Varmint rifle or hunting rifle?

[wolfe6]

Ok Im new to this site but have spent the last 4 or 5 hours reading threads! Im left handed and as most leftys know ,we dont get alot when it comes to factory rifles unless we pay the big money! Im going to buy a new bolt action(L.H. ofcoarse). I have 2 rugers in left- a 270 and 300 win mag. I want a varmint in .243 or might consider .223 or 22-250. Problem is when I look I can get a savage varmint in .204, .223, and 22-250 or a remington in the usual or .243. I have be really intrested in the remington sps L.H. in .243. When you read some of the post you wonder if remington is business, quality, poor shooters etc. Would it be better for me to buy a hunting version to varmint hunt, mind you Im after ground hogs and yotes, or go with the varmint. If I do go with varmint what brand and choice of caliber? If I go with a hunter I would most likely pick the ruger just cause thats what I have. Any input on the idea?

 

[mdauben]

I have 2 rugers in left- a 270 and 300 win mag. I want a varmint in .243 or might consider .223 or 22-250. Problem is when I look I can get a savage varmint in .204, .223, and 22-250 or a remington in the usual or .243. I have be really intrested in the remington sps L.H. in .243.

If it was me, I would go with the .223 or the .22-250. The big advantage of the .243 is that it's a "dual purpose" cartridge, suitable for both varmints and deer. Since you have med-big game covered all ready, you might as well get a gun specifically for varmint/predator hunting.

As far as Savage vs. Remington, the former has a strong reputation for selling very accurate guns for very reasonable prices and they would be my choice. Although a lot of people do swear by Remington, I have some concerns about their current QC.

Just my 2¢

 

[A-FIXER]

I use a savage model 12 LH with a 26'' hbar, accu-trigger, wood lam stock, large oversized bolt knob, in .204 I have all the other cal's you mention but I do love the .204 above'em all you will never be unhappy and as far as powder it takes less than your .243,22-250, and you will be amazed at the FPS on that little round.

 

[MachIVshooter]

If you're going to be walking much, get a sporter. But if you'll spend most of your time shooting from benches, laying in the prone position or over the hood of a truck, the rifle's weight won't be such an issue and you can take advantage of the heavy barreled varmint breeds better accuracy.

 

[Moose1995]

Had a 22-250 ruger varmint rifle in the mid 90's. Shot under 1" groups all day at 200 yds. Bought a remington varmint rifle in 308. best group I could get at 200 yds was 1 1/2". I tried many different hand loads, and it just couldn't do any better. And I had a better scope on it as well. I say if you get a varmint gun, go with a savage, or a ruger target rifle.

 

[Moose1995]

BTW, Although the best group was 1 1/2" on the remington, almost all groups were under 2". So I guess it did shoot MOA or better.

 

[MistWolf]

I would chose between the 204 Ruger, the 223 or the 22-250.

The 223 is plentiful and cheap, the 204 is fast and flat. Both can be had in a lighter rifle than the 22-250. Both can be had in an AR if you want to go that route

The 22-250 is fast and flat and is the king of varmint rounds. It can be found in 50 round packs, attesting to it's popularity and availability. It's terminal performance is explosive even on critters as large as jackrabbits. It has a bit more recoil and loves a 24" plus barrel to wring it's best velocity but it will perform and is very accurate. In my experience, it doesn't take much work to get the 22-250 to deliver good groups.

I grew up shooting Remington 700s and 788s. All have been reliable and shot well and turned out to be less fussy than certain other brands.

As far a weight goes, I have never heard anyone carry a rifle and gear on a hunt and say "Boy, I wish I could find a way to make my rifle heavier!"

 

[LoonWulf]

I like the .243 personally, bullets of a given weight generally have a better BC then their .22 cal counterparts. I bet it will eat barrels faster then even a .22-250 tho, and it will recoil harder and cost more to shoot. If i were buying a dedicated longrange low volume varmint rig id probably go with the .243, but for more general shooting i think id chose a .223 or .22-250.
As for barrel weight, your more LIKELY to get a more consistent/accurate gun with a heavier tube. Personally tho, Id be looking for a med weight sporter barrel. Im fine with .75-1" at 100 yds and 2" at 200, most sporters will turn that out with little or no work.

 

[kaferhaus]

Chances are very high the heavy barrel rifle will be more accurate. Also more likely that the first shot out of a cold clean bore will hit the same mark that it did last time you shot it.

However... unless you're in a target rich environment like a Prairie dog town, you likely won't need to shoot more than once... so a standard weight rifle that consistently puts the first cold shot into the same spot is ideal IF you need to walk a lot.

The .204 at short range is a good yote round and will blister anything smaller. However many guys on the predator boards I frequent are less than impressed with it on yotes out past 150yds or so. It kills them out there, no doubt, but not quickly. And yotes frequently must be shot off hand... you seldom get to use a rest so attempts at "head shots" are dicey at best.

For me, a .223 is the minimum I'd use yote hunting unless you're certain the shots will be close and have the patience not to take one any further than a clean quick kill is guaranteed.

The 22-250 is the perfect tool for predator hunting.... just make sure you get a 24"-26" barrel. Anything less and you're cheating yourself.

