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Varmint caliber ideas?

By garbage, I meant what they do to the targets. I shot some prairie dogs at 300 yards with Varmageddons and they were great. Splat and two and a half gainers.

I shot a few with V-max and they were fine.
 
Lot of opinions here, so I'll give mine. I prefer one shot kills but that doesn't always happen. I feel like if your plan is to walk in a shot, well its not a very good plan. My vote would be for the 20vt. Its easy to load for, almost no recoil so you see your hits, its accurate, cheap to shoot, good barrel life, barrel won't heat up as fast as some others
 
Webster, you failed to mention what the velocity was in this? Barrel burner traditionally have very fast velocities.
Steve
 
Webster, you failed to mention what the velocity was in this? Barrel burner traditionally have very fast velocities.
Steve

I shoot 58 gr Hornady VMax at 3550 - 3600 fps and 55 Gr Noslers so far at 3700 fps. No pressure have not tried hotter. I don't shoot long range.
 
Ive had no luck with Varmageddons on groundhogs but pds i think any varmint bullet works well. The older nosler spitzers work great but not impressed with the Varmageddons.
As far as a new caliber goes i think im up to 30 some new guns i have to build lol!!!
The more i think about it a 6br or even just a plainjane 243 would work great for long range, but i just love 20 cal stuff and 220 swift
 
I got a bunch of the "zombie" bullets in a trade. Not one of my rifles will shoot them well. Actually, they shoot terrible. Not sure why. Not a big deal, i am saving them for 223 can shooting loads.

I am pretty sure my next rifle will be a 20 VT. Just watching for the right cheapo action. Like a vulture, i just sit and wait....
 
I got a bunch of the "zombie" bullets in a trade. Not one of my rifles will shoot them well. Actually, they shoot terrible. Not sure why. Not a big deal, i am saving them for 223 can shooting loads.

I am pretty sure my next rifle will be a 20 VT. Just watching for the right cheapo action. Like a vulture, i just sit and wait....
Cheap action like. This blued 700 i have in 223 bf ?
 
You've got a strong commitment to certain target bullets being used in hunting applications. One cannot deny you, you've proven through field tests that certain so-called target bullets actually perform just as well if not better than bullets designated as hunting bullets. I think the key to this discussion is having both sides of this argument admit that there is no 100% foolproof bullet that addresses all hunting applications.

One of the key elements which you've stated in your arguments is that shot placement is paramount. Take any bullet and miss the killing zone and it really doesn't matter what your shooting. At the same time, put any bullet design and hit the vitals and nine times out of ten, you're going to have positive results.

If you're an excellent shot and certain bullets perform better than others by hitting the kill zone, you're going to have consistent success. At the same time, if you're an average shot and shot placement is not always optimal, you're going to have compromised results. I think the difference with target bullets and hunting bullets is that when using the hunting bullet, somewhat marginal shots will result in a kill nevertheless whereas target bullets tend to give results that are more black and white. A shot that's not on target will result in nonlethal hits.

There are no one fits all solutions, in short there are going to be more gray areas than simple black and white solutions. Choose your bullet wisely based upon your hunting situations and individual skills. If your not certain as to what bullet is best for your personal application rely on the manufacturers recommendations.



One thing that is almost never brought up is how a person hunts. Here in ND I have been in spots where you can see farther than a M198 with a RAP ammunition can be fired. Yes that is well outside the range of my 338LM. I have also been to areas where anything more than a good 22lr handgun is out of line for deer. In these very close ranges most like using something like a 30-30 or a shotgun. That is fine I never judge what anyone wants to use. In my old age I have stopped just allowing shooters pass out bad or wrong information. If I am wrong I can take my lumps as good as anyone else.

There are two basic types of hunters here in ND. The ones who push and the ones who push in a vehicle. Both of these groups take questionable shoots most of the time. These hunters could literally use round balls in their rifles as more than a 200yd shot might as well be 500yds. These slob hunters always seem to have something to say about ethics.

