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That is a tough question indeed. In reality there are no BAD choices, just that some are better than others.
IF this Rifle - Cartridge is to be used for colony varmints like Prairie Dogs where a lot of shooting is to be involved I think the perfect Rifle will be a Varmint Type Rifle with a Heavy Barrel and High Magnification Scope. With a set up such as this you can sit and shoot at Prairie Dogs for longer periods of time and the added weight of the Heavy Barrel will help steady the rifle for those long shots and the heavier the rifle the less it will recoil. (yes when shooting hundreds of rounds in a day in a good Prairie Dog Town recoil and muzzle blast can and do become an issue.)
As per the Cartridge for this Rifle, my personal preference would have to go to the .223 Remington. The selection of Ammo (both from the major Manufacturers as well as the Commercial Loaders like Ultra Max or Black Hills Ammo) is astounding. When going with ammo from one of the Commercial Loaders like Ultra Max or Black Hills Ammo the cost of the ammo can be quite less that that from the Major Manufacturers and or other cartridges.
On the other hand if the Rifle is to be used more for Predators then the choice in Rifle (at least in my opinion) is quite different. To me a Predator Calling Rifle is more along the lines of a Deer Rifle in size, shape, weight and scope magnification. I want a Sporter Weight Rifle with a variable magnification scope (something like a 3x9 so I can use the lower magnification for those predators that get called into your lap).
Myself I do not have a full blown Varmint Rifle set up, but rather a couple of sporter weight Rifles that I use for both Varmints and Predators. #1 is a Ruger KM77RFP MKII Stainless-Synthetic Sporter chambered in .223 Remington. This Rifle is equipped with a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5x14x40mm Adjustable Objective Scope. I have settled on a Handload of 50gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips loaded with Hodgdon's Benchmark Powder. The average Muzzle Velocity is 3310 FPS and accuracy is great.
Rifle #2 is again a Ruger Ruger KM77RFP MKII Stainless-Synthetic Sporter but this one is chambered in .243 Winchester. This one wears a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9x40mm Riflescope. I have several different loads I use in this Rifle depending on what I am shooting. #1 uses a 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip at a reduced velocity of 3229 FPS and is used for Small Varmints. Load #2 uses a 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip at a muzzle velocity of 3359 FPS and is what I mainly use fof Calling Coyotes. Load #3 is my Deer Load for this Rifle and shoots a 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip loaded to a muzzle velocity of 3071 FPS.
In my area of South Dakota these two Rifles with their different loads provide me with everything I need for the critters I hunt.
Like I said there are a lot of choices out there. The search for that just right Gun-n-Cartridge-n-Scope is half the fun.
Larry
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