Which Rifle?

rabbits 22lr

fox only .22-250 or .223

fox and roe .243 or anything north of here really. If you want the option of adding in sika, fallow or reds, you should really consider .260, .270, 6.5x55, 7mm, 7-08, .308 as well

Personally - I use a .243 for fox, roe, and red calves. .22LR for rabbits and rook branchers, and .308 for red stags and hinds. 6.5x55 and 30-06 as backup, but they're just collecting dust really.

to be honest, you can get into 'which rifle' debates from here to eternity, and everyone will have their favourites and opinions, but at the end of the day they will ALL work. so the best advice will be to consider what you'll shoot and how flexible a range of species you want your weapon of choice to accomodate, and then pick a good quality peice of equipment that's within your budget range, and which allows you to put some good optics on as well. Ideally it should be easy to get ammo for that calibre, and it should be something that not only catches your eye and inspires confidence, but which fits you well and that you will grow old with. unless you'll be doing a lot of sika/red stag stalking, a good .243 such as a sako will do you great for the rest of your life I'm sure.
 
I use 22lr for rabbits and other small vermin.
222 for foxes even though most tend to go for 243 now and a 243 for roe etc
 
First priority, a rifle that holds its zero and shoots a bullet you like and is safe to use.

Second priority, a rifle that fits you and has a trigger you are comfortable with.

Third priority, this is optional, is it a tool to do a job or do you like fine walnut and wonderful engraving.

Fourth priority, if you like fine walnut and wonderful engraving can you afford it and avoid letting the wife know the cost.

A rusty on the outside, ugly rifle might suffice, a high end rifle might disappoint.

Do you like stalking or and getting close, or do you want to undertake long range shooting?

Options, about the same as the number of members on this site.
 
do you plan on eating the rabbits?

I find an HMR a bit of overkill for rabbits as it can skin them on site! very destructive. unless you head shoot everything the is not much to recover.
I stopped using it on rabbits and now use it almost exclusively on crows and magpies etc (which I dont tend to eat unless very hungry!)

a .22lr should be everyone's gun cabinet, very versatile.
 
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