.223/.243 licensing advice

gofaster_s13

Looking for some advice, the gielfriends father is after asking me if I would shoot rabbits and foxes on his land in Wexford. He has about 150ish acres of more or less open pasture which seems to be rabbit metropolis I want to get a 223 or a 243 for shooting them with as most of the shooting will be 100 yards plus. And as I will be shooting foxes as well I think a larger caliber than .22 would be more suitable(personally dont think .22 is suitable for foxes). Now as this is my first application for a rifle license is it going to pose any problems that I havent owned a smaller calibre rifle before but have two shotgun licenses

Thanks

Vegeta

The .243 while being the recommended round to hunt fox with in the UK, may be seen as too big for fox by your Super. It has a great reputation as a varmint round though

Also both those rifles are expensive to run for shooting mainly rabbits.

.223 American Eagle 50 grain hollow point stuff is 13 euro for a box of 20, so its 65 cent a shot for rabbits.

Don't have a .243 but I assume its more expensive again.

Anyone know how much .22WMR, .17HMR, .22 Hornet ammo is.

If I was buying a rifle for what you just described it would be a .17HMR, 100+ yard rabbits with the odd fox at that range too.

Cant remember off the top of my head the ammo price but is something like 20 euro for 50 I think

It wasn't me!

Shouldn't be a problem.

Vegeta

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Shouldn't be a problem.

Oh yeah should have actually answered the question

what he said

It wasn't me!

I had actually typed up an economic analysis of the figures involved, then re-read the OP and realised I also hadn't answered his question, and that he probably wasn't looking to hear the economic parts anyway. This way, he gets both. Though, tbh, I dunno how much of a bunny would be left if you hit it with a .243, or how far you'd have to walk to find it.

gofaster_s13

Thanks I realise a .223/.243 is a bit overkill for rabbits but I would like 1 gun to cover most rifle shooting tasks, the bunnies won't be for the pot so it doesnt really matter about carcass condition. As for the .22 (in its various guises) and .17, I know a lot a lot of people use them to shoot foxes, I just don't consider them suitable in my opinion for what its worth as a wounded fox wondering around the countryside or indeed dieing in someones back yard is just going to bring the sport into ill repute and as a sport it has received enough bad press through public ignorance and disinformation. A hit from a .223 or a .243 is 99% of the time going to drop a fox if not kill it outright which is what everybody who shoots should want.

CJhaughey

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

Thanks I realise a .223/.243 is a bit overkill for rabbits but I would like 1 gun to cover most rifle shooting tasks, the bunnies won't be for the pot so it doesnt really matter about carcass condition.

I don't think you will have any carcass after a hit from a .243 and whats more from a safety point of view if the round keeps going after penetrating the rabbit completely it is not a very good thing.
My super would not license my .243 for foxes only for deer.
have you looked at a hornet?
You really need two rifles a .22 for rabbit and a .223 for fox
.22 ammo can be bought very cheaply 525 rounds of loose HP HV for €24

meathstevie

I have a .22 hornet and I wouldn't mind upgrading to .223. It's cheaper to run and has a wider selection of ammo available. In relation to the OP's question if it's rabbit metropolis with the odd fox I'd consider .22WMR and .17HMR as well. Due to the popularity of the .17hmr prices for good second hand .22WMR's should be reasonable enough.

As for licencing : I suppose you'll be mainly dealing with the local FAO or Sergeant so it's up to you to convince these people that you have a genuine need for what you're after. Since you allready have 2 shotguns it should be sufficiently established that you're a suitable person to hold firearms.

Umiq88

Shooting rabbits with a centrefire will hurt the pocket alot

.17hmr would be perfectly suited to you there very easy to shoot rabbits out to 150yards with it and its perfect for foxes.

