Recommend a rifle

Itavara

Hello, I'm looking for suggestions on a rifle for foxes and target shooting. I was thinking of a .223 but I'd like the ammo to be relatively cheap and available. My father has a .17 Remington centre fire, which bullets are hard to get and very expensive. (Its a pain to find bullets and then its hard to justify shooting them, 50e for 20 bullets).
My budget for a base rifle would be around 600-800e. Thanks for your help

Gorgeousgeorge

Itavara wrote: »

Hello, I'm looking for suggestions on a rifle for foxes and target shooting. I was thinking of a .223 but I'd like the ammo to be relatively cheap and available. My father has a .17 Remington centre fire, which bullets are hard to get and very expensive. (Its a pain to find bullets and then its hard to justify shooting them, 50e for 20 bullets).
My budget for a base rifle would be around 600-800e. Thanks for your help

.223 can be cheap. All depends where you shop and what brand. As i learned from here and irish shooter buy a very good scope and spend whats left over on the rifle. Something like the ruger american in .223 or a cz will be adequate for what you want

Cass

Go for a 223. The .17 c/f, hmr, wmr, etc. are all decent rifles, but as you pointed out they are either as expensive or more so than the 223 or not up to the job at distances past 120 yards.

Your budget is decent enough, but i don't think you've taken into account the additional costs of a c/f rifle. Excuse me if anything i say is "newbie sounding" as i don't know if you currently own firearms or your experience level. You have to consider scope, rings, mounts, safe, license, possibly suppressor, cleaning equipment and ammo. You could buy a second hand rifle and i would suggest this as you'll get a better deal on a full kit for the price of a rifle, new, on its own.

Savage Axis, Ruger american, Howa 1500, CZ are all good quality rifles for small enough money and most can be bought in a full kit second hand, or on their own. Some dealers will offer a combo package (rifle, scope, etc) for a higher price and its worth checking these out.

For me i'd look at Howa, Savage, CZ and Ruger in that order. Others will have their own opinions. I like the Howa. Inexpensive and good quality rifle with the same ability to upgrade as any Remington.

The Savage Axis is a cheap rifle to buy, but they save money on "fancy stuff" without compromising on performance. So the stock might feel "cheap" but the rifle will perform well at the distances.

I have owned a CZ in 223 and it was good. Not great, but good. The rifle performed well enough (i bought new so needed time to break her in). Two things i did not like. The magazine was sticky and clumsy to work and the bolt/action was not as smooth as i would have liked considering i paid extra for the top graded version. However you can go for the standard model and save yourself a good few hundred quid without suffering a loss in performance as its essentially the same action in a different stock.

Never own a Ruger AMerican, but have fired some. Reviews are mixed from good to bad, but nothing outstanding. They are a nice looking rifle and i like the finish.

One thing i would recommend whatever you go for make sure it's 1:12 twist rate. It'll save you a bunch of headaches trying to find suitable ammo and consistent supply. Plus the 40 - 55gr stuff that works in the 1:12 can go from €5 to €30 per box. The stuff i use in my 1:9 starts at €22.

You could also check out the for sale section here. There are a few 223s available, just find one you like in your budget.