Varmint hunting accuracy.

[K22]

Obviously you want the most precise load / rifle combo possible for varmint hunting. The level of precision needed depends on the size of varmint, the distance you intend to shoot, and your ability to shoot accurately in the field.

I like to have my varmint rifles shoot in the .5's but this isn't always attainable. Some of my most successful hunts have been with rifles that shoot in the .7's to 1 moa. If you do enough of it and practice enough in under field conditions meaning shooting at the range in the manner you intend to hunt in the field you'll soon develop an good understanding of your limitations.

I use shooting sticks so my range is more limited than those using a bipod in the prone or a field shooting bench. The prone bipod doesn't work for me because it's too restrictive limiting my field of view. Hauling a bench in the field doesn't work for me either because I like to roam around and change fields frequently. So my ethical effective range is about 250 to 275 yards on a ground hog, a bit further on a predator.

An effective drill for measuring your skill to hit a ground hog is to take a 3 x 5 card, tape it to a piece of cardboard* and see if you can place 5 of 5 shots in the card. Placed in the vertical position, it simulates a standing hog, horizontal - a crawler. By moving the target out to various distances you'll soon get an idea of your maximum effective range for making an ethical shot on a standing hog and crawler. Besides being a lot more fun than shooting off the bench - it will hone you field shooting skills.

*it's quite easy to make a holder for the target using two piece of pointed steel strips and binder clips for field used or just use the target backer at the gun range.

 

[ben lurkin]

I had an interesting experience years ago while hunting prairie dogs with a buddy of mine. I took two rifles, a 22-250 AI and a 6 BR. My buddy had a couple as well but on our last day, the only gun he had any ammo for was his 22 Dasher. My 22-250 was a worked over factory gun and was a solid 5/8” shooter but my 6 br is a full custom and will shoot in the 0.2” or better range with just about anything you feed it. My friends dasher is similar, a solid 1/4” gun.

That last day, the remaining pdogs were exceptionally skiddish; having been shot over previously but it was also a large town. We set up a couple hundred yards away from the closest mounds and proceeded to shoot for several hours. The closer dogs went down pretty quickly leaving us with only 600-700 yard shots.

We were both hitting pretty consistently up until then. I was switching between my two rifles every so often to let the barrels cool down but my buddy was having to time his shooting a bit in order to keep his barrel somewhat cool. We both place the fired brass down for a hit and up for a hit to keep track of hit percentages and alternatively spot for one another when things slow down. When there were only the longer shots left, I switched to my 6 BR. My buddy used to shoot benchrest so he’s pretty hard to hang with, but I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with him that day; until I ran out of ammo for the BR. I then switched to the 22-250 AI and that’s when the proverbial wheels fell off!

After the switch, my hit numbers dropped to about half or less of what they were with the BR while my buddy kept putting them into the dirt! This wasn’t noticeable at closer ranges earlier in the week, but it certainly was at the longer ranges we were shooting that day. It was bad enough that I put the 22-250 away and we ended up alternating on my buddies dasher until the ammo for it ran out. Using his, my hit percentages went right back up to where they had been earlier in the day.

Following that trip, I ended up selling the 22-250 AI to a friend who knew what it would do and really liked the gun as it was. Nowdays, I always throw in at least one gun that will shoot extremely well at long range. For me, when I miss I want it to be because of me; not because of the equipment I’m using. When it’s the latter, it quickly becomes frustrating instead of enjoyable.

If you’re hunting big game, you obviously don’t need a gun that shoots 1/4”. My 45-70 probably is a 2 moa gun. I use it as a brush gun for deer and 200 yards is the absolute furthest you will ever shoot. It’s the perfect setup for those circumstances. For coyotes, a 1” moa rifle will do just fine IMHO.

The point is having the right setup for your hunting circumstances, for me anyway, significantly enhances the experience. YMMV

 

[Intheshop]

Varmint hunting with cast in turnbolts is my main hunting focus with firearms. Bow hunt with traditional equipment too.

