gun

[madhunter 16]

thinking of getting a rifle for fox and the odd deer maybe a .222 how do you guys rate them

[pegandgun 52]

You will do ok with a .222.Ive killed a hell of alot of gear with the .222 out to 250yds plus.Superbly accurate,cheap ammo,easy to reload.The .222 kills fox and roe equally well.I use 55gr balistic tips which seem to have that bit more stopping power than the 50grs,especially when shooting roe

[kiwi 4]

i agree the treble 2 is a great calibre, but i would get a 223 it has just a little bit more power and handles the heavier bullets alot better. not many rifle makers chamber for the 222 nowadays too. the new 204 might be worth a look too.

[Guest baldie]

I,m with kiwi, the 222 is a fabulous calibre, but its now old, and not many guns are chambered in it, there is far more scope for loading, and factory ammo in .223, and it has 10% more power on average.Forget the 204 if you wish to shoot deer, its not legal, but its a better fox round than the 222 or 223.

[pegandgun 52]

I will have to have a go with the 204 baldie.Cant give an opinion but sounds a brill calibre.

DONT THINK THERES MUCH BETWEEN THE 222 AND THE 223 THOUGH.

Both good calibres in the right hands.

Q, does that 10% make any difference baldie?Ive used both and found the difference minimul???

[kiwi 4]

yeah p&g the 10% plus does make a difference if ya want to use the 64 gr bullets and the 223 usally has a choice of barrel twists, but to be honest a treble is gonna do the same job with a 50 gr as a 223 is with a 55gr on 95% of varmits, that extra 10% just gives ya room to play with the lighter and heaiver grain bullets. i used to load the 40-45gr in my old sako vixen and that thing was dynamite on rabbits

[Guest baldie]

Kiwi,s bang on there peg, anyone wanting to shoot a 50 /55 grainers could go either way, and not tell much of a difference, with the right twist, you can go to 70 grains in the 223, which is a genuine accurate 300 yard cartridge, i suppose it all depends on your land. Try the 204 if you get chance mate, it awesome, i was trying some loads yesterday at 100 [zero range] 200, and 300, if they had been foxes, i wouldnt have been aiming off the animal at any of the ranges to kill it, that factor alone makes it great for lamping, basically, if you can positively id it, you can hit it.

[pegandgun 52]

Thinking of putting my F.A.C in for variation.That 204 has got me a thinking

Are the cases easey so get.Do you use .224 bullets heads

What powder and powder weights do you use???

[Guest baldie]

The cases are very difficult, but trust me, i can get them, i,ve just got 800 brand new winchester cases, and my man has 200 left, he can get them from the states no bother, and i think they are now drifting in to other dealers. Factory ammo is no problem at all, everyone has it, and youve got the cases, once fired obviously.The bullet head is .204 diameter, between a .22 and a .17, bullets are no problem, there are plenty available, i have 4 different types here now. I,ve just loaded 20 for tonight, the load is a remington 7 1/2 bench rest primer, hornady case, 28 grains of hodgdons 4895, seated to 2.250", this will shoot 1/2 at 100 yards no problem.You will have heard folk talk about the .17 rem over the years and how powerful and flat shooting it is? [forget the cleaning problems] well the .204 is acknowledged as a more powerful and more accurate version.

[pegandgun 52]

How much are 20 factory loads baldie???

[Guest Deerstalker]

Dosnt it realy depend on what you want the talk of .222 being lets say a lesser calibre than the .223 is a very week case and usally put forward by people that own a 223. the extra 10 % is also 10% more kick and over 10 % in noise the twist of the barrel to a tight twist for the heavier bullets is a very poor reason as twist cant be removed and if it stabalises a heavy bullet it can let a light bullet through with out putting the right amount of spin on it. Most shooters up here would go for a .222 over a 223 any time for the reasons i stated the 223 lads most of them are paper punchers and go for the cheap ammo.

[pegandgun 52]

As i said Deerhunter,I use a .222 and one of my mates uses a .223.My .222 kills every bit as good as his .223.Mind you ime a much much better shot than him anyway

What do tou think of the 204 Deerhunter????

[pegandgun 52]

Deerstalker (sorry!)

[kiwi 4]

ya got things a bit back to front deerstalker the different twists in the barrel still shot the standard 55gr to the same point it,s just that the standard, 1:16 i think don't like the 64-70gr. firing the 50gr bullet the .222 is the benchmark from which the hotshot .22 calibres started, 223,22.250 etc but before that the hornet was and still is a handy little round. 10% increase in recoil :11: they don't kick mate and the noise factor can be controlled just like a treble, no one here is knocking the round just that it has lost ground to the more popular .223 for various reasons cheaper ammo is only one of them i use one and enjoy the different type of bullets ya can get for it, from a hunters point of veiw i'm not a paper puncher. the .223 is just the updated .222 as the .222 was the updated .22 hornet

[Guest Deerstalker]

Dont mater how you sweet talk me kiwi i have shot both calibres and there is a real differnce in noise level dont have the stats but can get em and you can change everything with home loads i can have my big 3006 firing at subsonic if i want. THE .222 in scotland aint the step up from the .22 hornet of wich i have a high regard it is the start round for deer and is completly legal for roe now if you want to knock roe deer over with minimal fuss noise kick powder load etc the .222 is the best if you are shooting realistic ranges at foxes the .222 is all you need. more powder more speed bigger bullet no need for it mate. You ask what i think of the .204 mate not got a fecking clue but if it aint legal for roe i wouldnt get one my fox gun dose roe deer and my deer rifle dose fox i dont want caught out if you now what i mean. :friends: