RUGER TARGET GREY .22-250?

[Frank]

I am in the process as you may or may not know, of applying for a deer hunting caliber, a 6.5x55.

My deer permit will arrive on the 4th of August Iv been told so untill then i cant really apply for the rifle.

For those of you who dont know, i live in southern Ireland, laws are all over the place here .

Up untill now i had a 6.5x55 in my mind.

But the other day i was at my local range and the guy who owns the range is a firearms dealer aswell.

Now before i go any further, the minum caliber for deer stalking in this country is a .22-250 using a 55 grain bullet.

I herad that this caliber was going to be fased out, but after making a few inquaries, i found out that the wildlife department has no plans to fase out this caliber.

Anyhow, when i mentioned that i am in the process of getting my deer permit to the firearms dealer, (who by the way is a trustworthy chap) he said that he had a very little used ( 10 rounds) Ruger heavy barrelled target grey model laminate stock in .22-250 for sale.

He showed me the gun, when i had a look down the barrel, it had obviously not been cleaned, but being that it is stainless steel, would this effect it i wonder?

He has had the rifle in the shop for a month.

Would their be rust forming in it do you think, or because its stainless would this not matter?

The rifle is good as new, hardly used and im attracted to it quiet a bit

Thanks.

Edited July 3, 2005 by Frank

[dunganick]

rust etc should not be an issue, however i would say if your after a serious deer stalking cartridge then 22-250 is not what you want, i know it can do it quite easily (i have my contacts) but if you intended to go to scotland and do some stalking on reds, im pretty sure it would not be enough gun for it, if you can get a 6.5 i woulld really recomend it

 

why not apply for both a 22-250 and a 6.5, if one gets refussed then hopefully the other wont be and you know which one to go for

 

22-250 is a very fine foxing round, in my opinion one of the best, but the weight of projectiles the rifles are designed to spit out tend to be very light weight, not quite what you want for stalking.

 

keep us posted how it goes

[Frank]

Thanks for that Nick.

As far as i know you can only hunt roe in Scotland with a .22-250.

I would love to apply for both, but unfortunately only one at a time here in southern Ireland.

As the .22-250 is a smaller caliber, it is simpliar to licence over here.

I still have not made up my mind yet and have yet to try out the rifle, hopefully next week and will take it from their.

The previous owner is mainly a clay shooting man and tryd to get into rifle shooting but it did not suiet him so he gave the rifle back (uncleaned).

My main concern was rust in an uncleaned barrel but i think its ok with stainles. .

[Gemini]

Frank, if you settle on that Ruger “Target” model, you will regret it I assure you.

A laminated stock and heavy stainless barrel are OK on a range, but try humping the bloody thing for miles over rough terrain and see how you like it.

As for only 10 rounds going through it, bo**ocks comes to mind, because 10 rounds wouldn’t leave a noticeably dirty barrel. And let’s face it, who is going to go through all the bother of applying for a 22-250 under your very restrictive laws, put 10 rounds through it, and then get rid of it after only firing 10 rounds through it?

There is also the fact that you wouldn’t be able to use it in Scotland for anything other than Roe, so you wouldn’t be able to stalk Reds with it.

Go for the 6.5 Swede or a 7mm 08 if you could get one, even a .243 would be better because you have a better range of bullets to chose from, but leave that so-called “Target” rifle for someone who wants to **** about on the range, because a stalking rifle it ain’t.

G.M.

[Frank]

Thanks G.M.

You have some valid points.

As I have said the minimum caliber here in southern Ireland is .22-250.

This includes all deer speices found here, Sika, Fallow, and red.

I have access to fallow hunting if i sacure a permit.

I would not go for red, even though it is leagel to do so with a .22-250 .

Thats why i have not made up my mind as yet.

It will be mainly fallow, but what will happen if i get a chance to stalk Red?

So as you can see im thinking over it.

I will try out the .22-250 and see how it groups then will carry it for a while walking up and down the range and see how that goes next week.

It comes with scope (simmons classic) and bi-pod.

Edited July 3, 2005 by Frank

[M ROBSON]

Frank,

 

In Scotland you can hunt Roe from a .222 upwards (min 50 grain, min 2450fps) so a 22-250 is well capable. The more people I talk to about the 22-250, gunshop owners, fellow stalkers and pro stalkers, the 22-250 gets a lot of praise as being a favoured calibre for our lowland Roe stalking.

