LDHunter
Well-Known Member
My old standby that never seems to wear out or have the accuracy degrade is a Remington 700LTR in 223 with 20" barrel and 9" twist. It shoots 69gr TMK's in one hole groups and less than .5MOA way out there. A few years ago I came across a Nosler ridiculously cheap clearance sale on loaded 223 ammo with the 40grNBT bullet and I was certain that they wouldn't shoot well in that rifle but a couple of years ago I decided it couldn't hurt to try. For those doubting Thomas's I will tell you right up front that these bullets shoved out at 3000+ fps from a 9 twist 20" barrel act like BOMBS when they hit almost anything including a couple of pesky gray squirrels. Accuracy isn't exactly one hole but hovers at about .5MOA right out to 200yds but somewhere past there they open up to a full MOA which can cause misses on prairie dogs at 300+ yds.
Since that barrel rarely get's hot enough to put down I tend to shoot it a LOT and it wears a NF NXS 8-32x56 scope and it's a super sweet combination with enough weight to tame recoil and I'll be getting more experience with my suppressor on it soon so that should make it even more tame in the recoil department. Yes... I can see my hits with the 40grNBT bullets and with the suppressor I expect to with the 69TMK's.
Second in my current prairie dog arsenal is a Remington 700 in 243 with a 24" Kreiger spiral fluted 8" twist heavy barrel that shoots both 70grNBT bullets and 95gr TMK's and of course the 95grTMK's are much more accurate but both shoot minute of prairie dog out to 400-500yds. This one wears a Leupold VX6HD 7-42x56 scope that has changed my mind about the NF/Leupy differences. It's a stellar scope.
Third in my current prairie dog arsenal is yet another fat barreled Remington 700 in the most practical cartridge I ever owned for small to medium game and that is the ever popular 6.5 Creedmoor. This one shoots Berger 135gr Classic Hunter bullets into groups that are hard to measure until you get beyond 200yds without calipers because they're so small. I thought my 308LTR with 168gr Federal GMM ammo was accurate until I bought this rifle and it never ceases to amaze me in its almost boring groups that defy wind and make any shooter a hero. It wears the same model NF as the 223 above.
So... I guess I got carried away but it's great to have 3 rifles that continually prove to me that I can always shoot smaller groups and hit far away targets more consistently if I'll just keep trying harder and harder to bear down and work on my breath control and trigger pulls. The rifles and ammo certainly aren't to blame if I don't.
Next March I hope to end up in Colorado or Wyoming again in the prairie dog fields and then a return trip later for an antelope probably with the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 243 will go again this time for coyotes.
Gosh... Ain't life grand. Have gun will travel... Wait Wait.... Wasn't that a TV show a few hundred years ago? LOL
A bit of history here that a quick google revealed... "Have Gun-Will Travel was produced by the CBS Television network and was one of their biggest hits, running for six years; being voluntarily canceled by Boone after he had grown tired of it. The theme song, "The Ballad of Paladin," sung by Johnny Western, was released in 1961 and became a hit single.Nov 29, 2016"
Since that barrel rarely get's hot enough to put down I tend to shoot it a LOT and it wears a NF NXS 8-32x56 scope and it's a super sweet combination with enough weight to tame recoil and I'll be getting more experience with my suppressor on it soon so that should make it even more tame in the recoil department. Yes... I can see my hits with the 40grNBT bullets and with the suppressor I expect to with the 69TMK's.
Second in my current prairie dog arsenal is a Remington 700 in 243 with a 24" Kreiger spiral fluted 8" twist heavy barrel that shoots both 70grNBT bullets and 95gr TMK's and of course the 95grTMK's are much more accurate but both shoot minute of prairie dog out to 400-500yds. This one wears a Leupold VX6HD 7-42x56 scope that has changed my mind about the NF/Leupy differences. It's a stellar scope.
Third in my current prairie dog arsenal is yet another fat barreled Remington 700 in the most practical cartridge I ever owned for small to medium game and that is the ever popular 6.5 Creedmoor. This one shoots Berger 135gr Classic Hunter bullets into groups that are hard to measure until you get beyond 200yds without calipers because they're so small. I thought my 308LTR with 168gr Federal GMM ammo was accurate until I bought this rifle and it never ceases to amaze me in its almost boring groups that defy wind and make any shooter a hero. It wears the same model NF as the 223 above.
So... I guess I got carried away but it's great to have 3 rifles that continually prove to me that I can always shoot smaller groups and hit far away targets more consistently if I'll just keep trying harder and harder to bear down and work on my breath control and trigger pulls. The rifles and ammo certainly aren't to blame if I don't.
Next March I hope to end up in Colorado or Wyoming again in the prairie dog fields and then a return trip later for an antelope probably with the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 243 will go again this time for coyotes.
Gosh... Ain't life grand. Have gun will travel... Wait Wait.... Wasn't that a TV show a few hundred years ago? LOL
A bit of history here that a quick google revealed... "Have Gun-Will Travel was produced by the CBS Television network and was one of their biggest hits, running for six years; being voluntarily canceled by Boone after he had grown tired of it. The theme song, "The Ballad of Paladin," sung by Johnny Western, was released in 1961 and became a hit single.Nov 29, 2016"
