Caliber of choice for PD/RC

[strombeckj]

What's your favorite PD/rock chuck caliber, bullet and why? What optics do you use? What reticle, what power? How's your rifle set up? Give specific reasons why you made those choices. I would like to know hat other are using out there. Thanks for your response.


Jon.

By the way, rifle porn is always welcome

 

[strombeckj]

Here in one of my rigs for PD's.
.223 AI, model 70 trued. Sightron SIII 6-24x50 LRMD krieger 1:14 winchester heavy varmint contour w/micro flutes and break so I can see the red mist. I don't lose sight picture even on 24x. For me that is what makes PD shooting so much fun!

50gr Blitz Kings over 28grs of IMR 8208 XBR = 3675

I will post my 20VT next.

Jon

 

[Armed in Utah]

I feel I have my bases covered for p/dog shooting....

All single shot Savage actions....Pac Nor tubes....Choate Varminter

stocks...***'t scope selections..all rifles weigh in at 15# & up

20 Vartarg 12 twist

223 AI 12 twist

20 Practical 12 twist

6BR 12 twist

6XC 8 twist

260 AI 8 twist

6.5x55 8 twist

Favorite p/dog removal tools ? 20 Practical & 6BR

 

[tt35]

Nice stable, Utah!

I like my .204's out to 350 to 400 yards. Very flat shooting, low recoil and little barrel heat. My favorite is my Cooper M21 Varminter with a Leupold VXIII 6.5-20X50mm. It has the Varmint Hunter reticle but I usually dial and just use the windage marks. I shoot 39 gr Sierra Blitz Kings over 25 grains of Benchmark and a Federal 205M primer. My back up .204 is an AR. Its a Bushmaster lower with a Geiselle DM trigger. It has a White Oak Precision upper and a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20X50mm scope with the TMR reticle in a LaRue detachable mount. It shoots the same load as the Cooper.

No current picture of the WOA but here's one of the Cooper.

My long range PD/RC rifle is a M700 .243AI with an eight-twist Krieger finished at 27 1/2". It has a McMillan A5 with sniper fill and a Rifle Basix trigger set at 18 oz. The scope is a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56mm NP-R1 with Zero Stop in Mark 4 rings. I'll be adding my Flatline Ops level to it in the next couple of days. This thing is a pig to carry so the Outlaw Sling from Timber Buttes Outdoors is a welcome addition. I shoot 105 grain Berger Hunting VLD's over 44.0 grains of H4831SC and a Federal 210 primer in Lapua cases. They leave the muzzle at about 3156 fps. This rifle accounted for my first 1000 yard 'chuck this spring.

The .243AI.

 

[jerrschmitt]

Well, it changes from time to time. Right now, and for the last few years it's been the 6mm BR.

I picked up a 6MM BR Remington 14 twist at a gun show a few years ago. The case on the Remington is .040 shorter than current 6mm BR Norma but the rest of the cartridge is the same. It will push the little 65 grain VMAX at around 3200 FPS and just smokes prairie dogs. Presently, I have a Nikon Buckmaster 6-18 scope on it and it works well out to around 600 yards. The downfall of that outfit is the slow twist, requiring light bullets and the 1/8 MOA adjustment of the scope.

You have 6 MOA of adjustment before you pass zero so to get out to long range, you have to pass zero a couple of times. Sooner or later, you're going to get confused and not get back to your real zero then get lost trying to hit anything. I just use it for 400 yards or closer.

Two years ago I had a 8 twist, no turn neck, 6mm BR Norma built. I topped it with a 6.5-20 Vari X 3. Shooting the 105 AMAX bullet, I can get out to 1000 yards with a little help from lady luck.

Another new favorite of mine is the .243 Ackley Improved. Not because I can squeeze more velocity from it but because the cases don't lengthen as much as the standard .243 so you don't have to trim as often. An 8 twist .243 AI with 105 AMAX bullets will get you to 1000 yards with range left over.

My varmint shooting started in the San Gabriel Valley of California before there were many freeways and a guy could walk around the foothills of Azusa and Glendora with a .22 rifle shooting jack rabbits and ground squirrels. Once I got a car I headed out to Hemit for ground squirrels and the Mohave for jackrabbits. I picked up a few Mauser rifles along the way converted to Varminters in .22-250, .243 and .257 Roberts for those shoots.

