Buddy Is Looking For A Varmint Rifle

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newglockguy

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As the title suggests my friend and his dad are looking for a varmint rifle. He asked me for help so now I'm asking you guys. I have no clue what rifle they're looking at but the calibers that have caught their eye are 22-250, .204 Ruger, .223, 25-06, and maybe .243 and .270. Any other caliber they should take a look at?
 
If it's a dedicated varmit rig, they could do worse than a 22-250 or 220 Swift. Around my parts I'd say 22-250 ammo is a bit more widely available and at a slightly lower cost than the Swift.
 
Varmint gun

I think it depends on whether or not they want a multi-role gun or more or less dedicated varmint gun. As far as calibers go,the .243 would make for a great deer gun that would work quite well for non edible critters too. The 25-06 and .270 also, although probably more gun than most people want to shoot 100 prairie dogs with at a time - recoil plus more expensive bullets and more powder. The 22-250 has got to be king for really long range varmints (plentiful components, at least in sane times) In the end for most varmints and ranges, maybe 200 yrds. and under, and economical shooting, the .223 is pretty hard to beat. I'm sure others will have different opinions though.
 
Hopefully it wont last long, but as of now .223 is more costly and harder to find than cartridges that out perform it.
220swift is pretty darn good as well as 204 ruger. As of now they are both easier to get than .223.
22-250 is pretty much the standard for available ammo and longer range though.
 
I'd go with the .223 and a fast twist barrel. With heavy bullets, the .223 makes a good long range varmiter, and with properly-constructed heavy bullets can take deer and antelope.
 
OP. Got to give out more information buddy. As much as you have. Why a varmint rifle, hunting or target, what ranges, other potential uses, reloading vs. otc? So many good options, especially with those calibers listed. each one of those has their place. it's just about figuring out which one best matches the intended role for your friends.
 
It seems we're working out a bit of a consensus.

0-100YDS......17HMR
100-300YDS..17REM, 204RUGER, 223REM
300-600YDS..22-250, 220SWIFT
600+YDS about anything goes with 243WIN and 25-06 in the lead due to bullet selection.

Should help your friends create a short list. They can plug in their own variables and shorten it up a bit.
 
I use several different calibers depending on the prey, situation and my mood.
1. Squirrels, rabbits etc. .22LR and .17HMR, 2. Crows, grackles, blackbirds .17HMR, or .223/5.56//.22LR if short range. 3. Prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats could use .223, .22-250 or 6mm. 4. Feral hogs anything .223 up to .45-70.
5. close range=12ga. in a variety of shot sizes depending on the varmint.

.223/5.56Nato is kinda hard to come by now--fortunately I have several thousand rds. on hand. Hopefully, this shortage won't last??? Heck, I can't even get the .22LR ammo I use. Things are quite scary in this political climate.
 
Form Tempe, I figure you are talking Coyotes?

I have always been a fan of the .270 because of its diversity, but I relaoded back then. I don't recall any bullet weight I could not find a load that wouldn't work as advertised. Cost and availability of ammo might be something to consider today. Everyone you listed will do the job, and pros and cons for all could be found.

But for diversity, the .270 would be my choice; and the standard twist rate on my Ruger lightweight didn't revial anything but a nice wide range to work with. The average 130 to 150 grain off the shelf ammo is a bit heavy for varmint use, but they sell ammo down to 100 grain which is ideal for small game if you can find it in your area.

I reloaded 90 to 140 grain bullets, and all were easy to find good loads. 110 thru 140 grain bullets were my favorite bullet weights in reloading. The 140 grain HPBT bullets and loads were so rock solid, I couldn't see a good reason to get away from that bullet weight; with the 130 grain bullets as the sweet spot for that caliber and general shooting.

I can't imagine not finding a Yote buster off the shelf in 130 grains that won't go clean thru a pelt inside 250 yards; nor one that won't drop a deer where it stands. The caliber and bullet weight is just to versatile. There is no "magic bullet" that will do it all, but the .270 at the velocities it is capiable of comes about as close and as I have found; bullet shapes/ design give it a lot of options to hunters in North America.

