Varmint Caliber Question

[Quackaddict]

Hello all, I am brand new to this forum and have enjoyed digging through the technical data found here. While I am new to the site, I have been shooting for 11 years and am a fairly capable rifle shot and an above average scattergun shot. I have recently gotten back into centerfire rifles and have been reloading for about 6 months. I load for two rifles, My ruger MkII in 270 win (deer rifle) and my current varmint rig, a Savage 10 FCP HS in 308. While I enjoy shooting the 308 and I have found that it is accurate and extremely hard on critters, it has proved to be to much caliber for what I need. I mainly target woodchucks, crows, and other small vermin out to about 300 yards, we do a PD shoot yearly where I can stretch out to to as far as I care to go.

Long story short I don't need the 1000yd capability of the heavy match bullets the 308 gives me, I want to keep the barrel and have a switch barrel rifle. I would like your opinions on a 6mm choice of caliber. I would like to start somewhere in the 70 grain range of bullets (blitz, vmax). These seem to give the best blend of bullet BC and velocity. It must feed from a magazine (no 6BR) and I would like to be able to push the 70 grainers to 3700ish to make them as flat as possible.

 

[trentalan34]

The 308 is a bit much for a day of prairie dogs. I have a Savage 110 FP that shoots the lighter bullets really well, especially the 110 gr V-max and Sierra HP Varminter. The BC on the v-max is much better than the sierra. So don't ditch the 308 too quickly, but a 70 gr Nosler from a 243 is hard to beat...a great groundhog round. I have been considering the 243 AI but can't seem to justify it. The downside of the 243 is barrel life. I am currently having a 6x45 upper made that should have better barrel life and still is a 6mm, but it won't have the speed of the 243. The 6x45 and 243 both feed from mags.

 

[cmillard]

that's too bad that you ruled out the 6BR for this rifle. the 6BR, in a fairly fast twist and say a 27 inch barrel would be killer on varmints. with this type of set up, i would go with a 9" twist so you can still shoot the 95 vlds for longer range shots, and still shoot the lighter bullets at close range.

 

[RJinTexas]

Being you ruled out my favorite cartridge the 6br then a 9tw .243 also get my vote. I owned a factory stock model 12 BVSS that shot both 55 & 70 grain NBT equally well with a slight edge going to the 55's and didn't have any heating problems in the dog towns. One of my shooting buddies now owns it and is still drilling dogs out to 500yds after a little over 2000 rounds. That barrels gotta die someday but no signs groups opening up yet, so much for 243's being a barrel burner.

Regards
RJ

 

[sunbuilder]

Another vote for the 6BR.

I have Predator action, feeds just fine from mag.

Did the "Bryant" modifications

.02 worth

 

[MarkS]

The 6BR is my #1 pick. But if you need a feeder, The 243, 6mm Rem.

Mark Schronce

 

[trappst]

6mm Rem, 243win., or the AI of either

don't rule out the 6x47 Lapua either. my 20x47 Lapua feeds great from a 223 size mag in my Savage short action. Not sure how it would do with the larger bullets but I'm betting you could make it work.

 

[Quackaddict]

I have been looking real hard at the 6x47L, I guess feeding with the slightly longer case is much better than the 6BR ( If I knew I could get it to feed I would be on it in a second). I didnt wanna post one caliber and bias anyone in what they would say.

Lets talk about barrel options, currently I can get a barrel prefit from about 1000 vendors, shilen, brux, mcgowen all come up. From what I have gathered Brux is the cream of the crop among these? I was thinking 10 twist but 9 would do fine. 26 should get me good velocities, I may flute it to drop some weight. Would you need a brake on a barrel chambered in 6x47 in a 17lb rifle? how about 6BR?

 

[Quackaddict]

Oh and 110 Vmax at 3300 fps equals destruction! They dont shoot super great so i am going to do some work with the 125 NBT's to see if I can get those to shoot.

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

You shouldn't need a muzzle brake on a 17 lb. rifle! If your gonna take it prairie doggin, your friends wouldn't be your friends anymore if you had a muzzle brake on that rig! They're noisy!

Mike

 

[MarkS]

Quackaddict,

I have a brake on my 6BR, you can see hit at 600 yds. You don't need one , but I like it.

Mark Schronce

 

[cliffy]

A .243 Winchester produces the maximum carnage a human shoulder can endure during a day long PDog shoot. Of course, 62 grain Barnes Varmint Grenades work great for such ventures. BUT, what's wrong with .22 centerfires with 55 grain varmint bullets? I hate to sound CHEAP, but loading up a few hundred .243 cartridges can be quite pricey. A buck a PDOG sounds expensive to me, and hard on the shoulder after a hundred pops. A .223 Remington with 55 grain DOGTOWN soft-points is more like thirty cents per reload. Less than half the recoil, and less than half the price per bagged beastie out to 350 yards is my way to go. Color me cheap, but it keeps my shooting shoulder out of a sling. Cliffy

 

[Webster]

