peter1987 0 Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) Hi guys, I'm new to this site, and was wundering if anybody could give me any advice.... I already posess a shotgun lisence, and have recently applied for a firearms lisence aswell... to help to control the vermin on the farm. I am looking at getting a rifle, probably second hand... but with the capabilities of cleanly killing a fox at 100 yards. I also want to use the rifle for controlling rabbits aswell. I have been researching a little and i am getting drawn to the tikka lite .223 rifle... I would appreciate any advice or opinions on such a rifle and also amunation. cheers Edited March 30, 2011 by peter1987 Quote Link to post
whippeter69 88 Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 A .22lr for rabbits or 17.HMR and .223/22-250/.222/22Hornet for foxs. WHere are you in Wales mate ? Quote Link to post
TWOTWOTHREE 152 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hi i use 22Lr and .17 hmr for rabbit and .223 for fox.my mate uses 22-250 for fox but to be fair we both bag as many as each other.a older guy on another farm uses the 22 hornet for both rabbit and fox and wont use anything else mate.down to preference i suppose. Quote Link to post
peter1987 0 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 cheers guys, Would a .223 be to heavy hitting for rabbits then? I live between wrexham and mold on a farm... and at the moment there are loads of rabbits and foxes around. Quote Link to post
TWOTWOTHREE 152 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hi It hits hard enough to turn them inside out and makes it a costly rabbit.its a about a pound a shot for factory ammo at my local shop and if You intend eating Them its an expensive head shot.the 22Lr is what i use for rabbit out to about hundred yards and .17hmr out to 150 yards With head shots as i eat them and its cheaper.if ya dont mind the cost and dont wan2 eat them as You shoot purely for pest control the 223 will definately do the job. Just remember the mop and bucket to clean up ha ha. Quote Link to post
RicW 67 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 You can't really get one gun to do both. The ideal calibre for rabbits is .22lr. This will kill fox if, and it's a big if, you are a good shot, at up to 40 yds at most. As said, if you are shooting fox you really need a centre-fire. .22 Hornet would cover both, but you are looking at hand-loading. The bigger CFs will give you instant minced rabbit. Your best bet for one calibre might be .22WMR. The 30gr HP will drop a fox clean at up to ~100 yds. and not cause a lot of meat damage to rabbits even with a body shot. And as it's not a very popular calibre you should be able to pick one up at a good price. ATB, Ric Quote Link to post
kingnewport 19 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Get a .17hmr, good on bunnies and capable on fox's. (here We go) aslong as it's a well placed shot Quote Link to post
kingnewport 19 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Get a .17hmr, good on bunnies and capable on fox's. (here We go) aslong as it's a well placed shot Quote Link to post
moonlighter 1,164 Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 If you have applied for a fac then you have already chose your caliber! Quote Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 cheers guys, Would a .223 be to heavy hitting for rabbits then? I live between wrexham and mold on a farm... and at the moment there are loads of rabbits and foxes around. Put the shot in the right place and it is fine to eat still with a .223. If you are the vermin control business at distance this can happen, a couple of years back now and about 180 yards I seem to recall, .223 Ballistic tip V Bunny! Quote Link to post
halamrose 24 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 You can still eat the legs! Quote Link to post
matt_hooks 188 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 You can still eat the legs! Once you've found them! .223 is completely OTT for bunnies. It's an extremely expensive way of going about it, and makes a hell of a lot of mess and noise. The .22LR will give you bunnies out to 100 yards if you put the practice in, and foxes at 40 plus. The .223 will take foxes out to 200 yards (again with practice) but you are unlikely to get it on first issue without some experience, or a mentoring condition. The .17 has no real benefits over the .22, except maybe some extra range. It does have a pretty big disadvantage. It is far noisier than the .22LR, and can't be effectively silenced like the .22 can, only moderated (supersonic round so whatever you do with the muzzle gases you still get the sonic boom) so not so good for sensitive locations. Quote Link to post
Lewdan 17 Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi guys, I'm new to this site, and was wundering if anybody could give me any advice.... I already posess a shotgun lisence, and have recently applied for a firearms lisence aswell... to help to control the vermin on the farm. I am looking at getting a rifle, probably second hand... but with the capabilities of cleanly killing a fox at 100 yards. I also want to use the rifle for controlling rabbits aswell. I have been researching a little and i am getting drawn to the tikka lite .223 rifle... I would appreciate any advice or opinions on such a rifle and also amunation. cheers .22 hornet, great all round calibre. Fox out to 200yds max with 40 gn blitz king, use a 32 gn head for rabbit--job done only down side you will probably have to reload.. LD Quote Link to post
chimp 299 Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 i like the idea of the .22 hornet , any idea how much rounds are? Quote Link to post
matt_hooks 188 Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 The bullet is the standard .223, not sure what cases are. It's still a very expensive rabbiting round! Quote Link to post
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