Best fox calibre?!

[22/250 foxer]

ive gone full circle with different calibres. I have now sold my rpa 22/250 to my friend.

and found myself a lovely tikka stainless m695 laminate in 25/06.

 

now this calibre uses a fair bit of powder but for all round fox and deer rifle I picked it over 243.

I plan to go to scotland later this year and thought this calibre would be ideal. it shoots the 117 grain bullets superbly so im told by the current owner.

 

has a great load for 100 grain nostler bt ammo. im im going to give the 75 and 85 bt a try )

soon as my ticket is back I will get gunsmith to screwcut it and stick a sl5 mod on the end of it.

 

and my zeiss victory on top. got a fallow on my freinds permission with my name on it)

[sonic]

My local gunshop seems to stick with the most popular calibres ( 222, 223, 22.250 and 243) or that's what I have seen!

I would like to get into reloading so that isn't a problem IMO I don't want loads of rifles in my cabinet so the 243 ticked the boxes as an all round rifle cable of taking deer!

But will there be a Claus? As I have had my licence for nearly 2 years but havnt done my DSC1 will this make it an issue for me to be granted the 243 even though I have deer where I shoot?

Thanks for all the replies guys! Youv all been helpfull!!

You do not need DSC 1 or any other training course to get a rifle for deer (it is worthwhile doing for the knowledge and trained hunter certificate to make selling venison)

What you need is good reason which you have as there are deer on your land.

.243 is a good all round choice which there are rifles to suit all pockets and plenty of reloading data for most powder bullet combinations.

You can go for any calibre if you reload but some are easier than others, I use 243 with an 87 vmax home load which shoots better than I can. As I don't shoot many deer this load suits me it can waste meat but I find I can live with that.

My first 243 liked 58 vmax but was even better with 75's, I used to keep PPU 100's for deer re zeroing when changing quarry (I had a record of how many clicks then shot to confirm three rounds would do it most times).

 

My advice would be once you have your chosen rifle.

Find a factory load it likes a friend of mine starts with the cheapest and works up in price till hes happy with group size.

When you then start to reload you at least have a bench mark of what to expect you will usually be able to improve on factory ammo.

As a general rule factory rifles in 243 come with a 1 in 10" twist rate and will shoot 55 to 100/105 grain bullets. But will be better with bullets in the middle of the weight range (this applies to all calibres in standard twist)

My choice now is based on the fact that I spent a lot of time chopping and changing, I'd used 55 and 80 sierras 58 75 87 vmax and various others I think that one bullet which you then learn how it shoots out as far as it will still hold a small enough group for a clean kill on your chosen quarry is better than using up barrel life changing loads all the time.

 

Once you've used your rifle for a while you may decide that you want something bigger for deer or cheaper for foxing. By then you'll be able to make a more informed choice based on your experience. I chose 222 for foxing with my 243 for longer range or very windy night use. I don't shoot big deer but if I ended up needing to 270 would be my choice as there are loads of cheap rifles that may be old but will only of had a few boxes of ammo through them.

[Tom0863]

I have shot many foxes with my 17hornet and never had a runner, if you keep to what the bullet can do (range & shot placement) then its good for the job. I would say no further than 180 yard with the 17hornet with a head or chest shot only. Many people comment on the 17hornet without ever having shot one. For its size the round makes a lot of damage.

[Bangbangman]

I have .17HMR, .223 and .243 as "foxing" calibres.

 

My default option for fox is the .243Win. I used to use 62gr Barnes Varmint Grenade and other light bullets. Then I developed a load using Hornady's 95gr SST which chrono'd at 3200fps.

 

This is ideal for me as it is deadly on Charlie/deer, shoots flat enough and resists the wind better than the smaller calibre options.

 

Factory ammo is readily available, too (including the 95gr SST, though I have no experience of the factory loading and it's quite pricey.)