22-250 or 223 for foxes.

[Phil fox man]

I've used my 22/250 for 30 years plus,not because it's the best calibre but because it's the one I know we'll.
any HV round will give you a similar trajectory and stopping power.
my advice is to get a rifle and learn to shoot it.
most will shoot in a 2" kill zone +1" to -1" out to 250yds then after that is where the practice comes in.
I don't dial in just use my knowledge of my drop .
case in point a fox on Friday ranged with my pulsar at 350yds aimed at top of head ,I know it drops 5" dead center on the chest.
sorry it's a long reply but basically get a rifle and learn about it.
" beware the man with lots of guns,but fear the man with only one as he will know how to use it" here ends my thoughts,good luck in the minefield

 

[sako85708]

Over the years I've had 2 243's both used as deer rifles , but I spent along time trying to load light bullets in them for Foxes. The best I ever got was 70 gr Nosler BT and even then I found the bullet to be a bit "hard". As for 55gr and 58gr bullets, I found them just too short to suit my barrels. After a few years I gave up and took all my friends advice and brought a 22 250 and never looked back . All my shooting friends started off with 222s 223s and 17 rem when FEOs called the 22 250 "too much rifle for fox", now what do they have ? 22 250s and one a 260 !! Life's too short to worry about a bit of powder and as for no real gain over the lesser cals, do what we did get a chrono and compare them !! All loaded with a 55gr the 22 250 has a 100m head start

 

[Liveonce]

i went .223 as also do some target shooting as a club member, so much cheaper to shoot and better barrel life plus will do the business on the foxes. You pays your money takes your choice

 

[sandycwd]

Thanks for all the comments, some interesting thoughts. I think what I will do is try some 50ish grain ammo and see how it performs. This would be the quickest and cheapest option.

 

[Phil fox man]

Thanks for all the comments, some interesting thoughts. I think what I will do is try some 50ish grain ammo and see how it performs. This would be the quickest and cheapest option.

don't forget every time you want to shoot deer or fox you will have to rezero, bit of a pain!

 

[Overlay]

222 is a pretty versatile and very accurate calibre, excellent for foxes and the longer range rabbits

 

[sandycwd]

Cheers. My NV setup has a few spare slots so zeroing and switching is not an issue.

 

[sandycwd]

Has anyone done a cost comparison on the ammo? I only shoot factory and a quick search has revealed the following:

204 - 32grn - Vmax - £26.99
222 - 50grn - Vmax - £24.99
223 - 53grn - Vmax - £28.99
22-250 - 50grn - Vmax - £27.99
243 - 58gr Vmax - £36.99

204 and 222 looks appealing on cost. For every 40 foxes shot with a 243 I could shoot 59 with a 222. Last year was my best year on the foxes and shot 48 on one farm. Already this year its 15 foxes on the same farm!

 

[dropmdead]

Or you could just buy whatever cartridge you want, and run PPU ....

 

[Len the dog]

Or you could just buy whatever cartridge you want, and run PPU ....

I tried PPU soft points in my 22-250, wasn’t expecting much at £15 a box but they were actually very good. Groups were not far off the Hornady varmint express but for half the price.
The crows can’t tell the difference.

 

[Tazz]

You could use your 243 as per previous posts but I went down dedicated fox road with a 223, NV on it I have shot both 40g and 55g rounds through it, fast, flat fox killer, no recoil and rounds in every Gunshop also very quite with a decent mod

 

[sandycwd]

Never tried ppu but its worth a punt i guess. As long as its accurate enough, im not worried about meat damage, not a massive fan of stewed fox

 

[VSS]

If I was in the market for a dedicated foxing rifle, it would be 22-250.

 

[Kevgun]

Either one will do a great job, I have both.

 

[CookM]

Used a Remington VS in 22/250 for the last 22 years,bang flop nearly every time.
Reload for it and shoot it as much as l can.
Very good tool.

 

[Bowland blades]

The 243 win with 55 -58 bullets is basically a mirror of the 22-250 . the 223 will work very well out to 300 yards and have a lot longer barrel life . Your personal choice , i used used the same 243 for vermin and deer for very many years and only shot a handful of foxes at ranges that required the speed of the 243 or a 22-250 over the .223. How many shots do you take 350 plus ? is it worth it ? 204 btw matches 22-250 with its high BC and a bit more powder than the 223.
I am just building a Fox and small deer .223 and considered the 22-250 for quite some time before making but decided no . if i find high winds and long range are the order of a fox hunt i will just take the 260 rem with 100 grain . Shot a lot of foxes now with 22 hornet ( especially good for denning time ) its so dambed quiet and 200 yards capable with just 12 grains of powder !

 

[Brittany boy]

Only ever had the .22-250, 25 years now and used it on everything from squirrels to roe deer pigeons to geese. It’s a great round, noisy yes but with a moderator and 55 grain soft points it is point and shoot and never felt it effected by the wind, it’s very accurate. Only ever shot factory loads and to be honest there’s not much difference in price so scratch the itch , don’t think you’ll regret it.

 

[landkeeper]

The 243 win with 55 -58 bullets is basically a mirror of the 22-250 . the 223 will work very well out to 300 yards and have a lot longer barrel life . Your personal choice , i used used the same 243 for vermin and deer for very many years and only shot a handful of foxes at ranges that required the speed of the 243 or a 22-250 over the .223. How many shots do you take 350 plus ? is it worth it ? 204 btw matches 22-250 with its high BC and a bit more powder than the 223.

Had both 204 and 22-250 ,maybe on paper but in the real world not a hope ,the 204 in my experience offers very little over a 223, in fact I'd rather a fast twist 223 over the 204,my 1 in 8 223 will shoot anything from 40grn to 75 happily

 

[Bowland blades]

I have a 204 and 223. As foxing cartridge both are fine, but I think the 22-250 would have the edge as dedicated foxing rig, probably matched by your 243 using 58gr V-Max. Speed similar to the 204 but with a larger energy transfer. The 204 and 223 are just more economical to run. Less powder and better barrel life.

Your 204 can ballistically match or better the 22-250 with the right bullets , higher BC stuff in 204 has pretty awesome ballistics.

 

[Overlay]

Your 204 can ballistically match or better the 22-250 with the right bullets , higher BC stuff in 204 has pretty awesome ballistics.

I’m putting hornady through my 222 and 204 both shoot exceptionally well, no need to shoot out further than 200 yds as one guy says previously bang and flop, no dramas both do the job,