The .22CFs

Drew

Well-Known Member
I got rid of my 223 but am now considering replacing it. The question is, should I stick to the sweet shooting 223 or should I go for something a bit hotter...204 Ruger, 22-250, 220 Swift etc? Are these fast cartridges too fast for Roe (ie bullet fragmenting on impact)? I know bullet choice will have a lot to do with it but as I've got a few charlies to boff, well, you get the point I'm sure.

I've no experience of anything other than 223 in the 22CFs so any advice would be welcome.
Thanks
Drew
 
22CFs

Drew,
I have tried a few of the 22Cfs but i have come back to the 223. It's lovely to shoot and worked well on the few deer i shot it with, obviously the 204 is very flat and looks very good on paper with bullets having high BCsfor more info on the 204 take a look at some american Varmint sites but remeber NOT DEER LEGAL. I tried a 220 swift and it was very flat but noisy. if i found that i needed more range over a 223 i would buy a 243 it's just so versatile and you can get factory Ammo for anything. My main use for the 223 is lamping and i find i run out of lamp before i run out of gun. .22BR might temp me but just to be different.
Ezzy.
 
I just sold my 223, was very accurate and a doddle to shoot.
I just received my howa stainless in 22-250, haven't fired a shot yet.
The reason for the 22-250 was, A) a bit longer range for foxes for day and
dusk shooting. B) We are allowed to shoot all deer with 22-250, I might use it on sika does or as a back-up rifle. 223 is not legal for any deer here.
C) the 22-250 has the same bolt face as many other calibres like 243, 260, 7-08, 308 and a few more. So if I want to change calibre it's easy.

For Roe I would think a fast twist 223 would be nice, one could go over the 55gr standard if needed.
edi
 
22Centre fires

I have both 223 and 22-250. Roe fall down dead with both shooting 55gn soft point ammo, Nosler BT's for foxy.

i inherited the 223 from a friend who moved abroad and i was going to use it for my son when he is old enough. I am a left hooker and the 22-250 is a remmy 700 in true left hand.

i can really say that i have shot a lot of long distance foxes/roe with the 22-250 but all i can say is that is is a lot heavier to cart about than the 223.

the other issue was getting the 22-250 to shoot well. 223 shoots 55gn federal out of the box to an acceptable standard the hotter one needed trigger work and pillar bedding mated to a home load to shoot well. But you do want more from the 22-250, what is fine in the 223 and we accept it , we do not from the 22-250. it has to group less than 1" @150m or there is no point in having it.

oh and what do i use............the 223 has no scope on it at the moment...............cos the wily od fox is always that bit further than you might imagine
 
Hi Drew, you could go for something a bit more exotic if you liked...
How about a 5.6x57 or a 5.6x61 Vom Hofe Super Express. The road less travelled and all that. These kiddies bark a bit but they are very flat and were sufficiently powerful when Ireland had calibre restrictions to take sika and reds so Roe (in Scotland) and muntys should be no probs!
 
Excellent info guys, thanks. It's confirmed my thoughts, I'm going to stick with 223...now, what to choose!!
 
I would look at twist rate first. Something
faster than 1in12, maybe 1in 9 , this
would cover 50-60gr maybe a bit more.
Tikka, Sako, and some cz have them.

edi
 
A nice round for the 1in12 223 is the sako sp 55gr if the
rifle likes it.
The cz has a lovely tiny action for the 223 saves a bit
of weight and is well made. You can get a howa in stainless
and it's a very simple rifle and good quality. I'm
just piddling around with one. As I said earlier if you get
a howa 22-250 that action could be used for a nice custom
job in the future after you shot out the factory barrel.
If you buy in 223 your'e stuck with that size.
The 22-250 bolt is quite universal.

edi
 
Im a New Zealand hunter and have taken hundreds of deer with a .223 sika red fallow and even the mighty samber plus chamios and himilayan tahr plus small game.i have settled on a remington sps tactical in .223 with a 1-9 twist,this enables me to use up to 75 grain projectiles but now im only using nosler 64 grain performance projectils and they leave the barrel around 3000 fps,this is a great bullet and to date this year i have had 24 deer and not found a bullet in any of them,they all pass straight thru and the deer just jump vertically and are dead.without a doubt it the best projectile i have ever used on deer in a .223.Dave
 
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im very suprised that the humble old .222 hasnt seen any support in this thread with it being a nice light and very accurate round?
 
Judging by the address trucked in at the end of the post he might have had another reason for resurrecting this thread other than boredom.~Muir
 
Thank you Cuz, and Happy Birthday for yesterday :old:

Judging by the address trucked in at the end of the post he might have had another reason for resurrecting this thread other than boredom.~Muir
 
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