Varmint caliber?

[Baylian]

Which caliber would be the best centerfire varmint caliber for out west? I have never been varmint hunting with a centerfire rifle so I don't know what conditions are like. Some guys have mentioned shots out to 1000 yards. A friend says he's shot coyotes at 10 yards. So, we are talking about prairie dogs, rabbits, crows, coyotes, bobcats, etc. at various distances. That's a hugh diference in range. Should I get a varmint rig or a carry rig? Which scope and what power?

Thanks in advance, TJ

[Talon]

Hello Baylian,

Lots of choices
.223
.22-250
.243
.25-06

FWIW

If I was in your position looking for a first varmint rifle caliber then hands down I would choose the 22-250 . If your looking for a caliber to also hunt deer with then I would choose the 25-06

For the rifle choice I'd suggest a Savage for its champagne accuracy when your on a beer budget


Peace
Talon

[Brant Buster]

AS in "size of the bore?"

Go with either a .22 or 6mm.



If you stay with those two most popular varmint "calibers," the most popular choices in each are the .223 Remington and .243 Winchester, respectfully.

Other choices in .22 caliber include the .22-250, .220 Swift, and others. However the .223 is far more popular than anything else (because it is current military chambering!) and far less expensive to shoot than anything else.

The .243 Winchester is a great long distance varmint round, and doubles quite well for shooting mule deer and pronghorns. Personally its a little 'light' for hunting deer IMO (due to a bad experience), but compared to other 6mm/.243 choices, the 25's, 26's, etc. etc. etc. -- the .243 Winnie is also the most popular round for varmints in its class.

Forget the stupid .25/06! It much too big for shooting Utah potguts or ground squirrels. If you're going after those little critters, many folks use rimfires - the .17 HMR really shines!

But for centerfire the .223Remy and .243Winnie will be two VERY POPULAR and inexpensive rounds to shoot. You can find ammo ANYWHERE!

[Andy L]

Are you hunting varmints or predators?

If your wanting to shoot varmints, pds, ghogs, ect... anything will do.

If you hunting predators, which are furbearers, I would suggest something between a 17Rem and 223. They will kill anything as far as you can shoot them in a hunting situation and do little hide damage. That way your not wasting animals with value for the sake of killing.

Andy

17Rem
204 Ruger
223

All do fine jobs anywhere from point blank to 300 +.

[L. Cooper]

I like the .22-250. It does everything I ask of it.

Now, sometimes I can't do what I ask of it, but that is another problem entirely.

[SD Handgunner]

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

[Rocky Raab]

A ecent sporter-weight bolt rifle in .223 will do it all. Put a decent medium-variable scope on it, something like a 3.5-10X or at most a 4-12X and you're set.

That rig covers the very broad middle spectrum of all varminting, and while there may be better tools for situations at both ends of the varmint spectrum (such as bazillions of colony pests at short range to the other extreme, predators at long range), a good bolt .223 will do pretty well for those, too. It's usable and affordable if you reload or not, there's ammo for it everywhere.

Plus, it's not so specialized that you couldn't use it anywhere else between varmint trips.

I have an armload of varmint/predator guns, but if I had to pick just one to handle varminting on a trip, I'd reach for the bolt .223 - every time.

[Catfish]

I agree with Rocky, you can`t go wrong with a good .223. If you get carried away and shot a bunch of ammo real fast your less likely to burn out the barrel than with one of the hotter rounds. Ammo can be had any where and your point blank rnage is not that much less than a .22-250. The varmints you hit can`t tell what caliber they were hit with, and neather can the ones you miss.

[rem 700]

Originally posted by Brant Buster
Go with either a .22 or 6mm.
Forget the stupid .25/06!

I don't see the logic? Although I agree a 25-06 is much too expensive to shoot on varmints, overkill is beyond the point with varmints, especially when the similar 243 was give such praise
Anywho, I would say a 223 or 22-250 are ideal for strictly varmints.

[Lycanthrope]

.223 in 1:8 twist. Cheap, accurate and the faster twist will let you shoot the heavier bullets needed to go deep.