Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Best Long Range Rock Chuck rig recommendations

duplicated on Long Range Hunting..

was looking for input for a long range set up to take shots at say Rock Chucks at 500 to 700 yds type of rig..

Currently have available 22.250 ( and with a fast 1 in 7 twist), 243s (with one in 9 twist)... 6 mm Rem ( with one in 7 twist) and a new 25/06 heavy barrel for my Savages...

was looking to top this with a 8 x 32 or 10 x 40 scope..

of the available rifles, which one do you guys with experience think would give me the best flattest shooting set up? and what bullet weights should I be considering??? ( do want something that will be explosive.. )

I can also consider punching one of the 22.250s out to an Ackley or to a 220 Swift...

this will not be a high volume shooter, so not necessarily concerned about barrel wear potential...

thanks for your input in advance..
cheers
seafire

Sea-4 what it's worth I'd be looking at one of the 6's or the 25 as I'm not a fan of the 22's on chucks especially @ long range.

If the 6's would shoot the 95 NBT and or the 105 Amax I'd say you're sitting well. I've used that bullet quite a bit for chucks @ long range out of my 6/06.

The 25/06 is superb at long range as well, especially with the 115 NBT or perhaps the 115 Berger though I never used that one.

I got to the point with my long range chuck shooting where I liked the 6/06, 270, 25/06 and my big 7's. I also used my 300 Wby and 340 quite a bit as well.

Long range chuck shooting is about as good as it gets for practice far as I'm concerned.

Dober

Just a note that the 115 Berger doesn't open up very well on small varmints. It doesn't even start to open until it gets around 2" inside, unlike "normal" bullets. It will do OK on coyotes but not anything smaller, unless you shoot them end-to-end.

My vote would be for the .25-06. Like Mark, I have shot long-range rockchcuks with a variety of rifles and it's hard to beat a .25 with heavier bullets as a combination of enough gun--and tolerable recoil if you really get into them. And I have occasionally shot rockchucks were they were almost as abundant as prairie dogs.

Chuckin is something I truly enjoy, my best summer I took out 457 of the buggers. Pretty much all with my 7.

Dober

Rockchuck hunting is obviously one of my favorite things. for the ranges you are talking (500-700 yards)my hands down favorite rig is a 6BR 1-8" twist barrel shooting the 95gr VLD Berger. your 243 1-9" would also shoot this bullet well.for your 6mm Rem the 105gr AMax is a great bullet if it does not blow-up,the 1-7" is a really fast twist, or the 105grVLD Berger it has a better B.C. and does not blow-up quite as easy.
For your 25/06 the 115gr VLD Berger is flat out awesome on Chuck's.
RC

Not to hijack here but where can a guy from Missouri go to shoot rock chucks for little to no fee with abundant public access? Kinda have the same question for lotsa coyotes as well.Thanks Hijack over, Les

Good luck with this Tanker, the serious chuck shooters I know keep their spots to themselves for chucks/pd's etc even closer to them than their trophy elk areas...

Not something many are gonna give up let alone over the i-net.

Dober

I agree with Dober on this, I have spent countless hours over many, many year's scouting and searching for good rockchuck hunting area's. I tell nobody of where I go unless they go with me and are sworn to secrecy upon return.
If I give up the location of one of my "honey holes" you can bet it's a LIE.
B

Seafire,
For these ranges I love the 6 mm's and Berger bullet's for a couple reasons, The 95 grain and 105 grain VLD bullet's are very accurate and very explosive and have a great BC.
Another great reason to love the 6 mm's at these ranges is the low recoil so you have the possibility of spotting your shot's through your scope.
IMO you dont need a,.257, 6.5mm,7mm,30cal or .338 cal unless you want to hit 1000 yards and beyond then the bigger caliber's start to shine. with that said I have shot hundreds of chuck's past 1000 yard's with a 6mm-284 using 105grain Berger's or 107 grain SMK's.
B

AI the 6mm and then stoke it with the AMAX bullets.

My choice would be the .25-06, it will do everything you are asking. I've used one for 32 years for groundhogs in OH. The heavier bullets will just do better at long range then the smaller calibers. I'd stick with the 87 gr bullets to prevent richoches.

