LR varmint shooting. What cartridge and bullets? How far?

[Bigfoot]

I have a heavy .223 for the short-medium stuff and I want to build a LR varmint/target barrel for a SA Savage. Light, fast, low BC V-MAXs lose thier advantage at these ranges so I'll shoot thin jacket target bullets. If I go 6XC, .243 or 6.5-284 that means launching A-MAXs or JLKs at 3,000-3,100 fps.

What impact velocity should I keep these thin jacket bullets above for good varmint kills?

I'm trying to balance LR target and LR varmint needs, I'll use a bigger case like 6-284 for more velocity if I have to.

 

[Sunray]

What kind of varmints? What do you consider long range?
6.5-284 brass is considerably more expensive than .243. Almost triple the price. The .243 is a medium range calibre even with the best match grade bullets.
A 6.5 x 55 may be a better option than either. Brass is easy and relatively inexpensive to find. Match, big game and varmint bullets are readily available and nothing beats it for BC. Needs a long action though.

 

[Bigfoot]

This is a long range or windy day rock chuck and yote killer. I've got some 6.5-284 brass already but my cartridge choice is still open, as long as it's capable of shooting well at the 1000 yd range just down the road. For just punching paper and small critters I figured the lighter recoil of the 6mms would help accuracy. How far? I'm not sure how to answer that, kinda like how pretty do I want my next wife to be. That's why I was hoping to find the min. impact velocity so I could punch it into the software and let it tell me how far each cartridge would be effective. The A-MAXs are similar in construction to the V-MAX so I'd assume the min velocity would be close.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I went with a Savage 12 series bolt action with the accu-trigger and heavy barrel in 22-250. I was tossing up betweent the .223 and the 22-250 but decided on a whole new gun instead of an upper for my AR.

I have a 6-24X50 scope standing by and a bypod on the way.

 

[Art Eatman]

Out beyond 300 to 400 yards, wind drift is a major factor. This means high BC and heavier bullets at high velocity. And, when hunting varmints, it also means knowing the exact range when in an unstructured environment.

While I've read of excellent results with 6mm, it seems to me this is still rather a minimum.

In the FWIW department: My 500-yard range has 22" hanging plates. With a "nice breeze" I hold about a foot of air off to the upwind side with an '06 in order to get a center hit.

Art

 

[P0832177]

A look at David Tubb's 6XC might be in order to avoid burning your barrel out. Of course with the Savage rebarreling is simple job! Buy a prethreaded barrel and you are darn near done!