Recommend me a rifle for Deer/Fox

[Primer]

We have a friend that owns quite a big Dairy farm and he has asked me if I would be interested in doing vermin & deer control for him as his current guy is very unreliable and is never available when foxes/deer have been spotted on the farm, so i'm thinking of dipping my toes in and will book myself on a DSC1 course next year and as i'm about to put in a variation soon anyway I thought I may as well get authority sought for vermin & deer and suitable calibre rifle and ammunition but i'm interested on recommendations for the following:

Rifle
Scope (day scope + digital night vision/photon scope or lamping kit?)
Moderator
Ammunition


I already have a CZ .22rf bolt action that can be used for rabbits/rats and have read that a popular calibre for deer is .243, would this be suitable for the occasional fox during calfing season or is it a bit over kill as I read that most foxers prefer .223 or .22-250 but ideally I don't want to have to buy several rifles/scopes/moderators.

I've read some good reviews on the Howa rifles and these seem to be available in good priced packages with scope, moderators inc, ideally I would like to keep to a budget of upto 1k (upto 1.5k if necessary but need to keep some back for lamping kit and clothing).

What are peoples recommended ammunition for expanding bullets and whats the suggested holding round count for my variation?

Recommend away folks

[DW58]

You don't mention which species of deer are present, what type of countryside etc., what range you might be shooting at, all are relevant to your choice.

[M99]

Night vision will cost as much as your entire budget.
I've just received the Pulsar 750 from Scott Country to put through its paces, this is £1299.99 on its own. Although they do have the ATN x sight for less than 900.
My go to stalking rifle is .308 light weight sporter, with a fixed power Schmidt scope.
I've also go my 6.5/55 conditioned for deer, as well as my .223s for muntjac and CWD south of the boarder.
Mod wise I like the ASE range, small compact and do the job.

[saddler]

I'd say .223 but chances are it'd not be kosher for deer there...unless they're the 'ickle uns found in England

Look at the next best options - something still fairly flat shooting & easy to reload for:
.243
.260
etc.

Scope - one of the laser range finder jobs (once dialed in) automatically adjusts to indicate bullet impact at the lasered target distance.

Moderator - while I like the ASE type, I much prefer the makes that can be fully stripped for cleaning.

Ammo - roll your own

[Countryman]

I suspect a .243 will be your first port of call.

[dodgyrog]

I suspect a .243 will be your first port of call.

Having been a stalker for some time and having ditched my .243 in favour of a 7mm-08 which I would consider more than adequate for all but the largest red deer stags and wild boar where my choice is a 7mm Rem mag.
I don't like the .308 for stalking but recognise it is well used for that purpose.

[Countryman]

I use a .25-06 but the police like experience now and DSC1 with all but minimal calibres. The .243 is a good round and your FEO won't spill his tea.

You could ask for a .338 Lapua Magnum. It will do everything you ask of it.

Book some hill stalking and ask for a variation or another calibre at renewal.

[Primer]

You don't mention which species of deer are present, what type of countryside etc., what range you might be shooting at, all are relevant to your choice.

Looks like I may have to spend some time down on the farm with some bino's to see what he gets through unless he already knows and I can also ask a couple of guys I occasionaly see down my club that shoot in the area but doing a quick google on species in the somerset area seem to show that 5 of the 6 species are common to the county. I will have to see what calibre his land has already been cleared for at present.

The farm is quite a traditional one with loads of flat pasture fields for grazing and growing feed crops which are surrounded by hedgerows, then as you get deeper into the grounds it goes into a gradual incline into a wooded hillside, this is where he mostly spots the deer coming from, he and an ajoining farm also run a small game shoot for a local syndicate, so there are bird pens in the wooded hillside that need protecting from foxes too and the farmers wife keeps chickens and ducks close to the farmhouse, so plenty of tempting things for old charlie. There's no roads or public footpaths through the grounds to worry about, so its just a case of knowing what fields the cattle are in and when someone is up in the woods tending to the bird pens and shooting away from the farm buildings you have the hillside. The land certainly lends itself to having a few highseats so you can view several fields over the hedges, so distance wise anything from a normal field size to 400m or more.

[Countryman]

Which club are you with Primer?

[Primer]

Night vision will cost as much as your entire budget.
I've just received the Pulsar 750 from Scott Country to put through its paces, this is £1299.99 on its own. Although they do have the ATN x sight for less than 900.
My go to stalking rifle is .308 light weight sporter, with a fixed power Schmidt scope.
I've also go my 6.5/55 conditioned for deer, as well as my .223s for muntjac and CWD south of the boarder.
Mod wise I like the ASE range, small compact and do the job.

Yes I was just looking at the Pulsar/Yukon catalogue that came with gunmart this month aaarggh someone at my club was raving about the Yukon photon tube scopes a few months ago, any experience of these as I think they are in the £350ish range, I've also seen the digital nitesights at the shooting shows before but never paid any attention to them due to only being a target and practical shooter.

I already have authority for .223 & .308 on my license but wondered if there was a do it all calibre for the smaller species of deer and fox that I should look at.

Its early days yet and I have a lot of reading up to do and people to talk to before I go any further.

Thanks for your replies so far