Rifle advice please

[countrybumpkin]

Hi,

 

We are having a major problem with foxes. We kept about 50 hens behind a 5.5 foot fence. Over the last two weeks the fox has killed all put 7 in two visits and bit through the hen house. We are very rural and I have permission from the farmer to shoot on his land. I have been a keen clay and rough shooter for about 20 years, but am fairly new to rifles. Have shot .22's in the past and .303 on a range but many years ago. I have had many sitings of the fox over the past couple of weeks and it will even approach the house and garden. However as soon as I get outside it is out of range of the shotgun.

I visited a local range/gun-dealer who recommended a .223 or .22-250. He advised that the benefit of the .22-250 is additional range. They have a nearly new Remington .22-250 VSSF that has been threaded for a moderator.

I have sent off my application for a FAC with references and permission to shoot fox/vermin on two local farms.

Any advice on the suitability of the Remington, and which scope and moderator would be greatly appreciated. I am probably budgeting around £400-£500 for the scope not including mounts. The dealer has also quoted about £200 for a moderator as the barrel is already threaded.

 

Rgds

[JohnGalway]

I won't go advising too much on scopes as I've expensive tastes there Although if you don't mind a fixed power scope then an 8x56 Schmidt & Bender may be worth a look. I own a Nightforce 5.5-22x56 which cost a small bucket full of money but to be honest I use it on 8x 99% of the time. I have also used an MTC Viper 4-16x50 on a previous .223 and shot foxes out past 150 yards with that (wasn't shooting farther than that at the time). Variable power is handy for longer shots, especially on daytime vermin. I don't think shooting long range at night is the best idea to be honest, 200 or 250 yards is a very long way under the lamp.

 

Conor, who is offline at the moment, is a friend of mine who has a Remington VSSF II in .223, same scope as myself. I've shot his rifle many times and it's accurate. I think his moderator is a Jet-z, the black one (sorry, not the best on mods!). I own a Remington VL SS myself and it's good for the foxes, probably not as accurate due to the stock, but I've shot foxes out past two hundred yards with it. I don't think I'd buy a second hand centrefire rifle, but that's just me, I'm no expert on rifles.

[Dead-Eyed Duck]

I won't go advising too much on scopes as I've expensive tastes there Although if you don't mind a fixed power scope then an 8x56 Schmidt & Bender may be worth a look. I own a Nightforce 5.5-22x56 which cost a small bucket full of money but to be honest I use it on 8x 99% of the time. I have also used an MTC Viper 4-16x50 on a previous .223 and shot foxes out past 150 yards with that (wasn't shooting farther than that at the time). Variable power is handy for longer shots, especially on daytime vermin. I don't think shooting long range at night is the best idea to be honest, 200 or 250 yards is a very long way under the lamp.

 

Conor, who is offline at the moment, is a friend of mine who has a Remington VSSF II in .223, same scope as myself. I've shot his rifle many times and it's accurate. I think his moderator is a Jet-z, the black one (sorry, not the best on mods!). I own a Remington VL SS myself and it's good for the foxes, probably not as accurate due to the stock, but I've shot foxes out past two hundred yards with it. I don't think I'd buy a second hand centrefire rifle, but that's just me, I'm no expert on rifles.

 

Agree totally John. 0.223 is suitable for most instances unless you have huge fields where the 22-250 may show an advantage - but not often

 

Don

[Oly]

Agree totally John. 0.223 is suitable for most instances unless you have huge fields where the 22-250 may show an advantage - but not often

 

And ammo cost & barrel life (unless you reload very soft 22-250's or very hot .223's )

 

However, if it's only for keeping them away from your chickens you could just lie in wait and hammer them at sub 40yrds with your shotgun and save yourself a lot of money...unless your wanting to take up rifle shooting anyway.