Recently built a 22BR with a 7 twist to shoot the 90 grain bullets. Since building the rifle I haven't been able to find Bergers but have shot quite a few pdawgs with the 90 gn Sierra's. It isn't really explosive at longer ranges but it does hammer them real hard. I don't know how many rounds are typically shot during a string at Groundhogs but on Prarie Dogs the high velocity rounds heat the barrel so fast they have to be allowed to cool after 5 shots or so, which seriously limits their usefulness. A good friend has a 22-250 AI that shoots very well, but it heats the barrel so fast its practically useless.
Considerations for a 500yd. 22 caliber groundhog rifle
- Thread starter ARW
- Start date
Gotta say, lots of great calibers there, I've owned a few.
One very simple suggestion. Get a 20 TAC. Great right out to 500 yards, better BC than any .22's in the 50-60 grain class, more accurate than most of these, uses 1/2 the powder, you get to watch everything through the scope, not hard on barrels unlike more than 1/2 the others.
One very simple suggestion. Get a 20 TAC. Great right out to 500 yards, better BC than any .22's in the 50-60 grain class, more accurate than most of these, uses 1/2 the powder, you get to watch everything through the scope, not hard on barrels unlike more than 1/2 the others.
ARW said:
I did'nt reference 50-60 grain 20's it was 50-60 gr 22's that most of the other calibers would be driving, all with BC's around 230-250 or so.
There are 50-60 gr 20's, I believe Berger makes a VLD, however, you need not look any farther than a 39 Nosler or 40 Vmax, the later, with a BC of 285, I believe. It will drop coyote's out to 500 yards and on chucks either one is devistating.
I grew up and hunted with every .22 CF known to man, used CF 17's, 14's, but absolutely nothing works as well or is as efficient as the 20 TAC (my favorite) or 204, the former using Lapua brass shoots just unbelievably well.
I will 2nd the twenty cal. if you are not stuck on a 22 cal. My 20vt and 204's get a lot of use and are hard to beat for chucks. Try the 39 or 40 gr bullets as they are better in the wind. I have killed chucks at over 500 yds with both.
potatoe
Silver $$ Contributor
I think the issue with the .20's are the consistency to kill chucks at that distance. I'm not talking about the ability to, but crawl a-ways aren't considered and who cares about hitting them, I'm talking DRT. The fast velocity and decent BC is not bad but the Ft # even at 300 is not good IMO. They have enough out the gate but they loose too much out there. I for the life of me can't figure out why groundhog hunters haven't raised "want" enough for a long range killer (sure we have and 87 vmax but that's just one bullet and many guns don't like it). I think prarie dog hunters over shadow the wants/needs of ghog hunters and that's why we only have light weak bullets. If a Pdog hunter misses then he still has a handful more targets but Ghog hunters don't have that (well maybe if they are little ones ;D)
A 300 yard gun that "can" kill a 500 yd hog is not that appealing, with a one shot one kill hog I would opt for something with more killing power I think even a .22 is pushing that limit. We need a better VARMINT bullet, we have optics and rangefinders and bal. solutions so a heavier bullet with good BC is what the new Ghog hunter needs
A 300 yard gun that "can" kill a 500 yd hog is not that appealing, with a one shot one kill hog I would opt for something with more killing power I think even a .22 is pushing that limit. We need a better VARMINT bullet, we have optics and rangefinders and bal. solutions so a heavier bullet with good BC is what the new Ghog hunter needs
I started out with a 222 in 1953 and sometimes got over a hundred/yr when I was a kid.
Later I got a 243 to get more range. Never a .22" at 400 yds but the 243 was cool then.
Now the chucks are gone from New England and Eastern NY!
We still have the farms and some deer to hunt but I miss hunting those woodchucks. We blame the new presence of the coyote here.
Later I got a 243 to get more range. Never a .22" at 400 yds but the 243 was cool then.
Now the chucks are gone from New England and Eastern NY!
We still have the farms and some deer to hunt but I miss hunting those woodchucks. We blame the new presence of the coyote here.
I was shootin' my .22-243AI in between lake effect snow squalls, yesterday. Was consistently hitting a 10" square plate @ 640yds (~1.5 MOA target) in 15-25mph gusts, a real testament to the wind bucking ability of a capacious, fast twist .224" cal. Falling snow sure makes it easy to read the wind!!!
A monster .20 cal hotrod might beat able to hang, ballistically...might. However, you'd hafta push a heavy .204 bullet very hard to do it, possibly compromising jacket integrity. That, and carnage factor would be somewhat less than spectacular. This is where sectional density becomes a factor, bigger bores simply make more mess...
Going the other way, it would take one heck of a 6mm to beat a fast .224" in drop & drift. You'd enjoy more splat factor from the larger bore, but pay the piper in associated recoil. That translates to building a heavier rifle in order to enjoy the show thru the scope...
If I were to build a heavy bench 'chuck rig today, I'd wildcat a 6SAUM, brake it, and throw 105Amaxs at unholy speed. That might beat a 75Amax @ 3600. Might...
A monster .20 cal hotrod might beat able to hang, ballistically...might. However, you'd hafta push a heavy .204 bullet very hard to do it, possibly compromising jacket integrity. That, and carnage factor would be somewhat less than spectacular. This is where sectional density becomes a factor, bigger bores simply make more mess...
Going the other way, it would take one heck of a 6mm to beat a fast .224" in drop & drift. You'd enjoy more splat factor from the larger bore, but pay the piper in associated recoil. That translates to building a heavier rifle in order to enjoy the show thru the scope...
If I were to build a heavy bench 'chuck rig today, I'd wildcat a 6SAUM, brake it, and throw 105Amaxs at unholy speed. That might beat a 75Amax @ 3600. Might...
When GAP finally releases 6.5 GAP 4s (SAUM) brass for sale, it'd be a simple neck down to 6mm with a bushing swap in my Type S SAUM die. Could switch barrel my 591 and make that sucker happen, easy enough Getting "off track" can begin to cost a fella $$$, so cut it out!!!
Back to .224"cal, still like the looks of that blown out .220Swift AI case...
Getting "off track" can begin to cost a fella $$$, so cut it out!!! Back to .224"cal, still like the looks of that blown out .220Swift AI case...
Savage99 said:I started out with a 222 in 1953 and sometimes got over a hundred/yr when I was a kid.
Later I got a 243 to get more range. Never a .22" at 400 yds but the 243 was cool then.
Now the chucks are gone from New England and Eastern NY!
We still have the farms and some deer to hunt but I miss hunting those woodchucks. We blame the new presence of the coyote here.
That's what everybody has thought, even me, but that isn't what's knocked the northeast chuk population down.
Got a good buddy that hunts bigtime chucks in Ohio and ran into research people recently explaining to him that a major pipulation decline has resulted from a very severe type of hepatitis....go figure.
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