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The Stalking Show - 11th to 12th April 2026 - Staffordshire County Showground
Welcome. .223 is a great calibre and you will have lots of fun. Glad to see younger people coming into the sport too. Have you thought about which .223 rifle your getting? only because you have the option of faster/slower twist rate barrels which favours different bullet weights. It might be worth some reading up. Since you like recipes you might get into reloading and making your own recipes before long 😆
 
nick.308 said:
Welcome. .223 is a great calibre and you will have lots of fun. Glad to see younger people coming into the sport too. Have you thought about which .223 rifle your getting? only because you have the option of faster/slower twist rate barrels which favours different bullet weights. It might be worth some reading up. Since you like recipes you might get into reloading and making your own recipes before long 😆
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Hi and thanks for the reply

This (223) is what I’m told that it’ll be good fun to shoot, I’ve shot 22-250 a lot and 223 will be a bit easier on the wallet and ease of use. The tikka t3 250 I use seems quite light so recoil is an issue when trying to spot the impact through the scope. Whilst it’s a deadly fast and accurate gun, it’s not that much fun to shoot. 223 ought to be a bit more forgiving.

I think I’m going to get a Mauser M18, the twist is 1:12 but as I’m only really going to be using 50-55gr weights that will be more than sufficient. I’m not too interested in punching 600m long range shots into paper, just making sure Charlie within 200m isn’t getting back up to fight another day on the poultry.

I’ve got my friend popping by in the morning with a couple of ASE Utra mods to look over as I’m trying to figure out the mod I’m going to use, ASE come highly rated. Have you got any other mod recommendations? I like the look of the wildcat stuff but I’ve read some good things and also some not so good things about them. The rifle will be using a vortex HS 4-16x50 I have already until I find the money for something more exotic.

There is a lot to think about with this buying guns lark! As for reloading you never know how the land will lay further down the line ;) seems like it could be a rabbit hole tbh. I’ve read quite a bit about it and it certainly does appeal to my “creative mixing of ingredients” side but right now I’m just going to focus on getting experience in a safe and effective manner.

Thanks again for the input
 
Ive got a tikka t3 super varmint .223 1:8 twist shooting up to 75gr. Also have a DPMS straight pull AR15 in .223 shooting lighter loads. Using the t8 moderator on my tikka and a tier one/third eye tactical on my DPMS.
personally I prefer my T8 moderator and I wouldn't recommend a straight pull rifle because its noisey to use but I have the option of other rifles 😉.
 
nick.308 said:
Ive got a tikka t3 super varmint .223 1:8 twist shooting up to 75gr. Also have a DPMS straight pull AR15 in .223 shooting lighter loads. Using the t8 moderator on my tikka and a tier one/third eye tactical on my DPMS.
personally I prefer my T8 moderator and I wouldn't recommend a straight pull rifle because its noisey to use but I have the option of other rifles 😉.
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Ah so you can really throw some quite hearty bits of lead with that 1:8 twist. Glad to hear you’ve had good experience with the wildcat. How often do you have to fully clean it and how long does it take? Shame I can’t just turn up to a place that has them all and back to back test to see what I like.

What’s noisey about the straight pull, the action of it or the sound it makes when it goes off?
 
g.u.y said:
Ah so you can really throw some quite hearty bits of lead with that 1:8 twist. Glad to hear you’ve had good experience with the wildcat. How often do you have to fully clean it and how long does it take? Shame I can’t just turn up to a place that has them all and back to back test to see what I like.

What’s noisey about the straight pull, the action of it or the sound it makes when it goes off?
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My favourite moderator is a reflex T8 (Reflex Suppressors UK website) not heard of a wildcat incase your mistaken, I like the T8 because it feels well balanced in weight and I think the noise suppression is very good even if there is a bit of a "ting" noise because its relatively thin metal used.

My DPMS although is "cool" looking the action is noisey to use and for reliable loading you have to be positive with the action. That is fine on the range but when your doing last minute loading when out hunting it alerts all animals nearby. Its not too much of an issue if you walk round with it loaded but thats not always the safest.
 
nick.308 said:
My favourite moderator is a reflex T8 (Reflex Suppressors UK website) not heard of a wildcat incase your mistaken, I like the T8 because it feels well balanced in weight and I think the noise suppression is very good even if there is a bit of a "ting" noise because its relatively thin metal used.

