Im just trying to see what the most popular varmint rifle out there is, so whats yours!?

Mines my Marlin 880SQ w/ Simmons 3-9X40 scope and Harris bipod!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I have a tang safety Ruger M77 in 220 Swift. It's my go to rifle for everything. I love it. Varmints hate it. Deer don't like it very much either.

My go-to varmint rifle varies with the range that I expect to be shooting. Out to :

150 yds. - Marlin 17V - .17HMR - Tasco 4-16x40mm
400 yds. - Savage 12FV - .223 Rem. - BSA Contender 8-32x50mm
700 yds. - Ruger VT - .243 Win. - BSA Target 8-32x40mm Mil Dot
1000 + yds. - Winchester Laredo - 7mm RUM - Tasco Custom Shop 8-40x56mm Mil Dot

I know you were looking for that "one" most popular round, but I ain't got "one". These all go with me when I hit the varmints and all are considered a favorite for their given purpose. >> klallen

Gotta be my .223 Ackley "Blue Rifle." Twenty-one inch Schneider 2�-contour barrel and a blue-and-white gel-coat McMillan Mountain Rifle stock. The glass is a Leupold 4.5-14 with fine Duplex.

Killer on coyotes and prairie dogs.

Steve

My favorite varmint rifle is a Remington VSSF 223 wearing a Leupold 6.5X20X50 loaded with 50 grain Nosler BT's if front of RL12 powder. I just got started shooting a CZ 452 American 17HMR wearing a V16 Weaver scope for now. It just might be the hot setup for rodents and birds.

Dan

Mine would have to be my Cooper in .222 Remington. It's got a 2-7X VX-II on top now. It's just about right for my version of a calling rifle and all-around varminter. I don't typically have many long shots.

Regards,
JB

Steve,

That was really a nice article in VH on the Kimber, very well done. I wish someone (hint) would do a full blown piece on the old company.

Regards,
JB

JB, what kind of varmints do you have in SC? Are there groundhogs there?

Dan

Ruger VT in 220 Swift wearing a Swift 6x18x44AO FCH reticle scope. Loves Hornady Vmax 50gr molys!! Oh loves to go out with me and eradicate whistlepigs!!

Yeah, we have some groundhogs. In the upper northwest part of the state. You can usually find them in banks wherever you find Kudzu.

They are easily seen along I-85 near the GA/SC border.

Of course we have Crow, Fox, and Coyote.

Rem. #7 SS in .223 shooting 40 gr. Nosler Ballistic Silvertips, WW748 Powder and Mag. primers.
It has a Leo. 3X9 with Target dot for scope.
For an all around varmit rifle this is my favorite.
Virgil B.

Walking varmint, 223 on Win push feed 26" #4, Redfield 6-18. 40gr Sierra hp at 3800fps.

Sit and shoot, 25 Gibbs Rem 700 30" with break. 8-32 Burris. 115 Berger
VLD or 100gr Sierra Match. Great as far as you can see.

Growler

Ruger 10/22 mag with heavy barrel and Leupold 6 power
Sako A1 hunter in .223 with Leupold 2.5-8
Remington 700 VSSF with Leupold 6.5-20 x 40
Benelli M1 SBE 12 gauge, 18" barrel

Hi guys... new around here.

Have many Varminters but top 3 at this time would be

Walking and Stalking;
Sako L461 action .25-222, 2.5-8 Leupold. Light and easy carrying when working over the woodchucks in the small hayfields and beans around home. also great on coyote when calling them.

Old Reliable;
1958 vintage Sako, varmint weight barrel in plain old .222 Rem. 10x Lyman All American. Never done anything to this rifle except keep it clean. Prairie Dogs tremble when they hear we are in town.

When the shots get long;
Ruger #1 with Heavy Varmint contour (#8 I think) McGowen barrel in .22-250 Ackley Improved, 1-9 twist. 6.5-20 Leupold, Single set trigger. Reach out ad touch 'em better than "ATT" and "MCI" put together.

Also have LOTS of fun with T/C Contender, Super14 barrel in .222 Rem and 40gr Noslers

Later
CHUCKBUSTER

For coyotes/bobcats when calling: 223AI, Sako action, 22" barrel

For coyotes/bobcats, long range (350+yds): 220 Howell, Ruger No1, 28"

For prarie dogs, etc, bench: 223, Ruger No1V

I have a hard time with favorites, but I shoot an early model Sav. 112V, 22-250, an Encore custom 6mmAI. And just purchased a #1 220 swift. Haven't shot the 220 yet, the 6mmAI is the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. The savage is no slouch with 3/4" groups. On

Sako .223 Rem. with Leupold 6.5X20/ 1/8" target dot. tack driver.
Remington 40xb, 220 swift, with 2 oz. trigger, 24x Leupold. The best.
Remington M700 Varmint Special in 22-250 with 2" Ultra Varmint 15X Unertl.
Remington M700, .222 mag. with timney trigger, 24 " douglas barrel with 6.5X20 Leupold. Sweet gun.

Here is my Varmint rifle:

22 CHeetah MK 1








A week ago I verified my "come-ups" to 650 yards. If it ever stops raining I may actually get out to kill some chucks.

Don

Don,
Can definately sympathize on the rain issue...