Every hunter needs to decide how they are going to hunt. Only they can decide what is right for them. When they get more experience with firearms and hunting how they hunt can change. We are very lucky in this day and age to have this forum and many like it to flesh out ideas and not rely on the manufacture or gun rag to tell them what they need.
 
So i have a 204 220swift 223 22250 243 basic calibers for varmint hunting. Im looking for something different to do. Any ideas?
Im throwing a couple ideas
Another 220 swift
20vt
30br
Looking for something different

108 replies! You have enough experience to make a good decision yourself. No help needed.
 
You can't go wrong with a 6mmAI. 87 grain bullets pushed by a healthy dose of Reloader 17 will give you 3500-3600 feet per second and a range of 600-800 yards. All in all it's tough to beat.
 
You can't go wrong with a 6mmAI. 87 grain bullets pushed by a healthy dose of Reloader 17 will give you 3500-3600 feet per second and a range of 600-800 yards. All in all it's tough to beat.
Yea i got offered a gun in trade in 6mmai
My only problem with it is ill have the barrel smoked in 1 year lol. I have a heavy trigger finger in the prairie dog fields!!
 
I your case all I can see that will fit, especially with barrel life being the top priority, is a 223AI or a chambering based off of a BR case. The thing these two cases have in common is there capacity are both around 30gr of powder.

Dean
 
I your case all I can see that will fit, especially with barrel life being the top priority, is a 223AI or a chambering based off of a BR case. The thing these two cases have in common is there capacity are both around 30gr of powder.

Dean
The 6BR wins for accuracy. It matches the 6PPC within a few thou for aggregates. 58 GR bullets at 3550 fps +. Better barrel life. Now up to 113 replies.
 
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The 6BR wins for accuracy. It matches the 6PPC within a few thou for aggregates. 58 GR bullets at 3550 fps +. Better barrel life. Now up to 113 replies.
The more i read it seems the 6br would be a good choice. Its a great mix of barrel life. Its a very efficient round for all the powder it holds and would be great for longer ranges
 
6BR brass is $1 a piece. If you are talking varmint quantities, $500 is for brass. If that is not an issue, go for it. The .223 Ackley and 6mm TCU use easy to find brass. Not quite the velocities of the BR, but how far are you shooting? Over 350 yards as a rule? Yes, there is fire forming. Everything is a trade off.
 
The problem is just to many choices.
To bad i couldn't neck down a 50bmg to 20 cal. Probably get a 40gr vmax out there at 8000 fps lol!!
 
6BR brass is $1 a piece. If you are talking varmint quantities, $500 is for brass. If that is not an issue, go for it. The .223 Ackley and 6mm TCU use easy to find brass. Not quite the velocities of the BR, but how far are you shooting? Over 350 yards as a rule? Yes, there is fire forming. Everything is a trade off.
Ive also been thinking of a 6x45 or even the ai version just for the fact of cheap to shoot and is different. Also could use it in a ar platform if i choose too. Some stuff i dont think of is like you said $1 per piece for 6br will be expensive up front to buy.
 
Yea i got offered a gun in trade in 6mmai
My only problem with it is ill have the barrel smoked in 1 year lol. I have a heavy trigger finger in the prairie dog fields!!

Sounds like you have enough rifles already to cover everything for PD. I still like the 6BR and 6BRX have both. The real problem is if you want to load 2-3 thousand rounds to prepare for a PD hunt. I am not a 223 fan but they will do the job out to reasonable distance. 5.56/223 are the cheapest brass to buy. I have given about 5000 pieces of range pickups to a friend. There is nothing wrong with range pickups if you examine them and toss out brands you don't like. I week ago I picked up 150 once fired 5.56 Lake City brass. Gave it away.

Do you want to fire form 2000 cases then reload for a PD hunt? Some of the 6mm are known to shoot small groups when fire forming.
 
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