Long-ish range prairie dog caliber?

[340Wby-4-everything]

I can't believe all these extremely knowledgable folks and only one briefly mentioned a 25-06. I guess the cm bug has infected too many. The 2506 would be an excellent choice as well. And could be used very well for antelope, Whitetails and Mulies and although I would not make it a first or second choice, a lot of elk have been killed with a 25-06 and if you really want some horsepower and factory ammo .257 Weatherby

 

[sodakota]

I also hunt west river for PD's. My long range rifles include: 22-250 (45 grain Varmint bullets), 22-250 AI (55 grain Varmint bullets), 6mm's (95 SST's and 58 grain Varmint), and larger. I know the caliber isn't in vogue anymore, but my 7mm RM with 139 grain Hornady's shoot about 1/4 MOA and is very effective. I built a 280 AI with a fast twist, and am considering using that with low drag bullets. 500+ yards are no problem with the 22-250 Ai and larger calibers.

(I use a 25-06 on antelope.)

 

[Gcan]

Planning to build/buy my dad a rifle for prairie dog hunting. He's expressed interest in a .22-250 but the buddy he will be hunting with shoots anywhere from 400 yards to 600 yards and in our state of South Dakota the wind always blows at least 10mph - 25mph it seems. I have wondered if a .22 bullet will be buffeted around by our wind too much to be an effective cartridge. Any suggestions for a better prairie dog cartridge or will a .22-250 suffice? Also, I feel I should note my dad has never owned a rifle before, only shotguns, and will be using factory ammunition. As tempting as a tighter-than-factory twist barrel and 75gr hand-loaded 22-250 sounds, I don't think that will be an option for factory loaded ammo that is readily found at Cabelas.

In my experience you might be hard pressed to find factory 224 any ammo that you can hit a prairie dog with-at 600 yrds. If you do, it will be match ammo at $2 round. At 600 you are not shooting 55+/- grain low BC bullets. (most common factory ammo)
I have several 224 cal. A 22-250 or 22-250 AI with a 1:8/1:9 twist shooting 80-95 grain match bullets ($.40 ea) will get you there and then some. If you move up to a 243 or 6mm Credemore you will probably find more available Long Range Match Quality ammo available. Last time I shot dogs it was hundreds. If I didn't reload the cost would have been several hundred dollars in factory ammo.
If I were buying a gun it would likely be a Ruger Precision or the like. Easy to change calibers without a smith if you want later. Easy to upgrade.
Mine were all accurate from the box. More so now.

I also might build a 6.5 Grendel AR. Very accurate. I have ARs shooting .223 - 72 match ammo holding -1 moa @ 500. That might be your cheapest route all around.

 

[jrock]

I would consider the 204 Ruger. Past 400 yards, wind drift with it is a bit challenging but fun. I shoot the 40 grain bullets and the BC's of those are similar to 68 grain 22 caliber bullets. The 22-250 is a good choice but if you want to shoot more than 55 grains, you might need a tighter twist than what is most common. I've shot the .243 with 55 grain bullets and it is fun as well. However, considering the recoil of the .243, I would opt for the .204 as it has the same velocity but has much less recoil and ammo is cheaper.

 

[jumper69]

Figured I'd add my few cents worth..
I shoot .17 HMR out to about 225 yards and then move to a Stag Varminter in .223 with a 24" barrel. Have not tried any 600 yard shots but have taken a couple out to 500. My last hunt was almost exclusively .17 HMR with a new Ruger Precision Rimfire which is a very nice shooting rifle. I like the .17 HMR as you can buy the HDY 17 gr VMax for about $.16 a round if you shop for it. My Stag likes the HDY 53 Gr VMax that I reload. The new Ruger Rimfire can be had for a little over $400 and The Vortex Diamondback Tactical with FFP and a hold over reticle can be purchased for around $400.

 

[raider1v1]

oh man. something i can actually help on!

so for this, since hes looking at 22-250, id suggest a 6 creedmoor. the reason is that what i use, a 1:7.7 243, i have to load ammo for, its not available off the shelf. the 6 creed has a nice selection of good ammunition that should take him out past 600yds. i use my 243 out to 1050 or so before it starts to be effected by the wind quite a bit.

if he hand loads, the options open a bit more, but the .243/6 creedmoor combination is very hard to beat. a bit down, and you are in 220 swift/22-250 territory, but factory loads are limited for long range. up a bit is 6.5x284 and that is solid hand-load territory.

