Thread: Questions about a new farm gun

My friend is a dairy farmer currently owns one of the crappiest 22s on the planet. Sloppy bolt, inaccurate, flimsy plastic stock, you name it, its terrible on it.

His partner wants to get him a new gun for his birthday but knows nothing about guns so has passed the duties onto me.
I thought I had a handle on things untill she said "dont know if we should stick with a .22" .

He uses it to shoot the odd cow/calf, cat but mostly hares, rabbits and possums. Its a dairy farm with alot of small hills & hedges so line of sight is never more than 100m and noise is definitely something that needs to be taken into consideration.

So my question is......what would be a good all round farm gun that would suit his needs?

I was thinking a suppressed 223 bolt gun, as he will still have the POS 22.

Your thoughts will be greatfully recieved.

A nice 22 sounds the biz to me

22 mag with a can on it. Shoot the 30g vmax and everything dies quite explosively out to 100

You probably need to get some parameters from her regarding price etc.

There's a world of difference between a new POS Norinco or Toz for example, and a new Cooper.

Originally Posted by Pengy

22 mag with a can on it. Shoot the 30g vmax and everything dies quite explosively out to 100

Yes or 17hmr. I would of said 223 but a bit much for a limit of 100.

Sorry I probably should have said she asked to keep it under $1k but also nothing so nice that he wont want to take it out of the safe in fear of getting a scratch on it.

I'd go for a Howa, Marlin or Zastava in 223 if it were me. Still fine within 100m but more versatile if he wants to stretch a little further or bigger.

.22mag. .22mag. .22mag. Good for humane kills as well as way flatter shooting than .22.

There are reasonable s/h b/a .22 magnums for $350 retail.

A decent waterproofish gun-bag will mean it stays tidy in the farm truck.

A reasonable 3-9 x40 scope will give him everything he needs.

I reckon anyway!

Si

I got a Marlin 22 mag from a forum member a short while ago, and haven't felt the urge to pick up the JW15 since
223 is probably not much more expensive to run, and you have the benefit of reloading if you want to.

Someone here was selling a combo here recently, .22 over 410 or 20 gauge i think. Two for the price of one could be worth considering

.223 is to me, a whole new ball game because of the substantially increased range etc.

Smaller ammo too for .22mag. You can carry a few rounds without getting too precious about them.

.22mag is my "go to" gun for varmints on the orchard here.

A .22mag is likely to be a lighter carry than a .223 also.........

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Someone here was selling a combo here recently, .22 over 410 or 20 gauge i think. Two for the price of one could be worth considering

Where? have been on the look out for a combi, prefer 12gauge though.

Think what sort of guy he is. Forum members will prefer something a little bit interesting like a 22mag but will your mate ? If he was an enthusiast hed have traded up before now. Will he have the temperament or shooting skills to use that 50 to 100m window ?

I think theres a lot to be said for a basic reliable .22LR like the norinco JW15 shortened with a bomber suppressor eg MAE and a solid guaranteed scope like Leupold VX-1 3-9. He ll be happy to have it rattling around in the tray if the ute and can swap ammo with anyone.

Get a Stirling 22. Dundee has one and it doesn't matter about the distance

Originally Posted by 223nut

Where? have been on the look out for a combi, prefer 12gauge though.

That's me