If you had to choose....

Browning2010

I'm thinking of upgrading from a .17hmr to a centre fire rifle. Main quarry will be Foxes.

Simple question(or not) if you had to choose a centre fire to upgrade to what would you pick and why?

Thanks.

meathstevie

Browning2010 wrote: »

I'm thinking of upgrading from a .17hmr to a centre fire rifle. Main quarry will be Foxes.

Simple question(or not) if you had to choose a centre fire to upgrade to what would you pick and why?

Thanks.

Depending on where you shoot and what you’re after I’d go for a .223 or a .22 hornet.

Open ground and mainly foxes quite far from dwellings and so on : .223

Smaller fields, a mix of foxes and rabbits and within relatively close proximity to dwellings and livestock : .22 hornet.

It also has the advantage of being a quiet round with very little perceptible recoil while still killing foxes stone dead at 150m with any sort of half decent shot placement. The added advantage is when head shooting rabbits the rabbit is actually still edible rather than pulverised.

The pigeon man

The 223 is hard to beat for foxes. Great range with it and a huge variety of ammo. Ballistic tip ammo ensures clean kills with reasonable shot placement.

Also you get good barrel life, reasonably priced ammo and good resale value.

Other options include the 243 which is good if you want to do deer and fox shooting with the same gun. Ammo is more expensive but it might be worth it if you have it for a dual purpose.

A personal favourite of mine for foxes is the 22lr. Extremely quiet so it's suitable for use around horses and in built up areas (provided the backstop is good). I shoot foxes with it from 30-50m under a red lamp.

Overall I would go for the 223 with a mod and night vision. It'll do you well for foxes provided noise isn't an issue.

minktrapper

You could try the 17 Winchester Super Magnum Rimfire. Ammo is relatively cheap. Less than half the price of the hornet. €0.50 compared to €1.32 a shot.

cookimonster

Altough not an owner of a 22 hornet it was my choice for filling a gap in my calibre range. As said before a great round for foxing in around typical Irish farm land and suitable to take rabbits home for the pot. Top it with dedicated NV and you'll be good to go. If circumstances were different I'd still be getting one to fit between my .22 and my deer calibre.

Now this brings me onto my actual recommendation. If you can swing a deer permission, even if you think you'll never go down the route then do so and get a .243. The .243 makes an excellent foxing rifle and will reach out to those longer shots when needed. AFAIK, with the exception of PPU, theres no cheep as dirt ammo to feed it as seen with the .223. But you will spend comparatively the same amount on .223 ammo as you will on .243. If your droping foxs by the bucket load then it may work out dearer.
When the day comes and maybe deer stalking becomes an idea then you will have a duel purpose rifle / calibre for the purpose. When I did own a .243 I used 100gr SP for both foxs and deer, no bother. Owning a deer calibre rifle is not a big issue the only difference is applying for an annual deer hunting licence. No extra money involved, no extra security etc, etc just the advantage of taking deer if the opportunity arises.

Richard308

For economy,availability and practicality 223. But If ammunition availability wasn’t an issue and I didn’t have to factor in barrel burn out etc. it would have to be 220 swift. Love the swift laser

solarwinds

I have had the Swift, Hornet and .223.
All brilliant, I god rid of the Hornet for the Swift but then traded that for a .223. Ammo for the Swift at the time was getting very expensive and the .223 was gaining popularity plus ammo was cheap.
Now, I have got rid of the .223 and replaced it with a Hornet.
The Swift as has been said was a laser and a great round, the choice and availability of ammo for the .223 is great as are the prices. But I found for the ranges I am shooting foxes at the Hornet is more than enough cartridge, as I dont need the range of the Swift or .223.
I also have a soft spot for that great little cartridge.

Richard308

solarwinds wrote: »

I have had the Swift, Hornet and .223.
All brilliant, I god rid of the Hornet for the Swift but then traded that for a .223. Ammo for the Swift at the time was getting very expensive and the .223 was gaining popularity plus ammo was cheap.
Now, I have got rid of the .223 and replaced it with a Hornet.
The Swift as has been said was a laser and a great round, the choice and availability of ammo for the .223 is great as are the prices. But I found for the ranges I am shooting foxes at the Hornet is more than enough cartridge, as I dont need the range of the Swift or .223.
I also have a soft spot for that great little cartridge.

