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.
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.