Weatherby versus Kimber

[dasslp]

Dear Fellow Hunters,
I am beginning to search for a new varmint rifle and was wondering what thoughts everyone has. What advice could you give an old country kid from New Mexico regarding the Weatherby SVM and the Kimber Longmaster? I've even thought about the Remington VSSF but need some advice. I'm figuring on spending around $1000 to $1300 and want to get the best "bang" for my buck. What caliber would you recommend for praire dogs and coyotes? I was thinking the 22-250 would probably be best. We have a ton of each on the eastern side of the state where I live. Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks, dasslp

 

[EZShooter]

Dasslp,

I can't speak to the accuracy of the Weatherby or Kimber (wish I could). The Remington's though, I can tell you about. I have a LVSF in 223, very nice gun, out of the box with an adjustment to the trigger only, I was shooting .6-.7 MOA with Berger 52 gr. Match HP's. Now, whether you want to shoot a 22-250 or the 223... I got the 223, as I figured if I can learn to dope wind with it I am in like Flynn on the other cartridges.... heheh. But, what you probably need to do for us is specify what kind of ranges you are going to shoot at, whether you are a red mist kinda guy or a pelt guy, etc. The 22-250 can do both, with good bullet selection, so far so so good... if you are looking at over 400 yards (this is long range hunting.com, remember) then you might want to go for a 6mm or 25 caliber... the key would be buying a rifle with a twist rate for the heavier for caliber bullets.... but this will also get you away from the red mist shooting (and depending on the weight of the gun, whether you can see your shot hit home or not). I am assuming here that you are saying $1000-1300 for just the rifle, just to be sure.

I like the Remington, insofar as there are a lot of gunsmiths that like to work on them, so when I shoot out the 223 barrel, well, I can go to other cartridges/calibers if I want, and get maybe some better accuracy to boot. I spent right at $800 on mine, but this is when they first came out, so they are a little cheaper now, I think.

One option you might want to check into, is a Cooper rifle, they are pretty sweet, and if you are like me, appreciate a fine wood stock, then all the better. This fits your budget on the lower end Cooper guns (which are plenty accurate - most I have seen are 1/4 to 1/2 MOA).

Another option would be to go for a Borden/Stiller/Nesika Bay action, and go the full custom route (much longer to get the rifle though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif ). This gives you several advantages, as there is good resale on these rifles... you can get the action for app. $600, then go from there.... this would most likely go over your budget by a good bit though. With the right gunsmith, you might be able to scrounge something up close enough though.... the Borden Timberline/Alpine action looks good, and maybe you get this and a factory stock from someone that bought a McMillan or HS Precision, etc. Maybe a factory barrel from the same person that sells you the stock... could maybe get you there. I am no gunsmith, maybe FiftyDriver or Shawn C. will weigh in on this (kinda of thinking about going this way myself).

Anyway, hope this helps a little, I am sure that the other members will chime right in with good info as well.

EZ

 

[Northman]

You could look at the savage rifles.. they dont look very attractive, but shoot god I have been told. I staying away from remingtons, since the quality control I have seen on some rifles, AND my own are really shabby..

If you want to go the factory route, I would choose a cooper rifle! I have only seen them on photos, and they look sweet! If you live in a dry climate, I would choose a wood stock, if not they also sell the "phoenix", wich has an attractive syntetic stock. Around 1300$

Now, if you want a repeater, try to find a old Tikka 595 or 695.. they are the nicest factory actions out there! To bad I cant seem to find one for sale where I live..

Now what caliber.. this is long range hunting, so you need a high BC bullet...

20 cal: 50 grain, but speed makes up for the lack of it
22cal: 75grain and up
6mm: 75 and up
6,5: 107 and up
7mm: 140 and up
30: 168 and up


Now if you find a Tikka 595, you can use the 6mmBR with the magazine. Just buy a 22-250 mag, and it should feed fine. Find a used rifle, buy a new barrel, mcmillan stock... and go have fun.

The 6mmBR spits out 55grain BT at 3800fps, and 105 grain A-max at 2950fps.. that should vaporize(?) any varmint within 400 yards.. then 105 A-max should take care or the rest out to 1000 yards.. The 6mmbr would be my preferd cartridge, just because you get so much out of a small package! Gives 4000 rounds of barrel life..

For a 223, I would go with a 223 AI, for sensible shooting.. 40grain at 4000fps, 50grain at 3750 fps, 75 grain at 3100.. you should be able to see hits.. also good for 1000 yards.

