New/used rifle

[MattShlock]

What's .338 Lapua going for? .458 Win Mag!? They also wouldn't really apply to a prairie dog town or for target shooting IMO if not most experienced shooters'.

 

[mljdeckard]

Yes a .223 will work. But if I were you, I would cruise the pawn shops for a lefty .243.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

If you're ok giving up the semi-auto and going with the bolt action, I'd say
25-06.

It's fast and hard hitting for deer (certainly better than a .223), and can reach waaaaaaay out there for smaller critters.

Your budget is just about right for a quality rifle. A nice scope might put you a little bit over your ideal price, but that's up to you. I'd go to every pawn shop/gun shop in your town and just poke around. You could also pickup a new savage 110 for around $500.

 

[22-rimfire]

A 243 would be my choice and it would probably be a bolt action.

The prairie dog use is a bit of a stretch for the 243 (a bit overkill) if it is a common thing for you. I would look at a 17 HMR or the new 17 WSM and invest in a second rifle. I know that is not the answer you are seeking. If the whitetail use is minimal, then I would go 223 and choose your shots and bullet carefully. But as a general rule, I do not favor using a 223 for deer hunting unless that is all you have.

 

[Reloadron]

Nope.

There is no perfect "do-all" rifle if you consider how much it's going to cost to shoot.

We are just throwing out suggestions. I can purchase 7.62x39 for $5.29/box. What's 243 going for?

OK, back to the beginning:

White tail, coyotes, possible hogs, prairie dogs, and general target shooting.

Initially I suggested the 308 Winchester and later did a my bad as I missed those pesky little prairie dogs. They are easy to miss because they are after all pretty small little rodents.

Enter MattShlock whose post mentioned:

I think those suggesting 7.62x39 for a choice including varmint hunting and target shooting should be embarrassed if not ashamed of themselves.

Now I will be the first to agree there is no one size fits all in hunting rifles and that is a given. Heck, I would even agree that MattShlock could have worded his post better but I do agree and believe his post was right on target as it pertains to the thread.

The 7.62X39 is an ideal cartridge as to what it was designed for and it was not designed as a hunting cartridge unless we include hunting people at ranges of 200 yards. However, the cartridge does fit into the hunting scheme. I have hunted in your home state of WV quite extensively especially in the Webster County and surrounding county areas. I have seen plenty of venison placed on the table as a result of a single shot from a 7.62X39.

However, that said in my opinion as a varmint cartridge with a focus on prairie dogs it totally sucks and here is why. Lets look at a comparison between the 7.62 Russian and the 243 Winchester.

Long Range Trajectory:

A 243 Winchester with a 250 yard zero will be 2.2" high at 100 yards, 2.7" high at 150 yards, 2.0" at 200 yards and finally -3.5" at 300 yards. This with an 80 grain bullet fired through a 24 to 26 inch typical hunting barrel. At 300 yards that bullet will still be traveling along at 2259 FPS with an energy of 906 pounds of force.

A 7.62X39 with a 150 yard zero (that is as good as it gets) at 100 yards 1.5" high, at 200 yards -3.8", at 250 yards -10.4" and finally at 300 yards -20.1". At 300 yards the velocity of a 125 grain hunting bullet will be about 1533 FPS with an energy of about 653 pounds of force.

Now this is why I would not even consider the 7.62X39 as a contender in this thread. Now if you want to hunt varmints like foxes and other predators where the game is frequently called in to ranges of 100 yards or less I would agree the 7.62X39 could suffice but varmints that are small burrowing rodents like marmots, ground squirrels and prairie dogs ranges of 300 yards of more are not uncommon. You want a flat shooting cartridge and the 7.62X39 as can be seen is far from flat.

I won't even get started on the cost of ammunition argument. The steel cased 7.62X39 @ $5.29 a box is garbage when looking at shooting a varmint the size of a squirrel at 300+ yards. The cost of ammunition in any good or fine rifle for hunting or accurate target shooting should not even be a consideration. If someone weighs in ammunition cost when buying a good rifle they really need to rethink what they are buying and why. A good 10X scope plus for varmint hunting will far exceed the rifle and ammunition cost.

Just My Take
Ron

 

[YZ]

Ron. In this neck of the woods all of the above are illegal for deer. The risk of wounding and torturing the animal outweighs the fun factor. Makes it less than a 100 yards allowed for a kill.

From what distance are you sure to kill your game humanely?

 

[almherdfan]

I agree that 7.62x39 is not a p-dog round.

However, it will take deer, hogs, coyotes and serve as a "general" target caliber (depending on what that means to the OP). It really depends on what emphasis the OP takes with this "do-all" rifle and how much he's gonna shoot it. And there are auto-loading 7.62x39 rifles in his price range.

Just giving the guy another option--maybe it won't work for him, maybe it will.

 

[redneck2]

You'll see a lot of people start to crow about uncommon oddball and obsolete cartridges soon largely because they're what they got handed down to them by grandad or bought cheap on closeout. They'll have to tell you how easy reloading is because that'll be the only sure way to get ammo and in weights you might need.

Uhhh....yeah. Because it's true. I can load for my .204 or 22-250 for about 20 cents a round. Factory stuff is 10x that or more. Caliber is a non issue when you reload. All pretty much costs the same until you get into bigger calibers or high end bullets.

The basic dilemma is that you want to do it all with one gun. Once you put prairie dogs and target into the equation, that changes everything. Most likely something in the .243 or .25-06 would be great...... but....are you willing to shuck out $1.50-$2 for every pull of the trigger????

