Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Looking for Recs for my new Prairie Dog gun

I know that this will initiate quite a few opinions, but I was hoping to get some suggestions.
I am looking for an additional prairie dog gun for shooting out to 400 yards.
I have reloading equip for 222, 223 and 22-250. I currently was thinking of a Tikka varmint yet was considering saving funds for a Cooper. I also like nice Ruger 1s...
Any thoughts (pros or cons) between guns is appreciated.
MTSmith

40 grain V-Max bullets made a 22-250 out of a 223 and it should to fine to 400 with those bullets at almost 4000 fps and a heavy barrel...

This is the answer.

drover

Stiff charge of RL 7, will get ya there...

I assume you already have 222,223

I'd spice it up with a 204

a 17 Hornet , fireball , or 17 remington would be nice too

Simple.

.204 shooting 40 grain bullets.

Forget the 204, you said you already have dies for the 223, besides that you can get higher velocities with the 40 grain bullet with a 22 caliber in the same sized case. If you are looking for another cartridge, get a 222 mag and never look back...

And I should add, get a Sako in whatever chambering you decide.

You CAN make a .223 sing and dance with good 40 grainers.....but that negates the rationale for getting a new gun.

And to the OP, FWIW Im not a fan of Ruger #1s for high volume varmint shooting....high volume is the operative phrase....

The 223 will get the job done. I used to carry a 22-250 for long shots. when I always went home and had never uncased the 22-250 I decided it was not needed. Some of us are slow learners.

I re-read your post and realized that you were asking about guns, not calibers. I am an ubabashed Cooper fan; I currently have three in 223, and others in various calibers. There has never been an issue with any of them, they have all shoot 1/2" or less with minimal load development.

I have also owned three Tikkas in 223, One was an honest 1/2" gun and the other two were nearer 3/4", for gophers and PD's those groups are more than good enough. The poorest shooting Tikka was one with the 1-8 twist using 40 gr bullets, I never tried it with anything heavier so it may have performed better with a heavier bullet.

A new Tikka Varmint seems to sell for just slightly less than $1000 while it will take some careful shopping to find a new Cooper Varmint for less than $1800 although good clean used ones can be found for $1300 - $1500.

The things in favor of Cooper are good factory support, the factory is in Montana, the value of used Coopers just keeps increasing, the rifles are made in the USA by American workers and the company is American owned.

My thoughts on caliber - 223 with 40 gr @ 3800 fps is all you need.

drover

CZ 527 221 FB will get you 3500-3600 with 40's and AA 1680. The guns are accurate out of the box. May want to tweak the trigger to your liking or use the SST trigger. Whittaker's has the gun for $615 right now.

That speed is right up there with a 223 and 40's.

Lapua brass is available for a touch more than Rem brass.

I'm with Shrapnel on this one, Sako Vixen 222 Mag



8 round 200 yard group from today with swirling and breezy winds.

Who told you to get that awesome machine?

Shrap you were right!

After spending the last two days shooting a Cooper M54 in 22-250, a Cooper M21 in 204 Ruger, an AR upper in 204 Ruger and the Sako 222 Mag. The vintage Sako 222 Mag is hands down my favorite. The trigger on this one is fantastic.

^^^^^^^ +1

Or the same gun in 222 if you can find one....

several PD hunters that I know have gone to 204 Ruger and rave about it, All have some model of Savage.

For me it would depend on how much time I was going to spend in the varmint shooting. I like to have 2 guns so I can trade off when is warmed up. I had a cooper in 223 and it shot in the 1/3 inch range but it was heavy and I did not care for the hard bolt lift. Since I was moving from Montana I sold it. I still have Hearters and a Savage in 223 but I only go to the dog towns 1 or 2 times a year.

The Ideal to me would be to re-barrel the old Hearters to 20 Practical. Neck size 223 down to 20 cal. and have 204 ballistics.

The easy, cheap, and accurate solution is to buy an RAR-Predator in either 204 or 223 and spend the rest of your build budget on glass and ammo.

If you're going to go .20 cal, skip the .204R and get a .20 VarTarg.

Other than that, all the advice you need is in this thread.

kingston excellent shooting and I love those Sakos. Question for you, what kind of spotting scope mount is that? I've been looking for something like that. Thanks

It's a Manfrotto 410 geared head on a Manfrotto 649 Quick-Release C-Clamp.

I may have been lucky, but I bought a used Ruger #1 .223 and personally shot over 5000 rounds through it and then had it made into a .223 AI and shot another 5000+ rounds through it before accuracy slipped. It then had a Lilja 7 twist barrel chambered in .223 AI put on it and is still going strong.

My shooting partners cannot believe how fast I can fire that rifle off a bench in the dog towns. I use a 6.5x20 Leupold scope on that rifle.

Thank you kingston! Sweet setup.

I just finished building a dedicated Prairie dog splatter and went with a 26" varmint profile, Remy 700, 1/12 for this very purpose. Loaded up a 40-grainers with 748 and Varget but haven't made it to the range yet. my Ruger with 22" was going around 3200 and made good aerials and splatt, so hoping to get a bit more of a good thing.

What chambering?

.223, cheap and I already have a bunch of components.

or.........20-222.......or 20 Practical....or 20 Vartarg

Agreeee....

XR100 rem chose Your cartridge but both of mine are in 204R
DISCONTINUED but available

I'd get a heavy barreled Howa in .223.




