Only 1 calibre

[ronniedodds89]

I know we all have our own personal reasons for which cal we would have, but an interesting chat the other night in the pub.  

If farmer ‘Joe’ down the road was looking to buy 1 rifle(already has a shotgun), what would be the best calibre/gun even.  Would probably be shooting anything from a rabbit/crow, up to the odd lame sheep or possibly even a deer?  Let’s say 200 shots a year, would have to be tough and durable but not silly money either. 

 

Thoughts? 

[One on top of two]

.243 win 

any of the main branded off the shelf stainless/ synthetic rifles would more than fill requirements  

job done ! 

[Andrew]

Now this is an interesting question. Does Joe reload or is he using factory loads. It's hard to beat a .223 for general usage. With 55 grain SP bullets is is fully deer capable. Of course it will handle the small stuff with ease. A Tikka T3 Lite is tough and accurate. I have two of them in different twist rates. Factory ammo is plentiful.

My gun-of-the-year (chambering wise) is the 6.5 Grendel. Not a lot of factory ammo but one of those little cases that hits way out of its weight class. One hundred grain HP for vermin, 123 grain hunting bullets for deer. Very accurate. Though designed for the AR15 it is available in a number of bolt gun configurations including Ruger Predator, Howa, and CZ.  I have the Ruger and the CZ. My favorite of the two is the CZ. Well balanced, accurate, and indestructible. It kills deer like a thunderclap. The Grendel might be a little exotic for the UK but I have been thinking that it might be the perfect all around cartridge for a person who doesn't know what kind of shooting situation they will be faced with. I bought the Ruger to ride in my truck for just that reason.~Andrew

[ronniedodds89]

I’d imagine Joe would just be using factory loads for the 200 shots a year. 

6.5 Grendel sounds different! 

[Andrew]

The Grendel is a very good cartridge.  My CZ shoots in the .5 to .7 MOA depending on the load. My most accurate and useful load is a Sierra 120 Pro Hunter at just under 2600 fps. (Right around 1800 ft/lbs ME)

 If Farmer Joe doesn't reload then I'd opt for the 223 Tikka.~Andrew

[Kalahari]

223 not that deer legal in the UK though.

 

David.

[srvet]

The main determinant would have to be meeting the legal requirements for deer. Consequently this could vary depending on species so if muntjac/cwd are the only deer in the menu then a 222/223 or 22/250 may work well. If roe or larger are around then 243 or a 6.5 would be good. Incidentally it would be a bad idea to use a CF rifle for lame sheep in almost every circumstance if a shotgun were available

[ronniedodds89]

Sounds like Joe just needs to buy a .22lr for the rabbits and a fox/deer rifle as well!  Thanks for the comments guys 

[Andrew]

16 hours ago, Kalahari said:

223 not that deer legal in the UK though.

 

David.

Travesty! ~Andrew

[Kalahari]

Yes, it is one of our funny laws, the reason I phrased it like that is that in England and Wales, you can use a 223 on muntjac and chinese water deer and nothing bigger. In Scotland you can use a 223 on muntjac and roe (they don't have chinese water deer) but nothing bigger. So along the border which is not marked on the ground the law changes in one step. The question is which particular step.

 

David.

[Andrew]

There are some States here that have caliber/cartridge requirements but Montana isn't one of them.  This requires hunters to know their limits, but it also allows for insight as to what it takes to kill large deer. Last year a friend wanted to try Nosler's Varmageddon 123 grain bullet in his 7.62x39 CZ. It is technically a varmint bullet but, as US shooters who favor the 300AAC have found, these "varmint" bullets tend to act like controlled expansion bullet when fired at lower velocities. In this case, 2450 fps.  I backed him up with my 308 but there was no need. At 80 yards a very large mule deer doe just fell down. The wound looked like that from a 7-08 and a Game King. One shot doesn't tell the complete story but it is telling, nonetheless.~Andrew

[Stumpy]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:11 PM, ronniedodds89 said:

Sounds like Joe just needs to buy a .22lr for the rabbits and a fox/deer rifle as well!  Thanks for the comments guys 

Pick up a cz452 .22lr for the rabbits, crows and (subject to licence conditions) auld sheep, if wanting to take deer a .243 Parker Hale from the nearest gunshops ‘bargain bin’ or sporting auction house. The .22 will get the most use and the .243 will be lucky to see a box of factory rounds down it each year. 😀

[clover]

If he really must have one gun to do rabbits to roe I'd reckon it'd have to be a .243; being the smallest end of what's permissible for the largest game.

If he can rule out the larger deer species than a .223 would probably be the way to go, although I think he'd soon tire of the cost of bashing bunnies at around a quid a pop.

As others have said the most sensible proposition seems to be a .22LR or maybe .17HMR for the bunnies and a .223 or .243 for the deer (depending on size).