy check and popping rabbit at 177 yards, I know where there's a stainless varmint Tikka T3 223 1 in 8 which has fired just (exactly) 599 rounds with mod. and which has only gone from cabinet to truck to truck roof and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellebarto Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Go for the .17 Fireball. No issues with clearance and a blazingly fast round No idea what this is?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 No idea what this is?? It's a centrefire .17 round. A .17 bullet sat in front of a lot of extra powder. It's also called the .17 Mach IV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 No idea what this is?? ignore billy, he just likes noisy fast calibers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 What you should is ask the question, listen to all the advice, consider it very carefully - and then buy a .223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellebarto Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 lol. Lots of good advice guys. 223 appears to be the front runner based on the original needs I set out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy dog Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 As I use a 22-250 I'd say go for that as it's my own preference, and I wouldn't swap it for any other calibre for Fox Control.My 2 mates use .22-250 too and they swear by this calibre for Charlie! As a gentleman said above any .22 Centrefire is good enough. I was told by FEO that a 22-250 was too much gun for my first center fire. But because my land past for .243 i could go in for that. Which i thought was a bit strange to say the least. He did sort of explain the pros an cons but it would take ages to put type on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I was told by FEO that a 22-250 was too much gun for my first center fire. But because my land past for .243 i could go in for that. Which i thought was a bit strange to say the least. He did sort of explain the pros an cons but it would take ages to put type on here. It's funny how FEOs work, mine said on my first licence "Don't go for a .222, I'll give you a 22-250" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 .243 is now classed as suitable fox caliber. It has a 6mm bullet head and is far more powerful than a .223/222 etc. Another excellent caliber for fox is the .22-250. This is a very fast,flat and hard hitting caliber that certainly deals with foxes. Ammo is cheap enough, if you purchase the PRVI Partizan brand. All in all, .222,.223 and .22-250 will all do the job well,some better that others. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I was told by FEO that a 22-250 was too much gun for my first center fire. But because my land past for .243 i could go in for that. Which i thought was a bit strange to say the least. He did sort of explain the pros an cons but it would take ages to put type on here. That's strange as I wanted a .243 as a starting CF but my FEO said NO!He said I could either have a .222,.223 or 22-250 on which I settled on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie g Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 ellebarto the hornet and the 17 calibre cf rifles are good little foxers, but imo unless your going to reload from he start i wouldn't buy one. as there isn't lots of choice in factory ammo. and what there is can be expensive. 222/223 and 22/250 are all good choices they also have a good amount of factory ammo for them. and then when you reload a big choice of bullet heads. as for hich one to go for the choice is yours. never had a 223 but friends have and there very good and accounted for a good number of foxes. ive had 222 but to be fair didn't give it the time I should have as I always reached for the 22/250 because i had it longer and was use to shooting that more. the 222 though was very accurate.light recoil easy to mod the blast, and a joy to use. they also can be picked up for next to no money so bargains are there to be had. 22/250 was my 1st centrefire I had. I went for one just to have something different from the 223 and 222 rifles, it has abit more recoil but not a great deal I also like the fact it was a fast flat and very hard hitting round. and from what I had asked other people that owned them and loved them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Logic Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Get yourself a .223 and be done. The choices of factory ammo are great - American Eagle 50gr HPs worked nicely for me before I started reloading. I never get the 'get a 243 and then you can shoot deer as well' argument. I do agree completely that .243 is an excellent fox round, and you can also shoot deer, but the setup of the gun is totally different for each so makes sense to have two. Also, 223 is flatter than a 243 setup for deer, and with a mod you can see the bullet strike where you can't with 243. IMHO this is definitely a case where one calibre can do both, but you can't get one gun to be ideal for both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Get yourself a .223 and be done. The choices of factory ammo are great - American Eagle 50gr HPs worked nicely for me before I started reloading. I never get the 'get a 243 and then you can shoot deer as well' argument. I do agree completely that .243 is an excellent fox round, and you can also shoot deer, but the setup of the gun is totally different for each so makes sense to have two. Also, 223 is flatter than a 243 setup for deer, and with a mod you can see the bullet strike where you can't with 243. IMHO this is definitely a case where one calibre can do both, but you can't get one gun to be ideal for both. You just know when something makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.