Then when the new Remington 700 V came out around 1967, I fell in love with the .222 Remington. About that same time, or a few years earlier, Redfield introduced the 3-9 Variable scope. That was almost perfect for my style of shooting. 400 yard shots were almost easy on those big jacks using the Hornady 50 SX bullets. I still have a rig that is almost like that old gun except it's in .223 using 50 VMAX and topped with a Leupold 3-9 scope. Just last week I made a number of 400 + shots with it on prairie dogs.

Guess that'll teach ya to ask an old duffer questions.

 

[strombeckj]

Nice rigs!

And thanks for the reply.

Jon

 

[BillR]

Shot PD's all the way from KS,CO, NE, WY,SD so far. Started out with .204's and .17's and fought the wind until I bought a .223 and then got rid of the small calibers and just use a .223 Rem 90% of the time now. I also use the 6MM AI and the .25-06 AI but they get a bit spendy to use so usually they just sit to home and I cannot beat the ammo cost on the .223 Rem. H-335 26 grains and a 50 grain Nosler BT and I take PD's out past 600 with it. I guess its a case of why mess with perfection. Rem 700 VS with a Leupold 6.5X20 boosted to 14.5X35X40AO with the turrets. Wind seldom bothers me anymore.

 

[strombeckj]

BILLR, if you pull the trigger on a lot of PD's you may want to try a .20VT.

Heres my .20VT.
24" fluted, #8 Pac-nor 1:12
Rem. XR-100 Action Trued
High-Tech stock with Leupy FX 16x scope.

I love this little round for PD's, it is deadnuts on and deadly out to 300 yards and can be pushed to 400 pretty easily. I can push a 32 Blitz King (BC.218) @ 3750 FPS using only 18.5gr's of powder. No recoil so I can see my hits and the report is pretty easy on the ears also. Plus this thing runs supper cool on the barrel. It is one of the most efficient rounds out there, a must have for a small critter getter.

I bought It from my rifle smith, it was his personal rig. It soon will be wearing a Sightron SIII 6-24x50 and a new McMillian A5

Jon

Results of a 417 yard hit

 

[Armed in Utah]

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8262/doggin526001.jpg

Here's my 20 Vartarg...the barrel was built as a 204R.....then after 2500+ rds I had it rechamered to 20 VT..awesome cartridge...action is a Savage s/shot w/Accue trigger...rifle weighs in at 15# or so...no recoil what so ever...glass is 4-14 Weaver Tactical....deadly out to 500+ yds with the 40 V max @ 3554 fps on 19/H322....actually just smacked a lone p/dog this morning in my hayfield with it....190 yds or so...thought I had them all shot in my fields....have 'removed' 100+ dogs with this rifle in my hay fields the last year or so...quiet and very effiecient.....

 

[strombeckj]

What is the twist on the barrel? I have wanted to try the 39 or 40grs since they have such sweet BC but the 32grs have been working so well that the smith suggested that I have not worked up any other loads. This is the time of year when I would rather be pulling the trigger rather then the handle.

Nice looking rig.

Jon

 

[tt35]

Armed in Utah: I like the .20VT. I also like the rear mono pod with the wedge underneath it. I sold my PRS buttstock I used on my WOA AR because I couldn't make quick enough vertical adjustments with the flat buttstock on my standard rear bag. A wedge or a wedge shaped bag would have fixed that problem.

The bench looks pretty familiar also. We built a couple sinilar to those from some plans that writer Rick Jamison had floating around years ago. Very stable. What is the pipe on the side used for--rifle or spotting scope holder?

 

[436]

I'm kinda big on the .243 WSSM for the long stuff. I'll try adding a pic??
436

 

[Armed in Utah]

Twist on my 20 VT is 12/3 groove....Pac Nor...same as my 20 Practical

VT bbl lenth is 25 3/4" after rechamber....20 PT bbl length is 26 1/2" after rechamber

I have build & sold tables and leg brackets around a few sites...along with some

local shooters....the side bracket is an umbrella mount....which I used today....the sun in

Utah's summer can be relentless...even before noon....it works well unless it is breezy...

Used my 223 AI today for 135 rds or so....still testing my new Vortex 6-24 PST...so far so good

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9127/dogs612008.jpg

 

[tt35]

Ah, I get it. Excellent idea. Thanks, AiU.