100% agree with you there. The only thing is the price of 223 ammo wins as does the resale value of the rifle. 50cent to a euro a round versus 1:20 for hornet

customrifle

Have the hornet and 223 at the moment and find myself grabbing the hornet more often than not if I am heading out. Quietens down very well with a mod. The sellier and bellot ammo can be got for €15 for a box of 20 45gr sp so .75c a round. It was poor ammo when I had my first hornet 15 years ago but it's very good now. The hornady v max ammo is brilliant and I still used it but can't fault the s&b now. If I just had to have one and I was using head over heart I would go with the 223 though

Feisar

What are the usual ranges you'll be shooting foxes at?

Uinseann_16

No ones mentioned the 22-250? ammo can be got for as little as 25ish a box with S&B and can be used for deer
Although the .243 would be more sensible if youre going for a decent sized caliber:P

You've got the .22 hornet although a .223 will be cheaper to feed Hornady frontier 55gr hp is only 15 a box...

Feisar

Uinseann_16 wrote: »

No ones mentioned the 22-250? ammo can be got for as little as 25ish a box with S&B and can be used for deer
Although the .243 would be more sensible if youre going for a decent sized caliber:P

You've got the .22 hornet although a .223 will be cheaper to feed Hornady frontier 55gr hp is only 15 a box...

The 22-250, .220 Swift, 204 Ruger and .243 are awesome however the .223 doesn't give up that much out to 300 yards.

solarwinds

Any of those fast .22's, the .22-250 another great round or the Swift are hard on barrels.
Make an honest estimation of the ranges you will be shooting at and base it from there.
Good quality Hornets can be found cheap as a lot traded them for the Swifts and .223's. Plus not many want them now so bargains are to be had. I saw a Hornet a lad picked up for €200 it was in excellent condition.

clivej

Pick your choice on the availablity of ammo. Go into your local dealers and look at the choice he has on the rack.
I've seen plenty of 50 round boxes of .223 that shoot very well at great deal prices, but not many other calibres in 50 round boxes.

Great to be able to go and shoot off a good few rounds at the range for small money, and not pay €1.50 plus a round to shoot.

My CZ 547 .233 varmint has shot many a fox.

yubabill

You also need to think about accuracy.

Over many years and separately, I had an Anschutz hornet, a Marlin 22LR, a H&R 17HMR and a Tikka 223, plus one or two others. Of these, the hornet was the least accurate, but not by a whole lot.

However, I'm never happy with a gun unless it's more accurate than I can shoot in the field and I still pride myself on holding MOA from improvised field positions (and that's mostly because I never got really used to using a bipod or sticks - just a good sling and maybe a good branch, if one is available).

Browning2010

Feisar wrote: »

What are the usual ranges you'll be shooting foxes at?

I would say 200 yards max.

I just feel the HMR lacks punch past 120 yards I dont have the faith in it

Feisar

Browning2010 wrote: »

I would say 200 yards max.

I just feel the HMR lacks punch past 120 yards I dont have the faith in it

A .223 is going to be point and shoot out to that range.

I had a HMR myself, lovely caliber but I didn't see the need for it when I had a .22LR and a .223.

deerhunter1

Browning2010 wrote: »

I'm thinking of upgrading from a .17hmr to a centre fire rifle. Main quarry will be Foxes.

Simple question(or not) if you had to choose a centre fire to upgrade to what would you pick and why?

Thanks.

.223, plenty available, plenty of ammo choices, deadly calibre

leupold90

I've had Hornet, 22-250, .223 & .204

Couldn't fault any of them but personally I prefer the .204
Flat shooting, virtually no recoil or jump and ammo costs more or less the same as equivalent .223

zeissman

I have had 22 hornet, 220 swift, 243 and then 204.
My favourite is the 204.