What rifles you guys running for varmint hunting?

[Mike Matteson]

I use what I have in my hands at that time. If something comes up. Otherwise I use a 220 swift, and going to 6mm/280AI shortly for extend range.

 

[Varmintnv]

Depends on the size of the varmints. Ground squirrels get .17hmr or .17 Hornet. Prairie dogs get .17 Hornet, .223, .223AI, .22-250, or .243AI. Rockchucks and coyotes get .223AI, .22-250AI, .243AI, or .257AI. Anything bigger than that gets my 28 Nosler.

 

[Stugots]

.204 Ruger, .223 and 6.5 Grendel

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

7rum

 

[DrDave]

22 hornet, 20 Practical, 223, 220 Swift

 

[Buck1970]

Best wishes to you!

To report.
Rained here all night so I slept. I have never done well calling in the rain.
So far overcast and breezy this morning but it's supposed to clear later.
Hopefully today and tonight the fur will fly.

 

[fordracer]

I run anything from .223 to 6.5 Creedmoor with light bullets.
If you run a small diameter bullet, you need lot of speed.
We hunt in South Dakota where the wind is always blowing. 15 MPH wind is light out there. To buck the wind I like a little heaver bullets, it helps a lot.
If I were to take only one gun for P Doggen in SD it would be my 224 Valkyrie.
I shoot 60 grain V-Max @ 3300 fps and 69 grain Sierra, the V-max are more fun and explosive. This is a gas gun, longest so far with the Valkyrie is 675 yards. Last year I shot 1128 rounds in 4 days of hunting. Good Luck

 

[speedhorses]

22 Creed is very difficult to find dies for right now. The 22/250 AI is the kissing cousin of the 22 Creed, and it does not stink in terms of accuracy, speed, with brass and dies available.

I have been hunting coyotes for a long time. I have used a lot of sub calibers from 17 AH, 17 Mach 4, half a dozen factory and custom 17 Rem's. At that same time, I was also running 22/250's and custom 243's. Later on, I settled on a 22/250 AI shooting the 55g Sierra's and Ballistic Tips at 4050 fps and 60g Berger match HP at 3700 fps with Win 760. Later on, I had a custom 6 Rem shooting the 80g at 3500, then had a switch barrel added with 6 Rem AI shooting the 70g Noslers at 4100 and 80g at 3800.

I don't save pelts, and I don't like to see a coyote run off after getting hit on quartering shots.

Recently, a group of us found a very effective Bolt gun load only, for Rem 700's with the 55g Sierra Blitz lead tip shooting a load Hot load of XBR 8208, CCI 450 into very tiny groups at 3470 fps in 24" rem factory rifles. The 55g Sierra lead tip blitz bullet just massacres large coyotes from all angles, and we have a lot of large coy dogs in our area that are from a Red Wolf Mix.

I like to be able to hit a coyote behind the diaphragm on a trotting shot where he will be laying in his tracks.

Use enough gun, and I do not count on making perfect standing shots only.

 

[cetacea]

204R 39 gr, 220 Swift 52 gr, 6/284 87 gr.

 

[T3ninja]

I'm LOVING the .20 practical

 

[Fishnut]

.221 Fireball, 2 .223's, 2 22-250's, and a custom .243 with and 8 twist barrel for when thins get windy.

 

[jasgus]

22lr ,17hmr, 19 badger, 204, 223, 22br, 22-250, 220 swift, 22 creedmoor 6mm creedmoor, 243, 6.5 creedmoor

 

[Valek]

My, oh my. What a display of beautiful firearms and what a wealth of information. Will have to re-read it all. Being old school, I was somewhat amazed to see reference to only 3 .222Rem, on of which is now a .20, and no references to .257Rob and .257Rob AI......which are all that I can bring to the table. But they still can do the job.

 

[Pointman]

Remington 700 VLS in 22-250 - the thing is a tack driver. But it is not one that you lug around the fields with you lol

I'm in agreement. My varmint rifle of choice is my Rem 700 25-06. I had a smith redo y original rifle with a new Douglas SUpreme target barrel, with no taper whatsoever. I planned to use it off the hood of my Dodge power wagon on a friend's 500-acre ranch. At that time, it was wearing a Fajen thumb-hole stock and a Redfied 24-power fixed scope. I would put five under a dime at 100 yards all day, assuming that I did my part, but it is heavy. Since I was shooting off of my truck, the weight didn't matter. We "raised hell with the pasture poodles and ground squirrels.