Granted I DO live in a swamp, however, rain has been nonstop for the past two months. Had to have a little triggertime this afternoon. Hooked up the flail mower to the tractor and made myself a shooting gallery in the hay field. Had to lock my truck in 4 low to avoid making a mess and slowly made my way through the field. Dropped the target off and drove back a hundred yards or so to "set up"...

Took my RRA NM A2 out of the case, put on my ear protection, and loaded the rifle... On my way around the truck I notice major rustling in the grass! A wisp of black and red streaking in my direction led to me open up at about 12 feet. National Match pin hole apeture sights of course... The snake thankfully took the seventeen rounds of M855 as a hint and left in greatest possible speed.

The only thing funnier than my close encounter with a snake armed with a LR target rifle would have to have been the mud. I was speckled from head to toe and so is my truck...

This marks the last time I brave mocassin alley without my short Benelli M1 loaded with high brass 7 and a halfs... Hell of a day.

Regards, Matt.

My favorite varmint rifle is a Pre-64 Model 70 in .243 with heavy varmint barrel and Lyman Super Targetspot 10X barrel mounted scope. Even though it doesn't have one of those good looking synthetic stocks and a high powered scope I still like it. Thanks...

I'll reset this thread. Kudos the 'plain old' .222!

Mine is a 1967 vintage Sako Vixen and is a tack driver. I've fought with bad scope mounts for a Leupold 7.5 and decided now is the time to fix it.

Rock chucks and gophers tremble here too. All that power is deadly (22-250, all the WSM, all the WSSM, etc., but Accuracy is fatal!)




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Varmints and skeet

Ruger 10/22 mag with heavy barrel and muzzle brake.

CZ 452 American in 17 HMR.



Remington 700 VSSF in .223.

Sako A1 hunter in .223.

Mines a Savage 99 in 250-3000 with a Lyman All-American 4x scope on a Redfield 1 piece base. It's nothing fancy but it works out to 150 yrds on ground squirrels & 250 on yotes with a 90 gr cast bullet with 28gr of IMR 4895 behind it.

Most popular? No way, Jos�! But my favorite by far is my newest .220 Howell rifle. Bench-rest barrel-maker Greg Richards put a 26-inch barrel on a Nesika Model K single-shot action and bedded 'em in an H-S Precision Pro Series stock (with that long aluminum chassis inside, from under the nose of the comb out nearly to the front sling swivel). Al Talbot very precisely fitted it out with his great QD mount and four sets of rings.

Yep -- four sets of scope rings. I've tested far too many variable scopes and found too many of 'em unreliable for precise long-range shooting, while Talbot's mount always returns scopes to zero after any number of removals and replacements. So I have four fixed-power scopes for this rifle, each zeroed at a different range -- an old 12x Redfield, an old 20x Weaver, a new 24x Sightron, and a new 36x Weaver. (Hope to add a fifth when -- if -- Doug Phair comes-out with the 42x VarTac that he's considering.)

My .220 cartridge was specifically designed for long-range shots at small targets on the windy northern plains. (You can read about it in the current issue of The Accurate Rifle.)

For the smaller targets and shorter ranges on this side of the Divide, my favorite .22 LR rifle is my very-low-number Kimber of Oregon -- but I'm trying to get a well known maker to offer my recommended version of a Mannlicher-stocked bolt-action .22 LR with a sharply tapered 18-inch barrel. If he does, and it shoots as well as it should, it'll likely become my favorite for gophers and close-in prairie dogs. On our last 'dog shoot, I popped several with my 12-inch-barrel Taurus .22 LR revolver -- one at a measured 87 yards, some farther -- so the .22 LR with high-velocity hollow-points is still in the running for small varmints at short ranges. A light, short .22 LR rifle with a stiff barrel ought to be great for walk-around shooting. I missed far more than I hit with the revolver with open sights, but the walk-around carbine with an 8x Leupold should guarantee a much better batting average.

At a testimonial dinner in his honor, "Double-Nothing," an old college or high-school athletics trainer (nicknamed for his jersey number, 00), thought long and hard before answering the request that he name the school's best-ever team. Then he brightened and said "Next year's!" Isn't that also the way with our favorite rifles?

Favorite cartridge hands down is the 220 Swift! My old stand-by is a Savage 112 single shot. But my new Swift is a Santa Barbara 98 Mauser with a 26" SS barrel and a 6.5-20 Leupold. She is just getting broke in this summer and is doing very well in the field. The old Swift is still king in my book. I did put together a lighter 24" Swift on a 96 Swed. It is ok and I plan on using it for stalking or off hand type shooting, but the 98 has really turned my head this summer.

Mark H

Well there is a gun show this weekend in Salt Lake, and I think I just Might come home with some version of a .17 HMR. Feel the need, ya know?

Wonder what you might think is best for price/value?





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love this place. Varmints and Skeet!

Well I felt the Ruger. Cheap $250 but trigger squeeze about 20 pounds and rough like a chain saw! Local 'smith says it is a sum-a-bi__h trigger and can't work it. The CZ is sweet about 3 pounds and clean but $450.

Scopes: Weaver 3x10 at about $250 !!! but nice. Total package over $650, maybe I ought to stick with the .222 and save the $ for ammo.

Three things. Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.

Still shopping.....