Dave

MTsmith: Out TO 400 yards (and a bit further!) for Prairie Doggin then its rather cut and dried - go with a heavy barreled Varminter in 204 Ruger caliber!
I have been Hunting Prairie Dogs since the 1960's and over that time I have used about every center fire caliber (and most Varmint type factory Rifles!) to shoot them with.
When all things are considered (like accuracy, recoil, barrel heat, barrel wear, reloading costs, flat trajectory, wind resistance etc etc etc!) I would go with the 204 Ruger cartridge - hands down.
In fact I am in the process of purchasing my seventh heavy barrel Varminter in caliber 204 Ruger right now.
That is my recommendation for cartridge - now for a Rifle recommendation.
I am simply enthralled with the fit, performance (accuracy!), barrel length, trigger, thumbhole stock and the solid single shot action of the sadly, now discontinued, Remington XR-100!
I highly recommend this Rifle to you for all manner of Colony Varmint Hunting.
I currently own two of these Remington XR-100's in 204 Ruger caliber (as well as one each in 223 Remington and 22-250 Remington) and that seventh Varminter in 204 Ruger I have on hold right now is also in 204 Ruger caliber.
I have a Ruger #1-V-SS in 204 Ruger with 26" stainless steel barrel, and it is quite accurate and handsome to boot - it does have the laminated gray/black stock. The trigger on this particular Rifle is pretty darn good - not up to the excellence of the XR-100's but pretty darn good none the less.
I have killed many a Prairie Dog and Rock Chuck with this Rifle.
I also have a pair of Ruger 77- V/T's in 204 Ruger caliber and I like the stocks and accuracy of these - triggers are again pretty good.
I also have a Remington 700 VLS in 204 Ruger and it was one of my first 204's and one that shoots VERY well indeed - right from the get go that - and it continues to do so to this day.
I don't think you could go wrong with any of the above listed Rifles for Prairie Doggin.
All you will need to gear up for the 204 cartridge/Rifle is a new cleaning rod, a set of dies and some Berger 35 grain bullets or some Sierra 32 grain BlitzKings - then go "to town"!
Best of luck to you with whichever cartridge/Rifle you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG,

While I concur with your thoughts that the 204 is a good squirrel, PD caliber one thing that you did not factor in is the cost of brass. From my searches for 204 brass, if you can find it, the cost will be near $1.00 per case by the time tax, and/or shipping is included, That and the general lack of availability, which is one of the reasons I gave up on the 204.

For squirrel or PD hunting in my experience one should have at least 500 - 700 rounds of loaded brass on-hand which translates into an additional cost of somewhere between $450 to $700 just in brass alone.
Whereas 223 brass can often be found for as little as $50 per thousand for once fired LC military brass.

Also the OP mentioned that he was already set up for 222, 223, and 22-250. While I may be reading too much into his post it would appear that one of the 22 calibers is where he is leaning.

As Shrapnel posted in the first reply to the op -
"40 grain V-Max bullets made a 22-250 out of a 223 and it should to fine to 400 with those bullets at almost 4000 fps and a heavy barrel", this has certainly been my experience also.

drover

I'm gonna go with 26 grains of TAC, a 50 grain VMax or NBT, and a plain vanilla .223 for this year's trip to WY.

20 Vartarg..........

20-222....20's are where its at for p/dogs...........

this barrel was once a 20BR (9 twist) still 25.5" long

Actually, there hasn't been a 20 that has out shot a whole truckload of 22 calibers yet...

guess I'll have to go shootin' dogs with ya........

Why so little mention of Kimber's varmint models?

So little to mention...

Shrapster is right on I think. For versatility, go with a .223. I use my .22-250 about all the time, but a .223 is cheaper to feed, brass is abundant and cheap, and there's less recoil(a little less)..



You do get some good flips with .22-250 though....

ever hear of the 223 AI......most folks have.....

here's a fresh barrel change on my ole Salvage M series s/shot

back in July '13.....28" full cylinder 9 twist/3 groove.....

original barrel went 9K rds...both Pac Nor......

I woould definitely get a 204R.
If you are looking at long range or even medium range accuracy, I would not get a Ruger #1.
I speak from too much experience on the #1s.

MT, was in the same situation a few years back, bit the bullet and picked up a Cooper in 20 Vartarg, it has been amazing. Be warned, once you get a cooper, they tend to multiply. Picked up a 22lr JSR and a 17hmr so the 20VT wouldn't feel lonely.

The 17HMR and 22lr are very accurate, but the 20VT is in a whole different league, scary accurate.

Picked up a nice old Sako L579 in 243 that is also very nice, but not in the same accuracy league as the coopers.

Now looking for a nice cooper in 7mm-08 or possibly 243, if anyone out there has one they want to let go, let me know.

I bought a Ruger #1V in 220 Swift. It has a heavy 26" barrel. They do heat up the barrel pretty quick but while it is cooling off I shoot a .223 Winchester Heavy Varmint.
Although H335 is very popular with the 40 gr vmax
Give Benchmark a try before you make up your mind.
whelennut

In a .224 pipe, I'd chose the 50g over the 40g pills. Inside 300 yards it won't make a difference. Past 300 the 50's start walking away with alot more pop! Past 500 and the 75g amax is your friend if properly twisted.

What kind of scope will you put on it?

If you shoot 75 gr bullets for any length of time in a Dogtown you will tire of it after a few hundred shots.

Will have to agree with the Cooper suggestion. Currently have three, all shoot better than 1/2". Favorite is one in 20VT, can't see anything being better than that combination.