which centerfire to get

[snipers eye]

hi folks,i have a cz 455 hmr,was thinking of moving on to a centerfire for more range on what i already shoot,rabbits,crows,magpies,the odd fox,any suggestions please?

[henry931]

If you don't reload .223 Rem would be your best bet. Ammo/Rifles everywhere and probably as cheap as you'll find. Barrel life good. Overkill on avian vermin but who cares? Rabbits still edible if you head shoot them. Good fox round. Most 12" twist. There are some fast twist (9"/8") examples so if you want to really push the range out you can handload 75gr A-Max etc.

 

.222 Rem. Good round underrated bit slower than .223 but doesn't give up much. One of the original bench rest cartridges. Rifles seem to be a bit cheaper (not as popular). Still popular in europe though. Most gunshops should have ammo... Normally a slow twist 14" so limited to lighter bullets - not that it matters sub 300 yards. Very good barrel life.

 

.22 Hornet. Would be ideal closer range I'd say 150-180 yards but beyond that I'd go over to the faster .22s. Rifles seem to be kind of hard to find nowadays (try and find a secondhand CZ or anschutz?). Practically antique case design. Very good barrel life, ammo can be cheap. Burns little powder so very quiet. Very slow twist 16"? normally. Will do the business on fox with good shot placement.

 

.204 Ruger, a faster flatter round, ballistically a bit better than .223 and works wonders on vermin etc but barrel life is going to be shorter than .223/.222 (slightly more powder & smaller bore). Normally 12 twist - up to 40gr Vmax. Ammo bit more expensive.

 

.22-250 if you were serious about fox and wanted point and shoot out to 250 yards (300 with minimal hold over) with reduced wind drift hard to go wrong with this one. But wouldn't recommend if you were going mainly for vermin. Barrel life mediocre/bad. Bit louder too. normally 14" twist.

 

.17 Hornet. Newish round basically hornady fiddled with the old ackley design slightly. Great for vermin but reports are this round possibly not quite man enough for fox - at least without handloading a heavier bullet. Fast and flat and very quiet. CZ have some nice rifles out - I wouldn't buy a savage. Ammo isn't really that much cheaper than .222/.223 so what's the point unless you handload and enjoy tinkering?

 

.243 Would only consider if you wanted the ability to shoot the bigger deer

[welshwarrior]

As above I would go 222 or 204 not covered

17 Rem flat as a flat thing kills like the plague.

[wj939]

If you don't reload .223 Rem would be your best bet. Ammo/Rifles everywhere and probably as cheap as you'll find. Barrel life good. Overkill on avian vermin but who cares? Rabbits still edible if you head shoot them. Good fox round. Most 12" twist. There are some fast twist (9"/8") examples so if you want to really push the range out you can handload 75gr A-Max etc.

 

.222 Rem. Good round underrated bit slower than .223 but doesn't give up much. One of the original bench rest cartridges. Rifles seem to be a bit cheaper (not as popular). Still popular in europe though. Most gunshops should have ammo... Normally a slow twist 14" so limited to lighter bullets - not that it matters sub 300 yards. Very good barrel life.

 

.22 Hornet. Would be ideal closer range I'd say 150-180 yards but beyond that I'd go over to the faster .22s. Rifles seem to be kind of hard to find nowadays (try and find a secondhand CZ or anschutz?). Practically antique case design. Very good barrel life, ammo can be cheap. Burns little powder so very quiet. Very slow twist 16"? normally. Will do the business on fox with good shot placement.

 

.204 Ruger, a faster flatter round, ballistically a bit better than .223 and works wonders on vermin etc but barrel life is going to be shorter than .223/.222 (slightly more powder & smaller bore). Normally 12 twist - up to 40gr Vmax. Ammo bit more expensive.

 

.22-250 if you were serious about fox and wanted point and shoot out to 250 yards (300 with minimal hold over) with reduced wind drift hard to go wrong with this one. But wouldn't recommend if you were going mainly for vermin. Barrel life mediocre/bad. Bit louder too. normally 14" twist.

 

.17 Hornet. Newish round basically hornady fiddled with the old ackley design slightly. Great for vermin but reports are this round possibly not quite man enough for fox - at least without handloading a heavier bullet. Fast and flat and very quiet. CZ have some nice rifles out - I wouldn't buy a savage. Ammo isn't really that much cheaper than .222/.223 so what's the point unless you handload and enjoy tinkering?