It's kinda like saying I want a truck that can haul a couple tons of dirt, carry a family of five, rides like a limo, and gets 30 mpg.

Your only options that I see are .223 or .308 and hope you can get milsurp. If you only have $500 to spend, how you gonna afford $100 a time at the bench for ammo??

 

[nastynatesfish]

If you've made your mind up on 243 then good deal. As far as 223 it'll kill just fine with the right bullet selected. 762x39 in a bolt action and loaded with good ammo is a sweet little rifle to shoot both scoped and open sight. I'd lean to a 25-06 if that's you intended use of it. Shoot anything dead with a 100 or 115 gr bullet.

 

[nastynatesfish]

Reloadron. Nice little write up but you cannt rightly compare ballistics of a 80 gr 243 to a 124gr 762x39 and expect anything extraordinary. If I was goin hunt with a 39 I'd buy superformance or just load my own.

 

[Reloadron]

Reloadron. Nice little write up but you cannt rightly compare ballistics of a 80 gr 243 to a 124gr 762x39 and expect anything extraordinary. If I was goin hunt with a 39 I'd buy superformance or just load my own.

I agree they can't really be compared. My point was while the 243 isn't a great varmint cartridge that given a choice between the 243 and 7.62X39 I'll choose the 243. That was all. I guess I could have used a 100 grain 243 also looking back.

I also agree there is no one size fits all. Heck, if the OP can settle for just whitetail and pigs I would go back to the 308.

Ron

 

[Reloadron]

Ron. In this neck of the woods all of the above are illegal for deer. The risk of wounding and torturing the animal outweighs the fun factor. Makes it less than a 100 yards allowed for a kill.

From what distance are you sure to kill your game humanely?

I was aware the .223 was illegal for deer in several states but not the .243 so many thanks for that enlightenment.

Ron

 

[DAP90]

Ron. In this neck of the woods all of the above are illegal for deer. The risk of wounding and torturing the animal outweighs the fun factor. Makes it less than a 100 yards allowed for a kill.

YZ, what state are you in? I’ve never heard of any state that allows rifle calibers making the 243 illegal for deer.

 

[YZ]

I did not say any rifle caliber is allowed here for deer. None of them. I was addressing someone from elsewhere who said he can have a 243. Then 30 cals should be ok as well. My state... no offense bud I'll keep my cover.

 

[Reloadron]

I did not say any rifle caliber is allowed here for deer. None of them. I was addressing someone from elsewhere who said he can have a 243. Then 30 cals should be ok as well.

OK, like here in Ohio where you can't hunt deer with a rifle, any rifle. Now I get what you were saying. Thanks....

Ron

 

[I6turbo]

Underappreciated?
.243 will be the most common and reasonable response you'll get here, I'm certain.

It'll be the most common response here in this thread because the OP's stated objective might as well have read, "A .243 is just about perfect for my needs, so what do you recommend I get?" But I say the .243 is often under-appreciated because it is very often an excellent choice when many people seem to be REALLY wanting to go with a 5.56 mm of some sort, or a 6-mm or 6.5-mm or 7-mm, seemingly for the "exotic" nature of some of those cartridges, or even trying to down-load a 30 caliber to do some lighter-duty job. Not necessarily in this thread, but in general when the "What's the best caliber for my all-purpose gun?" type of question, people often overlook the .243 or really work hard at justifying some more rare and exotic round, IMO.

 

[jack44]

243 or 22 -250

 

[3212]

I would go with a Ruger bolt action in .243.I've taken dozens of eastern groundhogs and dozens of whitetails with a pre '64 model 70 Win. and a 2005 Ruger M70 Mark II.Both in .243.Some with Remington core-locts and some with handloaded spitzers.

 

[Speedo66]

As a lefty, I can attest that an SKS and a Browning BLR lever action in .308 both work well for me.

The Browning is surprisingly accurate. They were also made in .243 if that's your choice.

 

[CB900F]

Sullyman;

I'm also a lefty & have spent most of my adult life aquiring LHB rifles. Here's my thoughts. Ruger model 77's were always made in .243, .270, ought-6, and .300 Winmag left hand versions. There are other Ruger lefty's out there, but the production runs were limited. I'd have to do some research to find out what else might be available. The point being that there are a fair number of those out there & one shouldn't be too hard to find. Sounds like the .243 would be the best choice given the data you supplied.

Now then, Remington made the 788 in a left hand version also. And what's more, the 6mm Remington was available in it. If you find one of those at a price you can afford buy it! The 6mm is what the .243 wants to be when it grows up. A good example can easily beat MOA if you do your part. Extra magazines are available through Numrich every once in a while at a reasonable cost. With the Speer 90 grain spitzer bullet, you can hammer a whitetail. Hell, since I know you can knock a mulie down like it got hit by Thor's own hammer, a whitetail would be no problem. Around here at least, there's no problem getting factory 6mm ammo either.

900F

 

[Sullyman]

the hunt will begin shortly

Thanks for all your input. Looks like .243. Now the make and model to decide. As another poster said, i need to hold them and see if they fit. I will check the local places and see what turns up. With regards to P-dogs, and .243 being over kill, not a problem, that hunt is on the wish list, so if it cost extra for ammo, so be it. sounds like the .243 fits the bill. Thanks all.

I'll report back when i get something.

sullyman

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I started hunting about three years ago and chose a 30-06 as my do it all rifle. Still very happy with it. I also take my 30-30 out a lot because I simply like it. For me personally either cartridge is fine because I won't take a hunting shot past 200 yards.