 

For all other deer species up here you need a .243 upwards (min 100 grain, min 2450fps). I guess you need to decide how much hill stalking you are going to do?

 

For the farmland Roe that I shoot I have the greatest confidence in my 22-250 and plenty of other guys prefer this calibre for Roe too.

 

Mark.

[Frank]

Thanks Mark.

I have nearly made my mind up.

Looks very much like a .22-250.

Im going to test out the rifle in question sometime this week and will let you all know my conclusion.

If the Ruger Target grey is too heavy, then it looks like a CZ 550 .

Ill be shooting Fallow mainly over here in Ireland.

The fallow around my patch are smaller than the fallow over in the UK, probably to do with poor pasture around my area.

I have seen fallow taken with this caliber and I can tell you they dont go far .

neck shots are deadly in certain situations, it just about cuts the neck in half .

[badsworth]

You cannot go far wrong with a CZ 550. You can get a new one for what you would pay for a SH model of another make.

 

Be cautious about buying a .22-250 S/H. That is a hell of a round and you will not get the barrel life that you could expect from some other calibres.

 

Have fun!

 

Badsworth

[Gemini]

Best of luck with whatever you decide on Frank.

I have been looking at a little .17 hmr CZ American, and the quality is staggering. The gun dealer reckons that the people in Czechoslovakia have been in talks with dealers who have put them wise about quality. It certainly seems to have worked, as the one I looked at had the most beautiful wood that I have seen on a rifle with such a low price tag.

I have left a deposit on it, and hopefully will be picking it up @ the end of the month.

G.M.

[Frank]

Thanks Badsworth,

Ill keep that in mind when im checking out the rifle this week .

If i dont like it in anyway, ill go for a new CZ .

[Sergeant]

Iv got a cz452 american in .22 and the woodwork and general quality is excellent. Its accuracy is perfect as well. Am hoping to expand my armoury with one in .223. you cant go wrong with a cz.

[Frank]

I agree, they are great value for money.

I have a CZ 452 lux bolt action in .22lr, very accurate and fantastic bit of walnut on it .

[Big Dog]

Hi Frank. It's good to see someone else has a delema in choosing the right calibre and make. I sincerely wish you well in the journey.

- On the heavy barrel. I to am condidering a heavy barrel in the .222. I am not as fit as I was and would never have to carry it major distances. I will use it a bit for range shooting. All this said, I am told if you want to shoot a veiw rounds and keep groups, the heavy barrel is the way to go. A hunting rifle will go of the tight group after a view shots, as little as 3-4 I was told by my dealer?? Cant speak from personal experience yet. G

 

GM is right with all the other attachment if you are walking distance, a hunting rifle may be best.

 

- Rugers - be careful of the triger. If it is a true range rifle the trigger may have been sorted. Rugers have heavy triggers fitted as std. It's to do with USA gun manufacturing law. The Gun needs to withstand a drop of a set high?? without going off (to stop law suites if they drop a gun and shoot someone???). I had to get my Ruger 77/22 trigger tuned. On saturday I was looking at .222 Tikias and Rugers. My dealer praised the Ruger but said I would have to change the trigger if I wanted = to Tikia std. He said add about another £125 for that??

 

You will know a heavy trigger will result in you pulling off the target. I love my Ruger but it did take the trigger tuning to do that.

 

PS. What sort of money for a CZ in .222, 22-250 etc

[Frank]

Hi Big Dog,

Your right about the triggers on the Rugers. Im having mine changed on the .204 to a Timmeny triger hopefully soon.

The Timmenys are great .

I got my trigger pull weaighed and its an awful 9 and a half pounds , so a Timmeny is a must for me B) . It will have 2 pounds pull then .

 

Dont know yet of the price of the CZs but the ruger im looking at in .22-250 is 1200 Euro, its second hand ( only 10 rounds fired) it includes a bipod and simmons scope.

 

Like i said, im going to check out the rifle this week sometime and i will let you know how i get on.

 

The price i quote is southern Ireland prices in Euro, it would probably be cheaper up north and the U.K., things are expensive down here in the south .

Big Dog, let us know how you get on too, with your purchase .

Thanks.