soother223 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 17 hornet! love it! my mate & i went shooting crows last summer, he took his 204 along too. he was blown away with some of the crows i shot with the 17h! for me its perfect for crow bashing out to 250-300 yds. plus i've dropped a few foxes out to 150. but wouldn't go much further than that unless a head shot! and its plenty accurate enough for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Simple....................a 204R. What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Maybe the perfect gun is a switch barrel judging from the responses. There are compromises to make just like cars / boats and even friends all about priorities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Possibly a can of worms but what is the best centre fire for regularly blatting crows but also good on fox? Have to say I'm starting to think a mix of .22lr, .222 and a deer rifle would have covered me for most bases. Interested to hear your views. Is there one that does everything well? Strangely enough I live in Scotland have a .22lr, .222 and a 6.5x55. Shot crows to 200+, foxes to around 250 at night and deer from 20 to 180 with the triple. The 6.5 comes out for fallow, foxes and reds and the annual competition. Both cf`s are fed on homeloads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Strangely enough I live in Scotland have a .22lr, .222 and a 6.5x55. Shot crows to 200+, foxes to around 250 at night and deer from 20 to 180 with the triple. The 6.5 comes out for fallow, foxes and reds and the annual competition. Both cf`s are fed on homeloads. Yep, 3 guns with local / personal tweaks is the way forwards for all quarry being covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Yep, 3 guns with local / personal tweaks is the way forwards for all quarry being covered. Throw in dedicated night vision and that can jump to 5 or 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Throw in dedicated night vision and that can jump to 5 or 6. Its easy to find justification for more toys if you look hard enough but there are other solutions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 Simple answer, there isnt one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 (edited) 17 remington shooting 25g. (20g do not kill fox clean enough IMO had a 17 fireball) or I would consider a 20cal tac or prac.If you run the balistics you will see the advantages.you can see the strike minimal recoil, moderate well. I stayed with 22-250 because its legal on roe,in scotland, but seriously considered a .20 and maybe......? Edited December 14, 2013 by markg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I would imagine the answer would be the calibre which is the most commonly used for that purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I would imagine the answer would be the calibre which is the most commonly used for that purpose. Well over the last 100 yrs it makes .22 RF an ideal foxer on numbers taken (commonly used coz everyone has one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Well over the last 100 yrs it makes .22 RF an ideal foxer on numbers taken (commonly used coz everyone has one) You may well be right and probably know better than me as I have to confess that I've never heard of a 22RF CF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Possibly a can of worms but what is the best centre fire for regularly blatting crows but also good on fox? I've got a .22-250 which is great and no real problems with it. But if you shoot a crow on a field around a farm then you hear the bang for some distance it's nice that it's roe legal up north though. Also have a HMR but it has it's limitations. So what do you think is the best all round CF? This new .17 hornet tick most of the boxes? Have to say I'm starting to think a mix of .22lr, .222 and a deer rifle would have covered me for most bases. Interested to hear your views. Is there one that does everything well? best all rounder is the 22-250 but if it was just fox and crow then another vote for 1.7 Remington center fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 You may well be right and probably know better than me as I have to confess that I've never heard of a 22RF CF. You get the point though, popular means nothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 The OP question was ' what is the best CF vermin gun? '. In my opinion that spot is taken by the .22/250. Most suitable? probably not. Most economical? highly unlikely. Most easily moderated? absolutely not, but looking for the best vermin rifle it's right up there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 The OP question was ' what is the best CF vermin gun? '. In my opinion that spot is taken by the .22/250. Most suitable? probably not. Most economical? highly unlikely. Most easily moderated? absolutely not, but looking for the best vermin rifle it's right up there Perhaps this is getting a bit deep, and how do you define best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I would probably define 'best' by ignoring the 3 most's I put in the previous post. . As I also said in previous post ' my opinion '. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicykillgaz Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Surely the 'best' would be the one which accounts for the most vermin each year so I'm guessing that would be the humble .22lr. Nearly everyone with an fac either has one or has had one at some point, granted you can't take fox at great ranges with it but you can take fox, and thousands upon thousands of rabbit each year fall to the .22lr so in terms of volume I would say the .22lr wins hands down. There's better fox rifles or better long range rabbit/crow calibres but as an all rounder it's the .22 IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Surely the 'best' would be the one which accounts for the most vermin each year so I'm guessing that would be the humble .22lr. Nearly everyone with an fac either has one or has had one at some point, granted you can't take fox at great ranges with it but you can take fox, and thousands upon thousands of rabbit each year fall to the .22lr so in terms of volume I would say the .22lr wins hands down. There's better fox rifles or better long range rabbit/crow calibres but as an all rounder it's the .22 IMO. very true but the lr is not a cf colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicykillgaz Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 very true but the lr is not a cf colin Oops missed that bit! I'll go with hornet then, cheap to run, easy to moderate, good for fox but doesn't destroy rabbits just a good all rounder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 It is a weird question most vermin you don't need a cf for, foxes are the only exception. Really a mix of one rim fire and one deer legal caliber will sort out anything you can shoot in the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) Well the replies have been very interesting to read. A lot of variety in answers as expected. I have started googling the .17 remington since this thread started as it's sounds interesting. Also half tempted by a hornet. It is a weird question most vermin you don't need a cf for, foxes are the only exception. Really a mix of one rim fire and one deer legal caliber will sort out anything you can shoot in the ukI know what you mean al4x. Basically if I go around the farms with the rifle I usually take the .22-250 incase I see a crow that's a couple of hundred yards away,(better at that range than the HMR). And it does fox but it's a but noisy for daytime use. Was just curious what other calibers people suggested for this sort of use. You could head shoot a rabbit but in any volume this is impractical. The smaller cf calibers interest me for the longer range vermin. But aside from cost and noise, the .22-250 will do the job anyway. I am craving a new rifle like a hornet. Just can't get myself to move on the HMR when it's such a good rabbit gun,(love it compared to the .22). But the .22 is a finnfire so I refuse to sell it Dilemmas. Edited December 15, 2013 by wildfowler.250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 It is a weird question most vermin you don't need a cf for, foxes are the only exception. Really a mix of one rim fire and one deer legal caliber will sort out anything you can shoot in the uk True. But it depends on your ground and how seriously you take your vermin control. I shoot rabbits, foxes and a few corvids on 1200 acres, which I have to myself. I have to keep the rabbit population hammered into the ground at all times. That's the deal. I could manage with my .22 and my .308 but an HMR and a .222 make all the difference. The main thing is different rifles come into their own at different times of year. I wouldn't be without any of them. I'd be happy to use a .22-250 rather than the triple if I was only shooting foxes, but it takes a lot of rabbits as well and a .22-250 is over the top. I have used my .308 for foxing and it works very well, especially since by happy chance I can swap between the Hornady Interbond 150 grn homeloads I use for deer and Sako 123 grn SP factorys without changing zero. They're exactly the same for windage, the Sakos just shoot a little higher and flatter and make a good foxing round. But I draw the line at shooting rabbits with a .308. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Well the replies have been very interesting to read. A lot of variety in answers as expected. I have started googling the .17 remington since this thread started as it's sounds interesting. Also half tempted by a hornet. I know what you mean al4x. Basically if I go around the farms with the rifle I usually take the .22-250 incase I see a crow that's a couple of hundred yards away,(better at that range than the HMR). And it does fox but it's a but noisy for daytime use. Was just curious what other calibers people suggested for this sort of use. You could head shoot a rabbit but in any volume this is impractical. The smaller cf calibers interest me for the longer range vermin. But aside from cost and noise, the .22-250 will do the job anyway. I am craving a new rifle like a hornet. Just can't get myself to move on the HMR when it's such a good rabbit gun,(love it compared to the .22). But the .22 is a finnfire so I refuse to sell it Dilemmas. Not a direct answer to the original question, more a response to this post, 200yard crow and the occasional fox, what's wrong with a .204? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 You get the point though, popular means nothing He he, I admire your courage. In effect, what you're saying is that the number of shooters who use and go to make up the most popular CF rifle for vermin control don't really know what they're doing. Dodgey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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