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Accurate, Long Range Rifle on a Budget... Groundhogs?

Happy New Year folks, I have been wanting to purchase a rifle, bolt action or semi-auto I can reach out and touch somebody with.

I just retired, and don't have a lot of money to spend, so want the best bang for my buck.

I live on a pretty good size farm, loaded with whistle pigs. I'm building an elevated observation "tree house" for my young daughter, and thought it might as well double as a hunting blind.

Lets say I could scratch up $500, not including a scope. Is there anything out there I would be real impressed with as a long range rifle for picking off ground hogs consistently? Farm is 6/10 of a mile long, but I will be kind of in the middle of it. That would be it's normal usage... but now and again, I might want to do some friendly competition with a buddy and start stretching the boundaries.

However... might get a hankering to set up a few exploding targets once I've run out of ground hogs.

Give me your best advice on what would satisfy my wish list.

Thanks in advance for your opinion.
 
Happy New year and welcome to the forum. You might be able to find a used older Savage in 223 that might shoot. I bought an old 110 that shoots well, for $500. I hear CZs can shoot pretty good, too. Good luck with the tree house/ watch tower/ hunting blind. Many years ago, I built one on my farm. 30 ft. Tall and lots of fun.
 
I would get a Rem 783 ,22-250 add a Boyd's pro varmint stock , $75 currently, they are a very good basis for further enhancement . The Rem783 is about $220 that's after the 40 rebate $260 without . They take std savage barrels that can easily be changed out .
 
I really like the Weatherby Vanguard rifles. Have owned three of them recently and none of them disappointed me. Have never owned a Tikka but have seen them shoot and lots of guys rave about them too. I would put those two at the top of my list if I was you.
 
Since it doesn't sound like you'll be lugging a rifle around much if shooting mostly from a stationary platform, I'd go for a "real" barrel and time-proven action, not one of the low-priced but high-markup, pencil-barreled cheapos that are all too common on dealers' shelves now. For around 500 bucks, you can go to a Dick's Sporting Goods/Field And Stream and get a Remington 700 ADL Varmint or a heavy-barreled, d.b.m. Savage VT 11 - either one with a low-end 4-12X scope included. Also, Cabela's sells a Savage 12 FV: 26" barrel, blind-box, Accutrigger, sometimes on sale for well under $400.
Didn't say what caliber/chambering you're considering; all the above come in .22-250 and .243, the FV is sold on .204 also. Don't know about .223 as I've no interest in them, and wouldn't meet your needs, anyway. The .22-250 Savages, I believe come with 1:12 twist barrels, which might have a better chance of stabilizing the higher-b.c. 53 grain V-Max if you handload.
Your farm is probably bigger than mine, where the .204 or '250 work great. Lately though, the .243 is seeing more use (probably to the neighbors' chagrin, although it really doesn't seem that much louder than the other two.) Main reason: coyotes. Not only is that cartridge better at longer ranges on groundhogs, the coyotes are thinning out the 'hogs, so the more energy and range capable of killing them too, the better. Also, your place might be crawling with groundhogs now, but a decent shooter, along with a few coyotes, can reduce a honey hole to a shot-out wasteland devoid of woodchuck "targets" in fewer years than one would think, especially if good groundhog "management" - such as not hunting them before Memorial Day - isn't practiced.
Good luck with your choice, and your retirement. I recently made that move, too. As far as gun buying goes, for me it's pretty much "zero-sum", and watching for bargains.
 
Since it doesn't sound like you'll be lugging a rifle around much if shooting mostly from a stationary platform, I'd go for a "real" barrel and time-proven action, not one of the low-priced but high-markup, pencil-barreled cheapos that are all too common on dealers' shelves now. For around 500 bucks, you can go to a Dick's Sporting Goods/Field And Stream and get a Remington 700 ADL Varmint or a heavy-barreled, d.b.m. Savage VT 11 - either one with a low-end 4-12X scope included. Also, Cabela's sells a Savage 12 FV: 26" barrel, blind-box, Accutrigger, sometimes on sale for well under $400.
Didn't say what caliber/chambering you're considering; all the above come in .22-250 and .243, the FV is sold on .204 also. Don't know about .223 as I've no interest in them, and wouldn't meet your needs, anyway. The .22-250 Savages, I believe come with 1:12 twist barrels, which might have a better chance of stabilizing the higher-b.c. 53 grain V-Max if you handload.
Your farm is probably bigger than mine, where the .204 or '250 work great. Lately though, the .243 is seeing more use (probably to the neighbors' chagrin, although it really doesn't seem that much louder than the other two.) Main reason: coyotes. Not only is that cartridge better at longer ranges on groundhogs, the coyotes are thinning out the 'hogs, so the more energy and range capable of killing them too, the better. Also, your place might be crawling with groundhogs now, but a decent shooter, along with a few coyotes, can reduce a honey hole to a shot-out wasteland devoid of woodchuck "targets" in fewer years than one would think, especially if good groundhog "management" - such as not hunting them before Memorial Day - isn't practiced.
Good luck with your choice, and your retirement. I recently made that move, too. As far as gun buying goes, for me it's pretty much "zero-sum", and watching for bargains.



