Hey all,
My cousin is looking to buy a combination varmint/paper puncher in 22-250. The closest thing I've ever owned to a varmint gun is my Kimber 84 in 223. What's good on the market these days? He's looking at around $1000 for the rifle and in the neighborhood of $600 for a scope. Prariepoodle poppers and paper punchers please chime in. Thanks.

FWIW:

The Savage recently won a shoot off (outdoor Life?) against all comers--far and away the most accurate factory poodleshooter. I think it was the 22-250 Varmint Special, single shot, with Accutrigger, that won.

Good Luck,

BMT

I have always been very pleased with my old long action Savage 112 single shot bolt action in 22-250. I understand that the new model 12 is an even better rifle. It has the accutrigger, which is very popular.

Your cousin may have to deal with finding a way to spend the $300 to $500 he has left over from his budget though after buying the savage, depending on which configuration he chooses.

I like this one. http://www.savagearms.com/12VarminterSS.htm

Of course if he insists on spending the entire thousand, they have this one available.
http://www.savagearms.com/12vss.htm

Thanks, guys. So far, my initial assessment has been accurate. I told him that for the money, if he wanted to stay with a factory gun, the Sav 112/12 was the best bang for the buck. That should save him enough to put some decent glass astride that action, unless he decides to go with a Cooper.

if he is going to pack this rifle on any long coyote hunts, i would suggest a lighter more compact rifle.

Nope, it's pretty much going to be a bench gun.

These are a couple of Remington 700 Varmint Heavy Barrels that work for me. One is a .22-250 with a Leupold Vari X III 6.5-20X 40 MM in Leupold mounts. The other is a .25-06 topped off with a Redfield 6-18X in Redfield mounts. The .25-06 just explodes jack rabbits with Sierra 117 Gr. Boat Tails! Bill T.




.22-250 ______________ .25-06

If he wants to spend $1000 bucks on the gun alone he should write down his wants and needs and have one built. He should be able to come in under that figure. Don't forget the 22-250 AI. Nice poodle shooter.

That was the second option I suggested. I think he is digesting the info right now. Haven't heard back from him since Thursday.

My choice would be a Remington 700 VSSF,I think they come in 223, 22-250 and 220 swift. You get a lot of custom features for off the shelf price and all the ones I have been exposed to shoot very well. You get a HS precision stock with alumanuim bedding block that solves any bedding problems ( some people like to give them a light skim coat of accra glass) The remington triggers can be adjusted to break very cleanly and the remingtom barrells seem to be of the highest quality, plus if you shoot the barrell out you can have the bolt lugs lapped and a new match barrell installed and you would have a top notch custom rifle for a fraction of building one from scratch. I have one of the VSSF barrells in 220 swift screwed in to my older rem 700 Varmint special and with over 1000 rounds down the barrell it will still shoot five shots under .5 and sometimes stay at .250. I moved the seating depth forward to stay closer to the retreating
throat and it still shoots great. I almost wonder if the VSSF and senderos are run through Remingtons custom shop.

The Sako Varmint Model 75 22-250 Laminated Stainless is also a very good and accurate rifle but a little expensive compared to most factory rifles on the market. Mine is a vicked shooting machine. Sam Fadala talkes about the Sako Varmint as the most accurate over the counter, unaltered rifle on the market in his book about the 22 caliber. One should take into account that the book is more than 10 years old now. Take a look at http://www.sako.fi/ for info.

Savage Varmint Special with the Accu-Trigger in .22-250. Take all remaining available cash and get the best glass you can with it.

I would have to agree with others that for best buy it would be very difficult to beat a single shot Savage rifle today. But I would never buy one because I hate the way they are built. (no flames please) My choice would be the Kimber or Cooper Arms rifles for quality outfits even if they don't shoot as well as the Savage. For a little less money I like the heavy barrel Winchester's.

bigbull