For what its worth,
Chuck
 
22-250, duel roll 243. A 243 win with 55 gr bullets is a 4100 fps cartridge if your buddy re loads.
 
I've got a match grade .22, a .22 Hornet, a CZ American in Ruger .204, an ultra accurate AR 223, and a Remington 700 VS heavy barrel in 22-250.

As noted, it depends a lot on how much you're gonna shoot, do you hand load (I assume not if you have to ask which to buy), and as noted, the anticipated ranges.

If I had to pick one to take on a prairie dog hunt (lots of shots and accuracy required), it would be the AR closely followed by the .204. In a few weeks the lunacy will die down and .223 ammo will most likely be cheap again. The .204 shoots laser flat and has zero recoil.

Third would be the Hornet, and the .22-250 would be last, simply because the barrel heats really fast (as in five shots or less), it has a little more recoil (can't see the hits), and it's LOUD.

Back nearly fifty years ago my dad bought me a 22-250. I terrorized groundhogs around the farming community. There are other choices I'd make now.

Any/all would be acceptable. Anything above these start to punish you in the recoil and noise departments.
 
Lots of good points made. Personally, I'm a .22-250 fan. Yes, there is more recoil and report. For coyotes, that's a non issue, but if making lots of shots I would go with something not as hot. With my hand loads and my dope card taped to my stock I don't hesitate on coyotes out to 400yds. Yes, I practice out to 400 as well.


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For short range .204 Ruger or .223 would be a top choice, for long range I like the .243 Winchester.

I like his thinking. I have the 204 and 243. Now looking for a 223 too.......
 
I've always been curious about the .204 Ruger. It seems to have gotten real good reviews and has gotten a pretty good size following. Still, like many other posters have said, it's reeeeeeeal tough to beat a 22-250 when it comes to varmints. It's the only high powered caliber my dad AND my grandad have ever owned. My dad's is an old Remmy 788 and grandad's is a custom mauser action target rifle from the 40's.

I've always wanted to get a 25-06. Little bigger pill, great case (like anythings made from the 30-06), and if they ever decide to take a shot at something larger than a woodchuck, they'll have the gun to do it.

Any thought to what rifle will be sending these bullets down range?
 
For me the varmit discussion would start and end with a longer barreled AR in .223 but if your looking for a bolt gun I REALLY like the .220swift cartridge.
 
I would never consider a 223 in a bolt rifle over a 22-250. But if I was looking at pelts and didn't reload now I would think a little different. MAYBE 204?
 
Well I did consider a .223 over a .22-250 bolt action and I think I made the right choice. Normally the price of ammo makes the .223 the rifle to use. You're talking double the money for even .22 hornet ammo. I just bought a box of that. 25 rounds for $25. Considering I can buy decent .223 for less than $10 for 20 rounds most of the time I'd say that seals the deal. And .22-250 is also expensive. There's a lot of those .223's around and there's a lot of ammo to go with them. You can get it about anywhere (normally). In fact I just bought some about a week ago. I could have bought plenty but I have plenty already. And it will kill varmints as far as a person should be shooting them IMO. I can easily kill anything I want at 500 yards with my Savage 12 LRPV. I can shoot critters in the eye at that distance for the most part. Wind issues can cause problems at longer distances but it isn't really humane to shoot any critter at more than 500 yards IMO. It can be done if you have the right setup but we're talking varmits here. There's no need to shoot them at much more than 500 yards.

My choice came down to either a .22-250 or a .223. The .223 shoots less flat of course but it shoots a lot cheaper. So the decision was easy for me.
 
Considering I can buy decent .223 for less than $10 for 20 rounds most of the time I'd say that seals the deal. .

Maybe FMJ...but if you compare .22-250 varmint ammo to .223 varmint ammo, they are about the same price....at least if you want decently accurate ammo.

Right now, you will have an easier time finding .22-250 ammo anyway
 
Remington 700 sps varmint, with a H&S stock, warne picatinny rail, 6-24 tactical scope with adjustable objective. Best bang for the buck.
 
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