What is the best calibre for foxing?
PUBLISHED: 14:01 10 February 2021

A .243 will take care of foxes and UK deer species. Credit: Colin Varndell
Archant
What is the best calibre for foxes? Which calibre should I choose if I also want to shoot UK deer species? Dean Harrison offers expert advice
Q: What is the best calibre for fox shooting? I keep hearing conflicting advice.
You may also want to watch:
DEAN HARRISON replies: All .22 centrefires are perfect for the job. To name a few popular ones, there’s .222 , .223 and .22-250 if you are only going to shoot foxes.
But if you are looking for a calibre that will be a good all-rounder, I would always go for the .243. When shooting foxes, I go for the light 58gr bullets because they give me a closer performance of the lighter calibres, staying flatter and giving me extra distance on my shots if needed.
One benefit of the .243 is it is also a legal calibre to shoot deer as well – just beef up to a heavier grain bullet. This means you only need to own one rifle.