Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Walk Around Varmint Rifle

My favorite one is a Stainless Hawkeye UL in .223. I had iron sights put on it, added an Ernies trigger spring floated the barrel and glass beddeed the action. I screwed a 3-9 Leupold on it. Works great.

My general use load is a 55 gr Hornady SP w-cannelure over 25.5 gr of RL-15. Bullet is seated to the cannelure. I quit looking for a load for this rifle after I tried this one in it. It also works well. Yes, I know some folks don't like RL-15 witth 55 gr bullets.

That didn’t shoot very well in either Grendel I’ve had. Neither did their 6CM ammo, for that matter. Brass is good, though.

For all around use for critters big and small my .243 A.I. works great. Rio7

Another vote for the CZ. Mine's an older 527 223 carbine. It came with pretty decent open sights and has integral scope bases. If you don't like the protruding magazine their are several single shot adapters out there for them. The Calhoon adapter is a good one. Flush fit, machined steel. Drop a round in the top of the receiver and it chambers smooth every time.

Looks like there are lots of good options out there that would work for you. I don't do much rifle hunting anymore and have sold some of my hunting rifles but I've hung on to the CZ because of it's quality blued steel & walnut.

Last year, my wife won a Savage Axis .243, newest version in a raffle. After the customary two weeks of sitting on the mantle like a leg lamp, she gave it to me. I had no idea what to do with it as the Axis I had 10yrs ago was hot garbage and went down the road quickly. I was advised by friends that .243 was a great ground hog round with the right ammo. I took some advice and did a ladder load work up with some 58gr Vmax that a friend gave me. Let me say that none of the loads shot greater than 1moa but I hit on one that has been consistently sub 1/2 moa with cool downs after 4 shot groups. The mag holds 4 and cool down consists to me of the time it takes to check target and reload.

The scope that came with it was not great so I put on a vortex 6-18. This rifle, for a light weight, low cost, walking around rifle has killed a whole lot of wood chucks this summer between 50-300yds. If I were looking for an inexpensive buggy or walking around rifle that just plain works, I'd actually spend money to buy one. I expected to hate it, but it has become my go to varmint gun.

Our varmints here just aren't that large, plentiful or far away as a lot of you. A .22 LR fit the bill early on until I upgraded to a Mossberg .22 RF Magnum 640 Chuckster, then a Remington 722 .222, then a Sako Vixen L461 .222 Remington Magnum, then to a heavy barrel Remington 700 6mm, then to a Cooper 38 .221 Fireball and finally settled back to a .22 RF Magnum/20 gauge Savage 24H-DL with a peep sight as my ideal walk around varmint rifle. I've decided that farmers and landowners only know what they hear and potting a crow for me sounds like I'm shooting a heifer or poaching a deer for them. A .22 Magnum isn't so large that it can't take a red squirrel or something eatable, yet it is large enough for a close range fox or coyote and that 3" 20 gauge with shot or a slug is there if needed.

Model 43 Winchester in .218 Bee has always been my favorite , second is a Savage 340 in .22 Hornet . Shoot the same load in both : 12.5 gr of W 680 or 1680 , 35 gr Hornady Vmax lit with a small pistol primer . Most shots around here are 100 yards or a lot less and both of these work for me on anything I am likely to shoot.

In .223 I like some of the others mentioned like the Howa Mini .

Fireboss: The ONLY "walking Varmint Rifles" I seek out and buy are the Remington 700 Classic's in the smaller calibers - as I most often prefer the heavy barrel Varmint Rifles for my uses.
I do own these Remington Classics in 17 Remington, 221 Remington Fireball, 222 Remington (I have 2 of these) and 223 Remington.
ALL.... are splendidly accurate - and they are increasing in value every year.
Investing in a Remington 700 Classic in 223 Remington, I am certain, would be a good move and it will almost certainly be very accurate.
Best of luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My favorite "walking around" varmint rifle is the Remington Model Seven Predator. I have 3 of them, 223, 22-250, and 243. The one in 223 is the most accurate 223 rifle I've ever owned, and the 22-250 is probably my favorite coyote rifle.

