Your expertise required

Hi guys

I get out rabbit and hare shooting quite regulary and will be looking for goats later on and to be perfectly honest I am over my .22lr with a reliable range of 0-80m. I am looking for some advice about getting something much more accurate from 20-250m for head shooting them. There are so many different calibres out there like 22-243win, .223, 17hmr, .22-250, etc and to be perfectly honest I have no idea about the differences between them and their range for shooting accurately. I would love some recomendations on what might suit me bearing in mind that i will be buying second hand as im a student with 4 kids and don't have much money to pour into rifles also that I shoot a farm with houses dotted around it so would like the calibre to be either quietish or the rifle suppressible. I will be topping with a 3-9 scope.

Sorry about the long winded intro, I may be drunk. :wtfsmilie:

Any of those centerfires would do what your asking(250m) however you will need to know it is 250m IE range finder

Sorry , put a photo of a tripod mounted Machine gun up, on reflection I figured it wasn't really in the spirit of what you were asking.
so I deleted it.
223 will do. long barrel life, accurate and cheap to feed.

The .223 is the most common and cheapest to shoot (Beside the .17 HMR but would be reluctant to use on goats), especially if you don't reload. Ammo is available almost anywhere quite cheaply.

Good feedback guys a few more questions if I take goats out of the equation would a .233 or a .17hmr suit better do you think? I'm realistically gonna be consistently shooting 20-150m but I want to be able to go further. At these ranges if I zeroed at let's say 80m I should be able to adjust to suit bullet trajectory without a range finder for head shots a? and jakewire a tripod mounted machine gun f**k yeah throw that bit*h up here

If it were me id go 223 ammo can be found for the same price and very versitile

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I agree, .223 far more versatile, and more punch if you ever wanted to take something slightly larger. You can also handload for the .223.

For headshots only you would still need a rangefinder, for body shots maybe not. I would zero at 200 and hold under slightly for any closer. Others may prefer other methods but thats how I would go. You could zero at 100, wouldn't recommend 80.

I'd go 223 out of those. I like 204s as well, but 223 ammo can be found cheaper if you don't reload. I'd also consider a 243 to give a bit more confidence going for deer as well (lots of meat on a deer to help the new rifle pay for itself!)

17hmr or 22wmr give a bit more range on bunnies than a 22lr but are still very wind sensitive and limited range against goats etc.

I just paid for my first 223 today .I don't reload so it's a no brainer for me , bunnies and Roos for 65 cents a pop out of a box .

I've used one for 14 years now. from reds in size downwards, they all fall over. Every gun cupboard needs a .223

I would personally go for a .223 and put a can on it. Cheap to run with a good selection of affordable decent ammunition, and will perform well in the range you stated.

Sounding like .233 is the way to go. I see gun city has norinco .233 new for $499 pretty good value if you ask me

Do you want to head shoot the goats or the bunnies at 250m?

If you want the meat off the bunnies, 223 might not be the best option, but otherwise go for it. I had amazing success with my 223 on bunnies out to 466 yards.

Chris

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Originally Posted by crnkin

Do you want to head shoot the goats or the bunnies at 250m?

If you want the meat off the bunnies, 223 might not be the best option, but otherwise go for it. I had amazing success with my 223 on bunnies out to 4.66 yards.

Chris

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Fixed it for ya:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by savagehunter

Sounding like .233 is the way to go. I see gun city has norinco .233 new for $499 pretty good value if you ask me

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I have personally owned one of those Norinco .223 rifles. They are pieces of shite IMHO. You would be better off getting a Howa, Marlin, Zastava, they are well priced brand new and come up second hand on TM all the time.

as above, spend 200 more on the rifle and you are into the quality rifle range.
howa and weatherby keep coming up cheep on trademe and they are fine rifles that you wont loose money on if you decide to sell later.
centerfires need a lot more up keep if your not allready aware and allways ask about bore condition before buying a rifle second hand

Howa , houge stock, stainless , threaded for a can, gun bag ,scope nicon vari 3 -9, for $ 875 . Pm me if you want one , it's a great deal I believe . Will put scope on trade me brand new in box prob get close to $ 100 at a guess . Cheep rifle at under $800

Gotta say, those Howas are a hell of a package, I have one as one of the company rifles and we haven't had to touch the cheapo looking Nikko scope since we got it. 2 of the guys actually fight over who's got it for the week, this among rem 700s, steyr, A-bolts and the like. Be hard to find a better endorsement, dunno how many rounds and hunters it has had over the 6 or 7 years we have had it, still keeps putting them where you point it.

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Originally Posted by Bryan

I have personally owned one of those Norinco .223 rifles. They are pieces of shite IMHO. You would be better off getting a Howa, Marlin, Zastava, they are well priced brand new and come up second hand on TM all the time.

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I would take the above advice. Its sells for $499 for a reason and they still need to make money on it.

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Originally Posted by Tussock

Munsey, you got a 6.5x55?Those Howas are, I believe, Sako foresters mass produced on a CNC lathe? Pretty certain that's right. The finish is excelent. I had Gordys one and I was surprised how neat it was. Like my Sako 75. Most of the $1000 guns are very accurate, but not always the smoothest things. Foresters still go for big money on TM. I'm putting options together for the father in law. stick one in a boyds. Trigger job and your looking at a pretty faultless rifle for under 1k.

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223. can't wait Till she arrives .

Savagehunter just be aware that any of your options with supersonic loads still make a decent noise despite a supressor - might be worth noting if you're close to houses and the people are sensitive...

Cheers Garett. I'm hearing spend a bit more for the quality and I will certainly put that in the equation but is .223 going to be too much rifle for bunnies as I take the meat from them for the freezer. I don't wanna blow them apart just get some more range for quality head shooting. Might I be better off in a .17hmr????

Howa in 223 :thumbsup:

Accurate, cheap, shoots Hornady 55gr training ammo ($39/50) nice and accurately, a real point and click interface. Pix and story of it in action here.

If you want to head shoot bunnies with an HMR at 200m you will probably also need to spend extra cash on a rangefinder and a decent magnification quality scope too. They shoot flat but not flat enough to guess at ranges over 150m for head shots on something the size of a rabbits head. The drop from 150y to 200y is more than 5 inches when sighted in at 150 and that's yards. You are talking metres so...., .223 it and you will have a tighter kill zone. Basically you are trying to hit something the size of a tennis ball at 200m so seeing it let alone hitting that takes decent gear and a bit of practice with it.
Hornady trainers for economy and performance or if you want a bit more speed/distance and have cash go the Hornady super performance rounds. We chronyed them last weekend and they do what they say. At least 200 fps faster than the trainers.
.223, If you don't head shoot em and get the body by accident then at the least they will be pre-gutted for you anyway.