New to FAC - which rifle?

[Mellish 0]

Hi,

 

My neighbour has agreed to let me shoot on his land so I'm going for an FAC. I'd be shooting rabbits and the occasional fox.

 

I'm thinking Tikka T3. Centrefire over Rimfire because of the occasional fox. However, I want to cook the rabbits, so don't want to make too much mess there. I'd be shooting at night and there are neighbours around, so I'd need the quietest rig possible.

 

All the options are somewhat doing my head in - so my question is, for £2000, what would be your choice for a silent, night shooting rifle for rabbits/foxes. i.e. which rifle, which moderator, which scope (NV, or monocular and light)?

 

Bit of an open question, but I'll learn a lot from your replies - thanks in advance.

 

Mellish

[valley boy 28]

Hi,

 

My neighbour has agreed to let me shoot on his land so I'm going for an FAC. I'd be shooting rabbits and the occasional fox.

 

I'm thinking Tikka T3. Centrefire over Rimfire because of the occasional fox. However, I want to cook the rabbits, so don't want to make too much mess there. I'd be shooting at night and there are neighbours around, so I'd need the quietest rig possible.

 

All the options are somewhat doing my head in - so my question is, for £2000, what would be your choice for a silent, night shooting rifle for rabbits/foxes. i.e. which rifle, which moderator, which scope (NV, or monocular and light)?

 

Bit of an open question, but I'll learn a lot from your replies - thanks in advance.

 

Mellish

If you got that mutch money to spend why not by 2 rifles go for a 22 rimfire for the rabbits cz 452 you'll get an whole set up fot 500 quid bran new and look around for a second and rifle for foxs

[Mellish 0]

If you got that mutch money to spend why not by 2 rifles go for a 22 rimfire for the rabbits cz 452 you'll get an whole set up fot 500 quid bran new and look around for a second and rifle for foxs

 

I put some spare in for a possible NV scope: you reckon new cz and moderator and scope for 500? Have to look into that...!

[TWOTWOTHREE 152]

Folks have many opinions so Each to their own but like said above i bought 22 rimfire for rabbit as they are very quiet and discrete in populated areas.also leaving plenty of edible meat on the bone.i have used my 17 hmr on rabbit With head shots as this can make a mess also on fox at close range which is sufficient as long as people dont get to confident and try to shoot fox at stupid ranges as this can be un humane.i also have a remington 700 in 223 fox fox shooting alone.some folk say they shoot rabbit With that type of calibre,but unless their made of money its costly at about a quid a shot for decent factory ammo.least to say if You intend on eating them its a big fat no.this round turns them inside out.You have more than enough money for two of the above rifles and put together good setups.i paid £260 brand new a few years ago for my cz 452 22lr minus a scope and moderator. The remmington 700 cost £400 quid second hand and got a leupold vari x 3 for a very good price and stuck that on which has given me a nice accurate rifle counting for many fox.shop round You can pick up some great deals With a bit me time to spare. Atb rich

[Mellish 0]

Yep - got to be able to eat them - assuming an upper body hit. So Rimfire is sounding the way to go...

 

Is the CZ .17 HMR? I've heard it's a very flat trajectory, but with a smaller impact, so an alternative to the power of a centrefire.

[matt_hooks 188]

Your requirements hog tie you a little.

 

The ONLY calibre that will allow near silent shooting is the .22LR, with subsonic ammunition. You COULD go for a moderated shotgun too, but you asked about FAC.

 

The LR will allow you to take rabbits confidently out to 100 yards with practice, and will be ok for close range foxes. Anything more than 20 or 30 yards and you will want something harder hitting. A .22WMR will extend your fox kill range to about 60 yards, a little more if you can VERY confidently place your round in the skull. Anything more and you will be looking at a centrefire. The .22 CF calibres are popular for foxes, and very capable they are too (.222, .223, 22-250, .22 Hornet, .22 Swift, right up to the ridiculously powerful .22WSSM and the fireball rounds). However, if you have deer on the land that you might want to shoot, then you will be better off going for a .243 (minimum deer legal calibre in the UK is .24" for all species). The .243 will push a lightweight (around the 55 grain mark) bullet faster and flatter than the .22 calibres (with the exception of the super hot rounds such as the WSSM and the fireballs) and is also capable of pushing a heavier (105 grain or so) round at a good muzzle velocity.

 

You will probably have trouble getting a .22LR (or .17HMR) conditioned for foxes, though round my area they give the "Any other legal quarry" condition, which would allow for it. The .17 with a body shot will make a rabbit inedible. The .22 is a better bet. Of course with the .17 you can place the shot in the brainbox at 150 yards, so not causing meat damage!

 

For your budget, I would be tempted to go for a decent second hand bolt action .22LR with a good moderator, and a 20 or 12 bore hushpower semi auto shotgun. The SGC is only an extra £10 on the application fee!

Edited February 28, 2011 by matt_hooks

[TWOTWOTHREE 152]

Yes the 17 hmr its nice flat shooting calibre but a fair bit more noise than 22lr as You cant moderate the crack of the bullet passing sound barrier. as You will be eating them rabbit it has to be a head shot With this fast little round unless You wan2 lose your fillings in ya teeth. i have in the past shot fox upto 70 to yards stone dead With a clean skull shot some will agree its got enough power/ energy some wont. i would go for 22lr rimfire for sure.but regards centre fire i love the stopping power of my 223 but a mate has a 22 hornet and that puts themcharlies down easy over hundred yards.fook it go for 50 cal that should kill,gut,skin and dice ya rabbit for the pot lol.these folk on here will give You plenty of advise.

[dadioles 68]

The reality is that you will spend most of your time shooting rabbits and would also be very wise to spend a lot of time shooting targets at different ranges, easy to put 100 bullets through. Noise is a major consideration especially at night when the rabbits are easiest to get.

Start with a .22LR CZ, you absolutely must have one, its the law (smile). Dedicated night vision (Gen II+) is a delight and gives you tremendous rabbit bashing capability, so much better than lamping, but expensive to buy, that gives you a weapon as quiet as an air rifle, cheap to feed, lethal, and great fun. In practice, you will not want to swap scopes and re-zero so with long dark nights the night vision might stay on the .22 meaning you cannot use it in daylight, typical night range around 60 yards. During the day have an HMR, noise is less of an issue and the increased range out to around 150 yards with practice is useful. Police will accept the requirement for both.

Bigger calibres are outside my experience. I expect very noisy and expensive to feed (HMR is bad enough).

Les

[Mellish 0]

Haha! Opinions are divided for sure:

 

LR though was a lot quieter, and with a moderator, it can be very quiet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ow_YqRICT4

 

(Of course, all this depends on the rounds and the rifle I guess.)

 

Anyone got a view on the usefulness of NV Gen2 or digital?

[Mellish 0]

The reality is that you will spend most of your time shooting rabbits and would also be very wise to spend a lot of time shooting targets at different ranges, easy to put 100 bullets through. Noise is a major consideration especially at night when the rabbits are easiest to get.

Start with a .22LR CZ, you absolutely must have one, its the law (smile). Dedicated night vision (Gen II+) is a delight and gives you tremendous rabbit bashing capability, so much better than lamping, but expensive to buy, that gives you a weapon as quiet as an air rifle, cheap to feed, lethal, and great fun. In practice, you will not want to swap scopes and re-zero so with long dark nights the night vision might stay on the .22 meaning you cannot use it in daylight, typical night range around 60 yards. During the day have an HMR, noise is less of an issue and the increased range out to around 150 yards with practice is useful. Police will accept the requirement for both.

Bigger calibres are outside my experience. I expect very noisy and expensive to feed (HMR is bad enough).

Les

 

Thanks - great advice.

[niceyearjiejie 0]

The reality is that you will spend most of your time shooting rabbits and would also be very wise to spend a lot of time shooting targets at different ranges, easy to put 100 bullets through. Noise is a major consideration especially at night when the rabbits are easiest to get.

Start with a .22LR CZ, you absolutely must have one, its the law (smile). Dedicated night vision (Gen II+) is a delight and gives you tremendous rabbit bashing capability, so much better than lamping, but expensive to buy, that gives you a weapon as quiet as an air rifle, cheap to feed, lethal, and great fun. In practice, you will not want to swap scopes and re-zero so with long dark nights the night vision might stay on the .22 meaning you cannot use it in daylight, typical night range around 60 yards. During the day have an HMR, noise is less of an issue and the increased range out to around 150 yards with practice is useful. Police will accept the requirement for both.

Bigger calibres are outside my experience. I expect very noisy and expensive to feed (HMR is bad enough).

Les

 

Good advice.

[Toni from N.Z. 2]

Hi,

 

My neighbour has agreed to let me shoot on his land so I'm going for an FAC. I'd be shooting rabbits and the occasional fox.