 

[desertcrr1]

Keep in mind that this shooting is not so much the rifle - cartridge - scopes - or exotic tools. The most difficult part of shooting is that of wind doping. I've shot hundreds of dogs in South Dakota and as you know, always in the wind. I've seen a great many shot at 600-900 with the 22-250 which has to be the most popular of all working the towns. The are other bullets that will work more or less better than it for wind drift but will not get him more hits. The real issue is shooting a few thousand rounds at dogs in the wind and doping out how it's done. Without a good scope and a good rangefinder and spotter, there will be a lot of misses for a long time. Every dog town I've shot over has ample shooting at a variety of distances. He'll get as many shots at 300-400 yards as he wants, setting up at 300. He doesn't need of RF if his buddy has one. A .223 at this range will do and helps in that the lack of recoil helps the shooter to see the hit, but the 22-250 destroys them. Be prepared to buy several hundred factory rounds. Part of your decision is its cost.

 

[jrock]

I also have 6mm Dasher in a 5.5 lb rifle and you can spot your shoots at 100 with 105 VLDs with similar velocities to the .243 with much less recoil. Maybe you want to start hand loading?

 

[Buzzsaw]

.22 Creedmoor

 

[jrock]

https://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/selecting-varmint-calibers.1132/

 

[Garry J]

I don't know about you but after I've shot over a two thousand rounds Plus in 2 days from 22 magnum to 308 handguns on prairie dogs I shoot the 223 the most just because of the recoil. I take several guns 22 long rifle 22 magnum 221 204 223 243 22-250 308. I don't consider myself to be sensitive to recoil but after a steady diet a 22-250 or bigger rounds in a rifle one gets to feeling it. The 223 you can shoot all day and never have any sensation in your shoulder. I do shoot several Strikers in the Savage handgun in 223 243 22-250 and 308. You just can't take too many guns or too much ammunition when you're on a dog Crusade.

 

[ntsqd]

If you want to shoot heavy 22's in factory ammo the 224 Valkyrie would fill the bill. You can get Federal match 90 grainers and some a tad lighter. Don't have one of these and after all of the initial hype you don't hear much about the round either. Wasn't hyped as much as the CR but got some praise when it first came about. Was only mentioned once before in this thread so maybe it is not as great as expected.

This!
I'm almost to the barrel break-in point with a Valkyrie. I'm hoping to build a mid-weight bolt varminter in the near future.

Being based on the 6.8 SPC case, which is based on the odd case head sized .30 Rem it makes building a rifle a *little* more involved than most, but the 7.62X39 case head size is pretty close. Not a big challenge to a competent gunsmith.

Some of the available factory loads:
https://www.federalpremium.com/224-valkyrie <- Several 60gr's, 75's, 80.5, 90
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/224-valkyrie-60-gr-v-max-wc-varmint-express#!/
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/224-valkyrie-75-gr-bthp-wc-hornady-black#!/
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/224-valkyrie-88-gr-eld-match#!/

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/224-valkyrie

 

[Chuck32571]

Planning to build/buy my dad a rifle for prairie dog hunting. He's expressed interest in a .22-250 but the buddy he will be hunting with shoots anywhere from 400 yards to 600 yards and in our state of South Dakota the wind always blows at least 10mph - 25mph it seems. I have wondered if a .22 bullet will be buffeted around by our wind too much to be an effective cartridge. Any suggestions for a better prairie dog cartridge or will a .22-250 suffice? Also, I feel I should note my dad has never owned a rifle before, only shotguns, and will be using factory ammunition. As tempting as a tighter-than-factory twist barrel and 75gr hand-loaded 22-250 sounds, I don't think that will be an option for factory loaded ammo that is readily found at Cabelas.

The 224 Valkyrie with 90 gr. and above bullets should be the top performing 22 caliber round at long distance. The 243 Winchester and 6mm Creedmoor would be my choice for a 24 caliber round.

 

[Travis H]

Planning to build/buy my dad a rifle for prairie dog hunting. He's expressed interest in a .22-250 but the buddy he will be hunting with shoots anywhere from 400 yards to 600 yards and in our state of South Dakota the wind always blows at least 10mph - 25mph it seems. I have wondered if a .22 bullet will be buffeted around by our wind too much to be an effective cartridge. Any suggestions for a better prairie dog cartridge or will a .22-250 suffice? Also, I feel I should note my dad has never owned a rifle before, only shotguns, and will be using factory ammunition. As tempting as a tighter-than-factory twist barrel and 75gr hand-loaded 22-250 sounds, I don't think that will be an option for factory loaded ammo that is readily found at Cabelas.

Not sure if its been said yet but the new 224 Valkyrie might be a good thought. You can put thoes long high BC bullets in the like the 70gr Nosler RDFs.