Everyone has their favorites. For groundhogs I used a 6mm. Rem 700BDL with a Harris bipod for 35 yrs. Two barrels 7000 rounds each. It still shot .75-1" groups with the throat burned out. A 75 GR HP at somewhere around 3200 FPS will drop any hog. I never saw an exit hole. I also used 85 HPBT Sierras. Last fall I had a 6BR Norma barrel put on it. With 30% less powder than a 6mm. Rem. it will shoot a 68 GR HP a little over 3200 fps. equal to the bigger 6mm Rem. Far better accuracy, barrel and cartridge life. I think it will group .300- .45 groups if I do my part. I have to single load rounds this is not a problem for varmint hunting. If you miss the first shot at best you have a 300 yd. running shot. You really have to wait till they stick their head out of the den 15 minutes later. You don't need 3700 FPS bullet but A 52 gr. bullet in a 6BR will do about 3700 fps. equal to a 22-250 with better barrel life. You don't really need the fastest round. Knowing the distance and drop at that distance is more important. 600 & 1000yd. records have been set with the 6BR. I sight the rifle in at 275 yds. Out to about 300 yds. the bullet is never more than about 3" above or below the line of sight. The drop difference at 300 yards for a 3200 & 3800 fps round isn't really that much.

 

[Ackman]

Either a .243/243AI or 6BR would work fine. For what you'll be doing, I'd choose the 6BR with 12 or 14 twist and shoot bullets 55-70gr. For your purposes there's no need to mess with anything heavier. My 6BR has a 14" twist, the accuracy load is a 55/58@3850-3925 or a 65@anywhere from 3600-3700. Since yours will be on a Savage 10 action the 6BR should feed. I shoot with a guy who sometimes will bring his Savage 10 actioned .20BR.....surprisingly it feeds perfectly from the magazine, a 6BR should work just as well. Muzzle brakes are good on either 6BR or .243 and no, your shooting friends won't hate you.....if they have as much sense as you do they'll be wearing ear protection.

I hate to sound CHEAP, but loading up a few hundred .243 cartridges can be quite pricey. A buck a PDOG sounds expensive to me, and hard on the shoulder after a hundred pops.

And this... $1.00/round for .243? Not a matter of CHEAP, it's just flatout wrong.

 

[JohnWayne]

How many praire dogs have you shot cliffy? We want to know.

 

[Quackaddict]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it. After hearing of getting a 6BR to feed it makes me wanna go that way again, though a 243 would allow me to load for that barrel and another rifle I have.

Some comments on the thread, I hunt PD's maybe 3 days a year, the rest of the time I shoot critters that are spooky and most of the time are at distance, I shoot far more ammo at the range that I ever do at critters. To me, performance and getting to 300 with minimal drop is more important that how expensive each load is. And if you cant load a high quality 243 round for way less than 1.00 a round you need a new supplier. Even with lapua brass if you figure 10 reloads per case you can produce them very reasonably.

 

[moorepower]

The 243 is fine with a 55-75 grain bullet. You would add quite a bit of life to the barrel with the 6br, I would think. Single load with a 243 is a good thing to keep the barrel cool. My 788 does not take long to get warm. Since I have went to the 204 and the 20 practical, the 243 does not see much use for pd's any more.

 

[MQ1]

Quack,

I have a switch barrel rifle that I started with a .308 and a .243 Ackley barrel. About a year ago, I had the stock inletted for a Badger M5, and I was surprised to find that the mag feeds the .243 Ackley rounds just fine.

I also have a barrel for 6x47L and I am extremely impressed at the efficiency of the round. I have seen alot of post from people who say they have had issues with loading the 6x47, but I have not had that experience....feeding from the mag is a dream, and 1/2 groups or better are the norm...if you are looking for an easy wildcat to form and feed well, the 6x47 may surprise you.

I also have a .22 BR barrel. I have little problems single feeding this, and it is sweet to shoot and freaking accurate. If I ever get off my butt, I'll modify a mag for the .22 BR, but I'm not in a race, so there is no hurry.

Lastly, it is hard to argue with a straight .243 or 6mm Remington (I'd go for this based on what you are looking for for 70 gr and 3700...get a long barrel and you should have no problems) You could buy ammo at Wal Mart if you want...you'll just have to remind yourself to slow down and not cook your barrel. ;D

or just buy 4 barrels like I did and have fun with all of them....

MQ1

 

[cliffy]

John Wayne, I've shot over a dozen PDogs to date, most with a .177 caliber RWS Diana Model 350 MAGNUM rifle with Beeman imported German-made precision 8.9 grain Field Special pellets. I have shot one with a .223 Remington loaded with 55 grain Nosler Ballistic-Tip bullet at 3500 fps muzzle velocity, and the result was a very deader than dead varmint. When sport reverts to bloody carnage, I'd opt for the air rifle for extreme accuracy at subsonic velocity to fifty yard shooting. Blowing the guts out of a truly stupid two-pound adversary requires a special type of person. Dead is dead, and air rifles are ALL that is required, at least in Wyoming around Rock Springs. Cliffy

 

[JohnWayne]

Cliffy, I found a new way to kill praire dogs. I lay down a loaded .22 pistol on the ground, read your posts to them, and they grab the pistol and shoot themselves.