new rifle

sir-lamp-alot

Well-Known Member
it's my 30th birthday in december and the wife has very kindly decided to buy me a new rifle, at the moment i shoot 17hmr and .308 and with the .308 being used on foxes i have decided that a dedicated foxing caliber will be the most usefull to me. but this is where i come unstuck, there really is just to much choice and opinion out there and after much deliberation i have nailed my choice down to the following .223 or .22-250. in the past i once owned a .223 but i never got on with the rifle so i let it go which may be leaning me more towards the .22-250 but i dont know if i should give the .223 a second chance and i know that there are other calibers out there and i dont want this thread to decend into my caliber is better than yours but i would like to hear other people's opnion on the calibers and which one i should go with and if any one needs to know, i will be re-loading for it, it will have a mod on, i will be shooting foxes out to a MAX range of 300yrds, i want it as flat as possible and it will be paired up with a s+b 4-12x50
 
.223 all the way, quieter easy to load. Had .22-250 then a .220 Swift all the time my brother had a .223 (used homeloaded 50g Nosler Balistic Tips) .223 :thumb:
 
The .223 is quite capable of killing foxes easily out to 230 yards and beyond.
Your 22-250 is considered by many as the ultimate varmint calibre. (real flat shooter 300 yards and beyond)
One must also consider sporting or varmint barrel

Uncle Buck :D
 
i will be re-loading for it, it will have a mod on, i will be shooting foxes out to a MAX range of 300yrds, i want it as flat as possible and it will be paired up with a s+b 4-12x50

With your last comments I think you have answered this for yourself. According to the Hornady manual the closest you will get to the .22-250 with the 223 and the lighter bullets is about 400fps slower. The heavier bullets (55gn) about 500fps slower. I cannot be bothered looking at the charts but it does not take a genius to work out that this will equate to a noticeably flatter trajectory in favour of the .22-250.

Yes more powder, yes slightly more recoil, yes slightly noisier (if you would notice). All of which are irrelevant if fitted with a moderator. Except the powder of course, a price worth paying imho. Have a look at the ballistic tables yourself and see the difference for very little pay-off.

I have owned 4 (I think) .22-250's. My mate used a .223 for years.

.22-250 every time:D
 
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For me its the .223 Like CD says how far can you shoot safe at night and the .22 250 will burn out your barrel alot quicker than a .223 .I can shoot my .223 out to 200 easy and i normally dont shoot that far ion the lamp.Also if you ever get a chance at deer with it the .223 is great the .22 350 will smash the beast in to jelly.

JMHO
 
I first shot a 22.250 around 7 years ago and loved it so much that I always said I would get one. The 223 is a great calibre and very capable of doing what you need it to. However if you want something that gives to a real buzz every time you get your hands on it get the 22.250. I reload for mine and getting some great results. Where my max loads are giving me 1 inch high at 100 yards, bang on zero at 200 yards and only a couple of inches low at 250 yards with awesome tight groups. I’m shooting 50grain or 55grain rounds out of a 1:14 twist barrel and is bang on and makes a real mess of Foxes at any range. yes its a bit louder but I have a Pez muzzle can on the end and was amazed at how quiet it actually is. When I first fired it I couldn’t believe how loud it was (louder than a 243) I expected the mod to take some out but didn’t expect it to be as quiet as it actually is now. I was out last night with some low loads shooting bunnies around fields close to a farm yard with no noise impact to the farmer. I love it and I know my mate loves his 223 Tikka...Its horses for courses. Id suggest giving them both a try. If you anywhere near Wrexham Id happily take you out for a few hours to give the cannon a go!!!
 
thanks for the offer stevienicknaks but sadly i am quite some way from you and thank you all for your in-put, im really glad that this hasnt turnt into a mass argument about what caliber is best and i have been able to look at the differnt calibers in a new light, i'm still not 100% taken by either caliber and can still see pro's and cons to them both but i am a little worried about barrel life in the .22-250 as i do put a lot of rounds through my rifle's a year
 
The other up side to a 22/250, if you buy lets say a Sako or Remmie, and you shoot the barrel out, it is much more flexible as a donor for a future semi custom build. Standard bolt head and '08 sized action mean it can be rebarreled into any number of other calibres. You can't do that with a 223...
 
The other up side to a 22/250, if you buy lets say a Sako or Remmie, and you shoot the barrel out, it is much more flexible as a donor for a future semi custom build. Standard bolt head and '08 sized action mean it can be rebarreled into any number of other calibres. You can't do that with a 223...

Good point, I forgot to mention that. Life depends on how hot your loads are, if you dont go over the top you could get 3-4k rounds through it. And like CD says a nice fluted custom barrel could be added to your own spec....I can t wait to burn mine out:)

Have a good read online, I wouldnt let barrel burn out stop you buying a rifle that will shoot relatively flat out to 300 yards(there are a couple of sites documenting prarie dogs being shot out to 500 yards with 40g and 45g bullets) and kicks like you have a real rifle in your hand!!!
 
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thanks for the offer stevienicknaks but sadly i am quite some way from you and thank you all for your in-put, im really glad that this hasnt turnt into a mass argument about what caliber is best and i have been able to look at the differnt calibers in a new light, i'm still not 100% taken by either caliber and can still see pro's and cons to them both but i am a little worried about barrel life in the .22-250 as i do put a lot of rounds through my rifle's a year

A barrel is not burnt out in 3000-4000 rounds. It may at this point begin to show signs of throat erosion that could begin to affect accuracy. You may pick this up on paper. On foxes???:-|

I think folk get hung up on this short barrel life issue without really thinking about it. If you shot 3 rounds every single day of the week for a year it would still take 4-5 years to get to the stage of concern that the rifle MAY begin to show signs of wear and depleted accuracy. Are you realistically shooting that much at foxes? IMO I would consider an average 10 rounds every week of the year to be heavy use of a full-bore rifle. Even that is going to last almost 10 years!

At the current increased costs of factory ammo or even reloading components, if you shoot that much I would not let your wife see this thread or she may not buy you that rifle!

However, the comment re the option of re-barrelling is spot on. Because of size of bolt face you would forever be restricted to cartridges that are .378
 
A barrel is not burnt out in 3000-4000 rounds. It may at this point begin to show signs of throat erosion that could begin to affect accuracy. You may pick this up on paper. On foxes???:-|

I think folk get hung up on this short barrel life issue without really thinking about it. If you shot 3 rounds every single day of the week for a year it would still take 4-5 years to get to the stage of concern that the rifle MAY begin to show signs of wear and depleted accuracy. Are you realistically shooting that much at foxes? IMO I would consider an average 10 rounds every week of the year to be heavy use of a full-bore rifle. Even that is going to last almost 10 years!

Agree, thats pretty much the logic I used to decide on buying mine.
 
well i opted for the .223 in the end, if i was honest i think the .22-250 is a better cartridge which may make it look like ive been a bit stupid, but i'm also realistic and i know how many foxes i shoot a year over 200 yards and it's not many so i dont need to be spending the extra few pence a shoot on powder for a super flat rifle and i have just put a deposit down on a remington 700 sps thanks all for your info
 
In the end all of the .22 centre fire rounds will go the job, im on a .222 and dont try silly ranges at night. 200 yards is an long way in the lamp no matter what the experts say, i need my foxes dead as its my job, and killing them depends on my seasons returns.

If i did have a favorite for killing them really dead then i would have to say i love dropping them with the .270 loaded with 110g vmax, aint no runners :norty:
 
and i know how many foxes i shoot a year over 200 yards and it's not many

Honest man :tiphat: I used to shoot 250-300 each year with a .220 Swift and i can count on "ONE" hand the amount i have shot at night over 200yrd. enjoy your .223 Check the barrel is NOT touching with the sps??? :thumb:
 
I posted a question on a long range forum once, asking the guys who reported shooting foxes at 300 - 400 yards to specify their scope and lamp combination. I am not saying it can't be done, and I have very good scopes and pretty decent lamps, but I cannot positively identify a fox in the lamp at much, if anything, beyond 200.

I was deafened by the response......not.

200 yards in the dark is a BIG shot.....
 
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