which one?

E mc kiernan

If a lad was to buy a rifle for lamping what size or calibre would you's recommend?I would be very weary of the bullet travelling in the case of a miss so is there a small calibre that would be better suited for this!?thanks

It wasn't me!

You shouldn't have to worry about missing, because you shouldn't be taking a shot without a safe backstop. Always assume the bullet will keep travelling and make sure it'll stop safely.

Assuming you're lamping foxes, .223, .220 Swift, .22-250 would be pretty solid standards. .243 would also be very useful. If you want rabbits, then .17HMR, .22LR or .22WMR would be better, assuming you don't want the rabbit stir-fried by the bullet.

meathstevie

Personally I think a .223 is the tool of choice for the following reasons :
- choice of rifles out there. I can't imagine that anyone is capable of not finding a .223 that suits them
- relative low cost of ammo
- selection of ammo

If you're worried about bullet travel, which we all should be, you should consider hollow points, softpoints or polymere tipped ammo. Even when these manage to travel through a fox sized target they deform fundamentally and depart with such an amount of energy that their further travel is not going to be of a very problematic nature most of the time. Even in case of a miss the chance of dangerous ricochets of fences or stones etc is going to be minimised with these types of ammo for the reasons mentioned above.

And of course, as It wasn't me said you should always keep in mind where you bullet is going to land if you miss before you even consider squeezing of a round.

macadam

Anyone have a price on a new CZ hornet was offered one this weekend , just tryin to compare prices.

Was going to buy a .223 then was offered the hornet, lovely little rifle, fits very well, i know the ammo is abit pricey, its like everthing else its all down to preference .

.223 were all synthetic me i prefer wood .

Going back at the cunning fox after 5yrs, place is full of them ,saw three out yesterday at 2.30pm.

clivej

macadam wrote: »

Anyone have a price on a new CZ hornet was offered one this weekend , just tryin to compare prices.

Was going to buy a .223 then was offered the hornet, lovely little rifle, fits very well, i know the ammo is abit pricey, its like everthing else its all down to preference .

.223 were all synthetic me i prefer wood .

Going back at the cunning fox after 5yrs, place is full of them ,saw three out yesterday at 2.30pm.

Get the 223 in a CZ it will still fit you well. €700-€800 will get you most from the CZ range new.
I have the 223 CZ Varmint with HS kevlar stock @€;1150, paid for just waiting for the license to come through.

cavan shooter

I have shot foxes for three years with a 22 wmr and quite successfully too. However I have recently stepped up to the good old 22 hornet. I looked at 222,204 ruger, 220 swift my friend has a TiKKA t3 tactical which is lovely to shoot, yet still I went for the 22 hornet.

The 22 hornet was the mainstay of fox control for years (still is around me) and the fields I shoot around, in my opinion are best suited to the smaller round alot of ribbon development.

Most foxes I have shot at night are seen /shot at 150 yrds -120 yrds (i like to call them in). 150 yrds, is a long distance with a lamp. I know you can shoot 250- 300 yrds with the 223 but I personally wouldn't take that kind of shot at night and I don't shoot targets. So I asked myself why did I need such a rifle??

I also know the price of ammo availability of rifle etc, at the moment CZ is making a lovely hornet with a SST retailing at around $700. People are trading hornets left right and center and so they are a lot out there. I picked up a tidy ruger and have it shooting nice at 100 yrds using 35grn Hornady rounds. The price is €22 for 25 bulletts, I can live with that because all I would shoot is 2 boxes per year. Remingtons in 45 grn are about $38 per 50.

A hornet with no moderator doesnt wake the dead when shot at night and with a mod is very quiet indeed.

Yep, it's old, it's expensive but it can still a lot of damage to a fox.

Take your time and best of luck

macadam

Cheers Lads,

Had a hornet CZ a few yrs back and when this one came out of the gun safe it made the heart pump a little quicker, was looking for .223, but as cavan shooter said the fun with fox hunting is calling them in , like your in control, then let him have it within range.

No deer running wild where i am, so think i will buy the hornet its new @ €600. bullet choice is limited, but not planning on target shooting, just fox control, not to many rabbits round here either.

Thanks maca

meathstevie

I have a 34 year old Anschutz .22 Hornet with a 3-9x40 Zeiss Conquest on it and I deem it to be a fine little fox thumper. In a sense I'm lucky that it absolutely loves a feed of Remmy 45gr JHP which is about the cheapest ammo around. So far no foxes I've hit have gotten away. Having said that I wouldn't mind the extra power and flatter trajectory of a .223 or .243. With the Hornet from leaving the barrel to crossing the line of sight on the way up and back down there's about 6 inches to play with over less than 250 yards.
Still, once you get your head around it it's still plenty accurate and powerfull for foxing.