 

.243 Would only consider if you wanted the ability to shoot the bigger deer

Know nothing about CF calibres, that helps my understanding at least. Top reply. Thanks

[kent]

Pretty much go along with Henry with a few points. Most average shots cant hit much small past 160 yards anyhow so don't fret about the bigger stuff and you don't have to run any centrefire at full throttle all the time if you hand load as most end up doing. Also if you cant get one conditioned foe AOLQ or similar its going to see little use if you only do a bit of foxing

[Thunderbird]

What an excellent reply from Henry931 there. Makes a refreshing change from people replying to these types of questions by simply stating what they personally have got which is what often happens and is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

[Underdog]

357 :-)

[Essex Keeper]

223

[Amazed]

Something to take into account is the current situation regarding components for reloading and possibly ammo, make sure you can feed what you get as a gun with no ammo, well it's not much use to you.

[snipers eye]

thanks all for replies,a big thanks to henry,could not have asked for better advice,thanks

[bullet boy]

I can't fault my .22-250-it's a brilliant round for Fox.

[welshwizard]

What an excellent reply from Henry931 there. Makes a refreshing change from people replying to these types of questions by simply stating what they personally have got which is what often happens and is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

+ 1 for that and excellent info .

[kent]

Something to take into account is the current situation regarding components for reloading and possibly ammo, make sure you can feed what you get as a gun with no ammo, well it's not much use to you.

 

This is very true, strangely some unusual stuff has been easier to get than very common stuff (.223 being a prime example recently). The cost of feeding it can add up a fair bit over the last decade a lot of ammo has doubled in price on the shelves of the UK gunshops as have components, while wages have failed to keep track of std inflation and certainly not tracked house and ammo and fuel prices

[robbiep]

I'll ask my bit on here too.

 

Applying for CF variation, wanting a rifle for foxing (out to about 180/200 yards tops) and also for a fair bit of target shooting (100 metre mostly,some 300 metre)

I'd really thought .223 was the best to go for. Reasonably cheap to feed (can't see myself bothering with reloading, it's even more to do!), pretty flat for the distances I'm looking for, long barrel life, and good availability of ammo.

 

Any thoughts or alternatives ?

[Bewsher500]

.222 Rem. Good round underrated bit slower than .223 but doesn't give up much.

Normally a slow twist 14" so limited to lighter bullets - not that it matters sub 300 yards. Very good barrel life.

 

 

one thing I would add:

the velocity thing is not worth considering

100fps difference between 3300 and 3400 with 50gr bullets won't be noticed

 

the major advantage to the.223 is the ability to throw heavier bullets

Whilst I use 60gr happily in my .222 it is an anomaly and 50/55 is the usual limit

 

the other one is cheap milsurp fodder be it just brass or both brass/ammo

[wymberley]

22 Hornet.

 

I'd even sell you my Ruger No1 but only because I'd go straight out and buy the one on Gun Trader. Should you look (by coincidence there's a better selection than is usual), you'll instinctively know which one. Pricey,but, oh, what a delight. I envy the guy that has the readies and the sense to grab that one.

[Albert 888]

I'll ask my bit on here too.

 

Applying for CF variation, wanting a rifle for foxing (out to about 180/200 yards tops) and also for a fair bit of target shooting (100 metre mostly,some 300 metre)

I'd really thought .223 was the best to go for. Reasonably cheap to feed (can't see myself bothering with reloading, it's even more to do!), pretty flat for the distances I'm looking for, long barrel life, and good availability of ammo.

 

Any thoughts or alternatives ?

Stick with the 223 choice,make sure you get the twist rate right,mines a 1/9 shoots 40g heads-60g heads spot on past that not as good as I would like.standard sporters are usually 1/12 twist. If I had known what I know now I would have gone for 1/7 twist for the 75-80g heads you can calculate the drop but the wind is the problem. Im going for a 308 next so I can cheat the wind a little better with the 208g heads:-D.

[Underdog]

22 Hornet.

 

I'd even sell you my Ruger No1 but only because I'd go straight out and buy the one on Gun Trader. Should you look (by coincidence there's a better selection than is usual), you'll instinctively know which one. Pricey,but, oh, what a delight. I envy the guy that has the readies and the sense to grab that one.

very nice.

