Recommend me a first Rifle setup

Primer

Well-Known Member
Ok Guys this is a new direction for me (live quarry) as currently I do practical shotgun/mini rifles and clays but I have the option of some land next year that will need some vermin control (rats, rabbits, fox) and they have deer roaming the farm land too that they want keeping in check.

I already have a CZ 452 .22rf that can be used for the rats & rabbits and i'm booked on a DSC1 course the end of January so need to look at a suitable rifle setup for fox/deer, ideally i'm looking at a do it all calibre and believe .243 is the way to go for which I will need to put a variation in for (I already have authority for .223 & .308) at the end of next week when I complete the sale of one of my sec1 shotguns, i'm guessing for now i will need to just ask for it for target shooting and then after i have completed my DSC1 and have access to the land i can apply for my live quarry permission?.

I have a budget of £800 (£1,000 tops) for which i need a rifle, scope and moderator and a couple hundred rounds of ammo so i have time to practice before the DSC1.

So please recommend away as i don't know what's good and what's bad out there.

Thanks in advance
 
Tikka T3,Schmidt and Bender 8x56 (illuminated if budget reaches).....that should get somewhere near your budget.....
.243 is a good calibre for all round but some say it will struggle on large Deer..not found that myself
 
May I ask why the need for .243 when you already have authority for .223 and .308? Is the .243 to replace both of those?
If so, martins post is a good start. Or a Howa and have more money for ammo :)
 
May I ask why the need for .243 when you already have authority for .223 and .308? Is the .243 to replace both of those?
If so, martins post is a good start. Or a Howa and have more money for ammo :)

I was lead to believe that .223 was too small for deer and .308 is too big for fox but .243 was an ideal compromise unless you are going for the bigger deer species?
 
i'm guessing for now i will need to just ask for it for target shooting and then after i have completed my DSC1 and have access to the land i can apply for my live quarry permission?.

No, you've guessed wrong. Nothing to stop you putting in for all and every rifle for live quarry shooting provided you have land to shoot over that has the species on it - you'll need to demonstrate 'good reason' for each, so bone up on Ch13 of the HO Guidance. DSC1 is not required either.
 
I was lead to believe that .223 was too small for deer and .308 is too big for fox but .243 was an ideal compromise unless you are going for the bigger deer species?

.223 OK for Chinese water deer and muntjac but not many of them in Southwest,.308 is fine for Fox,never had one complain!!

.243 if you are more into Foxing and occasional Deer will be fine

.308 if you are planning a lot of Deer and occasional Foxing will be best
 
As you may get a chance of boar your way? why not think of a used tikka 270 cracking its a real do it all cal , scope used ebay or on this site 8x56 S&B, mod hardy gen 4, nice and light. try looking on guntrader for a ball park out lay you may find a deal .
good luck on your dsc
 
Plan on handloading, if you want to truly enjoy the flexibility which some cartridges can realize.

Something in between a .24 and a .30 caliber will span more into foxes and up into deer than stretching a .24 up to larger deer or a .308 down to varmints. Something like a CZ 550 FS carbine, with nice wood and blue steel, sights and trigger, in 6.5x55mm, will handle a lot of game, with no more recoil than many .243s. It is hefty but handy to carry, accurate and powerful enough to drop deer at 300 yards. Add on some Warne QD rings and a nice 6x scope, with money left to buy a press, scales and dies.
 
Plan on handloading, if you want to truly enjoy the flexibility which some cartridges can realize.

Something in between a .24 and a .30 caliber will span more into foxes and up into deer than stretching a .24 up to larger deer or a .308 down to varmints. Something like a CZ 550 FS carbine, with nice wood and blue steel, sights and trigger, in 6.5x55mm, will handle a lot of game, with no more recoil than many .243s. It is hefty but handy to carry, accurate and powerful enough to drop deer at 300 yards. Add on some Warne QD rings and a nice 6x scope, with money left to buy a press, scales and dies.

Handloading isn't a problem as I already do that for my .38 underlever and 9mm lever release, so already have presses, scales, tumbler etc. I think I may have to see what the land is cleared for already.
 
.223 OK for Chinese water deer and muntjac but not many of them in Southwest,.308 is fine for Fox,never had one complain!!

.243 if you are more into Foxing and occasional Deer will be fine

.308 if you are planning a lot of Deer and occasional Foxing will be best

Plenty of things for me to research about the land me thinks.
 
I think 2130Martin covered it pretty nicely but nonetheless. What I was saying is if you can already get a foxing rifle and a deer rifle (.223 and .308) then the .243 is unnecessary. That is unless you just want one rifle, in which case .243 will do nicely but I'd go for 6.5x55 especially since you are handloading. Most of the deer legal 6/6.5mm cartridges would suit you well I think.
Also bear in mind that AOLQ (Any Other Lawful Quarry) is mandatory, so if you got a deer rifle the AOLQ condition covers you to use it on fox (or anything else that is lawful) aswell if you choose.
 
hi there is a .243 on here for sale aBSA with scope mod and scope for £300 no brainer half your budget.
Wilts too so not far to travel
I have nothing to do with the sale.
 
hi there is a .243 on here for sale aBSA with scope mod and scope for £300 no brainer half your budget.
Wilts too so not far to travel
I have nothing to do with the sale.

I did see that the other day but its not screwcut to take a mod.
 
£70 would fix that!

Where could I get that sorted at that price as I've heard someone ask about this at my club before and they were told it would be £150 to £200 as he would need to send if off to be re proofed after and it would take ages to sort due to delays at the proofing house ?

Although I'm sure I read somewhere they don't need re proofing unless you sell them.
 
Make sure you state that you intend to shoot deer when you put in for your variation. The flo may have told you that u need dsc1 but its not the law. A howa is a good rifle. In your budget you can get nice glass and a mod. Then if you want to upgrade just put these bits on the next rifle
 
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