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centrefire for foxing


^varmints^

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I have used 222 in past and now use 17 rem,22 hornet and 223 i don't see any reason to use anything higher like 22-250 which is more bang more powder when my 223 does everything i want it too.

 

204, a mate uses, nice cal which i would consider if i wanted a change from 223

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as foxing to night and tackb say nothing wrong with .223 i used to shoot a .223 and was delighted with it untill Dave (valkerie) pointed me in the direction of .20tac absolutely fantastic calibre but you have got to roll your own to have this cal but what a cal.

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I've just bought a 17 rem to try out along with my usual vermin / foxing calibres of 223 and 243. I'm finding the cleaning regime a shock to the system I must admit but it is a cracking little round to shoot... With hindsight I might have gone with one of the 20 cals and maybe will at some point. Don't think I'd be without a 223 though, good all round choice.

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with 204 there are fewer s/h rifles availiable in .22-250 there are plenty of rifle choices used, he intends to reload anyway , the 243 cant be granted for vermin in northeren ireland the highest is 22-250. how many rounds could a .22-250 do before barrel wear and throat erosion i know someone who has a 222 who has over 7000 rounds through it.

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I've just bought a 17 rem to try out along with my usual vermin / foxing calibres of 223 and 243. I'm finding the cleaning regime a shock to the system I must admit but it is a cracking little round to shoot... With hindsight I might have gone with one of the 20 cals and maybe will at some point. Don't think I'd be without a 223 though, good all round choice.

J- you say the cleaning regime is a shock to you for the .17rem, how many down the pipe before you clean,is it a custom rifle or factory ?do you roll your own?just curious as i have had a .17 rem now for over 14yrs and cleaning is not a chore.i clean after 30 rounds but my rifle will go to 50 before i notice a drop off in accuracy.mine is a m595 with a lilja barrel.

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Nothing wrong with a 223 at all, if you fancy something different try a 223 ackley i love mine real good on the fox's. Shoots a 40gr nozler at 3960 fps 22-250 speeds with alot less powder down the barrel, shoots very flat aswell ;)

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varmints, unless our going to be shooting long range foxes which i dont think many people do stick to the 223,plenty of guns and gear loads of loading options but sayig that i now use a 204 and a 22br and love them both.which ever you get have fun

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I have a 20 cal and 22/250 and i enjoy the 20 cal enormously. I only shoot 32 grain through it so the only comment I would make is that if you go 20 cal go 40grain rounds as I have found the 22/250 to be a better fox stopper if I am a bit off and I put 55grain through ir. My first 22/250 started to play up around 4000 rounds.

 

The heavier rounds are better in wind as well so 22/250 wins if you are going to take 150+ shots in cross winds

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J- you say the cleaning regime is a shock to you for the .17rem, how many down the pipe before you clean,is it a custom rifle or factory ?do you roll your own?just curious as i have had a .17 rem now for over 14yrs and cleaning is not a chore.i clean after 30 rounds but my rifle will go to 50 before i notice a drop off in accuracy.mine is a m595 with a lilja barrel.

 

I've just got it and am currently burning through 200 factory rounds before I start reloading (they were cheaper per hundred than buying new brass...!). When I first got it it shot poorly, had it recrowned and then gave it a deep clean and now it does 1moa with factory. Deep cleaned again last night with Sweets after about 50 rounds through it on Sat. Its a factory Rem barrel that will evently get replaced with a custom.

My usual cleaning on my LR rifles is a quick swab through with bore solvent to remove carbon only every 300 rounds or so, not even that if it's still shooting well....

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Nothing wrong with a 223 at all, if you fancy something different try a 223 ackley i love mine real good on the fox's. Shoots a 40gr nozler at 3960 fps 22-250 speeds with alot less powder down the barrel, shoots very flat aswell ;)

 

Absolutely spot on.........most 22-250 owners dont shoot foxes at no more a greater distance than a good man using using a .223, night or day!......Whatever the bullet hits would never be able to tell the difference ;)

 

Regards.

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I've just got it and am currently burning through 200 factory rounds before I start reloading (they were cheaper per hundred than buying new brass...!). When I first got it it shot poorly, had it recrowned and then gave it a deep clean and now it does 1moa with factory. Deep cleaned again last night with Sweets after about 50 rounds through it on Sat. Its a factory Rem barrel that will evently get replaced with a custom. My usual cleaning on my LR rifles is a quick swab through with bore solvent to remove carbon only every 300 rounds or so, not even that if it's still shooting well....

 

 

The last box of factory .17 rem fodder i bought was about 18 months ago,......at £40 a box of twenty!!...you can get .17 rem brass for £50 per 100,...i think you have been seriously miss-quoted ;)

 

Regards.

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Either calibre will kill a fox just as dead as the other depending on how capable the shooter is. He will probably be able to pickup a .22/250 s/h a lot easier as there is plenty about, but don't forget they have probably seen plenty use aswell. To keep it simple a .223 firing a 40-60grn bullet is ample for fox.

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Hi I currently use a .223 for foxing. A friend is considering a new rifle prob a 1000 budget hes unsure of calibre hes torn between .204 and .22_250 he intends to reload any suggestions

I've used both mate and love both cals but do prefer the 204. Very low recoil in comparison allowing you to see the impact through the scope.

