Varmint calibers

ORoutdoorsman · 01-02-2004, 04:03 PM

What do people think is the best varmint caliber? Usable for varmints up to coyotes. What caliber and why?

DAB · 01-02-2004, 06:25 PM

Now that is a loaded question. In my humble opinion, The 22 Rim Fire Mag is good for Varmits out to about 125 yds. if you have one that will shoot a small group,that is, and will work for yotes out to about 30 yds. Now for an all around Varmit---to-- yotes cal. anything from .222 Remington too the .220 Swift will all do a dandy job. If you are woried about the cost of store bought ammo I would pick the .223Remington. My personal favorite center fire Rifle for yotes is a .243 Win MDL. 70 Youth Ranger, because it is lite - short- and swings fast and shoots a very small group and I just happen to have one..---- Now for varmits I my self use a 10/22 ruger in 22 LR. --- a 10/22 ruger in 22 Mag.--- a 22.250 Rem in a heavy barreled ruger 77 bolt action. None of this is carved in stone. I do my own loading for the 22.250 so the cost of ammo is not that great for me. I like a full choke 12 gauge Shotgun for close in yotes where you don't see them till they are on top of you ,sort of point and pull triger thing. Well enough of my rambling. Hope this doesn't bore you to tears.------ Skein says it all---

DAB

[ 01-02-2004, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: DAB ]

skein · 01-02-2004, 06:29 PM

Who cares what we think? It's what you think that matters. What do you think a varmint catridge should do?

I wanted a 22-250 for years and when I finally got one, I never looked back. It has worked for me - in spades! Yet I'm thinking about getting my wife a 222 simply because she finds the crack of the 22-250 much louder and she doesn't like the fact that the recoil, slight as it is, makes it jump off the target.

Both will kill varmints up to and including coyotes instantaneously.

What are you looking for in a varmint rifle?

Skein

Rusty · 01-02-2004, 06:46 PM

Skein,

I would like to answer your question on the "best varmit caliber", but I must add a note of caution to my remarks.

I like the .223 Remington for a number of reasons, and don't like it for ONE specific reason.

Likes:

Light weight and recoil
Swings fast
Larger variety of gunmakers to choose from..
(I own the "new" Ruger Compact in .223)
Huge variety of loads available
Relative cost of rounds
Killing power

Dislike:

The short, skinny cartridge has a tendency to "hang up" in the receiver of bolt action rifles. (Mine does this despite having been sent back to Ruger for re-working)

The only reason I MIGHT consider trading up to the GREAT 22.250 would be the fatter casing making "shell pick-up" easier to acheive.

My $.02! [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

Rusty :grin:

salmurai · 01-02-2004, 07:03 PM

It depends on where you're sitting in relation to what kind of varmit it is and where it is sitting. Get a handful of "varmit guns". It is a lot more fun and that way it won't matter as much as to who is sitting where.

Rauly · 01-03-2004, 06:05 AM

So far my .223 kills them dead and is accurate.

Rauly

Catcherman · 01-03-2004, 08:34 AM

I have to agree with the rest!
I own .243, .223, and a 22-250.
I love all three of them!!
It all depends on what you are wanting to do with them. If you are going to be taking really long shots is somewhat windy conditions than I would choose a .243.
If you you are looking for an "all around" varmint rifle I would choose a lighter .223, for the many facts such as, lighter, cheaper ammo, very effective range, low recoil, ect....
I usually shoot at critters under 150 yards! Sometimes for fun I like to take longer shots (200-300yards)at graydiggers at longer ranges and the .223 works great! It is effective out to 300yards and can easily go further! Optics and a steady rest is the key, along with reading the wind!
I also love my 22-250, It is a great round, that shoots very fast and flat. My only gripe is that the lightweight bullets are more prone to be affected by the wind at very long ranges (300-500 yards)

My best advise is to find a rifle that is appealing to your eye and more important is how it fits you. Buy the best optics you can afford and shoot quality ammunition, and become proficient at using that rifle! Shoot, shoot, shoot!!!

Tom

Norski · 01-03-2004, 12:07 PM

I use my .223 H&R toped with a 3X14X40, great gun shoots fine out to 400 yards.
And for long shots, (DON'T SCREAM AT ME) I use my Tack driven Howa .308.
Again, just my 00.2 cents worth.
The one and only RIVER-RAT.

billc_sbio · 01-03-2004, 01:18 PM

IMHO, most of the .22 centerfires are super "convenient" and that's what most shooters use, me included.

However, what's probably "best" might be one of the 6mms, with .243 Win. and 6mm Rem. coming immediately to mind, but there are others too. The 6mm's buck the wind a little better than the .22s (if there's a cross wind). They're a little more expensive to shoot as the bullets are a little more expensive and they use more powder than the .22s.

