varmint rifle choice

[moorepower]

First, define varmint hunting that he want's to do. Is he talking grass rats, rock chucks, yotes, or??? If I were shooting 500 rounds at a grass rat field , I would not choose a .243.

 

[tjtjwdad]

My Buddy wants to get into varmint hunting, so I will get him started and take him along, he does not have much in varmint calibers ect. so his most reasonable way out I would think would be is rebarrel his heavy barrel 308 LE Savage rifle, I am trying to figure out caliber for long range, I was thinking of a heavy varmint contour 26" long in a 22-250 with an 8 or 9 twist for the 75-80 gr bullets, any thoughts on this caliber, or would a 243 be a better choice, he wants to be able to reach out around 700-800 yds.


thanks
Chet

Chet,

What size varmint? a 22 cal (22-250/220 Swift) will reach out there but a .243 & .264 cal will also reach out there with a lot more hitting power and so does the .284 & .308 cals too. Just depends on what the needs are.

HTH

 

[L461]

6x47 Lapua pushing a 105 Amax gets my vote for long range wook. Better barrel life then a 243 and with less recoil. You can load the lighter 75 gr Vmax's for dog town work at closer distances.

RJ

I gotta go with RJ here the 6x47L is a very easy cartridge to like mild to shoot ,very very good accuracy and can handle a wide range of Projectiles.I use the 75 v-max at 3750fps exclusively and am pushing 600m regularly

 

[ba_50]

At 500+ I would prefer a 6x24 or 8x32 scope with a 30mm tube. At least a 15X. The .243 with heavy bullets has less wind drift than a .22. I would use a 90gr as the largest here in Illinois for coyotes.

Most factory rifles will be lucky to hold 1/2 MOA which means about 3 inch groups (hopefully). Even shooting from a bench and a little gusty wind can get you a wounded coyote at 500 let alone using field shooting methods. (I plan on using a camo blind with a bench on coyotes sometime). Prarie dogs are a different story.

That's my dilemma, finding match accuracy in a factory rifle that doesn't weigh 15# and have a 30" barrel, or putting a lot of money into a build.

 

[squirrelduster]

Check out the 6br or one of the variations. I shoot the 75gr VMAX out of my 6br and it is amazingly accurate and gets really good air time on pdogs and ground squirrels. Shoot the 105 class bullets for longer ranges.
Low recoil, easy to load and high accuracy. I load mine on a Dillon press and the accuracy is still very good. If you are careful and load precisely it is very hard to beat the accuracy. I had a 22-250 and after much trouble got it to shoot 3/4" groups at 100. The 6br I did a little research and my first load during break in was a little under 1/2" at 100, and after minimal load work up they all touch at 100.

 

[MarkS]

Chet,

I have shot most 22 cals and 6mm's . I like the 6BR now for all my varmint hunting. Nothing will touch the 6BR as far as accuracy. Barrel life is great. I have a 12 tw barrel that is great with bullets up to 80gr, I have been told the 87 gr vmax will work too. I like the 70gr Sierria Blitzking for the 12tw. I am shoot a 10tw barrel also with the 87 vmax. The 70gr are good for 750 to 800 yds. The 87g are good to 1000 yds.

Mark Schronce