 

I'm thinking Tikka T3. Centrefire over Rimfire because of the occasional fox. However, I want to cook the rabbits, so don't want to make too much mess there. I'd be shooting at night and there are neighbours around, so I'd need the quietest rig possible.

 

All the options are somewhat doing my head in - so my question is, for £2000, what would be your choice for a silent, night shooting rifle for rabbits/foxes. i.e. which rifle, which moderator, which scope (NV, or monocular and light)?

 

Bit of an open question, but I'll learn a lot from your replies - thanks in advance.

 

Mellish

[Toni from N.Z. 2]

Hi,

 

My neighbour has agreed to let me shoot on his land so I'm going for an FAC. I'd be shooting rabbits and the occasional fox.

 

I'm thinking Tikka T3. Centrefire over Rimfire because of the occasional fox. However, I want to cook the rabbits, so don't want to make too much mess there. I'd be shooting at night and there are neighbours around, so I'd need the quietest rig possible.

 

All the options are somewhat doing my head in - so my question is, for £2000, what would be your choice for a silent, night shooting rifle for rabbits/foxes. i.e. which rifle, which moderator, which scope (NV, or monocular and light)?

 

Bit of an open question, but I'll learn a lot from your replies - thanks in advance.

 

Mellish

If you got that mutch money to spend why not by 2 rifles go for a 22 rimfire for the rabbits cz 452 you'll get an whole set up fot 500 quid bran new and look around for a second and rifle for foxs

Hello From Down Under,

A .22 rimfire for the rabbits with moderator should be a geed start.The Marlin 795 semi with moderator is a surprisingly accurate little number.Don't know if you can do semi's there but Brno make 21" barreled boltactions with muzzle threaded so you wouldn't go far wrong with either.A self loader is good if trying to hold lamp at same time.Check out the New Zealand Rimfire forum for lights ( the DX brand as are excellent).I got several recently that are good for 100metres and are only 4" long.They clip on above scope and there are bigger lights available.The light I got with rechargeable batts. and charger cost about 12 pound air mail free anywhere.

For foxes you might consider a Brno Fox in 22Hornet.They are very popular in Aussie for foxes and in NZ for Hares and the like.Used on goats and even deer if close and neck shots taken.Up to the individual to stick within their capabilities.The hornet would be fine for fox to medium range 150 m so depends on the country you are shooting over.

Incidently my neighbor had a range on his lawn 200m from my house and he was once zeroing his boys new 22 with Hi-speed hollows.When I wandered down later I enquired if he had trouble with his hornet as it never needed adjustment.Neighbor told me he was zeroing the 22.I have a good ear for calibres but couldn't tell the differance to my neighbors surprise.He knew the hornet had a mild report for its size but he was surprised I could't tell the differance.Might be important if you are shooting in reasonably setttled areas.

Best Wishes and Great to Hear another Hunter joining the Fieldsports. Toni

[Mellish 0]

Thanks Toni - nice gun tip. I hear the longer barrels aren't necessary if going subsonic as the powder burn up way before - even at 16". But I'm not an expert.

 

Nice to hear from NZ - and trust you're not near the Christchurch disaster!

Edited March 1, 2011 by Mellish

[dadioles 68]

Haha! Opinions are divided for sure:

 

LR though was a lot quieter, and with a moderator, it can be very quiet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ow_YqRICT4

 

(Of course, all this depends on the rounds and the rifle I guess.)

 

Anyone got a view on the usefulness of NV Gen2 or digital?

 

Those videos were nice to see but the 50 yard shooting with the .22 was complete rubbish. How were they grouped so badly? At that range the .22 should have grouped just as well as the HMR without any difficulty at all.

 

I was very enthusiastic about Digital night vision at one time and placed an order for the Pulsar Digisight N550 which I had previously trialled. Being a bit of a dab hand with computers and technology it rather appealed to me. I also own the Yukon NV Ranger digital monocular (the one that look like binoculars). I did not buy the Digisight in the end but plumped for the Pulsar Sentinel G2+ 3x50 instead and added a "doubler" (x1.7)lens to give me 5.1x50 which is enough for reliable head shots on rabbits at up to about 60 yards in near total darkness.

The G2+ is clearer and sharper and easier to use than digital. You just don't need all the twiddly bits such as different reticules at the push of a button and being able to record the digital output might be fun but more kit to lug around and the novelty wears off quickly. It is all rather heavy but I do prefer it to lamping. Looking through a night sight for more than a minute or so gives a slightly odd characteristic (harmless) to your vision whereby one eye retains its night sensitivity while the other loses it due to the relatively bright image from the night scope.