First CF .243?

[Jason_ox]

Hi guys, 

I’m putting in for an FAC Grant with .22lr and I’m thinking .243. The .22lr my father already owns so I was wondering if this can be put on my certificate too but he still stores and owns it? The .243 will be used for fox and deer, specifically roe, fallow and muntjac. I have a 500 acre farm owned by my father with further access to other land if wanted. 

A few years ago local friends set up a diy shoot on our farm and it’s going great, however the cover crop is now getting hammered by the deer and Charlie is also not controlled very well, if at all.  So there’s room for improvement and some good meat! 

My question is if .243 was granted what bullet weights should I be using for Fox & deer? Will mainly be shooting from high seats as the ground is quite flat. 

Any specific set up you would suggest, budget around £750 for rifle, scope and mod? I’m not reloading as the set up costs would probably cover quite a few years of buying factory rounds. 

I’m not new to firearms and have been out a number of times with friends and gamekeepers controlling vermin but I  haven’t harvested deer so I’m thinking of getting some first hand experience of that asap. 

Many thanks, 

Jason

 

 

[oowee]

I use .243 and its an excellent all round calibre. I don't swap around with bullet weights and stick with federal 100g soft point which is great for deer but would agree that some form of ballistic tip would be better for foxes. You do have a dilemma though regarding scopes though, as you will probably want a good quality scope (last light vision) for deer and they tend not to work well with NV for foxes. I started on this route and ended up with a rifle for each. 

[Scully]

I use either 75 or 100 grn soft points for both fox and Roe in my T3. I tend not to swap heads or weights for quarry. 

Mate uses lighter ballistic tops for Fox...65’s if I recall. 

[Graham M]

70grn TNT for fox. I used to use 100grn SP for deer, but now use the .308.

Depends on distance but I used to find that at shots of around 100yds the 70grn and 100grn bullets were only around 1" apart.

[Jason_ox]

Excellent, thank you for the reply’s gentlemen! I didn’t think about night vision and had always worked off a lamp. 

[Whitester]

I use 243 for the same application and stick with 90 g soft points although 75 g ballistic tips will work on the same zero as the 90's albeit with a slightly different aim point .

in your budget I would go for a browning a bolt with a hawke endurance scope and a wildcat p8 mod. You should be able to get this second hand for your budget with the option of an add on for fox work as the hawke endurance are good with add ons and not bad at last light.

[Jason_ox]

Thank you whitester! With taking into consideration night vision etc I’m thinking of putting down for .204 Ruger as a dedicated NV just thinking ahead If don’t get on with an add on. 

[Whitester]

On 20/08/2018 at 14:33, Jason_ox said:

Thank you whitester! With taking into consideration night vision etc I’m thinking of putting down for .204 Ruger as a dedicated NV just thinking ahead If don’t get on with an add on. 

I’m in kind of the same boat at the moment in that I have a slot for 223 and a photon. Don’t know weather to sell the photon and buy add on or just buy a separate 223 as a didicated nv set up.

[Walker570]

Choose a deer bullet/cartridge and the fox will not notice the difference. You don't have to re think anything then or faff about with different cartridges.  Something in the region of 90 to 100grns will work fine and there are some good choices on the market which will all do the job if you do.  Don't know if Federal still do the load/cartridge using the Nosler bullet but if they do that would be an excellent choice.

Just checked and Federal do two excellent cartridges for 243 Winchester    One uses the Nosler Accubond and the other the Nosler Partition having many years experience of both I can attest to their game taking ability, particularly the Accubond which I found VERY accurate in my 300H&H out to 500yrds on pronghorn.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Walker570

[steve_b_wales]

With my Tikka T3 Lite, I use 100gr SP's. I haven't had a fox complain yet.

[Jason_ox]

Thank you for your knowledge guys! 

[Scrumbag]

If it were me I'd go a little larger - 6.5x55 probably. With 120grs shoots fairly fast and flat and some estates prefer you use something bigger than .243W for fallow and reds of you go for them. I would agree though, don't bother changing your ammo for the fox. They will fall fine to a deer bullet

Whatever you chose, enjoy your shooting!

[bluesj]

I use a 243 for most of my foxing and deer but I do change between 58gr ballistic tip and 95gr sp. set it up with the 58s before lambing when I do mostly foxing and back to 95s the rest of the time. Even so the difference in elevation between the two at 50yards is less than 1/4 inch and less than 1/2 inch at 150 yards.

plus I've a 308 to use if I need it ?

