Is this the ultimate long range Foxing setup ?

[ShotKam 0]

tikka ace game if want chassis & new Tikka to elimate barrel concerns .....not seen many 2nd hand for sale
krg bravo stock is another good budget option chassis wise adjustable cheek piece and can get arca rail for foreend underside if tripod without hog or pig saddle
i personally rate dnt zulu 5x20 but if you have money nocpix ace50h thermal
define long range??? one mans LR is another mans no no ...
you have field craft and if using NV or Thermal ...if combine with field craft shouldn't really need long range ?
can bait them and ambush .... can try pull em in with a squeak or caller. to reduce range

Paul

Another vote for Tikka ace then I know what you are saying about fieldcraft. Out spotting with the H35R whileI was waiting for the variation to come through, )arrived 2 days ago, open licence, ) Got to within 50 yards and 30 yards on another, no squeeking, so yes, long range maybe in summer time across the valleys off the tripod to save a lot of time There has to be a degree of challenge, after all we wouldn't want to be shoot driven game at 20 yards and pillow casing everything

 

[Cyres]

Do you actually know what your doing?
Roedetator who is sadly now not with us had Steve Bowers build him the ultimate long range fox rifle. 20 tac with a 6x24 Diavari. It was a thing of beauty but very heavy.
I think you need to talk to Paddy who lives in your neck of the woods. He has culled more foxs than you will ever see in your life

204 will do most things. Contact Dasserman on here. He will build you one with a Bartelin barrel.

200yds at night is a long way.

If .223 1:8 shoot 69 TMKs but you will need a v good scope and years experience learning to read the wind.

I have never shot a fox in excess of 350 yds and only a few over 300yds.
D

 

[ShotKam 0]

Tbh you dont even need a trail cam - without teaching you to suck eggs just throw some bait out as often as you can - or if you cant get very often - bury a load of dog biscuits or tie with string some pheasant carcasses or something and they will come
You will eventually identify "the best" areas that for some reason they always use and then you are away

Totally agree, tying up a carcass well can last a good time and stamping in / burying dog biscuits definitely. I see you know what you are doing. Thankyou.

 

[ShotKam 0]

Do you actually know what your doing?
Roedetator who is sadly now not with us had Steve Bowers build him the ultimate long range fox rifle. 20 tac with a 6x24 Diavari. It was a thing of beauty but very heavy.
I think you need to talk to Paddy who lives in your neck of the woods. He has culled more foxs than you will ever see in your life

204 will do most things. Contact Dasserman on here. He will build you one with a Bartelin barrel.

200yds at night is a long way.

If .223 1:8 shoot 69 TMKs but you will need a v good scope and years experience learning to read the wind.

I have never shot a fox in excess of 350 yds and only a few over 300yds.
D

Hopefully having been around a while, starting with open sights head shooting rabbits, I don't think I will improve much more. Others may disagree That said .223 is one calibre I have never owned, which is why I posted hoping for some good advice from those with plenty of .223 experience. I want to get rid of all the other guns and just have one .223 for foxing. (I will keep a rimfire always of course). Deer I can just go with a friend. Yes of course I can get close to take the shots, but when time is limited, they wont come in, daytime across the valleys, I just want the right equipment to be able to set up on the tripod from an ambush position an be effective at range, not that far but definitely out to 300. Not target shooting here, so it looks like it may well be the Tikka T3x Ace Game. I have had some great advice so far from yourself and others. Thankyou.

 

[Scottb123]

Contact onelesscharlie he on here
He built me one for my 17 hornet it’s a quiet as 17 hmr when a had a dpt on it
The hornet is deadly accurate out to 300 +
A think it would be humane enough to take a fox out at that range
Head shot

How you finding your hornet on foxes I picked up a 527 in 17 h and with a hardy mod is quieter than a 17 hmr but I haven’t had to reaction on fox I would like everything is dead within 20 yards or so out to 250 yards that I have shot with it using sb 20 grainers have got some 25 grain head to load up and try but feel like it defeats the purpose a bit and have also put in for a 17 rem and will keep the hornet for rabbits and occasional fox on some of noise sensitive place I shoot

 

[Bowland blades]

Of course, but with 2x the amount of powder it's a no no for me. Mark Ripley's choice of nighttime calibre is .223 Anemometers are an essential piece of kit once you stretch the range and takes seconds I would say and generally there is often more time when shooting at range, but that's just me.

