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Special Varmint Rigg's Let's See EM! and Tell Us Why? Not Favorites, but SPECIAL!

They're special because they're mine & made for the PD fields:

yBvcZf5.jpg
Do they do what you designed them for? If so, they are special!
 
If someone loves to create a tool or a toy so, be it, ENJOY, this is America.

With that said I can only say that I must be getting old because this thread reminds me of a discussion that I had with my neighbor about his snowblower. I heard all about his new toy until I finally ask if he was sleeping with it or clearing his driveway.

What my favorite varmint rifle is depends on where I'm going and what kind of day it is. All of them are rifles that are working rifles from factory rifles, if I fall while carrying it so be it!

In close low wind (100 yards or less) an old, I believe a Marlin Model 25N in 22 Long Rifle. If the range goes to 150 yards, I also have a 25MN, I believe in 22 Magnum.

If the wind is not awful and the range is 350 yards and under an old Howa 1500 kit rifle, shooting 40 grain handloads. If the range gets longer 600 yards or so I have an old Remington 700 in 6MM Remington, that's been tuned and a new barrel shooting 75 grain handloads.

They all get banged around, cleaned, zeroed regularly and when pulled out from the safe and fired they all do their job in one shot.

I have several favorite rifles and one favorite result.
 
This Ruger No. 3 is very special to me as it was my first custom varmint rifle. It was a .22 Hornet rechambered to .221 Fireball when I bought it from a friend. After a couple PD shoots in S.D. I had it rebarreled to .219 Wasp with a Shilen Barrel and I put some inexpensive after market wood on it. After close to 6000 rounds I had it rebarreled to my wildcat .204 Wasp with a Pacnor barrel.
View attachment 1631089
View attachment 1631093
That is indeed a special #3, I have a soft spot for the #3's and #1's, but especially the #3's, and that one is a real attention getter,
 
This Ruger No. 3 is very special to me as it was my first custom varmint rifle. It was a .22 Hornet rechambered to .221 Fireball when I bought it from a friend. After a couple PD shoots in S.D. I had it rebarreled to .219 Wasp with a Shilen Barrel and I put some inexpensive after market wood on it. After close to 6000 rounds I had it rebarreled to my wildcat .204 Wasp with a Pacnor barrel.
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Please tell us about the 204 Wasp.
 
Please tell us about the 204 Wasp.
Most of the info is in the three posts in this thread. I'll look for other posts about my wildcats. Saves a lot of typing.





Dave
 
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IMG_20250203_093849027.jpgMy .17-357 Max barreled by Dick Saunders in 1980. I re-read the original post. The reason this gun is special is, my father shot bench rest with Dick in the 60's. I have known him since I was six years old. By the time I was old enough to build a gun, I wanted something different. He said he would suggest a 17, but knowing me as he does, that wouldn't be an option. He said I didn't have the patience. I told him his 17 jet cases weren't that hard. He said he was chambering a gun for a client. With the client/designers permission he would test me. The client agreed and I ended up with this.
 
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My Hyper Single ser.# 002
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My 40X in 22RF with quite a bit of custom items. It has a Bartlein barrel with LH gain twist with a taper bore. It also has one of only 3 internal adjustable Remington scopes produced. They were built in the custom shop and not by any other scope company. Pic is too big
I guess that I don't know how to resize it.
 
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My Hyper Single ser.# 002
View attachment 1633249
My 40X in 22RF with quite a bit of custom items. It has a Bartlein barrel with LH gain twist with a taper bore. It also has one of only 3 internal adjustable Remington scopes produced. They were built in the custom shop and not by any other scope company. Pic is too big
I guess that I don't know how to resize it.
that Hyper is drooling material right there
 
Here is my set up for prairie dog hunting.

The rifle is a McMillan A5 Adjustable stock with a 3" wide rider block on the fore end, Stiller PredatorV action, RB, Left port, bedded by Tom Meridith, Jewell trigger, Barrel is a 28" #17 LV Krieger 1:8 twist in 6mmBR, Nightforce NXS scope 8-32 power. Shooting a 88 gr Berger varmint bullet at about 3050 fps. Built by Ron Hoehn.

A5 stock.jpg

My rotary table, with a Kestrel 5700 Elite on an extendable mast with a vane mount, running Applied Ballistics software, windage and elevation clicks readout via iphone, locked on table parallel with rifle. Range by Leica Geovid 10x42 binocs, Seb Mini front rest with F class products Mini Mod top.

I spot the dog and range him with the binocs, enter the range on the iPhone, adjust the knobs on the scope to match the readout, hit the direction of fire button, and send it.

I am all loaded up for a prairie dog trip in June this year, after which, I will install barrel #3. I have the barrel waiting to be chambered, a thousand Berger 88 grainers, and a jug of Varget to work up a new load this summer.

DSCN1881_Medium.JPG
 
I am a wee bit sad to say my current favorite live varmint rig is one I bought. Since I got out of the Army at Christmas of '71, I have mostly enjoyed accumulating a pile of parts and having a 'smith built for me.
Last year I bought the Sharp Shooters Supply 6 Dasher drop port Savage that was posted here. There was just something irresistible about that set up. I was worried about the Spinal surgery, so wanted a light recoiling LR rig in case I needed to take it easy this season.
 
I am a wee bit sad to say my current favorite live varmint rig is one I bought. Since I got out of the Army at Christmas of '71, I have mostly enjoyed accumulating a pile of parts and having a 'smith built for me.
Last year I bought the Sharp Shooters Supply 6 Dasher drop port Savage that was posted here. There was just something irresistible about that set up. I was worried about the Spinal surgery, so wanted a light recoiling LR rig in case I needed to take it easy this season.
Let's see that lw beauty.
 
Here are my two night hunting coyote rifles.
Savage Impulse Predators with CF barrels in 243 and 20-250.
Ordered a Boyd's pro varmint with Adj cheek piece to replace the factory camo stock.
I've built plenty of rifles over the years to hunt coyote, but none were "the" rifle.
After 40+ years I found a rifle platform that enabled me to check all the boxes on the list and that's what makes them special to me.
SJC2024 Fall Predators.jpg
 
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