If your shooting alot of foxes then your better of with a .223 or a 250 or another .22cf but using a .22cf for rabbits is while not dangerous a bit silly

jwshooter

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

Thanks I realise a .223/.243 is a bit overkill for rabbits but I would like 1 gun to cover most rifle shooting tasks, the bunnies won't be for the pot so it doesnt really matter about carcass condition. As for the .22 (in its various guises) and .17, I know a lot a lot of people use them to shoot foxes, I just don't consider them suitable in my opinion for what its worth as a wounded fox wondering around the countryside or indeed dieing in someones back yard is just going to bring the sport into ill repute and as a sport it has received enough bad press through public ignorance and disinformation. A hit from a .223 or a .243 is 99% of the time going to drop a fox if not kill it outright which is what everybody who shoots should want.

have a look at the 204 ruger its 32gr ballistic tip is doing 4030 fps very flat shooting cz 527 varmint should a nice bit of kit or the H.S. precision pro series if ya what the finest of the fine

pestshooter7

lads i think that the man has decided that he is going for a centrefire, IMO you should choose the 223 because if you use hollow points or ballistic tip then pass through shouldnt be a problem, 223 is relativaly cheap compared to 243 or 22 hornet.

Vegeta

In my experience with the .223 even 50 grain hollow points will go through a rabbit. Often I have had them go in and out of a fox, indicated by a large exit wound.

Have never shot a rabbit with a .17HMR but I hear these often pass through too

gofaster_s13

Shots passing through shouldnt be a problem as most of the shooting will be done down into a river valley or up from the valley floor which will provide a natural backstop. The land is all open pasture making it very hard to get anywhere close to foxes which was why I was thinking the bigger calibres would be more suitable. As for the rabbits, I won't be actually going out with the intention of shooting rabbits but on a quite foxing evening a bit of long(ish) range rabbit shooting could be quite interesting and could only help my shooting ability(or lack of). I was under the opinion that the 223/243 was in general a round that was prone to breaking up on contact but I suppose that would depend on bullet brand, characteristics etc.

meathstevie

Looks like .223 is the tool for you allright.

Vegeta

meathstevie wrote: »

Looks like .223 is the tool for you allright.

yup sounds like a good one.

Apologies above if it seems I was trying to put you off the .223, far from my intention. Its a great foxing rounds just expenive for rabbits

gofaster_s13

Vegeta wrote: »

yup sounds like a good one.

Apologies above if it seems I was trying to put you off the .223, far from my intention. Its a great foxing rounds just expenive for rabbits

No bother, reading my first post I placed more emphasis on the rabbit shooting which was a bit misleading.

Thanks

the hunter

:Dhi gofaster
im living in wexford .. ill take a few rabbits out of there for you if you want ...

rambo87

Ive a 17 HMR and im looking to buy a .223 Tikka T3 for the foxes, the 17 HMR is only good below 100 yards and since im out lamping every week.. the stupid ones are all dead!
I bought the 17 HMR only 9 months ago as my first rifle and im worried that the Super wont grant me another licence so soon...
How long do you need to wait in between buying guns? Is there a limit to the amount of Rifles you can have?.. i dont want to sell my 17HMR just yet as its perfect for all other vermin.

deerhunter1

Vegeta wrote: »

The .243 while being the recommended round to hunt fox with in the UK, may be seen as too big for fox by your Super. It has a great reputation as a varmint round though

Also both those rifles are expensive to run for shooting mainly rabbits.

.223 American Eagle 50 grain hollow point stuff is 13 euro for a box of 20, so its 65 cent a shot for rabbits.

Don't have a .243 but I assume its more expensive again.

Anyone know how much .22WMR, .17HMR, .22 Hornet ammo is.

If I was buying a rifle for what you just described it would be a .17HMR, 100+ yard rabbits with the odd fox at that range too.

Cant remember off the top of my head the ammo price but is something like 20 euro for 50 I think

you will get 17HMR for about 16-17euro a box 50, an ideal rifle for above situation out to 150+ on rabbits and occasional fox at 100

Cass

rambo87 wrote: »

.............How long do you need to wait in between buying guns?

There is no legal limit on the time you have to wait between licenses/firearms. So you can apply as you want. The granting of the license is up to the Super, obviously, so ultimately it still rests with him.

Is there a limit to the amount of Rifles you can have?...

Again no. There is no limit to the amount of ANY firearms you can have. The good reason and security requirements are all that is necessary, and may change/increase depending on the amount of firearms owned/sought.

deerhunter1 wrote: »

you will get 17HMR for about 16-17euro a box 50, an ideal rifle for above situation out to 150+ on rabbits and occasional fox at 100

That post, and the thread for that matter, is nearly 3 years old.

robertpatterson

Mmmmm fresh brains:)