I shoot high moorland , full of contours that catch the unwary regards wind patterns ! I i was shooting on lower flatter land ? I would tahe my .223 . Mark Ripley is a good shooter but he does seem to shoot a lot of lower, slower and flatter ground . Remember he also has sponsership / tie up's to various . When out on rolling high ground he seemingly favours .260 rem which i myself use as my main deer rifle
I do have .22 hornet and .223 rem and just got my self a 8" twist .243 for sending 80 grain Copper tTSX, heck its far and away the most versatile thing , so i guess i cannot be biased eh? The .223 i use mainly for pests and small pests Rabbits to CWD / Muntjac I have one and use it a lot but i doubt i will go after deer or longer range than say 150 yds with copper .
Now if i was shooting in an area where vehicle and traffic are zooming past the other side of a fence etc i note The man in question that you mention .seems to mitigate danger by gaining height .
If your shooting more open , Lower risk land and habitation though your seriously limiting yourself regards versatility as regards range and wind and the majority of uk deer

 

[Bowland blades]

Ruger 204 quiet and less recoil easy to see yer hits

As a fox rifle ? Spot on! but very low in versatility !

 

[ShotKam 0]

I shoot high moorland , full of contours that catch the unwary regards wind patterns ! I i was shooting on lower flatter land ? I would tahe my .223 . Mark Ripley is a good shooter but he does seem to shoot a lot of lower, slower and flatter ground . Remember he also has sponsership / tie up's to various . When out on rolling high ground he seemingly favours .260 rem which i myself use as my main deer rifle
I do have .22 hornet and .223 rem and just got my self a 8" twist .243 for sending 80 grain Copper tTSX, heck its far and away the most versatile thing , so i guess i cannot be biased eh? The .223 i use mainly for pests and small pests Rabbits to CWD / Muntjac I have one and use it a lot but i doubt i will go after deer or longer range than say 150 yds with copper .
Now if i was shooting in an area where vehicle and traffic are zooming past the other side of a fence etc i note The man in question that you mention .seems to mitigate danger by gaining height .
If your shooting more open , Lower risk land and habitation though your seriously limiting yourself regards versatility as regards range and wind and the majority of uk deer

A lot of usefull information there thankyou. All my ground is sheltered low lying ground so I am spoilt and I only need it for foxes. Agreed the .260 is a tremendous round for extreme ranges and Deer as you say. When I posted the title - 'Is this the ultimate Foxing setup' I went on to say - a setup for .223.

​

 

[finbar]

How you finding your hornet on foxes I picked up a 527 in 17 h and with a hardy mod is quieter than a 17 hmr but I haven’t had to reaction on fox I would like everything is dead within 20 yards or so out to 250 yards that I have shot with it using sb 20 grainers have got some 25 grain head to load up and try but feel like it defeats the purpose a bit and have also put in for a 17 rem and will keep the hornet for rabbits and occasional fox on some of noise sensitive place I shoot

Unfortunately there are not a lot of fox’s about where a shoot the grouse lads do a cracking job on them
But for accuracy down range have head shot hares at over 200 yards with ease
Hopefully a will come across mr fox one day & will let you know

 

[Nickb]

Unfortunately there are not a lot of fox’s about where a shoot the grouse lads do a cracking job on them
But for accuracy down range have head shot hares at over 200 yards with ease
Hopefully a will come across mr fox one day & will let you know

You will be very lucky to get a fox near the grouse moors.

