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In Colorado

That's always a test for whatever barrel cooling regimin you plan to use. Nothing too fancy for us in that regard, just a cold wet towel from the cooler over the barrel. Primitive? Yes. Effective? Mostly yes.

Not much fun shooting in 104* temps (for me), and with winds at or over 25 mph, shade becomes a hard to come by feature, and hitting those dogs over 300 yds becomes a hold off of "two or more dogs". ;)

Have a grand day of it, stay cool and hydrated, come home safe. Looking forward to some pics of the adventure.
 
Rick in Oregon said:
That's always a test for whatever barrel cooling regimin you plan to use. Nothing too fancy for us in that regard, just a cold wet towel from the cooler over the barrel. Primitive? Yes. Effective? Mostly yes.

Not much fun shooting in 104* temps (for me), and with winds at or over 25 mph, shade becomes a hard to come by feature, and hitting those dogs over 300 yds becomes a hold off of "two or more dogs". ;)

Have a grand day of it, stay cool and hydrated, come home safe. Looking forward to some pics of the adventure.
Click to expand...

Made a new 22bra barrel.
Installed it before we left.
Ran 5 Tubb bullets though it.
Sighted in off a picnic table. All bullets touching.
Shot back to back doubles first day. Shot about 100 rounds.

Second day shot about 100 rounds. 40 mph winds. Last few shots before going home. I shot two teeny pups at over 300 yards in a legit 40 mph wind. I call that a win.

Never cleaned the barrel. Never got hot.
 
When I have a target rich environment, I do not even notice the heat! ;)

However wind and rain are a pain but as my Drill Sergent once said during Basic Training, we fight wars in all-weather, so we train in all weather. I swear, Ft. Campbell in December and January was the coldest place I ever experienced. It's the same with hunting, you have to learn to hunt in all weathers.
 
K22 said:
When I have a target rich environment, I do not even notice the heat! ;)

However wind and rain are a pain but as my Drill Sergent once said during Basic Training, we fight wars in all-weather, so we train in all weather. I swear, Ft. Campbell in December and January was the coldest place I ever experienced. It's the same with hunting, you have to learn to hunt in all weathers.
Click to expand...

I don't think the 22br/22bra or 223/223a gets hot much at all. That's why I think they are the best pdog cartridges. At least with the 62 eldvt and 53 vmax which are the gold standard bullets. Best overall hit percentage performance and carnage.

We talked at length about the realities of pdog shooting. Many people are way over gunned. A pdog at 500 yards in any level of mirage on a hot day is nearly impossible to see. The pups no way. If the wind is blowing 300 is tricky.

The fun is 250 yards and in. I had my laser with me. I don't think most people are ranging actively. They think they are shooting further than they are.
 
urbanrifleman said:
I don't think the 22br/22bra or 223/223a gets hot much at all. That's why I think they are the best pdog cartridges. At least with the 62 eldvt and 53 vmax which are the gold standard bullets. Best overall hit percentage performance and carnage.

We talked at length about the realities of pdog shooting. Many people are way over gunned. A pdog at 500 yards in any level of mirage on a hot day is nearly impossible to see. The pups no way. If the wind is blowing 300 is tricky.

The fun is 250 yards and in. I had my laser with me. I don't think most people are ranging actively. They think they are shooting further than they are.
Click to expand...
Several years back I went exclusively to the 223 Rem bolt rifles for all my varmint and predator hunting. This proved to be a very successful move for me.

Of course, here in the east, we don't have nearly the shot opportunities that "pdog" hunters have so barrel heat is not an issue. Also, where I hunt, safe shot opportunities rarely exceed 300 yards, well within the capabilities of the 223 Rem. The reduce noise, economy, and performance of the 223 Rem works very well for me. While I am not obsessed with barrel life which I consider a consumable, I have spent a lot of time at the range (2 to 3 days a week) practicing off my cross sticks. Therefore, the mild effect of the 223 on barrel wear and low recoil is welcomed.

For me, the Nosler 50 and 55 gain BT's give me the best precision in my 12" twist 223 Rems. For my 8" twist rifles (Tikkas), the 60 Vmax gives me the best performance especially for predators.

For of course, wind is the challenge for a varmint hunter due to the small vital area. I never really mastered it, but I've managed to achieve modest success dealing with it by taking crawler shots in the wind and trying to time the shot between gusts.

While I am at the end of my hunting avocation, I've learned a lot over the years. That's the supreme irony, I've come to the point where over the 50+years of hunting I have worked out all the details, i.e. equipment, loads, techniques, and skills but my body has worn out. Such is life. Yet I am grateful because I had a tremendous run with many great hunts.

Enjoy your hunt - cherish the time spent in the field. In my humble opinion, hunting under field conditions is the ultimate test of a rifleman, combat notwithstanding. Best wishes.
 
K22 said:
Several years back I went exclusively to the 223 Rem bolt rifles for all my varmint and predator hunting. This proved to be a very successful move for me.