Once a load has been worked up and is "producing",the ultimate litmus for me is;

Rain or shine,hot,cold,whatever.....step out the shop door and ripoff a coldbore 3 shot ragged hole using X bag or off a bipod. NO foulers allowed in the field. Knowing what the rig can do coldbore and also from a squeaky clean barrel is what gives me confidence in the field. Crows take an especially fine shooting rig. I'd say a business card vs a 3X5 for practice. Which is a great way to look at it for practice( K22 got me thinking about it this way).

Scope tracking is an often overlooked item too. If you don't have complete faith in the dialing system......I feel you're limited. And it isn't always a function of the $$$. Just have to put the time in dialing,learning what the scope is capable of.

 

[Barossa_222]

A rifle that will shoot 5 shot one-inch groups from the bench will provides sufficient field accuracy for varmint shooting in my experience.

My primary varmint shooting is at gophers (ground squirrels), the ones we have here a bit smaller than I have seen in other places - an adult will be about 5 inches tall and about an inch and one-half wide. When varmint shooting I usually shoot from a soft bag on the hood of the truck which is pretty stable but certainly not as stable as a bench-rest.

A group of us usually take a 2-week PD trip to a target rich environment so I generally take 3 rifles to alternate so that I do not burn out the barrels.
The rifles I was taking were a Cooper Varminter which groups a consistent 1/2", a Remington 700 Varminter which shoots a fairly consistent 3/4" and a Remington 700 sporter which shoots a fairly consistent 1" group - all are in 223. I was curious about hit percentages using the different rifles, As an experiment I ran a test on hit percentage differences between the 1/2", 3/4", and 1" grouping rifles, this was done on gophers, not PD's.

Note: I shoot a 40 gr Nosler BT at 3750 using the same load in all of my 223's.
Knowing the hold-over/wind deflection of a load, using the same load for everything minimizes the variable created by using different bullet weights at different velocities.

Criteria -
all shots were on windless or very light wind days

I would shoot 10 shots from the rifle I was using and then use a different rifle, and so on

I took the shots as they were presented regardless of which rifle I was using at the time

all shots were taken at 50 to 250 yds since that is my high percentage hit zone on gophers and kept things equal for the experiment

Shots were taken from the hood of my truck using a soft bag for a front rest and my shoulder for the rear

I kept track of hits and misses by placing the case down in the ammo box for a hit and up for a miss, I kept track until I had done 500 shots through each rifle.

It took a few days to complete but it was enlightening to me. At the end of the test all three rifles averaged within a couple of percent of 75% hits. This may not have been a conclusive scientific test but I did learn that a rifle that shoots one-inch groups is sufficient for my needs, but given the choice about a 1/2" or 1" rifle I will always take the 1/2" rifle even if it is not necessary for varmint hunting - it's a confidence thing I suppose.

drover

I don't disagree with your comments, but will say that a gun capable of 1moa will not cut the mustard on small game out past 300 yards. Inside 250yards a gun would have to shoot fairly lousy not to hit a 6 inch target consitantly at known ranges in minimal wind off a solid rest. This is all relative of course. A guy shooting an honest 1moa gun often at numerous ranges will best someone with the best gear who doesn't put the time in or know his gear. My point is, and what I've always told people, is if your gear shoots 1 minute in the best conditions off the best rest, it's not going to get any better. Tuning it small will increase your hits at long range and this for me is 1/2moa or better.

 

[Sniper338]

I still want my guns to shoot bugholes no matter what I do with them.

 

[Sieg]

I've been shooting small Oregon digger squirrels in alfalfa pivots for 30 years now. My method is simple, minute of Coors Light can at 400yds, as that's close to the size of a plump standing or broadside squirrel.

 

[searcher]

I don't think I have ever seen an Oregon ground squirrel that was as big as a Coors Light can! Because I make trips up North to shoot them, as well as the larger variety in Central California, I want my rifles to shoot minimum 3/8" MOA. One-half MOA will get you misses 25% of the time at 450 - and that is with no wind, mirage or shooter error. It really is amazing that with patience and being able to spend the time at the range testing - todays' factory rifles are, in most cases, fully capable of shooting 1/4" to 3/8" MOA. Granted - I have replaced triggers on mine, have bedded the actions and they carry top-notch optics. I think that after you have had really outstanding accuracy in a rifle, there is no going back. Same way with optics. So - I guess the best way to assess what kind of accuracy you want is to ask yourself what you want your hit ratio to be for the size of critter you are shooting at a particular distance.

