delswal 3,819 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 for long range fox the 204 imo is an ideal rd , but like deker said , the .243 will cover most of your needs , unless you are specifically shooting fox out to 200yds plus , then the 204 will come into its own …..very fast , very flat next to no recoil , if you have the use for one go for it , i doubt you will be disappointed Link to post
shropshire dan 467 Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Cheers delswal. I never shoot or need to shoot fox beyond 200yards. Link to post
charlie caller 3,654 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 A .243 with a 55-60 grain bullet will out perform a .204 every time, so why bother just use your .243 for both, a .22-250 will last for years if you look after it, a keeper I know has had his since the 80s and it has killed hundreds of foxes, and it is still as accurate as ever, and besides, how many rounds do you fire in an average foxing session? its up to you but I would save myself the price of another rifle and spend it on glass for the .243. Link to post
ianm 2,594 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I used to shoot a .223 for fox but changed to .204, i also have a .243. The .204 i have will shoot 26grn, 32grn, 39grn or 40grn bullets just aswell as each other. Zeroed at 1" high at 100yds it shoots flat out to 300yds so ideal for fox at night when it's hard to judge distance accurately. There is no recoil to speak of and you never lose the sight picture, so you squeeze the trigger and see the target go down.As for velocities with a short barrel a gunsmith in America started with a 26" barrel and kept cutting 1" off to see how it was affected. It turned out that the optimum length was 23" and the difference between that and a 20" barrel was only75fps so not really worth bothering about. Mine is a Tikka T3 varmint 20" and out of curiosity i chronoed some Hornady factory 32grn ammo which averaged 4238fps. I have taken to home loading and use mostly 32grn Hornady v max bullets, i have not had any runners and the damage to foxes internals is devastating. It is also very good for long range crows etc and is also very quiet. Link to post
jamie g 17 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 all good calibres. i prefer two rifles one for foxing one for deer. i have a 25/06. good all round calibre. 70 grain bullets upto 120. the lighter range make great foxing bullets. but they use a good lump of powder. i like a even lighter bullet for foxing. i used 50 grain in my 22/250 and 40's when i had a 223 they all do the job well. ive now sold my 22/250 and the 25/06 replaced this. but im still going to get another foxing and vermin rifle. a 17 remington again i think is on the cards. there superb for foxing and vermin Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max.http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdfWith regards flat shooting they are VERY similar. As before though, you need to get what you want! Link to post
Elliott 436 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max. http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf With regards flat shooting they are VERY similar. As before though, you need to get what you want! Similar, but the .204 40gr V-MAX pips it by 1.6 inches at 500 yards Not much in it to be fair. I wonder which is the cheaper to reload? This is the debate I'll have with myself when I come to move onto centrefire Link to post
ianm 2,594 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max. http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf With regards flat shooting they are VERY similar. As before though, you need to get what you want! I sometimes use my .243 with 58grn when i fancy a change or i am just lamping as opposed to using night vision. However the .204 shoots so sweetly i soon go back to it. Link to post
ianm 2,594 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max. http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf With regards flat shooting they are VERY similar. As before though, you need to get what you want! I sometimes use my .243 with 58grn when i fancy a change or i am just lamping as opposed to using night vision. However the .204 shoots so sweetly i soon go back to it. Reloading i can do 2 1/2 cartridges for a pound. Link to post
shropshire dan 467 Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Interesting opinions guys. Really undecided though. I want something as cheap as possible to shoot fox out to 200yards maybe 250max. Currently uning the hmr sub 100 yards but could have easily doubled if not tripled my bags using a rifle capable out to 200-250 yards. Link to post
zx10mike 137 Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 you want cheap go 222 but the 204 is a nice frangible safe round that expands nicley on bunnys Link to post
shropshire dan 467 Posted April 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Thanks mike. Will have a look at the .222's Link to post
Elliott 436 Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max. http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf With regards flat shooting they are VERY similar. As before though, you need to get what you want! Similar, but the .204 40gr V-MAX pips it by 1.6 inches at 500 yards Not much in it to be fair. I wonder which is the cheaper to reload? This is the debate I'll have with myself when I come to move onto centrefire Anyone know which calibre, .204 or .243 is better in the wind? Link to post
Deker 3,478 Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 (edited) Anyone know which calibre, .204 or .243 is better in the wind? http://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle.aspx Example from Federal site! Select the ammo you want by checking the ammo box, (for example .204 32g V-Shok and .243 55g V-Shok) then hit compare, then scroll down to wind drift! Edited April 20, 2014 by Deker Link to post
Elliott 436 Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Anyone know which calibre, .204 or .243 is better in the wind? http://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle.aspx Example from Federal site! Select the ammo you want by checking the ammo box, (for example .204 32g V-Shok and .243 55g V-Shok) then hit compare, then scroll down to wind drift! Cheers Deker Looks like the .243 trumps it. Looks like a very versatile little calibre the .243, lots of loading options available. At least on the Federal site anyway Link to post
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