Favorite Varmint Round??

Bruno,
I don't always run the varmint grenades to max velocity (though you can quite easily) I work up a load the gun throws best. Now running VG'c out of my H&R 223 I max load the 36 grainers and I can hit dimes at 100 no problem. They really make a mess out of prairie dogs....

Urban Pest Control

85 grain sierra boat tail .243 for ground squirrels = "Red Mist."
12 gauge shotgun with OO buckshot for feral dog that chased me --- once.
.38 special with Speer shot cartridges for a lot of rats in my wood pile.
.25 ACP for pesky old telephone books. Three at a time. (Saves time and ammo.)

My favorite is 22-250, but I usually use .223 because I have so much more of it.

Man no pictures?

This has become my favorite prairie dog rig--
Magnum Research Picuda 22 LR/Horus Vision Predator 8-26x H-70 reticle--



My favorite walking prairie dogger (replaced 2X Barska with 2X nikon)--



And nowadays this 17 Fireball XP-100 is very close to my favorite centerfire prairie dogger--



and this AR 223 AI is one of my favorite coyote getters--



I am currently building an XP that i think will be even better than the 17 FB--the 17 VHA.

For woodchucks, I prefer my .17 HMR, 20gr polytip. If it's 150 yards or less, it's dead.

back in the day, the triple-deuce out to 150 yards, 225 winchester out to 350 yards, 220 swift and 6mm remington past 350. the swift was better out to 400 yards. the 6mm best over 500.

good times shooting chucks back in western pa.

murf

I have a whole safe full of varmint guns, but I have two that are in a tie as my #1 favorite, they are equally awesome guns.
257 Roberts AI with 75 gr Hornaday hollow points
243 Win AI with 65 grain V-max
On gophers and PD they create great RED MIST SOCIETY days, Coyotes are DRT and so are Deer and antelope with heavier bullets

.270W loaded with 110gr. Hornaday hollow points. Good for deer to groundhogs.

55 gr BT in .243

It will blow the heck out of anything out to 300 yds at 4000+ FPS

I've used a Hornady 52 grn. A-Max in my TC Contender with the 14" barrel (.223) on coyotes out here and it stops them in there tracks, however there isn't near as many of them this year so I guess I'll just let 'em be.

However, a buddy of mine that lives up around Seligman, AZ, said there are a lot of Praire Dogs tearing up his property again, and would appreciate a little help in controlling them critters. So I guess my new AR-15 with the 20" Bull Barrel with the Sierra 55 Grn HP/BT should do the trick. I've got PD's out to 350 yards with my Weatherby in .223 a few years ago from a bench fairly consistently, not to blow my horn ya know.

My first center fire was an F.N. Mauser in .250-3000 Savage and it worked for deer and was poison on the local woodchucks, western coyotes and jackrabbits. Shot a turkey or two also.
Still have it and it shoots great especially with 87 Grain Hornadys.

300 WSM

I always thought this look like fun

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2007/09/franklins-4000fps-30-cal-varminter-a-hit-with-hunters/

This summer I'm hoping to get some coyote hunting in here in Ohio. Never done it before but I'll be taking out my AR. 223 will do for me. My train of thought is caliber choice 10% + good shot placement 90%= clean kill 100% of the time. For squirrel hunting I like my 12 ga. with low base shells and a tight choke. I used to like a 22lr but I don't feel comfortable shooting in the tree tops. It's great for shots angled towards the ground but I like the option for both ground and tree tops with the shotgun.
In my "opinion" one of the best varmint guns would be a Savage Model 24! Plenty of caliber and gauge combinations to suit most people! Savage has a new over under rifle/shotgun out but I think it's ugly! So I prefer the old model for that reason only!

the kind that kills them...

22lr is good because it's cheap.
25-06 because it's accurate and flat shooting.
223 because nothing's as fun as an AR15.
7.62x39 because it's the cheaper closer range alternative to the 223.
45/70 because it's so versatile.
303brit because nothings more fun that watching a squirrel vaporize.
30-06 because (see 303 brit)
6.5 jap because my 6.5 is super accurate and it's the most recent for me.

Ain't no consarned varmint with in a hunnert yards that's under 75 # that can't be murdered with a 30 gr Barnes Varmint Grenade outta the smokin' end of a 22 Hornet.

Switch that to 300 yds and a 50gr BVG, for 150# and a red hot 223 Remington barrel.

But man I really got the hots for a 220 Swift , and a 17 Hornet and a 22-250 and a,OOPS there goes the savings!

223, because it does the job real well.I

Favorite

My Savage M-11 in 223 Rem is my present favorite.I had a. 225 Winchester previous to the 223. Difficulty in getting brass forced me to sell that.I really did not need the 225 here in PA.The 223 does everything I need. If I lived in prairy dog country I would get a 22-250.I started out with a 22 Hornet which would still be adequite. I did not handload at that time so I really never utilized it's potential.

I shoot 58gr VMAX out of my 243 Win. My marlin XS7 loves this bullet, I push them to around 3,600 fps. Deadly, and accurate. Good on anything from ground rodents to coyotes. More reach than 223.

17 HMR / 22 Mag for under 125 yards
223 for up to 200 yards
243 for up to 300 yards for me.

SScoyote, thos dogs are huge! Out here in northern Cal, our pdogs are about the size of a redbull can! The Boone and Crocket models, a pepsi can. Oh, I bet the .17 contender is sweet. My current favorite is in .221 Fireball.

For me its a 22 Hornet. It's quiet and gets the job done.

witchhunter said:

SScoyote, thos dogs are huge! Out here in northern Cal, our pdogs are about the size of a redbull can! The Boone and Crocket models, a pepsi can. Oh, I bet the .17 contender is sweet. My current favorite is in .221 Fireball.

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I don't know where Lassen county is but I've shot prairie dogs around central imperial valley.. pretty much, where lots were about the size of a big loaf of bread.. and heavy!
I think they were old/mature momma's or something.

I really like the 223 for coyotes. For squirrels its a Savage 22 over 410

Any 50 bmg varmint hunters? Pics would be sweet!

Most all of my shooting is at prairie dogs. P dogs get nuzzle blast smart so I start in the spring with a 17HM2 RF then as they get smarter I use the 17 HMR RF, then the 17 Fireball followed by the 204 Ruger. By fall I may get out the 22-250, 220 Swift, and the 243 Winchester. When I have shot p dogs at 400 yards with the 243 other p dogs in the area get into their holes because of the loud muzzle blast .

That's good stuff there Dave. I'm fixin to do my dirtpig shootin with my .36 Seneca this summer.

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All we have here are are dirtpigs (groundhogs). No prarie dogs, and no classic gophers.

I tell folks my .40 flinter with a patched, round ball is my "hog rifle", and the "hogs" usually tumble backwards when hit, and I never need a second shot..., it takes a second but any hunter in the discussion picks up that I am talking ground-hogs, not delicious piggies....

I have a nice, bull barrel handi-rifle in .223, and it's a tack driver, but not near as much fun as the flintlock.

LD