Of course, here in the east, we don't have nearly the shot opportunities that "pdog" hunters have so barrel heat is not an issue. Also, where I hunt, safe shot opportunities rarely exceed 300 yards, well within the capabilities of the 223 Rem. The reduce noise, economy, and performance of the 223 Rem works very well for me. While I am not obsessed with barrel life which I consider a consumable, I have spent a lot of time at the range (2 to 3 days a week) practicing off my cross sticks. Therefore, the mild effect of the 223 on barrel wear and low recoil is welcomed.

For me, the Nosler 50 and 55 gain BT's give me the best precision in my 12" twist 223 Rems. For my 8" twist rifles (Tikkas), the 60 Vmax gives me the best performance especially for predators.

For of course, wind is the challenge for a varmint hunter due to the small vital area. I never really mastered it, but I've managed to achieve modest success dealing with it by taking crawler shots in the wind and trying to time the shot between gusts.

While I am at the end of my hunting avocation, I've learned a lot over the years. That's the supreme irony, I've come to the point where over the 50+years of hunting I have worked out all the details, i.e. equipment, loads, techniques, and skills but my body has worn out. Such is life. Yet I am grateful because I had a tremendous run with many great hunts.

Enjoy your hunt - cherish the time spent in the field. In my humble opinion, hunting under field conditions is the ultimate test of a rifleman, combat notwithstanding. Best wishes.
Click to expand...

I think the 223 with the 7 twist to get the extra explosion might be the best all around useful varmint rifle.

I think I might simply switch the 223 Ackley to 223 and use the 7 twist. It's just so easy.
 
Urbanrifleman said:
The fun is 250 yards and in. I had my laser with me. I don't think most people are ranging actively. They think they are shooting further than they are.

Aint that the truth! Out here I listen to guys talking about rip-roaring success at 300+ yards, -- on ground squirrels!! (about 1/3 the size of p-dogs) And lots of times they're using their magical 17HMR. :rolleyes:
jd
 
jds holler said:
Urbanrifleman said:
The fun is 250 yards and in. I had my laser with me. I don't think most people are ranging actively. They think they are shooting further than they are.

Aint that the truth! Out here I listen to guys talking about rip-roaring success at 300+ yards, -- on ground squirrels!! (about 1/3 the size of p-dogs) And lots of times they're using their magical 17HMR. :rolleyes:
jd
Click to expand...

So, you figure a ground squirrel is about 1.5 inches across.

I hear you.

We had some time to sit in the truck and talk and we figured it wouldn't matter how rip roaring your equipment was you would be lucky to see a pdog at 600 yards out on the Colorado prairie, even with a 5000 dollar spotting scope, much less shoot it.
 
With the ground squirrels, after the youngins are out and about, it's often like hitting a cigar at two or three hundred yards. How hard could that be? :rolleyes:

A few years ago, on a different forum, I challenged folks to simply put a pop can out to an honest 200 yds, and then with their first shot of the day -- hit it. It's amazing how few guys answered back to brag about their success. jd
 
I am not an accomplished PD hunter. However three years ago I was in OK and it was +100 both days. I shot off a tripod. My 222 has a 6-18 VX2 Leupold. I discovered that if I set it at 12X at between 200 and 300 I could use just a TAD (scientific Pennsyltucky term) of hold off if I used my duplex/light to heavy meeting point as my "ballistic dot" in the crosswind. By going from 18 to 17, 16, 15...I narrowed it down. After that, a LOT of hits. Doubles, triples, other vermin all got splattered. And that old Duece will only hold 1/2 inch now anyhow. Needs a new tube but I have one more hunt worth of rounds loaded.
 
Been P-doggin once, 20 years ago outside Havre, MT for a week. Took a 22 LR, triple deuce w/40g vmax at 3500fps, and a 220 swift with 55g NBTs at 3900fps. I took quite a few between the 4 and 500 range with the swift. And a pile between 200-350 with the triple deuce. We lucked out with nicer weather and decent winds most of the time. I need to do it again soon, was a ton of fun. Took me 2 months to load all the ammo and 5 days to shoot it haha.
 
urbanrifleman said:
I think the 223 with the 7 twist to get the extra explosion might be the best all around useful varmint rifle.

I think I might simply switch the 223 Ackley to 223 and use the 7 twist. It's just so easy.
Click to expand...
To me, if you're not shooting past 250 yds, there's no need for anything more than a good 223 with a 53gr vmax, and I'd even settle for a 40-50gr bullet. Of course a 20 cal will cover the same ground with even less recoil so there's that option as well :) Past 200, the 53vmax starts to shine more in the wind, but at 300, it would be nice to have a little more gas in the tank. I don't have one, but it seems like a 223ai would start being more useful if you're shooting a lot in the 300yd neighborhood.

On the flip side, being able to reach 300-350 yds effectively will drastically increase the shot opportunities later in the season.
 
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