jamesmacc Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 (edited) hi, got a hmr on order for punching paper but looking for something bigger for fox and targets out to about 200-250 yards. the land i have is up high on one side of a valley, i shoot a .243 up there with a friend and its quite loud from the village below. can any one recomend a caliber thats good for fox but isnt £1 and more a round like the .243. i like the the sound of a .22 hornet but not sure on ammo prices and gun availability. i would love a .223 but im worried that if im firing of a load of rounds at targets then people will get annoyed with the noise cheers, james Edited June 26, 2011 by jamesmacc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzini Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 .22 Hornet is a very good round. Mainly a shot range fox gun (150-200yards) its a very good bullet and has a hell of a punch when it gets there. Depending on where you are, the guns and ammo differ. I work in a gun shop in Lampeter, West Wales and we have a very good supply of .22 hornet rounds, and can get either a CZ or Ruger chambered in .22 Hornet in to the shop in about a week. But it may be different where other live. A note to add it that, when reloaded, the .22Hornet round become very cheep and cheerful and accuracy is very good from this cartridge. .223 is a very good round, will take a fox to 350-400 yards, if you;re good enough. Nice and flat to 250 and guns and ammo are available in almost all RFD in the UK! Easy and cheep to reload and reloading gear is very easy to get hold of for the .223 Sounds to me that the .223 is right up you're street. You could get a smaller (.222) light and fast, or a .22-250 very fast and accurate. Have a look on this sight and you will be able to find many good answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmacc Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 i have just put a variation in for a .223. do you think it will be any quieter than the .243 i have been using? is re-loading fairly easy or is it difficult. i imagin it could take a good few hours to make 50 rounds, thanks for your advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotland rifles Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 the 223 will be a bit lower in immited noise, BUT you will never remover the super sonic crack it makes, and to be honest the only time a target worries about the bang your rifle makes is when you miss it, you see if you hit it the bang is never heard buy a DEAD target, bob. hornet is a good round, but if you want to reload it can be a bit had to do if you have a small amount of experience of loading. HMR we are all told is no good for fox, but look at the USA for advice as they have been shooting coyotes and wild bore with the 17hmr for years, so our fox;s are super animals. either way lets hope you get the 223 or something a little less booming to shoot them with. bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Just a point to note - reloading for the .223 is not difficult or time consuming. A favourite round for many - loads of supply availability. I dont count myself a great or quick reloader - too timid, but I reloaded 50 rounds in about one and a half hours - pure pleasure and they are good enough to know that if I miss - its me. Good luck with whatever you choose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmacc Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Just a point to note - reloading for the .223 is not difficult or time consuming. A favourite round for many - loads of supply availability. I dont count myself a great or quick reloader - too timid, but I reloaded 50 rounds in about one and a half hours - pure pleasure and they are good enough to know that if I miss - its me. Good luck with whatever you choose what sort of kit do you use for reloading, i looked into reloading last year for .243 but i cant remember the different stages, when i have a few hours spare i will google it and have a look at whats involved. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 keep your .243 and reload for it, cost comes down to 50p a pop and it is far better on foxes than a hornet and saves you buying a new gun and scope and mod etc etc. Noise wise surely you aren't shooting enough foxes for it to be an issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Jamesmac - I use mainly Lee dies, a full length resizer, deprimer/neck sizer and a Redding competition bullet seater (checking the ogive). I have a ram primer but thats not really a 'die'. Take cases, clean out primer pocket and touch hole after depriming/neck sizing and then chamfer case end to length. Anneal as necessary. Check overall length or full length resize if necessary. Allow to cool. Fix primer, load powder (recipe from reloading manual), seat bullet. Job done. Good luck P.S. a full set of Lee dies will cost about £35 -£40 for either a .223 or .243. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Almost exactly the reason i bought a Hornet, my main Fox gun is .243" win also! There is a massive difference in noise when both fitted with a t8 moderator. As for factory ammo there aint a lot in it between the two on cost the price tends to reflect the quality and care not the different volume of materials used, the .243" is sold a lot more than the Hornet so economies of scale might come into play some here. The .222 and .223 use about twice as much powder as a hornet and the .243" nearly four times as much, although you can't remove the sonic crack at any sort of distance from the bullets flightpath its practically inaudable. I actually think the Hornet is quieter than my HMR (which by the way was pants terminally)Anyone who shoots at a wild pig with one of those needs thier screws tightening! Reloading is the way to go to cut shooting costs down "if you use enough ammo" to make it worthwhile and you dont even need very much gear if its only the Hornet you will be loading for just buy hand dies, scales, trickler, lee autoprime and your componants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 keep your .243 and reload for it, cost comes down to 50p a pop and it is far better on foxes than a hornet and saves you buying a new gun and scope and mod etc etc. Noise wise surely you aren't shooting enough foxes for it to be an issue noise can be a pain in some locations and its his mates .243. I think the .243" a great foxer but take more than an odd shot and people come for a look see. At 1/2 mile across the fields i can be heard at my neighbours with a moderated .243" as such a limit zero sessions to 1/2 dozen shots only, with the hornet my wife cant hear me shooting off the driveway from the kitchen- thats a big difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 I use a .22-250.I wouldn't say it's a quiet round but it is a fantastic round for Fox Control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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