Which 20/22 cf rifle cal day setup

[Deerstalker6]

Evening All,

Just looking for some advice on my situation and calibers with having a day and night setup,

I already have a 204 cz 527 varmint for fox and vermin its a keeper going to put on a yukon 6.5 on it in the new year
for dedicated night shooting. I am looking to then put a variation in for a day use lighter weight fox & vermin rifle.


Would you go with 222, 223 or 22-250? or would you have another 204 instead


Please let me know your thoughts I dont currently reload but looking to go down that route next year at some point

Any help/advice appreciated

 

[TH4]

220 swift. A veteran but still a cracking calibre.

 

[kenbro]

Common or garden 204 Ruger that shoots factory ammo. This will run with Practicals, Tacticals and any other 20s, unless you go wildly overbore.
Thats’s assuming (Few years since i’ve had a 204R) factory ammo is common on shelves.
Ken.

 

[Cottis]

How much do you like the .204? If it does what you want and its a keeper, another one wouldn't be such a bad idea. Double up on reloading etc.

Me personally, I have a .222 rem itch that needs scratching. They will all do what you want really. You might pick up an out of fashion .222 properly cheap which will most likely take waaaay more rounds down the spout than a 204 before it starts squeaking.

Or get a Digi NV Add on and have just the one rifle and spend the money on something completely different.

So many choices with your situation and one which I cannot make myself, hence why I am persevering with either pushing the HMR beyond its limits or spending way too much on .243 ammo ha ha ha

 

[big ears]

Stick a picatinny on the 204 you have. Buy a day scope then you can put the photon on when it gets dark OR buy a 3D printed add on for night. Look on YouTube for Richard Uttings review.

 

[kenbro]

Come on guys. You’re trying to talk a man out of buying another gun!
He need encouraging.
Ken.

 

[Deerstalker6]

220 swift thats still the quickest and most powerful 22cf cartridge out there isnt it even though the 22-250 has eclipsed it slightly - factory rifles/ammo availability,

I'll have a look at that cal cheers

 

[25 Sharps]

If you reload and don't want to shoot much past 200 yards .22 hornet is a cracking combined fox and vermin round, my battered old 527 in this calibre is my favourite rifle.

Otherwise I'd go .223 in 527 so you're familiar with action (wrong way round safety and all), matches the .222 and pretty much the .204 but huge amount of choice of factory ammo and reloading consumables, 1:8 or 1:9 make it a pretty versatile calibre compared to the other 2.

I can understand the logic of 2 rifle's in the same calibre but if you go for a different calibre then if you run out of loads or can't get factory ammo for one you can still shoot the other! Plus if you reload you won't mix up loads meant for one rifle in the other.

 

[Deerstalker6]

How much do you like the .204? If it does what you want and its a keeper, another one wouldn't be such a bad idea. Double up on reloading etc.

Me personally, I have a .222 rem itch that needs scratching. They will all do what you want really. You might pick up an out of fashion .222 properly cheap which will most likely take waaaay more rounds down the spout than a 204 before it starts squeaking.

Or get a Digi NV Add on and have just the one rifle and spend the money on something completely different.

So many choices with your situation and one which I cannot make myself, hence why I am persevering with either pushing the HMR beyond its limits or spending way too much on .243 ammo ha ha ha

Well so far so good had it out a few times since I got it, it's certainly a good long range flat shooting cal, when I say long range for me thats out to 275/300yd , thats true
well I have always thought 1 lot of ammo to buy instead of 2, got 2 recipes off the old owner for the cz - 39gr blitzkings and 32gr vmax so really dont need to experiment in load testing.

my local dealer I buy all my rifles through does have quite a few 222 rifles in at the moment, my mate who works there did have a treble2 in a tikkat3 format and he loved it,

thats true but my scope I currently use on it is a fixed parallax meopta artemis 3-12x50 ffp dont know do the add on units work ok with fixed parallax?


yes too many it seems ha ha, how far have you pushed your hmr only ever took mine to 130yds as far as i've hit a rabbit with it, ha ha 243 does cost a fair bit in factory ammo

 

[Deerstalker6]

about to buy the picatinny rail for the cz527 this weekend of the old owner, qr mounts do you mean with that is it warne/leupold that do them,

I've seen that 3d printed one looks good for the money compared with well known brands of the add on type, think the suppliers currently out of both types at the
moment I had a look the other night

 

[Deerstalker6]

Come on guys. You’re trying to talk a man out of buying another gun!
He need encouraging.
Ken.

haha well I do really want a tikka/sako as the next rifle I get, had a t3 in 223 a couple of years ago what a rifle it was

 

[Deerstalker6]

well I do want to start reloading with the 204 for now not ruling out any other cal for reloading, I have seen the 22hornet in the shops near me looks a belting little cal

thats it all what you have said 223 just edges the rest in factory ammo availability and rifle choices plus bullet weights, another 527 in 223 kevlar format would be good

yeah one ammo lot on ticket but if I cant get factory or the components Im screwed, so a better versatile load the 223 over the others in all


whats the 22-250 like I've never shot or owned one heard they go with a bit more of a bang ?

 

[Odders]

22-250 isn't far behind the .220 Swift in velocity but wins hands down on versatility, as you can use loads from way down around 2,000FPS all the way to 4,000FPS plus & they'll be accurate. Definitely a handloader's dream.
Having said that; if you're happy with the .204, then just get another one & if you take up handloading, find a load or two that works well in both.

 

[User00033]

Deerstalker6
I was in a very similar situation about 7 years ago in Aus. I had a .204 Ruger T3 Super Varmint that was used on rabbits, dogs, foxes, cats, etc on the station, shooting Nosler Varmageddon 32gr. It was (still is) an exceptional rifle.