As a southpaw, I went with left handed CZ 527 American in 223rem as walking around varmint rifle.

I've found my Grendel, which is on a Ruger American Predator platform, works real well with varmint bullets, 85 HP Sierras, 90 gr Varmaggeddons, 95 gr V Max, 100 gr Hornady SPs, 100 B/Tips and 100 gr Partitions, 100 gr Sierra HPs...

Most powders I've tried have worked well. Lately I've been loading and testing 3031 in it..... 28 gr charge weight. all the bullets mentioned above, but also 120grainers, 123, 129 Hornady SP, and a host of 140 grain bullets Remington, Hornady, Sierra, Nosler and same charge has been very accurate with ALL of those bullet weights....

120 thru 140s at 100 yds, very very close same point of impact....

then the varmint weight ones, same thing with them....

my standby powders tho besides 3031, have been W 748, Benchmark, H 322, 2015, and of course 4198s.... and RL7....

I'm really enjoying my Grendal and enjoying also playing with it. It seems to do real well with what I have fed it.

Sako Vixen 222 mag I had setback and rechambered to 221 Fireball is the schit for me. Own an Anschutz 222 and a Krico 223 but the Fireball really gets a workout. That action couldn't be any better suited to a Fireball.

A montana would be awesome. However, My first pick would be the Tikka superlite because I know its going to shoot well and the price is right.. The next rifle along those same lines would be a used Steven's 200.. Very light and extremely accurate rifles. The CZ 527 is a cute rifle too, but I highly dislike the steel magazine hanging down where I am generally carrying a rifle from. That and the back asswards safety is a no go for me... I've handled a few at gunshows and always put them back...

I can understand not like the mag on the CZ527.

I can't wrap my head around a beef with a "backwards" safety? Think of it like a hammer. You pull a hammer to the rear; just pull the safety to the rear lol.

Having had 4 Montana’s that all shot well, I’m comfortable with my decision. I’ve dealt with Tikka’s but not owned one though I did own 4 Sako’s, 243, 223, 17 Remington and a 300 WSM. They are gone, Montana’s are still here. But that’s my pick.

Its because of muscle memory. Most safeties are push forward to fire. Shotguns have always been that way and until now, with CZ, most rifles. The more natural it is to operate when you are hunting, the better. Why CZ wanted to make them operate backwards is strange.

I have a Ruger American compact. It's only downfall is the magazine. Other than that it's a nice little package.

kwg

Lever action rifles come to mind.

I alternate between 527s and 700s. And I'm not that sharp and literally have zero issues.

Agreed, the CZ safety has never been an issue for me. I always chuckle when I read someone having trouble with the CZ issue, if they have trouble with that then how do the handle a 10/22 with a side-push safety on the trigger guard, or an AR style with the safety on the opposite side of the receiver that has to be thumbed up or down. I recall owning an Ithaca 37 with a trigger on the rear of the trigger guard, then there is the M-14 that has a safety inside the trigger guard that has to be pushed forward, and lets not even get into pistol safeties since some are pushed up to be safe, some are pushed down to be safe, and some do not even have one. Oh yeah - I almost forgot about the decockers on some pistols.
There are numerous safety choices and if one is challenged to operate them I wonder if they should be handling firearms.
Personally I wish more firearms were like the CZ where the safety locks the bolts from firing, to me it is a much better safety than most trigger block safeties - can anyone say Remington 700 style?? I have yet to read of a CZ trigger block safety firing when it is released.

drover

Its funny you mention 10-22 and AR style safeties. Those are still a push forward style. The 10-22 and even Remington 870 style trigger guard safety buttons are orientated so your trigger finger pushes the safety button away to take the safety off. Look at the left handed versions. They are reversed, so the left hand trigger finder still pushes away. Its a no thought process type of safety. Pulling back on a safety lever to fire is backwards. Enough people have complained about it that the newer rimfire CZ's have been fixed to operate properly... This is not just a complaint I have. Trust me..