GomerPyle85
Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1
Howdy all from the Beehive State! I'll start off by saying I'm a brand new member of The High Road. I've read the forums for years, figured I finally needed to join in on the fun. For my first thread, I'm seeking advice regarding a new varmint rifle. I just gave my Father my relatively new Remington Model 700 VSSF II chambered in 22-250 Rem. I picked it up last fall brand new at the local gun shop, I'm a longtime customer of the shop and they said that the VSSF II Model 700s were absolute top quality rifles that did not suffer from quality control issues like the cheapo Remingtons. It was the last one they had in stock, so needless to say I picked it up. Well long story short my Father has been a Remington man for decades, especially the Model 700, and he kept on saying how much he liked it. Being more of a blued steel and wood stock fan(hardwood and laminate), the VSSF II never grew on me. So, needless to say, I just gave it to my Father as an early Father's Day present. I'm keeping the scope, as Dad can hardly see the reticle (Leupold VX3 6.5-20x40mm with the target do reticle). So I've got a great varmint scope that needs a rifle worthy of the range it offers. I have the smaller varmint/close range battery covered, with three 22 rifles, a 22 handgun, and a scoped 22 Magnum. Right now the three cartridges I'm looking at are the ones most people seem to debate over: 204 Ruger, 22-250 Rem, and the legendary 220 Swift. If I had the money I'd get all three because all three rock, but there are other guns that have my eye right now as well. I'm leaning towards the 220 Swift the most, for a few reasons. #1 reason being that I handload, so relying on factory ammo is not an issue. #2 is the fact that not a ton of people have the Swift, and right now I'm trying to add more unique cartridges to my collection. #3 is that there is a brand new Ruger Number One Varmint at my local gun shop. It has beautiful wood and from what I have read and heard, the heavy barrel Number Ones are spooky accurate. I've also read/heard that back in the day, Jim Carmichael of Outdoor Life visited Ruger, and Bill Ruger told him that you could take a 22-250 and shoot a group, and then take a 220 Swift and cut that group in half. The second option is a new Savage M12 heavy stainless laminate thumbhole stock in 22-250. I have some friends who have Savage rifles and they are scary accurate. I myself am a Winchester Model 70 man, and I wish so bad that a new Model 70 Varmint rifle would be introduced with a nice laminate wood stock with the option of 220 Swift. The pre-64 Model 70 rifles are out of reach for me, especially the Swift chambered guns. The third choice is the 204 Ruger. I hear nothing but positive things about this cartridge as two of my Dad's friends own a 204 Ruger and they love them. So those are the ones I'm considering right now. I live in Northern Utah, so the varmints will be prairie dogs, jack rabbits, rock chucks, and coyotes come winter time. Mainly the latter 3, as I find my 22 Magnum is perfect for prairie dogs. So which rifle/cartridge combo should I go with? I'm pretty much a bolt action man but I have a soft spot for lever actions, and I have always thought that a single action such as a #1 or 1885 Winchester would be sweet to own. I'm also not considering the 223 Rem. Great as it is, I had one(Colt M4 Carbine) and it was fun, but I'm looking for some Lightning. I'm also not interested in a wildcat or the AI route. I am religious with gun maintenance, as my Dad, the Marine Corps and now law enforcement have instilled in me that a firearm shall be cleaned, inspected, and cleaned again. So from what I understand, keeping a hot rod round's bore clean should add a few years of life? I am also careful with shooting, making sure that when the barrel heats up I allow it to cool down. Long post and I apologize for it, I'm just very detailed and I like to cover all the bases. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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