Varmint Rifle?

[Apoc]

Hi there, Im brand new here and have a question.

My family owns a 400 acre plot of land in east texas. Good varmint hunting- only I don't have a rifle.

I was wondering what the best LOOONG range rifle would be, I would like it to be as accurate and long range as possible. Iv always had a facination with sniping, and I think killing a varmint with anything other than a headshot is bad sportsmanship. So I also need a good scope to go along with this rifle.

I've heard .22-250 is a good long range, accurate gun. But im not for sure. When it comes to guns and hunting, im a bleeding newbie.

also I have a budget, under $1000 , preferably lower, so if anyone knows any used guns for sale- id be greatly obliged. thank you in advance-

-Marc

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

.243 and .223.

FMJ 30-30 and 30-06

 

[atblis]

Everybody

is just going to recommend that you get what they have.
22-250 is an excellent varmint round. For extreme long ranges (>500 yards we'll say), something a little larger like a 6mm or 6.5mm may be better. If you're thinking 1000 yards, the 1000 dollar thing might be getting a little
optimistic.

243 is a good varmint round as well.

223 is good for limited ranges. If your shooting at about 300 yards or less, than I'd get a 223.

You can easily get something really nice for under $1000

Some decent scopes to consider (that aren't outrageously priced). Don't try and go really cheap on the scope. Get something decent
Bushnell Elite Series
Weaver
Nikon
Leupold
Zeiss Conquest (a little pricey but...)
etc.

Personally, I'd probably get a Bushnell Elite or a Weaver. Probably a 4-16 or a 6-20 or something like that. 42mm or so front objective, adjustable of course. A fine cross hair.

 

[Deer Hunter]

A .204 ruger or a .17 HMR might fill that niche very nicely.

 

[garrett1955]

.50 cal bfg???? not like you are going to be eating them right???

 

[redneck2]

my first varmint rifle was a .22-250, and I killed a LOT of groundhogs, but to give a perspective

.223...cheap to shoot, very low recoil, good for maybe 250-300 yards

.22-250...more noise and a little more recoil. More expensive to shoot. good for 350-400 yards depending on wind. Very flat shooting. Probably considered the "ultimate" varmint rifle if there is such a thing.

243 & 25-06...I might suggest these because they are less affected by wind, good for maybe 400 yards depending on conditions, and you could use them to deer hunt. Anything larger starts getting into recoil and ricochet issues.

FWIW..I've got 2 .223's, a 22-250, and a 25-06 so I don't have a personal "pet".

As for getting something for cheap, you might try the used rack at gun shops. Beware of hotter calibers such as 22-250, as the barrel might be shot out. Rare but it happens HTH

 

[Lupinus]

.17HMR is a nice round for smaller stuff, ground hog sized type game out to 200 yards or so.

Coyotes and stuff 22-250 and .223 are good since you want something a little larger.

Personally I'm a sucker for a good ol .22LR even though it isn't great for super long ranges.

 

[atblis]

Some rifles to consider

Retail on firearms is usually much higher than what they actually sell for.

204 is definitely a good varmint round, but again for longer ranges bullets in the 6mm, .257", and 6.5mm would be more ideal.

Savage. You can rebarrel these yourself. A very nice feature. Their plastic stocks are cheesier than the Tikkas. You should probably look for a laminated version. Triggers generally suck from the factory (easily curable). THough the accu trigger is promising. Tikkas have a better trigger without all the extra gadgetry.

Tikka. Fabulous triggers. In my experience very accurate. Their plastic stocks are a little cheesy, but very comfortable and still shoot well. A laminated stock model would be a good choice. These can be found used. THeir older varmint models were pretty neat. If you find a used Tikka at a good price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

CZ. They make a HS precision stocked varmint gun that is worth of a good look. 308 would also be a decent varmint round. You basically just need to hit them (won't explode them quite like a 22-250 but...).
http://www.czusa.com/01.detail.php?id=49

Remington. The varmint laminted would be good gun to get (reasonably priced and available on the used market). The Sendero (discontinued I think) would probably be a good choice as well (it's chambered in medium/large game calibers but is kinda a cross between a big game rifle and varmint). I think the Sendero was chambered in 25-06, which would be good for varmints.
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_700/model_700_VLS.asp

There are plenty of other decent rifles out there, those are just the ones that come to mind.

 

[MCgunner]

The only reason varmint choice is confusing is, just like deer rifles, the category has been duplicated over and over and over. There are a million and one good caliber choices. I guess it's the gun companies and marketing something "new and improved" . I posted about this not long ago. Anyway, it's all been done a dozen times. The 220 swift was faster than fast long before the .22-250 came along. There was the .222 remington magnum before the .223. There's the "I don't need no stinkin' 17 rimfire" .22 hornet. There was a 17 Remington, even. There was the .218 bee or the .250-3000, the .257 Roberts before the .243 or 6mm Remington.

Basically, just check out ballistics charts and choose what you like. In east Texas, "varmints" mean preditors like coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and such. Heck, I've killed several coyotes while deer hunting with my .308! Any deer caliber is fine. It don't have to be a centerfire .22. If you want quiet and light, the .22 mag or .17 HMR maybe, but I'd go with a .22 hornet just because I like the little centerfire and it's small, yet more gun that either of the rimfires. Also helps my choice there that I reload. If I didn't reload, the .17 HMR might be very attractive.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Also check out the single shot options:

NEF Handi Rifle (very inexpensive and a lot of great reviews - do a search here or on Google)
Mossberg SSi-1
Thompson Center Encore or Contender carbine
Ruger #1

 

[atblis]

You might also consider

a tricked out AR15. That would be a lot of fun for blasting varmints.

Make sure you get a barrel twist rate optimized for the bullet weight you intend on using.
http://www.rockriverarms.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=AR1500X&storeid=1&image=06va4.gif&CFID=8720706&CFTOKEN=66168014

 

[Gun_nut]

sience its varmits maybe a .223 bolt action for sniping or a ar15 so you dont have to manualy reload