Tankerjockey: Let me expound on Mssr. Mark R. Dobrenski's "hints" regarding Rock Chuck "intel".
My favorite all time Varmint Hunting endeavor has always been and will ALWAYS be Rock Chuck Hunting!
I will tell folks or give them hints where I Hunt Prairie Dogs, Ground Squirrels, Coyotes, Fox, Crows, Badgers, Porcupines and even all manner of Big Game - BUT - I would sooner give you the key to my daughters chastity belt than give you one of my Rock Chuck Hunting areas!
I don't even post about my Hunts for Chucks in VAGUE terms, as I don't want folks to even know WHEN I Hunt Chucks LET ALONE WHERE, I HUNT THEM!
I am NOT a selfish person - I share my Hunts, my experiences, my ammunition, my home, my vehicles and my time with friends, acquaintances, like minded folks and on many occassions complete strangers - but giving up a Rock Chuck Hunting spot simply "ain't gonna happen"!
Period.
I have CLOSE friends that I used to Hunt Chucks with in decades past - but I no longer share with them my Chuck "haunts" and haven't for the last 15+ years.
I have one high mountain Chuck lair that is memorialized in a picture on the wall of my "gun room"!
The picture is simply stunning and along with that it tells a story.
The picture consists of my Remington 40XB-KS in 220 Swift on its custom tri-pod right in front of my Keb-Lab camo colored shooting mat, my B&L Zephyr binoculars, an MTM 100 round cartridge box, and an enormous dead Rock Chuck - and the Rifle is pointed out at a level vista with Chuck dens starting at 100 yards and extending in a full half circle for 800 yards beyond the first dens!
Several dozen (maybe 100!) people have asked me over the years "where" this beautiful (spectacular) spot is - I have never answered even ONE of these inquiries!
My suggestion to you is to get in your vehicle one fine June day and take a drive west and take a right turn at the Rocky Mountains!
Begin your search there and the efforts you spend seeking out the Rock Chuck Colonies will add to the amazing rewards and satisfaction you will recoup once you find them and successfully Hunt them!
Mark these places on a map and keep them to yourself - you see unlike other Colony Varmints (Prairie Dogs and Ground Squirrels!) a small group of Varminters or a single Varminter CAN wipe out a Colony of Chucks!
Then its many years til the Colony re-populates.
Best of luck to ya!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
P.S.: "Search, is the ultimate mystery".
Plato (427 B.C. - 347 B.C.)

Guys, Guys, Guys! Relax, I don't want your secrect hidy holes, Well I'm not asking for them anyway. I just need to know the rules and regs and permits required for the various western states for hunting them. Thinking Co. Wy. Mt. Maybe Az. or NM. I will gladly put in the leg work hiking up hill to some nice spot to attempt the find. I've just never had the opportunity and wondered the best locale to try to get started. I am a complete nooby at predators and varmints but would sure like to try. Thanks guys, I really don't want to intrude, just participate. Les

Guessing I kind of missed the spot where you weren't asking us where to go but just needed to know the rules/regs and permits required etc...

Dober

Rock chuck hunting sounds as secretive as spring gobbler hunting for us east coast guys!

Agreed ...2 weeks and closing where are you hunting Larry?

Well Dober, I guess I was not too articulate nor did I spell out exactly what I was asking for. After re-reading my original post, I think you could take it a few ways. And hey, even if I was asking for your secret spots and you don't want to tell, Don't tell! Take care now. Les

We spent the last weekend hunting rock chucks here in Idaho. Saturday was a magical 100 shot day which I've only had one other time. My best year was 333 chucks but I'm no longer making the 4 hour round trip drive after work. I'm also no longer keeping an accurate count.

The three of us are shooting Remmington's VSSF, two in 22-250 and mine is a 220 Swift. On lightly winded days, less than 10 mph, we are pretty consistent out to 300 yards shooting from improvized rock rests and 2 lb rice bags. Swirling winds on cross canyon shots are tough.

We also use the 6mm in a the VLS and 40X. My 40X is the bomb but it is heavy and it doesn't buy me that much more range than my Swift. Plus the recoil generally prevents me from seeing the impact. And speaking of impact, we have all moved to the Vmax. Ballistic tips don't provide the explosive damage.

My best friend doesn't know where I chuck hunt. He has never gone with me and I have never told him where even though he has asked numerous times. I've told him exactly where I hunt deer, elk, antelope, bears, and sheep and he has never gone on any of the hunts.

To the OP, I too am now on the hunt for my 1000 yard 'chuck rifle after my fifteen year old son took his first at 1044 this spring. It has gotten to where he wants to set-up where my rifle is already running out of steam! So...I'm waiting on what was my last .22-250 to come back from Dan Dowling with a new .243AI eight twist Kreiger on it! It's going to be throated for 105 A-maxes which seem to work well in my son's rifle of the same caliber and twist. I can see that the A-max might come apart at a faster twist or higher velocities--it is a fragile bullet. But, if I read your poost correctly, that's what you're looking for and that's precisely why I had my new barrel set-up for it. High BC and destructive terminal performance.

The long range 'chuck shooting is one of the greatest challenges and one of the greatest ways a guy can spend a day in the field IMO. It is also a lot easier on the limited resource a smaller 'chuck colony provides. I hope you reach your goals!

Boatanchor: I hope some day I can say I've "shot hundreds of 'chucks over 1000 yards". It is quite a feat to kill a handfull at that range! Love to chat with you about it sometime.

tt

TT-next time you talk to Dr Dan tell him hello from me. Far as I'm concerned he's the best going.

Dober