[Fisheruk]

If you don't reload .223 Rem would be your best bet. Ammo/Rifles everywhere and probably as cheap as you'll find. Barrel life good. Overkill on avian vermin but who cares? Rabbits still edible if you head shoot them. Good fox round. Most 12" twist. There are some fast twist (9"/8") examples so if you want to really push the range out you can handload 75gr A-Max etc.

 

.222 Rem. Good round underrated bit slower than .223 but doesn't give up much. One of the original bench rest cartridges. Rifles seem to be a bit cheaper (not as popular). Still popular in europe though. Most gunshops should have ammo... Normally a slow twist 14" so limited to lighter bullets - not that it matters sub 300 yards. Very good barrel life.

 

.22 Hornet. Would be ideal closer range I'd say 150-180 yards but beyond that I'd go over to the faster .22s. Rifles seem to be kind of hard to find nowadays (try and find a secondhand CZ or anschutz?). Practically antique case design. Very good barrel life, ammo can be cheap. Burns little powder so very quiet. Very slow twist 16"? normally. Will do the business on fox with good shot placement.

 

.204 Ruger, a faster flatter round, ballistically a bit better than .223 and works wonders on vermin etc but barrel life is going to be shorter than .223/.222 (slightly more powder & smaller bore). Normally 12 twist - up to 40gr Vmax. Ammo bit more expensive.

 

.22-250 if you were serious about fox and wanted point and shoot out to 250 yards (300 with minimal hold over) with reduced wind drift hard to go wrong with this one. But wouldn't recommend if you were going mainly for vermin. Barrel life mediocre/bad. Bit louder too. normally 14" twist.

 

.17 Hornet. Newish round basically hornady fiddled with the old ackley design slightly. Great for vermin but reports are this round possibly not quite man enough for fox - at least without handloading a heavier bullet. Fast and flat and very quiet. CZ have some nice rifles out - I wouldn't buy a savage. Ammo isn't really that much cheaper than .222/.223 so what's the point unless you handload and enjoy tinkering?

 

.243 Would only consider if you wanted the ability to shoot the bigger deer

Wow, what is there left to say. +1

[Cottonseed]

22 Hornet.

 

I'd even sell you my Ruger No1 but only because I'd go straight out and buy the one on Gun Trader. Should you look (by coincidence there's a better selection than is usual), you'll instinctively know which one. Pricey,but, oh, what a delight. I envy the guy that has the readies and the sense to grab that one.

 

Can't find it. What category is it under? All I an find in single-shot Hornet is a Thomson Center.

[The Essex Hunter]

With a .243 there is a far greater choice of bullet weight than the rest....so if you go down the hand loading route then with practice you can have rounds to suite you.

 

TEH

[wymberley]

 

Can't find it. What category is it under? All I an find in single-shot Hornet is a Thomson Center.

Rifle, Martini actioned, 22 hornet, WW Greener

[al4x]

With a .243 there is a far greater choice of bullet weight than the rest....so if you go down the hand loading route then with practice you can have rounds to suite you.

 

TEH

Whilst I agree it's the best caliber for mixed fox and deer it's not really ideal for target shooting. The .223 is fine for fox and a certain amount of target use, loads of guns to choose from. Reasonable price if you use factory ammo and dead easy to reload for.

I chopped mine in for a .243 but it is used mostly on foxes and some deer when it's perfect.

[Underdog]

Rifle, Martini actioned, 22 hornet, WW Greener

Is your Ruger no1 in Hornet Wymberly?

If so does it seem barrel heavy and how does it shoot?

U.

[The Essex Hunter]

Whilst I agree it's the best caliber for mixed fox and deer it's not really ideal for target shooting. The .223 is fine for fox and a certain amount of target use, loads of guns to choose from. Reasonable price if you use factory ammo and dead easy to reload for.

I chopped mine in for a .243 but it is used mostly on foxes and some deer when it's perfect.

I didn't see the op mention range work?

(hi folks, i have a cz 455 hmr, was thinking of moving on to a centre fire for more range on what I already shoot, rabbits, crows, magpies, the odd fox, any suggestions please?)

 

TEH