I have been having a futher think about my "small calibre" rifle requirements, to sum up -

Calibre suitable for shooting fox and crows upto 200/300 yards (probably more at 200)

I reload my own ammunition (so wildcat calibres are not out of the question - just expense of dies/chambering etc in the UK)

Restricted to upto and including 22 centrefires in the UK for Crows (cannot go 6BR etc for crows)

I do walk alot when lamping at night and hate a looong heavy barrel (but could meet a compromise if it was super accurate?)


My thoughts upto now have been a 20 calibre, but on mulling things over, if I went for a shorter barrel (as short as 20")would a 223 be a better option (I would be putting a moderator on it, so no problems about increased muzzle report). I will be going down the route of Night Vision, so thought a rem 700 with weaver type bases (Quick detatchable mounts to go from day scope to night vision), maybe a HS LTR stock, with a cut down varmint barrel to 20"

What does everybody think?

Will the 20 calibres work well in a shorter barrel? will the 223 work in a shorter barrel? what twist would be best (I want as flat a trajectory as possible due to the difficulty in judging distance with Night Vision)

Other peoples experiences would be greatly received...

The 223 was designed for a battle rifle with a 20" barrel so you're really losing nothing by going that length.

If your shots are that limited in range and game size, the 40-45 gr bullets shoot very fast (close to 4000 fps in a longer barrel) and are devastating to crows and fox-sized animals. You will not lose any significant velocity inside 300 yds compared to heavier bullets.

So you can live with about any twist normally found in 223 rifles. The only potential problem with a slow-twist barrel (the old 14" twist) would be the chance of wrecking your moderator if a 60-70 grain bullet had too much yaw leaving the barrel.

Given the choice, I'd go for a 9" twist first. 7" second.

I haven't owned a 204 so I wouldn't chance an opinion on which is superior inside 300 yds.

I've got a 700 LTR in 223.
Nice rifle and is super accurate. You loose very little with th 20" BBL but you can expect a bit more bark.
I also have a T3 Lite Stainless in 223 and it is just as accurate with bullets 50gr and under.
The LTR comes into it's own with 69 grainers. Have had 20 shot groups at under half an inch with no special case preperation just good reloading practices.
The BBL on the LTR stays a lot cooler than the T3 due to it's much greater surface area.
15 shots and it's warm. The T3 starts getting hot after 7.
Having said that, the T3 is still my favourite 22 cal rifle for hunting.

Cheers.
Boof

I have what you are probably looking for. Try looking at the Savage 10 LE1 223 with 20" barrel. It also has the Accutrigger that came out of the box set at 1 3/4 lbs. She is a pure dream to shoot and is very accurate. I was going to go the LTR route until I found the LE1.

Have a look at Saeeds front page on this sight - he did an extensive test on shortening a 223 incrementaly - 20" will be there.

As a basic rule the smaller the bore size (and the larger the case capacity) the greater the velocity effect per inch of barrel shortening.