first rifles

smoker

Active Member
just apllying for fac after 17 for bunnies 223 for fox 243 for deer what im asking is what would be the cheap value for money rifles to look at as the budget is small ie around £2000 ish for the 3 any pointers
 
Hi there
well with that budget i think you can get some really good purchases. Theres been some cracking rifles on here at really good prices.
Good luck with your fac application
atb
Simon
 
Id stick with a 22RF as starter rather than 17hmr - with all the problems with them, they hardly seem worth it.

CZ 22 or second hand Antchuz, foxing gun - plenty of 222, 223 or 22-250 about for little money and a starter stalking rifle such as BSA or PH if your on budget.

Glass for all three including 2k in the budget will be a problem.

 
Go straight down to the classifieds. There is a Sako 243 with Zeiss scope for £900. Buy it sharpish before it is gone.

​The rest can follow in time.
 
Cz .17hmr without a doubt! Don't bother with a .22 like others said! Try an find a sako or tikka .243 s/h, that will do the foxes as well as the deer.
 
If you are getting a .223 you would probably be better getting a 6.5 or 7mm rather than a .243.
Or if getting a .243 is a must forget the .223 and spend a bit more on some decent glass, as it will as others have said be more than capable of dealing with fox and deer.
best of luck whatever you choose.
sinbad
 
2k to spend if i were you id get a second hand 17 hmr., i have had my cz for 6 years never a miss fire and will do bunies and charlies out to 150 yards, get yourself a 243 and get good glass on it ie ziess duralite 2 grand your set dont bother with a foxing rife. the 243 if its windy the 17 hmr if its not its a buyers market at the moment youll be surprised what you can get
 
+1 no need for another rifle untill you progress to biggr quarry 17hmr & 243 will do everything up to fallow deer without any problems just download to 55gr for foxing with your 243
2k to spend if i were you id get a second hand 17 hmr., i have had my cz for 6 years never a miss fire and will do bunies and charlies out to 150 yards, get yourself a 243 and get good glass on it ie ziess duralite 2 grand your set dont bother with a foxing rife. the 243 if its windy the 17 hmr if its not its a buyers market at the moment youll be surprised what you can get
 
As said I think I'd stick with the .22 over the 17 hmr as others have said a cx or second hand anshuntz are both good choices
 
Seems to me if you are on a budget you could save some money and and put a bit more money into just two rifles. .17HMR CZ Varmint and another in either 6.5x55 or 7mm-08 (these two will cover everything). Choice is yours, good luck!
 
A beginner on a budget doesn't need a rifle that will send him around every gun shop in the country looking ammo, and when he finds it will have to sell his rifle to afford a box.

I'm not so keen on the 243 as it is the "legal minimum," rather than something that is the "stalking ideal" but they are common as muck and you can get ammo everywhere which is one of the key points in picking a rifle and I'd guess they probably kill more deer every year than any other cartridge, maybe more than all the others put together. There are people who say they are the best thing for deer and maybe they are, but that isn't my personal position, but the key is that supplies of ammo and reloading components and so on are readily available. The 243 round was designed for shooting animals such as foxes so maybe you could make it do that job for you? Seems a shame not to put it to the use for which it was designed if it can also save you buying an extra rifle.

A friend recently bought a Parker Hale and spent a little bit of time doing up the stock and it ended up looking great and seemed to shoot pretty well too. Also on this forum there are a number of people who know a lot about them so there is always someone to turn to for advice. I'm no expert but would guess you'd get one for around the £200 mark.

As Brian already mentioned on this thread there is a sako for sale with a scope. That would be an ideal solution as you'd get a rifle basically already set up and if you are not ready to buy right now then I'm sure other, similar, offers will come along.

If you can keep the number of rifles you buy down you can maybe make better use of your cash - the £2k will easily get you 3 rifles, or more, but you are going to want decent glass which is expensive plus do you need bipods, slings, slips, cleaning stuff and most importantly binoculars? All that stuff adds up pretty quickly.
 
CZ and or Parker Hale. I started with CZ,s and still have the same rifles love them. There are some quality P.H. rifles out there for little money.
Tusker
 
hi I might be wrong but isn't 17 hmr for vermin and not for foxes I would never shoot a fox with a rimfire ?
 
Without wishing to start a debate and thus high jack the thread but rimmy on fox is fine. You just need to know the range limitations and place the shot right. Plenty of fox have fallen to .22lr. HMR does the job perfectly if kept at sensible ranges for the cartridge.
Obviously a CF is better but that's not to say a rimmy won't. Like the difference between .22 Hornet and 22-250. Both will do it, just at different ranges. Both have their upsides and downsides.
 
dont rush check around whats being used by most, on what, over twelve months ive picked up two identicle t3s in wood 223 and a 6x5x55 an s/b and meopta plus one c/f mod for less than your budget, and theres nowt wrong with cz,s if i had gone that way i would have halved your budget,good luck,doug,:thumb:
 
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