Problem was it wasn’t roo legal even though it was capable of very clean roo kills (which must be brain shot by law). To make the step up to roo legally I needed to shoot 50gr pills, out of reach of the T3 .204 due to the twist rate. Quite annoying actually but its important to stick to the rules if you want new permissions.

All the usual options were considered... .222, .22-250, .223, .243. I really didn’t want to move up to the larger case of the .243 Win for that application. I was highly attracted to the .22-250 but the availablity of faster twist rifles was very poor in WA and I wanted something I already trusted. So I settled for another T3 Super Varmint in .223 with the 1:8 twist. Best decision I could have made.

The fast twist gave me an effective pill weight range of ~45-80gr. I moved up to 55gr Varmageddons and added the 75gr A-Max to the mix, and that bullet was outstanding in the .223. It was pinpoint accurate, heavy enough to drop goats out past 300m with ease and very easy to load for, the rifle wasn’t at all fussy. It was great fun, and cheap, to stretch the .223 out to 500m on targets and I reckon that rifle enabled me to improve my shonky shooting no end, especially w.r.t. wind. Now the A-Max has been replaced with the ELD-M, there will be no difference in performance.

So just food for thought. A 1:8 twist .223 will give you the widest range of .224 pills and all the different types of shooting that bullet weight range represents. It covers everything pretty much. The only option that comes close is a 1:9 twist .22-250, they are out there (e.g Savage 12 VLP) but whilst pretty keen on this myself quite recently, I concluded it was just a wee bit too hot and I wasn’t convinced I’d get the life out of the barrel I wanted for the money.

Read your posts again, seeing as how you’re happy with your previous Tikka and have a hankering for another, a bankable bet for a daylight carry rifle is a T3 Lite in .223 1:8” twist, should be readily available. A Lite Adjustable is an even better option if you can find one.

 

[Eric the Red]

If a 22C/F, my personal preference is 22.250 - but you have an eloquent argument from Dodgyknees on 223. I would seriously consider the 243 for flexibility. I know a number of keepers that shoot them. You can buy as low as 58gr VMax for them that trundle along at 3600+ fps - but go all the way up to 100gr - shooting in bracken/stubble, a heavier bullet is useful - as it is in windier spots. Ultimately you will have a deer legal calibre in the cabinet should you ever need it.
Whatever you choose (save the 22Hornet) will be good at 300 yds. 22.250 will pretty much be point and shoot, 223 will need a little more thought on trajectory (based on 100yd zero type things)

 

[Klenchblaize]

22-250 wins hands down on versatility, as you can use loads from way down around 2,000FPS all the way to 4,000FPS.

I've never understood why anyone would wish to down-load a cartridge designed to be the King in waiting to the 220 Swift. If you need to worry about damaging a fox pelt look no further than a 22 Hornet!

K

 

[JTO]

Deerstalker6 Read your posts again, seeing as how you’re happy with your previous Tikka and have a hankering for another, a bankable bet for a daylight carry rifle is a T3 Lite in .223 1:8” twist, should be readily available. A Lite Adjustable is an even better option if you can find one.

I think you will find that a new T3X with 1:8" twist, will be a special order and a 6 month wait. If you go down that track, you could get a longer barrel and set trigger at the same time. I did!

 

[User00033]

Eric The Red, you know I tried so hard not to mention .243 Win... being a big fan and all... frequent defender of the faith in the face of arduous neigh saying... tried to stay on the 20/22 path... BUT... now you have mentioned it.

So, Deerstalker6, I’ve always had a .243 in the safe, it was my first CF and over the years there has been five I think. Have had a habit of handing them down to cuzzies or nephews when we’ve moved as a convenient way of having a rifle I like available next time I visit ... Anyway I’ve tried pretty much everything you can do with one, apart from having a faster twist than 1:10” which is still something I hanker after.

They do make a fine varmint rifle. For fox they are exceptional, lots of range, fast, very wide range of projectiles available. And in a blink of an eye you can slide in a couple of 100gr SPs and knock over the roe that just walked out. A bit of practice with the holds when switching between a varmint pill and a deer pill... its easy... the right reticle is the key.

I’ve always hand loaded for them and have battled sometimes to get them driving tacks, always get there in the end, but at the lowermost and uppermost limits of the bullet weight ranges they can be a bit tricky to load for. Especially for the lightest contour barrels. Powder burn rates and keeping the case full is the key. You know Deerstalker6... the .243 Win is a great cartridge to learn reloading on, very wide range of components and different recipes to develop your knowledge.

I run two loads - one driving a 75gr V-Max and the other a 100gr ProHunter. Both are excellent in their respective applications. I don’t bother with anything lighter now, as the .223 Rem has that covered.

So yeah, agree fully that the .243 Win is an obvious contender, just that bit more expensive to run on a shoot by shoot basis, but if you look at it long term you will already have your deer rifle sorted!

 

[Odders]

I've never understood why anyone would wish to down-load a cartridge designed to be the King in waiting to the 220 Swift. If you need to worry about damaging a fox pelt look no further than a 22 Hornet!

K

Because it means I can carry two or more different rounds for different purposes, rather than two rifles & save a lot of barrel wear into the bargain.

 

[Deerstalker6]

Hello all thanks for all your replies,

After some thinking I've decided to go with 243 its a step up, heavier bullet and all will do for roe, cwd, muntjac, fox and my vermin needs too in the day time,

On a plus Ive booked 4 days stalking on roe in the new year feb/mar/apr, ordered my 6.5 photon xt for the 204 and going to use QR Mounts on it so can swap my meopta on/off if I need to,

Just thought 243 offered the best versatility for me over something similar/same plus factory ammo for thats available anywhere or most places