One thing in favor for the .22s is that most of them come "setup" for the varmint weight bullets with the correct twist rate barrels to handle bullets in the 45-60g range.

On the other hand most 6mms are going to be "Big Game" or at least "dual use" rifles and they'll probably have a fast twist rate barrel for the heavier 6mm bullets. For a varmint rifle shooting the lighter 6mm bullets in the 60-80g range they really need to be setup with a slower twist rate barrel.

[ 01-03-2004, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: billc_sbio ]

TonTo · 01-03-2004, 03:08 PM

Dose anyboddy still shoot the little .22 hornett anymore? Never owned one myself but have seen many a cattle dropped in their tracks,some scetchier steers up to 50yds out,and have always been impressed by this little power house.I imagine it would do some good work on a yote too.Maybee it's just a cost thing ,don't know what ammo costs,but I imagine it could be reloaded fairly inexspensivly.
The slaughter boys I've watched use this cal. in a mod.77 ruger and useally carry one open sighted,for the stupid cattle,and a scoped one for the not so friendly beef.

[ 01-03-2004, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: TonTo ]

Timber · 01-03-2004, 06:30 PM

Tonto I've got a pair of the 77's in the hornet one for me and one for the wife they are a ball and do a good job to 200yds but that's the limit with the litle guys. Timber

billc_sbio · 01-03-2004, 06:44 PM

Tonto,

Yep, got a Ruger #3 (a single shot, somewhat similar to a #1) in .22 Hornet. When they made the #3, they made it in .22 Hornet, .30-40 Krag, and .45-70. In .45-70 the barrel was thin walled and as a little 20" carbine I'll bet it was a handful. They used the same barrel with a .22 cal. hole in it, and in that caliber it was almost a "bull barrel".

I bought my little Hornet as my "Squirrel Rifle". Where I used to hunt, early in the Spring time we'd go shoot "Grey Digger" Ground Squirrels with .22 rimfire rifles. But towards the middle of the summer they changed their habbits and would head down their holes when we were a little further than 100 yards away from them. We needed a little "something extra". My hunting buddy opted for a .22 WMR rifle, while I went with the little single shot .22 Hornet. Once I worked up a load, I reloaded and my ammo ended up costing LESS than his .22 Magnum rimfires. My rifle also was more accurate and more impressive when it hit the squirrels too.

This was the first of my varmint rifles. After the Hornet came a .222 Reminton, a .22-250 (which I later sold), a couple of .223s and a .220 Swift.

I still really enjoy the .22 Hornet, and out to 150 yards it'll get the job done. It's a lot quieter than all my other .22 centerfires and it's really thrifty to reload.

01-03-2004, 07:03 PM

When I was hunting coyotes for fur I used a .243 with good results, it handled cross wind much better than my .220 Swift. It didn't cause as much fur damage either.

What you need for all varmint situations is:

#1 A good .22 Long Rifle
#2 A .222/.223
#3 A 22-250/.220 Swift
#4 A .243/6mm Rem, a 250-3000, 257 Roberts or 25-06 would work here too.

Four rifles in these calibers would just about cover everything in the varmint range. Unless the varmints are the ones I had to deal with in SE Alaska and then I would recommend at least a 338 if not a 375 or 416.

I'd like to have a good bolt action rifle in .22K Hornet or .221 Rem Fireball for close range fur harvesting.

[ 01-03-2004, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

Chukrchaser · 01-03-2004, 07:40 PM

I had been thinking hard about a 223 super short then wavered to the 22-250 or a 220 Swift

-- then I read a short news note about the new Ruger/Hornady partnership in the .204 -- 32gr V-Max at 4225 ft/sec. -- gives me goose bumps

-- based on the 223 Mag cartridge. Comes out in March.

So far I am able to resist putting down a deposit -- Heaven help me if CZ or Remington hit the market with it! :grin: :grin:

KingFisher85 · 01-03-2004, 07:57 PM

221 fireball
218 bee
22 mag

I've takin coyotes out past 100 yards with my 22mag.

brshooter · 01-04-2004, 09:48 AM

Been a bench rest shooter for years and had several 6ppc barrels and lots of components laying around that were culled from sorting for competition. Built a rat gun on an old Remington 700 action and it works great on any varmint that gets in its path. Doesn't shoot like my bench guns, but will shoot in the three's and four's all day long which is plenty good for varmints.

[ 01-04-2004, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: brshooter ]

ORoutdoorsman · 01-04-2004, 11:10 PM

Skein, I am torn between the 22-250 and the 223 for which I would call the best varmint gun. I guess it depends on the person and what you will use it for primarily. I started this post primarily just to see what people think and get a different point of view on the subject. As for me, since I am always buying more guns, I wil probably get something "specialized" in the future, but I stick with my marlin golden 39a .22 for little critters, and my '06 or 12 guage for 'yotes.