 

[wabbit warren]

i shoot a tikka t3x in .223 while most of my mates shoot a 22.250
having shot both id say .223 every time
what i like is when shooting the .223 i keep sight picture right through the shot
where as the 22.250 seems to white it out and deffo moves so you have to come back to target after the shot
adding to that the extra noise
and if loading your own the extra powder
the .223 seems the way forward

 

[palo]

I use a 204 myself . I have a mate who has a 223 with an alpex 4k and he is shooting a lot of foxes at long range with it at night.

 

[ShotKam 0]

I use a 204 myself . I have a mate who has a 223 with an alpex 4k and he is shooting a lot of foxes at long range with it at night.

I am pretty much sold on .223 - just need to think about weight considerations - A bare T3X lite Superlite is 5.9lbs, Lite is 6 1/2lbs and Ace Game is 8.8lbs with 20" barrels. Add scope, torch and bipod. No hill stalking but weight will be a deciding factor.

 

[palo]

I am pretty much sold on .223 - just need to think about weight considerations - A bare T3X lite Superlite is 5.9lbs, Lite is 6 1/2lbs and Ace Game is 8.8lbs with 20" barrels. Add scope, torch and bipod. No hill stalking but weight will be a deciding factor.

Weight could be a problem alright. Any decent chassis or stock will add weight unless you go for a carbon fibre one and then your into big money. I think the xrs chassis weighs around 4lb, the krg bravo around 3lb so probably not much difference to the ace game once you put one of those on your rifle.

 

[Bo Diddley]

I am pretty much sold on .223 - just need to think about weight considerations - A bare T3X lite Superlite is 5.9lbs, Lite is 6 1/2lbs and Ace Game is 8.8lbs with 20" barrels. Add scope, torch and bipod. No hill stalking but weight will be a deciding factor.

I put mine in an MDT Field stock, the extra weight made it better to shoot off sticks when there is a bit of wind about.

 

[wabbit warren]

to be honest ive got the Tikka T3x lite with 20" barrel
by the time its dressed with Nv scope and IR, mod, mag and bolt
its doubled its weight
im still using the sightmark wraith scope which isnt light, but what im saying is just be aware that a dressed rifle will become a lot heavier
i swap between high seats and walking for my foxing and shoot off quad sticks when on foot
this set up has never let me down,

 

[ShotKam 0]

Weight could be a problem alright. Any decent chassis or stock will add weight unless you go for a carbon fibre one and then your into big money. I think the xrs chassis weighs around 4lb, the krg bravo around 3lb so probably not much difference to the ace game once you put one of those on your rifle.

I agree Palo. I have checked the weights on all the rifles and all the stocks / chassis- tactical stocks and agree the Ace is actually less than adding say the MDT Chassis stock XRS FDE with the full length Arca it is 3lbs 9oz. Perhaps I should rethink and go with what everyone else does T3X lite off quad sticks - possibly the lightest setup possible. Not an easy choice. Having the rifle setup on tripod while you do everything else is just a pleasure and I am not keen to loose that capability. Not easy to make these decisions and I want to get it right, even though everything works. Basically it is the weight issue that is holding me back right now

 

[ShotKam 0]

I put mine in an MDT Field stock, the extra weight made it better to shoot off sticks when there is a bit of wind about.

I agree. you cant have your cake and eat it. Light is nice, but weight provides stability as you say. Perhaps as I use the UTV to get about I don't need to get hung up worrying about weight and a lot is ambush shooting off the tripod.

 

[ShotKam 0]

to be honest ive got the Tikka T3x lite with 20" barrel
by the time its dressed with Nv scope and IR, mod, mag and bolt
its doubled its weight
im still using the sightmark wraith scope which isnt light, but what im saying is just be aware that a dressed rifle will become a lot heavier
i swap between high seats and walking for my foxing and shoot off quad sticks when on foot
this set up has never let me down,

Yes, carrying Rekon tripod with a heavy rifle and you don't want to be going over the highlands. As I generally drive then perhaps cross 1 or 2 fields the weight wont be so bad. All my previous rifles in whatever calibre have all been lighter than the Tikka Ace.