Best small caliber "farm" gun

[JEB]

since he already has a .223 i would forget the .22 hornet and go for the .22 mag as the hornet more-or-less splits the difference between the mag and the .223.

as far as the firearm itself, i dont have a whole lot of experience but i do have a marlin 925m in that caliber that will easily shoo sub 1" groups at 100 yards, even in the wind. a guy i work with has a henry lever action in .22 mag that he swears is a tack-driver.

 

[DNS]

Surely the 22 magnum.

I've got several but for hunting its a scoped Savage 93.

 

[Gtscotty]

If he got a CZ 455, he could buy barrels in .22 mag, 17 hmr, or 22 lr and use whichever one he wants. I have all three barrels for mine, but can't seem to take the 17 barrel off... it just shoots too darn well.

 

[Hokkmike]

What about a WMR .22? The Marlin 882SS (now renumbered) is accurate and has clean look. (At least mine is accurate)

 

[sixgunner455]

Something else to consider - the .17 shouldn't ricochet like a .22LR or WMR can. 500 acres is a big piece of dirt, but a ricochet can carry a long way. If I'm reading you correctly, you aren't talking about big pests, just little ones the .17 can take handily, but that may be in front of items in the background that would potentially bounce a bullet that passes through the target (or misses).

A .17 HMR bullet should break up instead of bouncing.

I would pick a .17 on that basis.

 

[kingcheese]

It all depends on the bullet, 22wmr vmax also brakes up pretty good, I'm not gonna lie, i love my 17, but the weather has to be near perfect before i can rely on it to make a shot past a 100yards, at that distance even a 22lr is typicaly accurate enough for small game

 

[lefteyedom]

Just to be different from all the other good suggestion.

How about a M1 carbine>?

It is about 5 1/2 pounds, easy to carry, good for rabbit to deer and able to handle personal defense if ever needed. old school is always cool.

 

[kBob]

One should not base one's discissions on "majority rule." Imagine if you got ill and secided to go with whatever treatment most people meantioned.....today ...in this spot. Might not go so well with the recovery.

He has a pair of nice calibers as it is.

For knocking about it is really hard to beat a .22LR. Sure there are fans of .22 Mag or .17 whatever. If you really want to see what the majority "recommends" trot down to whatever place that sells .22mag, ,17 whatever, 5mm something or other and some sort of Hornet and the lowly .22LR and see what takes up the most room on the shelves and what sells best.

I would be willing to bet that a Marlin 60 could shoot as well as 95 percent of non target shooters are going to. A Ruger 10-22 can shoot almost as well. Neither of those break the bank for the initial purchase and the ammo is cheap. Being semi autos they have darned fast second or third shots if needed.

-kBob

 

[Roadking Rider]

Man I'd jump at the chance to plug some critters with my 10/22 or mini 14 on a 500 acre dairy farm. Heck I'd bring my own ammo and buy you lunch and a six pack.
The new Mini 14 ranch rifles are some pretty nice rifles. I think it would be a very nice choice for what your talking about.

 

[PRM]

I grew up on a farm in the rural South - all we had were .22LRs. They were cheap, fun, and effective. Just about every farmer in the 60s-70s had a .22 rifle of some sort in their pick-up. We even took them to school (left them in our vehicle) so we could go hunting after school. Nobody got hurt or expelled either. We shot squirrels, snakes, rabbits, groundhogs, a few coyotes, raccoons, and when it came time for killing hogs - a .22 put more than a few pounds of sausage in the freezer.

I still have my first Marlin. Dad passed on a couple of years ago and I have his Remington Nylon 66 and his High Standard Double Nine Pistol.

Nothing wrong with a .22 on the farm.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

My "farm" is a lot smaller. A 22lr Marlin 60 and 39A have run me clean out of woodchucks and opossum. I don't mind a nick or scratch on the 60 but I am more protective of my 39s. If I had a coyote concern I might own a .22mag but with an AR I probably have that covered.

I think the .22/410 is cool combo, better if you can get it in .22 mag.

 

[RustHunter87]

A 22 hornet or ever magnum is Way more gun than I would use on pigeons, rats and most common farm "pests"
If he has a 223 he can use that on bigger pests like yotes and chucks at range,
I would just go with a bolt 22 with some stingers on hand just in case, but a 17hmr seems like it would be a good choice to but I have zero experience with them

 

[j1]

Have a Hornet love the gun the round and reloading for it too. Ruger 77-22 Hornet. Good range and good power. it really should do the job well.