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I have a 223 ackley and have been using it for some time on fox's with great effect although for the last couple of seasons fox's havn't been seen in the numbers they used to where i shoot,i also have a 6br but still have not got it running to full speed

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My 20Prac with a 39grain Sierra blitzking will beat a 22-250 hands down in the wind unless you go for the heavy high BC bullets, but then it will beat it on flat trajectory. In addition the 20cal will use a lot less powder, give a lot less recoil and a lot better barrel life.

 

20Practical

39 Grain Blitzking (BC .287)

23.8 grains Viht 133

3850fps

 

Zero'd at 170m will give 3" drop at 250m and 6" windage in a 10mph 3 O'clock crosswind.

 

22-250

40Grain Hornady VMax (BC .200)

37 Grains Viht 133

4200fps

 

Zero'd at 170m will give 3" drop at 250m and 8.5" windage in a 10mph 3 O'clock crosswind.

 

You decide.

 

No argument with the facts. Nicely put.

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My 20Prac with a 39grain Sierra blitzking will beat a 22-250 hands down in the wind unless you go for the heavy high BC bullets, but then it will beat it on flat trajectory. In addition the 20cal will use a lot less powder, give a lot less recoil and a lot better barrel life.

 

20Practical

39 Grain Blitzking (BC .287)

23.8 grains Viht 133

3850fps

 

Zero'd at 170m will give 3" drop at 250m and 6" windage in a 10mph 3 O'clock crosswind.

 

22-250

40Grain Hornady VMax (BC .200)

37 Grains Viht 133

4200fps

 

Zero'd at 170m will give 3" drop at 250m and 8.5" windage in a 10mph 3 O'clock crosswind.

 

You decide.

Now do that calculation again with a better bullet for a 22-250, I have posted this many times before.

 

22-250

53gr Hornady V-Max (BC .29)

38.8gr H380

3900 fps

 

Zeroed at 170M (odd distance for me) will give a 2.5" drop at 250M and 5.5" of windage

 

Both are really good foxing rounds, I have a 20Tac using the same bullet which is fantastic and a 22-250 firing the above V-Max or the also very good 55gr SBK, both rounds are better than a 223 in my opinion.

 

You don't have time to mess about making calculations when shooting foxes at night, the faster and flatter a round is with good windage the better.

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Hiya Anthony,

 

You make a fair comment using a 22-250 with 53 grain VMax, but for me the 38.8gr H380 you use is a massive downside and the increased recoil and reduced barrel life is also very off putting.

 

Check out these stats below.

 

This is from the barrel wear calculator on the Accurate Shooter Forum, the pressures and powder temperatures are taken from quickload.

 

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/excel-formula-predicts-useful-barrel-life/

 

 

22-250 Accurate Barrel Life.

[img=http://s8.postimage.org/od6v7xjn9/22_250.jpg]

 

20 Practical Barrel Life.

[img=http://s3.postimage.org/4fmgj21yr/20_Prac.jpg]

 

 

Now lets take a look at recoil.

 

 

These figures have been calculated using online software here >>> http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

 

[img=http://s12.postimage.org/v18ac71wd/recoil.jpg]

As you can see from the above calculations you gain 0.5" on windage and elevation at a cost of

  • 63% More powder using your 22-250 over my 20 Practical.
  • 1/3 the accurate barrel life with your 22-250 compared to my 20Practical.
  • Double the recoil with your 22-250 over my 20 Practical.

I still think the my 20 Practical is a better than a 22-250 for foxing.

 

Do me a favour and work out the life of a 17 rem..........

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Whats your powder load.

 

Barrel life will alter massively depending upon the powder you choose, some powders burn a lot hotter than others. I just ran quickload for you and as an example if you use 23 grains of Viht 135 with a 25 grain VMax you will get approximately 1975 accurate rounds from your 17Rem.

 

However if you were to use Varget the barrel life is reduced to approximately 1100 rounds because Varget has a much hotter burn temperature.

 

Varget has a Heat of explosion /Potential of 4050kj/kg

Viht 135 has a heat of explosion/Potential of 3590kj/kg

 

Powder choice can affect barrel life dramatically.

Don't believe all these online calculators i have had my 17rem for must be 10yrs almost with same manufactured barrel..shot way more than what your quoting and still very accurate.

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Ronny you make a fair point but the fact of the matter is that a 22-250 is a better foxing calibre, it hits harder with less drop/drift especially when the ranges get even longer than quoted so far on this thread but the 20 cals make a better/cheaper ownership prospect with only a small drop off in comparative performance, I have no problem with that I have both. :)

 

Recoil in a 22-250 is a non issue for me, I don't even notice it.

 

Powder quantity, I have worked this out before and can't be bothered to do it again but the difference between a 223 and a 22-250 over a year using 200 rounds in both was about £10-£12 IIRC, not significant IMO.

 

Barrel life, 1000 rounds gives you 5 years at 200 rounds per annum, a new tube is about £650, not that great a cost over 5 years considering how much other kit we all regularly blow money on, I am happy to pay the price and would probably want a change before then anyway.

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Completely agree AnthonyR on this one, although my .22/250 has had about 1300 rounds down the tube and it still shoots fine. As for recoil I don't notice it and can spot my shots just fine. I know the thread was for a foxing calibre but something the 20cals carn't do is legally take deer (upto roe size) if need be. Also does any manufacture do a .20 prac/tac as a factory offering? If not you'll be hard pressed to get a setup for what the lad has to spend on rifle, optic and dies etc etc.

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