Great information... we have the coyotes come through in waves... they seem to have a population explosion, than all the farmers around get agressive and you never see them again. Then the ground hogs come back in full force, and that probably is why the coyotes seem to come back again.

I like the idea of the heavier barrel, I'm not in real good shape from arthritis, so your right, I wont be lugging them around. A comfortable seat from an elevated platform and let them ISIS, I mean ground hogs stick their little heads up.... LOL
 
Cabelas lists the savage 10T for 499.99. That's savages tactical 308 with picatinny rail included. Has the larger tactical bolt knob and an accu-stock. A friend of mine owns one and it shoots the palma bullets superbly. He can hold .75 out to 500 yards at the range. I call that a hell of a ground hog gun bargain.
 
You've gotten some stellar advice here.

Perhaps a couple of questions would help you sort things out. When you talk about long-range shooting, what distance do you have in mind? On your farm, how big a deal is the wind?

If your idea of long-range is, say 350 out to 450 yards, and wind is NOT likely to be a problem, a heavy, long barreled .22-250 would be great.

If you're thinking of shooting fairly often at 450 plus, OR you expect that wind would be a problem, then I'd think a heavy barreled .243 Win would be preferable.

If you're interested in squeezing the best performance (accuracy, diminishing the effects of wind, best velocity) out of your rifle, you might want to consider hand-loading if you don't already.

While it's true that modern firearms and factory loaded ammo is far better, more accurate, than even 20 years ago, it is still true that you can more often than not improve on the factory stuff by optimizing your ammo to your rifle's preferences.
 
Best Value around, in my opinion, is the Savage 12FV which is only $419.00 at Cabelas and are regularly on sale for $379.00.

26"" Varmint Contour Barrel in .204 Ruger, .223 Remington or 22-250.
 
Best Value around, in my opinion, is the Savage 12FV which is only $419.00 at Cabelas and are regularly on sale for $379.00.

26"" Varmint Contour Barrel in .204 Ruger, .223 Remington or 22-250.
Best Value around, in my opinion, is the Savage 12FV which is only $419.00 at Cabelas and are regularly on sale for $379.00.

26"" Varmint Contour Barrel in .204 Ruger, .223 Remington or 22-250.
If you DO NOT handload check the prices of varmint ammunition from various online/mail order suppliers before deciding on caliber.

As an aside, set up target stands at 100 yard intervals from your tower.

deepwater
 
Cabelas lists the savage 10T for 499.99. That's savages tactical 308 with picatinny rail included. Has the larger tactical bolt knob and an accu-stock. A friend of mine owns one and it shoots the palma bullets superbly. He can hold .75 out to 500 yards at the range. I call that a hell of a ground hog gun bargain.
Plus with the often mailed out coupons of 150.00 off purchases of 500.00 or more, that's even a better deal.
 
I would look for a Savage or Stevens action or complete rifle for cheap doesn't matter the caliber, then spin the barrel off and put a new McGowan chambered in whatever caliber you want on it and away you go. You can get a SS barrel threaded, chambered and ready to go for $267. Get a short fat barrel and I think you will be happy
 
I would look for a Savage or Stevens action or complete rifle for cheap doesn't matter the caliber, then spin the barrel off and put a new McGowan chambered in whatever caliber you want on it and away you go. You can get a SS barrel threaded, chambered and ready to go for $267. Get a short fat barrel and I think you will be happy

Yeah. I'm an especially firm believer in the short and fat barrel for varmint/target shooting. I have a post-64 Model 70 in .225 Win. with such a barrel, and it consistently very, very accurate.
 
As much as I can't warm up to their appearance, the first thing that I think of when somebody says "accurate", " inexpensive", and "groundhogs" in the same sentence is "Savage".

223 or 22-250, depending on your circumstances, and you should be set to start slaying hogs.
 
I'd say 223AI myself. I have a std 223 and have been thinking about a 223AI for a while to get the most out of the case. Love the low recoil and performance of the 223 case and the AI just seems to capatalise on that.
 
Take a look at the Howas and on all choices be aware of the twist. You might limit yourself regards to bullet weights.
 

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