 

[Sniper66]

My bro-in-law had a coon infestation on his little spread and I encouraged him to buy a 22 mag. He did and killed 14 coons; all one-shot kills. He loves it and it sits in his 4 wheeler most of the time. That said, I have a Ruger 77/17 that is durable and rugged, which would meet your dad's needs for a gun to tote in his truck, very accurate too. The Hornet ammo is expensive unless you load them yourself.

 

[303tom]

Something in .22 Long Rifle.................

 

[22-rimfire]

In 22 WMR, Savage Model 93 in whatever configuration you like will probably fix you up. I have a Marlin with the tubular mag (M983 with 4x scope) which is okay. The XT version currently made (XT-22MTW) has a better factory trigger. You have a choice between box or tubular magazine versions.

The Ruger is a higher priced rifle. I hear good things about it. I would not want to casually carry a CZ or the Ruger around as a "ranch rifle" unless it is not subjected to much abuse.

 

[tactikel]

CZ or Savage in .22 mag. If Coyotes are a problem go center fire; .22 hornet, .204 ruger, .223 in a bolt action. Polymer stock and stainless barrel are nice if in your budget.

 

[dalv]

Agree with Catshooter, NEF single shot break action. They are cheap, get composite stock for durability and plenty of calibers to choose from. For banging around a farm/tractor it can't be beat. Plus the inevitable dents and dings aren't worrisome like on a nicer piece (CZ, et al).

All the suggestions are good ones but I like the NEF for simplicity - gotta make the one shot count. Get him a sleeve for the stock to hold some extra ammo at a convenient place and it is surprisingly quick to reload.

I have a bunch of them, 17HMR is a tack driver out to 100yds with the bull barrel, 22 mag also good but not as accurate as the 17, couple shottys as well.
I love cause I don't get nervous about using them. I keep the Tikkas, CZs, Savages for the less adventerous (banging around) trips.

Also agree with the 22 hornet for a caliber - very accurate with handloads and fun to shoot with a little more reach.
Good Luck - lotta good choices out there.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

.22 magnum is a great all around cartridge. I have seen mobile slaughter services that use it to dispatch cattle before slaughter because it's clean and quick. I have also seen the gator guys on TV hunting gators with the .22 magnum. Even better, you can have it in a rifle or handgun platform. Ideally I think it would be great to have a handgun chambered in .22 mag, as well as a rifle.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=318056725

A local gun shop had a used single six with the .22 mag cylinder only last year for $150. If you shop around, you can usually find a used one at a great price. Parts are readily available should something break.


My cheap .22 mag rifle choice would be a Marlin XT-22M. Gunbroker buy it now is $235 brand new.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=317940952

 

[40 rod]

Not the cheapest but consider the Circuit Judge - 45 long colt and 3"410 in the same cylinder. Or the rossi trifecta single shot break action .22 20ga, 243 swaps barrels in about 90 seconds. both have a built in key/saftey ( a good idea for a gun that is left stashed in the barn)

 

[JERRY]

i once had a Marlin Model 25M .22 magnum bolt action with a cheapy 3x9 scope. that gun was a damn fine piece of shooting machinery.....and i let it go for $100.00 in 1990.

if i wanted a small caliber varmint gun again that would be the one.

 

[wrs840]

If you plan on being able to push open the door of a cab-tractor and shoot from the operator station, you may want to re-evaluate semi-autos. Hot brass bouncing off the glass, headliner, or even fancy electronics on it's way back to your shirt-collar is no fun.

My tractors have all have cabs, ...and scabbards mounted for a beat-up Marlin 336.

 

[bigfatdave]

Levergun in .22wmr would be my choice - Henry makes a couple configurations, all good.

 

[Scrumbag]

I'd say a .22 bolt action is probably the way to go. My preference would be CZ or Brno. Then you have the option of buying him a .22 pistol for another pressie later one!

 

[Cee Zee]

A good .22 LR bolt action is a very versatile gun in terms of what ammo it can shoot. Have you looked at some of the HV ammo they make for .22's these days? It gets very close to magnum levels of power from what I understand. Have a look at the Aguila 30 grain Super Maximum. 1750 fps is nothing to sneeze at even with just a 30 gr. bullet. The hottest .22 mag rounds only run about 2200 fps don't they? And the average .22 mag round runs about 1900 fps with a 40 gr. bullet. Certainly the magnum is a more powerful round but is it worth the extra money for a rifle that only shoots the magnum rounds or is a person better off with a gun that accepts a much wider variety of ammo? I just know I've killed a lot of critters with a .22LR. YMMV as always but I will stick with my boring old .22LR which I've seen used to kill everything from bobcats (what can I say? - I didn't shoot it and wouldn't shoot one unless it was a real nuisance - the one I saw was shot about 50 years ago anyway) to cattle and hogs. Of course it was a point blank shot on that livestock but the .22 did do the job.