[sabel25]

On 17/08/2018 at 08:14, Jason_ox said:

Hi guys, 

I’m putting in for an FAC Grant with .22lr and I’m thinking .243. The .22lr my father already owns so I was wondering if this can be put on my certificate too but he still stores and owns it? The .243 will be used for fox and deer, specifically roe, fallow and muntjac. I have a 500 acre farm owned by my father with further access to other land if wanted. 

A few years ago local friends set up a diy shoot on our farm and it’s going great, however the cover crop is now getting hammered by the deer and Charlie is also not controlled very well, if at all.  So there’s room for improvement and some good meat! 

My question is if .243 was granted what bullet weights should I be using for Fox & deer? Will mainly be shooting from high seats as the ground is quite flat. 

Any specific set up you would suggest, budget around £750 for rifle, scope and mod? I’m not reloading as the set up costs would probably cover quite a few years of buying factory rounds. 

I’m not new to firearms and have been out a number of times with friends and gamekeepers controlling vermin but I  haven’t harvested deer so I’m thinking of getting some first hand experience of that asap. 

Many thanks, 

Jason

 

 

with reference to your first part of your thread

You'll not be allowed to have the same rifle  ie the .22lr duplicated on two seperate fac tickets

[bluesj]

2 hours ago, sabel25 said:

with reference to your first part of your thread

You'll not be allowed to have the same rifle  ie the .22lr duplicated on two seperate fac tickets

Yes you are, my son has both my .22s and 243 on his license 

[Graham M]

5 hours ago, bluesj said:

Yes you are, my son has both my .22s and 243 on his license 

Yup, My son used to keep his guns in my cabinet, so we had each other's guns on each other's tickets. 

[eddoakley]

16 hours ago, sabel25 said:

with reference to your first part of your thread

You'll not be allowed to have the same rifle  ie the .22lr duplicated on two seperate fac tickets

As above this is incorrect.

I have a .22lr on my ticket listed as "joint ownership" with my grandfather. It's on his ticket too and either of us are entitled to to keep it and use it.

Was very straightforward to arrange with the feo too.

I'm sure I've done it several times in the shop with guns that I have sold- both certs had slots and I have entered the gun onto both and sent 2 notifications.

 

Edd

[Jason_ox]

Thank you for your help guys, much appreciated! 

[sabel25]

10 hours ago, Graham M said:

Yup, My son used to keep his guns in my cabinet, so we had each other's guns on each other's tickets. 

Yep i knew that worked with shotguns

I kept my fathers guns in my cabinets so he had to have my guns put on his ticket even though he'd stopped shooting through age but his ticket was not due to expire for a couple of years

If two or more ticket holders have access to the same cabinet then all guns have to be on all tickets

But i was'nt sure this applied to fac weapons  So now i know

All my fac weapons are kept in one vault seperate to my shotguns kept in another vault

[Bumble]

I use a .243 for deer and fox, and find it a highly capable tool. I use Winchester factory loads, either 58gr VarmintX ballistic tips for fox (and squirrels if you want to turn them into confetti at 200yds), and 80gr SuperX for muntjac/any unlucky foxes I see when stalking. Both are reasonably priced (around £25 for a box of 20) and they certainly do the trick, with 1/2” difference in vertical zero at 100yds. My rifle (PH Safari) doesn’t like heavier loads at all, but I’ve found neither of those 2 rounds to be lacking in killing power. 

With regards to mods, I can’t fault the Wildcat Evolution. 

Edited August 27, 2018 by Bumble

[Guest stevo]

I have a sako 85 in .243 win also the same rifle in .270 

the .270 will 100% poleaxe reds and fallow and anything else this country has to offer with ABSOLUTE authority  ( 255 yards my furthest hind )  100 - 150 yards the .243 win is just as capable  As the rest of them , Right ammo  and shot placement wins all day long . And as for woodland shooting the .243 takes the crown in my opinion , also a very good round for head/neck shooting .

i owned and loved a .220 swift for a good number of years and loved it , but the .243 with 58 grain Hornaday Superformance has to the best foxing combo I’ve ever had ???

later on you might find you need or just want something a little bigger . But your always find a use for a .243 in the cabinet.

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by stevo

[B525 LIGHT]

Sako gamehead 90 grain is ideal for your requirements. Federal 80 grain is a sensible choice too. Many .243’s don’t achieve best accuracy with 100 grainers.