 

[Webster]

I think we have all taken shots well beyond our equip/skill level. I like to have a reasonable expectation of making the shot. If shooting Ghogs, for example, at 500yds I should be able to shoot a Ghog size group at that distance. Shooting small groups in the field isn't as easy as from a bench but an accurate gun sure helps.

Both of my rifles shoot under .350" at 100 yards. They are basically factory Rem 700 rifles with a $700 Kreiger barrel on them. Problem: In Ohio it's hard to find a hayfield much more than 350-400 yrds across.

 

[msinc]

…… todays' factory rifles are, in most cases, fully capable of shooting 1/4" to 3/8" MOA...…..

Clearly.....I must not be getting mine from the same guy that you are dealing with!!!! Your guy must not sell Ruger Americans either. I go now to whip the ass of my FFL dealer...….he's been selling me all the junk for the last 20 some odd years!!!!

 

[500yards]

No it isn't inefficient. I wouldn't want to get hit at 1000 yds. Like you say, there are much more effective options out there, but the .223 has plenty of horsepower at 400 yds and at greater ranges. Don't buy into the myth that you need XXXX foot pounds of energy in order to be effective on game etc. Having said that, I wouldn't choose a .223 as my primary elk round but if its all I have available, it would work. Don't misunderstand... I am not advocating shooting elk with a .223 at any range, but bullet placement is far more important than the caliber of the round.

The .17hmr gets a lot of flack as underpowered for coyote. Well, yes it is if you don't hit the vitals or take a shot at 300yds. Hit a yote in the vitals at 100 yds and it's a dead dog.... maybe not as fast as a .243 but dead is dead. Many try to make-up their own shortcomings in the accuracy department by choosing a caliber that is so powerful that a hit on an animal anywhere is going to put it down. Thats fine with me, but really, is there a need to hunt so over gunned that the blast is just as likely to kill the animal as the bullet?

Any reputation that the .223 is underpowered at longer ranges (and I consider 600 yds long range) is more likely due to poor shot placement or clean misses. Few can accurately estimate range past 200 yds... which is a dead on hold with a .223.

 

[Gary in MD]

Clearly.....I must not be getting mine from the same guy that you are dealing with!!!! Your guy must not sell Ruger Americans either. I go now to whip the ass of my FFL dealer...….he's been selling me all the junk for the last 20 some odd years!!!!

 

[searcher]

msinc - I WOULD go whip the ass of the dealer who sold you a Ruger American and told you it was a varmint rifle. Ha.

 

[Barossa_222]

No it isn't inefficient. I wouldn't want to get hit at 1000 yds. Like you say, there are much more effective options out there, but the .223 has plenty of horsepower at 400 yds and at greater ranges. Don't buy into the myth that you need XXXX foot pounds of energy in order to be effective on game etc. Having said that, I wouldn't choose a .223 as my primary elk round but if its all I have available, it would work. Don't misunderstand... I am not advocating shooting elk with a .223 at any range, but bullet placement is far more important than the caliber of the round.

The .17hmr gets a lot of flack as underpowered for coyote. Well, yes it is if you don't hit the vitals or take a shot at 300yds. Hit a yote in the vitals at 100 yds and it's a dead dog.... maybe not as fast as a .243 but dead is dead. Many try to make-up their own shortcomings in the accuracy department by choosing a caliber that is so powerful that a hit on an animal anywhere is going to put it down. Thats fine with me, but really, is there a need to hunt so over gunned that the blast is just as likely to kill the animal as the bullet?

Any reputation that the .223 is underpowered at longer ranges (and I consider 600 yds long range) is more likely due to poor shot placement or clean misses. Few can accurately estimate range past 200 yds... which is a dead on hold with a .223.

Not quite sure what this has to do with the question. Accuracy is king in the long range varmint game (followed closely by velocity and splatter factor). Your comments are quite valid when it comes to hunting in general, but the question was how much accuracy is acceptable for varminting. There was no talk of killing energy or appropriate calibre.