 

[Fullboar1]

Skip the Savage and Remington and get yourself a Tikka T3 in a light sporter barrel (Lite, Hunter, Laminated) or a heavy barrel (Varmint, Super Varmint) in 243 or 22-250. IMHO the fit, finish, trigger ect are alot better on the Tikka's then the Savage or Remington (and even the Ruger) and all the Tikka T3 models come in Left Hand. Not only that the Accuracy Guarantee of the Tikka cant be beat
With the light barrelled rifles the guarantee is
1" (Sub MOA) 3 shot groups with hunting ammo (not Match Grade like most others)
With the heavy barrelled rifles the guarantee is
1" (Sub MOA) 5 shot groups with hunting ammo (not Match Grade like most others)
The light barrelled rifles come with approx 22-1/2" Barrel and the heavy barrelled rifles come with approx 23-3/4"Barrel.

If you are going to use the rifle on PD Town where the shots are fast and furious then look at the heavy barrel, if not get the light barrelled rifle also if you want it to do double duty as a Deer rifle then look at the 243, if you only want it for PD's, Coyotes ect then get the 22-250.

 

[wolfe6]

Well I think I have no intentions of buying the varmint rifle. I checked out Tikka T3 website and was a little confused with it. I will say they make some very interesting guns for lefty's. I couldnt understand if they make all there models in left but seems they have some different calibers which is nice to see. My first choice has always been Ruger but I might try one . I just wish other manufacters would build a nice Left Hand Bolt Rilfle with a 22- 24 inch flutted barrel in .257 roberts! I just want an odd catridge but I guess I will settle for something in .243! Thanks for everyone's help! I forgot the to say I just dont feel I need the varmint with futher study becaues I think the longest shot I have ever made where I live was no futher then 250 yards, actual yardage was probably closer to 200 it just felt like more at the moment, so I think a bull barrel that is 26 inches long is extreme overkill!

 

[joed]

Back in 1977 I was in the same predicament as you when a bunch of friends decided to start ground hog hunting here in OH. I hard a hard time deciding on cartridge but went with the .25-06 which was available back then. I remember trying to decide between .223, .22-250, .243 and .25-06.

The reason I chose the .25 was I figured it was duel purpose, light bullets for ground hogs and heavy bullets for deer or larger. Sure, it had a heavy barrel but it still went deer hunting with me, even bear.

If you want it for varmint hunting the .22-250 is a good choice. But if you ever want to hunt something bigger the .243 would be awesome just like the .25 was for me.

The last 700 I bought was about 15 months ago, a 700 SPS VS Stainless that I picked up for $484. Out of the box it was nothing to brag about and I'm sure a Savage could shoot better. But, first to go was the SPS stock for a B&C, then a Timney trigger. Mine will now shoot under 1/2" all day long. Keep that in mind with Remington, out of the box they aren't the best around. But with a little work they are a good rifle and can hold their own against anything else out there.

 

[Gunnerboy]

Its not a varmit caliber and kinda off topic but all you lefty shooters should try the lee enfields, i find that when i shoot one it feels better and cycles better lefty.

 

[wolfe6]

I have an old 303 enfield mil. rifle, in fact it was my first deer rifle. My dad gave it to me, had stock cut back but I remember bein a kid stomping around with that 10 round clip full of 303 british! No wonder I was wore out after lugging that heavy thing around all day!!! Does enfield make left hand rifles?

 

[TCBPATRIOT]

Is the left handed set up mandatory? I have been shooting right handed rifles all my life even though I shoot them lefty and only owned one gun that was set up for a left handed shooter and that was an 870. When it comes to bolt guns I prefer right handed rifles mayhaps because I am a right handed person that just so happens to shoot lefty or maybe the Marines just made me forget that there are even left handed guns to begin with. But I'd go with a Savage in .204 I love mine and have downed countless 'yotes with it. Never took it Hog hunting but that what is what my 30-30 or the 6.8 I am currently building is for.

 

[wolfe6]

Well I ended up buying a standard Hawkeye ruger in left hand .243. Now I just need to start workin up a light load. I bought some 58 grain hornady v-x bullets. I will see what I can do with or if will even shoot them!

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

my Ruger No. 1 Varmint does it all for me, coyotes, hogs, deer. I got lots of guns, but love Ruger No.1s and the .22-250 is just so versatile.

 

[gamestalker]

If I had to choose between the 22-250 and the .243 win for the purposes you've indicated, I would deffinitely go with the .243. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the 22-250 for varmit hunting. Both can offer you varmit hunting in the 4,000 fps class, but the .243 does it with a bit more BC than the 22-250 can. And then if you should want to take a .243 deer hunting, it will provide you with a 3,000+ fps bullet suitable for the task.

Just my two cents worth.
GS

 

[wolfe6]

Yes, I have a 22-250 that I bought about a month ago, got a good deal but it was right handed. I finally found a ruger .243 lefty and picked it up friday morning. I just bought a box of 55 grain win silver tip, 100 ct. of 58 hornady v-max and new cases. gonna try to work up a load thats works for it. Might have to go with heavier bullet but I really want that speed and flatness!

 

[elrowe]

+1 on the Ruger No. 1! It solves the problem with handing preference and is available in all kinds of options. After all, how often do you REALLY need a second shot right away (bearing in mind I'd rather not shoot at anything that's running and a long way out there). You either hit it right and it's DRT, or it's over the horizon or into a tunnel in a flash.