What Calibre?

[Brummy 9]

As a lot of you will know I'm virtually a rifle virgin having only got a .22 just over a year ago and my 30-06 5 months ago. Anyways, I've got a space allocated to a .223 on my ticket and it's got me wondering what calibre I'd go for? My choices as I see it would be .223, .22-250, .204, .6mm PPC or .243. What do you lads think?

[Guest 6ppc]

Brummy,if i was you i would either go the 223 or 22-250.If you are inexperienced like you say then the ppc might be a bit much for you to load with case forming and fireformiong etc! You could also try the 243 as you will be able to use it on the smaller deer aswell instead of the 30-06.You can push a 6mm nosler 55grain ballistic tip out of a 243win at 4100fps compared to a .224 55grain nosler ballistic tip out of a 22-250 at 3700fps!

[pegandgun 52]

The .222 is a very handy calibre.Ive had a 22.250 and for the amount of recoil and noise i would choose the .243 over the 22.250 every time.The 223 is a very good calibre,theres not alot of recoil and its not rediculously noisey like the 22.250.The 223 is good for 250yds easy with plenty of punch.

Saying all that i still think that the .243 takes some beating as an all round calibre!!

[Brummy 9]

I must add that I have no intention of reloading ammo in the future as I am far too lazy :11:

[Guest Deerstalker]

If your not botherd about noise or kick then dont by a gun you got one and it is a mith that the smaller calibres are safer far from it. Shooting deer with a smaller caliber than a 30.06 what you got to gain to pound of meat extra and wee no you dont give a shit about the venison as the last shot came pouring out the gut . so it realy depends on what you want the caliber for. most of the smaller .22 centre fires will do the job but if you realy want low recoil quite round for getting in and around farms late at night with out scaring the shit out of the owners then you got to go .222 i wouldnt go lower eg buzy bee or .22 hornet they just dont take you out as well as a .222. But most people on here will give you an opinion on calibres that they have never shot. .

[Brummy 9]

Thanks for your advice Deerstalker. You're right mate I could shoot 'em with my cannon but it's not exactly covert is it? :11: As for meat damage on deer the only thing that gets really damaged with the 30-06 is Muntys from my limited experience thus far

Even lads who use .22-250's and have owned the .222's in the past say that the "little" .222 was a deadly accurate tool. INTERESTING

 

What say you Baldie?

[burnie69 376]

Brummie the 220 swift is some tool on foxes you'll need a bag to put em in after youv'e shot em though :11:

[pegandgun 52]

Ive been using a 222 for years and as Deerstalker said,for Small deer and foxes they are deadly accurate and more than enough ft lbs to kill cleanly.Fit a sound mod and you have an ideal rifle for using near dwelling houses or among livestock.

Mine is a Tikka T3 Fitted with a 3-12x42 Me-Opta Scope,.

Never used a 220 Swift but i bet its some rifle!!

[Guest Deerstalker]

I have shot the 220 swift a good few times but never at game it is i believe the fastest factory loaded round and is a superb range round or bench rest but im told it also moves with unpredictability in even slight windy condishions or if it grazes a blade of grass its off at a tangent its also got a real deal kick and the noise level is way up there with the 22.250. Dont it sound the biz on a nice night lol.

[Guest baldie]

Right buddy, first off, what does your ticket authorise you to purchase, a .223, or a .22 centre fire? if it says 223, then thats all you can buy, without sending it back and changing it.If its to be used on land passed for the 30-06, you can have anything sub 30-06 whatever you buy, you want to moderate it, so it doesnt matter if its noisy to start with.Nowt wrong with hornet and .222, they have killed a lot of fox, and are very usefull around small farms, close to houses etc, if you have plenty of land, get something bigger.I have a .223, its an excellent calibre, and if you can see and identify a fox, it will kill it, if you do your bit of course. Bullet drop is a factor though, once you start to stretch the range with this bullet. The 22-250 has more legs altogether, pushes a similar weight bullet as the 223, but shoots a lot flatter, barks like f**k, and must be moderated. I,ve no personal experience of the swift, they are proper nasty, and very popular in the states as a long range coyote gun, but if you arent handloading, the cartridges will be expensive. I also have a .204, and havent shot a fox with it yet, only crows, and it atomises them :whistle: Hand on heart, this is the flattest shooting round i,ve ever tried, zeroed at 200, it loses an inch at 300, and an inch high at 100, which means virtual point and click up to 3oo yards, it also ballistically, has more energy, and less wind drift at 500 yards than the 220 swift against fox, it should outperform, all of the 22 centrefires, hell of an easy calibre to shoot, especially in the dark, as you can forget range realistically, and point and shoot. Ammo for the .204 is £14per 20 rounds, so its a little cheaper than good quality .223. If your asking me what i would buy, if i had seen the 204 before i bought the 223, it would have been the 204, its a belting calibre, and one of the rare ones you just know is gonna shoot right, a bit like a far more powerfull 17hmr, another tack driver.Looking at the reloading book, A 22-250 firing a 40 grain bullet, has a similar velocity as the 204 firing the same weight bullet, because the 204 is thinner, it has a higher ballistic coefficient, meaning it bucks the wind better, and has less drop, at any given range.Some of the yanks dont rate it as a coyote stopper, and some do, it will stop any fox in this country, without a shadow of a doubt, and another thing, those jittery crows at 200 yards, that can "jump a 223 bullet" cant jump this one, not at 4200 feet per second.

[burnie69 376]

Fairplay baldie you know your stuff

[Guest Deerstalker]

:

[pegandgun 52]

Sounds a real good calibre baldie.Let us know how you get on when you start with the foxes

[Guest Deerstalker]

So you are telling me baldie that the 204 of wich i know nowt :11: is faster than the .220 swift straight out the box. wich i would find very hard to believe mate Also a 40 grain bullet traveling at over 4000 fps i would also find it hard to beleive it would be a wind bucker. For any of you that are interested the . 220 swift will fire a 50 grain head straight out the box not home load at over 4100 ftp. THATS AT THE MUZZEL.

[Brummy 9]

Thanks for your advice/opinions Baldie. VERY interesting Come the time I think you've helped me make my mind up mate.