My DPMS although is "cool" looking the action is noisey to use and for reliable loading you have to be positive with the action. That is fine on the range but when your doing last minute loading when out hunting it alerts all animals nearby. Its not too much of an issue if you walk round with it loaded but thats not always the safest.
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Oh wow not even seen those Im sorry, fully mistaken and showing my inexperience there! A lot to read now 🤯👍🏻 Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Right I see that sounds more like a functional toy rather than a hunting tool then, I think I know the sound you mean, like a loud version of when you cock a 10/22? Still though, it sounds like a good bit of fun
 
g.u.y said:
Oh wow not even seen those Im sorry, fully mistaken and showing my inexperience there! A lot to read now 🤯👍🏻 Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Right I see that sounds more like a functional toy rather than a hunting tool then, I think I know the sound you mean, like a loud version of when you cock a 10/22? Still though, it sounds like a good bit of fun
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yeah a very noisy 1022, usually I have it loaded ready when out hunting which is fine for the first shot but as soon as I reload my position is given away so for shooting multiple deer/foxes its a bit frustrating. Its something that I never thought about before I bought it.
Also I reload my ammunition and the cases have to be "full length" resized so they aren't too tight fit so they eject properly in my straight pull action. That might not be the same for everyone but it puts more stress on the cases so they don't last as long. They are all small issues really because its easy to just use factory ammo.
One of the other things I like about the T8 moderator is that it isn't strippable. Sounds stupid but ive never cleaned the inside of any of my moderators because they seem to quickly seize up to the point of risking damaging them to open them up. they are a relativley cheap part that is replaceable and I believe corrosion to be very slow anyway. probably a debatable topic but I don't need to worry about it rattling loose.
There are so many rifle options out there find something you like.
I would advise choosing something that has a very easy/smooth action that feeds/ejects reliably. Having a reliable rifle in my opinion is paramount so you can focus all your attention on the prey 😉.
 
I use tikka/sako/ remington rifles and find them all very reliable. Tikka are a fantastic start. Also make sure moderators are removed from the rifle after use to prevent barrel/crown corrosion as this is bad news. Oil the barrel/crown 👍. but be prepared your first shot may be affected slightly? just a light oil.
 
nick.308 said:
yeah a very noisy 1022, usually I have it loaded ready when out hunting which is fine for the first shot but as soon as I reload my position is given away so for shooting multiple deer/foxes its a bit frustrating. Its something that I never thought about before I bought it.
Also I reload my ammunition and the cases have to be "full length" resized so they aren't too tight fit so they eject properly in my straight pull action. That might not be the same for everyone but it puts more stress on the cases so they don't last as long. They are all small issues really because its easy to just use factory ammo.
One of the other things I like about the T8 moderator is that it isn't strippable. Sounds stupid but ive never cleaned the inside of any of my moderators because they seem to quickly seize up to the point of risking damaging them to open them up. they are a relativley cheap part that is replaceable and I believe corrosion to be very slow anyway. probably a debatable topic but I don't need to worry about it rattling loose.
There are so many rifle options out there find something you like.
I would advise choosing something that has a very easy/smooth action that feeds/ejects reliably. Having a reliable rifle in my opinion is paramount so you can focus all your attention on the prey 😉.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the wise words, that is what has drawn me to the Mauser- it felt very smooth and ejected the cases well I’m assuming down to the dual ejectors. I really liked how comfortable to shoulder the gun was. For the HMR I’m 100% getting the tikka in a 16” barrel as the handling of the rifle felt superb and they are highly customisable should I wish to go down that road (plus my mate has a t3 hunter walnut stock that I can have which I will swap directly over, I’m a sucker for walnut)

I’ve read plenty of horror stories on here (almost on a weekly basis) of “mod stuck, please help” type posts- I think there is an active one now 😅 I’m very aware of the ease of which the crown can be damaged so care will be paramount.

I’m still busy reading reviews of mods this morning and I’ve got a bit of time to decide yet. Just about to view an ASE mod and I think I’ll pop to the gun room this afty to get my hands on some of the others. Hopefully they will have a T8 to view as well

Thanks again for your advise
 
g.u.y said:
Thank you for the wise words, that is what has drawn me to the Mauser- it felt very smooth and ejected the cases well I’m assuming down to the dual ejectors. I really liked how comfortable to shoulder the gun was. For the HMR I’m 100% getting the tikka in a 16” barrel as the handling of the rifle felt superb and they are highly customisable should I wish to go down that road (plus my mate has a t3 hunter walnut stock that I can have which I will swap directly over, I’m a sucker for walnut)

I’ve read plenty of horror stories on here (almost on a weekly basis) of “mod stuck, please help” type posts- I think there is an active one now 😅 I’m very aware of the ease of which the crown can be damaged so care will be paramount.

I’m still busy reading reviews of mods this morning and I’ve got a bit of time to decide yet. Just about to view an ASE mod and I think I’ll pop to the gun room this afty to get my hands on some of the others. Hopefully they will have a T8 to view as well

Thanks again for your advise
Click to expand...
yeah good idea to check other moderators out. I think I have an ASE moderator and its good (ive got a lot). my only thought is that its heavy and the model I have doesn't come back over the barrel so doesn't balance the rifle as well. Also in my opinion as its smaller cant in theory be as good at silencing the noise. But otherwise its decent, solid build and does the job.
 
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