Or... 224 Vais for the fun... shoots 80 grain VLD at 3800 fps.. maybe 75 A-max at 3900? Barrel life.. hope it would be 1200 +

6mm: 6br for sensible,

For fun: 6-284, 6-06 gives equal of the 6-284, 6mm Vais, 6mm AI shoots 75 vmax at 3800fps..

You could also build a 20 cal.. buying a AR-15 and shooting 32 v-max out at 4200 fps, should make a mess of things.. called a "20 practical", its the twin of the 20 tactical, but simpler to make see here : http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek061.html

With the 20´s you are limited to 500 yards.. give or take.

 

[WunderDog]

I have not shot a Kimber but I have a Weatherby SVM that I absolutely love. It is a .220 Swift single shot and it is an absolute tack-driver. The trigger was so-so out of the box but didn't take much work to make exceptional. The Krieger barrel does not foul very quickly and cleans quite easily. It is a heavy gun for walking with but after a summer of carrying that around the woodchuck fields, my big-game rifle feels like nothing. I would buy another one of these in a heartbeat. I know they didn't make too many in the Swift the first time around. They have it listed in the catalog again this year but I don't know of anyone else who has one.

 

[Hired Gun]

I have been coveting the SVM in a 243 ever since they came out. I was going to have mine rechambered to 240 WBY. That would give me about the meanest 6mm out there. I have 3 Accumarks which are very similar to the SVM, all they all are superb in every way. If I were you I would do either the 22-250, 220 Swift or the 243 Win for a bunch more wup *** at the party. I only use the .223 for indoor use or non-lethal practice purposes. At the range my Rugers give the Kimbers a schooling every time I see one. The SVM is the real deal on a complete shooting system. Just add a good scope and enjoy. Resale value is very good too if that is important to you.

 

[screech]

I would look for a 243 or 6mm in a remington or savage. So far they seem to be the most accurate for me right out of the box.

 

[bjlooper]

If you are planning on spending 41100 - $1300 on a new rifle tke a look a Weaver Rifles for a few dollars more you can have a custom rifle in any Cal, any barrel length, or any weight you want. and I promise you it will out shoot any of the factory guns youre looking at.

http://www.weaverrifles.com/

WEAVER RIFLES
16850 SAGE CREEK ROAD
PEYTON, COLO. 80831
719-683-3024
[email protected]

 

[bailey1474]

Look @ Cooper. .5 MOA guarantee is more that you'll get out of the two you mentioned.

 

[Centre Punch]

I'm with Bill on this, for under $1400 you can get a Cooper Varminter, super accurate, jaw dropping good looks and my personal favourite .22 centrefire......22-250 Ackley /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ian.

 

[dasslp]

Thanks to all of my fellow "varmint hunters" for responding to my question. I will definitely check out the Cooper Varminteer rifle as well as the Weatherby SVM.

dasslp

 

[bailey1474]

Shoot me an email. I've got a Cooper in a 22-250 and a 220 Swift. Email me and I'll shoot you a price.

[email protected]

 

[duckinalaska]

dasslp,
I just got a great deal on a Kimber 84m in .308. I'll get back with you after the weekend to post the feild reports right out of the box.
Brandon

 

[IChaseCoues]

Sort of off subject, but hey dasslp what part of NM are your stomping grounds?
Thought it would be neat to find someone else in the area thats into the same stuff.
I live in Ft. Sumner FYI.
A friend just bought a VSSF II in 22-250. What little I have seen, it will group under 1" with factory ammo. Haven't got to build any loads for it yet, but may soon. It should shoot better than 1/2" after load development.
I couldn't convince him to spring for the Cooper. I tried to, but it didn't work when I told him they were single shots. I think I heard Cooper is gonna start building repeaters though.
Good luck in your quest!

 

[dasslp]

I live northwest of Portales. Did you grow up in Ft. Sumner? I went to school at Floyd and graduated in the mid 80's. I shoot prarie dogs on my Dad's farm and ranch. Changing the subject some, we've had a tremendous run of wild, feral pigs over the past couple of months. My dad has shot three in the last 6 weeks alone out running the calves. Some pretty big ones at that. I had a friend shoot one a couple of years back that took 4 grown men to load in the back of the pickup. Thing probably weighed between 350-400 pounds. You guys ever have those up around Ft. Sumner? It's good to meet someone from New Mexico.

dasslp