300yd + gopher gun

[mattri]

Lots of great replies, hard to go wrong with most suggestions- couple of things I've noticed:

Lived in SW WY for a number of years, shot pds every chance I got, year after year.

Used a 223 for a while, for the years I was there always had at least one shooting buddy using a 223. Great round, accurate, easy to load for, excellent factory ammo available. Cheap and accurate with basically no recoil, within a couple hundred yards its explosive. Beyond about 300 yards it is most effective with heavier bullets in hand loads that aren't as explosive, tend to have run offs with dogs dead on their feet.

Built a 20P and loved it. First real wildcat build, got a lot of help from its originator Warren P over at saubier.com. Easy to form, easy to load for, used 39gr Sierras and was blown away. 0 recoil and amazingly accurate, remember one time had the wife out shooting pds around 300-350 and after a while she sat back and frowned, it was boring for her. Lazer beam accuracy and explosive impacts- but realistically a 400 yard threshold. Once you hit 400+ the wind tosses that little pill around more than the charts would indicate.

243- built one that shot everything from 58gr Vmaxs to 100gr GameKings, awesome for everything from pds to mulies. Using 65gr Vmaxs it was scary out to about 600, red mist factor was fantastic, bucked the wind fairly well, hard on the throat.

6mmBR. Balked for years against a 6mmBR build, it seemed so boring. And it is. Easy to load for, accurate, minimal recoil etc, it just shoots. 28" 1:8 Awesome for lighter varmint bullets or the heavier target bullets. Have no trouble seeing hits at 600, barrel life so much better than the bigger 243s.

 

[ranger3]

I agree with the 6Br, great and seems to keep the barrel cooler than my 220 Swift. I love my 22-250 9tw with either 75 gr AMAX or 53 VMAX, the 53's shoot in the .2's. my 223 is good to 250 yds and maybe a bit further. after that I go the the 22-250 or 220 Swift and when it gets into the 400 yd plus, I grab my 243 with 87 VMAX. I use my 6 Br primarily to 300 yds. Bullet drop gets to me where I don't have much hold over with the 220 Swift with the 50 gr. Noslers. The big thing about the 6Br is barrel life and if you bring primarily one gun for PD's, it's the cats meow as would be a 223. I usually shoot 4 guns in a day and so the 220 swift or 243 don't get high volumes. However having said all that, once the ammo is gone for the 220 swift, it will be primarily the 223 and 6 Br. The 22-250 will be a fill in. I will miss my 220 Swift, but the extra recoil gets annoying over a long day. My Swift shoots the 50 Nosler with the load I have in pretty much in the .3's all day.

 

[Fast14riot]

I've had good luck with my .20P AR and the 39TNT out to 400-450. I have a 10 twist 3p barrel and will try a little heavier bullets this spring to see how it does. I say stick with the 20.

 

[5spd]

Over the eons of shooting p-dogs Ive had built 20P, .222 rem, .220 Swift, .243 but have always gone back to the .223.
I run a 50g bullet at a tad over 3300 fps and have no issues at much longer ranges.
95% of the time I'm not shooting past 300 yards though.
I run a 6x6.8 (not real lot is its my goat/coyote rig) & 6x45 on them as well.
The 6x45 runs head to head w/the .223, but less drift farther out w/a 65g bullet in the breezes.
A lot of great choices above with either custom or a standard round.
I run & gun a lot with just the .223 rig.
I get it very hot on strings & run a barrel cover I made that I keep wet so I can go 60-90 rounds here & there w/out caring about it. I like low recoil accurate varmint rigs for the amount of p-dogging I do.

 

[Riesel]

After going around the track a bunch of laps, what have ye decided on Joey?

 

[A_Gamehog]

Many good bits of advice here.
My 2 cents.
1). When in a good dog town it's like nothing else shooting related with the right weapon. Seeing the hits is part of the fun.
2). The more is better applies, more shots without waiting is the goal, with explosive results visible in a scope.
3). The 20 cal rifles rule for "more" shooting 14-25 grains powder in a 20 cal. compared to 30-45 grain of powder in a 22 or 6mm cal. matters. Heat of the barrel is a factor, as already mentioned you can overheat a good barrel in one trip if you don't pay attention. The 20 cal is destructive and accurate, flat shooting.400+
4). The 6mm is also good but more powder, more heat, less shots,heavier bullets, more recoil. Not a volume shooter's rifle. But a better long range rifle. 600+
5). The 22-250 AI is also good but you want 53 V-Max and more heat, less shots, more recoil before overheating. Good long range rifle. 600+
6). Shooting heavy for cal. bullets in a varmint field is counter productive to me, the explosive factor and seeing the shots are gone.

The 20 VarTarg is your next rifle?

 

[bloc]

“However any less than perfect head shot left a gopher flopping on the ground in agony, which drove me to put the gun away rather quickly.”

Flopping is not necessarily failure of a bullet to hit the head and the flopping is not necessarily a measure of agony. The explanation for flopping after a head hit lies in something called "dis-inhibition."

Dis-inhibition refers to the “brain” normally suppressing the tendency of motor neurons from firing spontaneously, continuously. If the “dis-inhibition” of the brain is removed, you’ll see a ton of flopping.

There’s a very illuminating video that demonstrates this phenomonen, made by a professional rabbit hunter in the UK. I kid you not . . . there are professional rabbit hunters and at the end of the video, check out how he guts his rabbits. http://tinyurl.com/z5m5hjh

If you've read about Carlos Hathcock's hit (through the scope of his adversary[!]) on an NVA sniper who he was hunting, you'll remember that his dead opponent flopped around. (UPDATE: Ref: One Shot One Kill http://tinyurl.com/zf6p5dl )

 

[Tommie]

Your 20 Practical is good for more than 300 yards. Just sayin'.

 

[Webster]

hi all,
I want something that will get me consistent kills in the 300-600yd ranges.
Please let me know your thoughts. I'm relatively new to building in this state and looking to learn from those who know more than I!
Thanks!

A 20 Practical isn't that bad to 500 yrds. Run some numbers thru a ballistics program for drop and wind drift and compare to several other calibers. You will be surprised how good it is.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

6 Dasher. They are winning at accuracy matches as far out as 1000yds. Easy to make, and NORMA is now offering new Dasher brass. Just specify which case.
Or, just buy a 6BR complete rifle from Savage.

Rich

 

[jds holler]

Flopping is not necessarily failure of a bullet to hit the head and the flopping is not necessarily a measure of agony. The explanation for flopping after a head hit lies in something called "dis-inhibition."

I concur with this. The "flipity flop" break dance is almost always a sign of the varmint being brained. It is a characteristic common especially common among rodents, and even birds. I haven't seen it as much with larger animals such as deer which are more prone to the "stiff legged quiver" upon being brained.

I grew up trapping and shooting muskrats for money when I was a kid and young adult. full price on a pelt meant head shots only (ears and forward). Burning a hole further back converted a six dollar rat into a buck fifty.

Perfect head shots almost always resulted in a spasmodic flopping and kicking of the critter. Anything else such as instant stillness or a short dive and resurfacing at death usually meant a bad hit, further back in the heart lung area. jd