Walking Varminter?

[JauntyMorel]

Hello, I've been using a tikka t3 in 22.250 for all of my coyote hunting, and have got the itch to build a custom walking varmint rifle in .223. My shots are short enough that the 22.250 is really to much gun. What do you think of this blueprint?

Sako L461 vixen action- scrounged from a beat up donor rifle
Rock creek No. 1 contour, 18.5 inch barrel- can this be fluted?
McMillan Compact Edge stock
Leupold 2-7 compact
Cerakote all metal
and a Jewell trigger

I think it might weigh around 5lbs or less with scope

Any way thats the plan, shoot any holes in it if you see a problem
any input is good, thanks!

 

[Mikecr]

My perfect walking varminter is as follows:

Cooper in 223 w/EZ-Pull 'TriggerAssist'
Leupold Mk4 8.5x25x50 w/'ScopeLevel'
Tallest Harris swivel bipod(~27") w/PodLok
Rear 'Accu-Shot' monopod
Jayner 50gr FB bullets
Been carrying a click card for load/expected conditions, and Leica 1200LRF

This is a solid 500yd 1/2moa system thats light to carry, cheaper, faster, easier than your build direction(including gunsmithing/risk).
I coated the Cooper barrel with Brownells GunCote(bake on).

 

[436]

These are my two favorite "walking varmint" rifles; both are the old Weatherby Varmintmasters 26"…. one in a .224 Wby Mag; the other was a .22 250 re-barreled to a 6XC The 6XC is dog killing machine on a windy day at long range.
Weatherby Mk V Varmintmaster 22.250

One of the standby rifles I have is a M760 in .223 Rem... This one is pretty nice for waling fields and quick snap shots.
Remington Gamemaster 760 .223 cal.

And last would be my M700 .22 GTO mainly for cartridge which I designed.... many years ago for Yote hunting and AR heavy .22 bullet usage.
.22 GTO

436

 

[coyotewallace]

As far as factory rifles I think the LVSF is **** hard to beat for a walk around killer..I've owned or own the 308,221FB,223,22-250 and they all shoot well,handle nice and look good doing it

 

[JauntyMorel]

Thanks for the replies! They all sound like good ideas. Ill look into the coopers, and though the weatherby's are tempting, they're abit to big for what i have in mind. The .22 gto looks like a lot of work i don't handload, but how fast is it? thanks for the input fellas!

 

[436]

Well... the Weatherby {.224 Why Mag and 22.250} Varmintmasters are the "older miniature action" rifles version discontinued these day's; they are much, much smaller than they are today... in {Wby's} Varmint and Big Game version rifles. As for the .22 GTO cartridges; it's about 300 fps faster than the .223 Rem, in all .22 cal bullet weights.
436

 

[REDHEAD]

My inventory is one of my AR15 M4, or varmint when I'm lazy. By the way, wouldn't a trigger assist on Cooper sort of be an insult ?

 

[acloco]

Built a 222 Mag AI expressly for the purpose of a "walking varminter". Seems like all of the other rifles I built had varmint weight barrels, heavier stocks, and big scopes on them. So, I set out to build something I could actually carry.

Already owned the 223 AI reamer, so I just ran it a bit deeper.

Light varmint/heavy sporter 1:8 twist Shilen Select Match stainless barrel
Duramax stock (light, but somewhat stiff)
Leupold 6-18x40 with turrets and fine crosshairs (enough power to see, thin crosshairs to not block the critter, and definetly lightweight)

Necked up 204 Ruger brass to 22 caliber and use 80 gr AMax's at 3150 (after fireforming) to reach out as far as you want.

 

[Bowhunter57]

My shots are short enough that the 22.250 is really to much gun.

JauntyMorel,
Welcome to Long Range Hunting.

There's no such thing as "too much rifle". Dead is dead...unless you're attempting to save the pelts. In that case you could just shoot them in the head.

I'd stay with your plans for the current rifle build, but I'd stay with the .22-250 caliber. It just depends on what you intend to do with it...or want the rifle to do.

Speaking from experience, I've went with a less powerful caliber and lived to regret it. I tried a .17 HMR for groundhogs and ended up going with a .223. I tried a .223 for coyotes and ended up going with a .25-06. Now, I don't have follow-up shots or disappointing blood trails...because their all DRT.

Good luck with your choices!
Good hunting, Bowhunter57

 

[loaders_loft]

I'm guessing you're shooting the heavy barrel 22-250 not the T3 lite? Not sure. Anyway, an 18.5" barrel will slow things down significantly using a 223 or 22-250, and depending how you load it (down) your regular 22-250 can be made to perform at that level just as well without all the heating and massive destruction...

For your small gun project, have you considered a 221 fireball? Probably would be perfect with the shorter barrel you have, known for great accuracy in XP100's and compact rifles; and using just 17-20 grains of powder, heating would be a non-issue. I have this vision of a compact 20" barreled fireball painted all white for PD and squirrel towns. Impervious to summer heat, reduced noise & muzzle blast to keep more dogs on their mounds, lightweight and cheap to load... Mmm...