Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles ideal prairie dog guns

Hi there.I've been thinking about a 22br for groundhoging around a couple of farms I visit,you know how important noise and pr can be. What do you think of the noise level of this cart. I lkie what you said about accuracy.Right now using a 22mag and just not satisfied at all, thought about a 223 since I have a striker but ya know that for walking and this is a good excuse for sitting

If noise is a problem then I would go to the good old 22 hornet. Yes, they can be somewhat trying to get to shoot but are well worth the effort. I had a 14" TC in 22 hornet and have a 3/8" 5 shot 100 yard group it shot. I used it at 200 yards for rockchucks and never found it to be lacking. <P>The BR is a great rifle but it does make some noise. I would guess it is the same as .223 of a 22-250.<P>Got a report this morning from a friend, a ranch owner in Central OR. The weather has been so mild the squirrels are venturing out. Now if the snow in the mountain passes gets cleared up I can take the BR out for some real field testing.<P>In HIS Service<BR>Scott F

A Remington 700 action , McMIllan stock , hart , or other match barrel ..... just like Rick said , but chambered in :<BR>.22 PPC , 6mm PPC , 6mm BR or .220 Howell .<P>Slap a Schmid & Bender 4-16x50 scope with the varmint $8 dot , and a Harris modle LM , or modle H bipod ! Put in a jewel 1.5 pound trigger . YOUR SET !<P>Regards: Rat<p>[This message has been edited by treeratkiller (edited January 04, 2001).]

For the simple, common varmint folk: One of the Savage 12FV series in .22-250. Work the standard trigger down to 3 to 3.5 lbs, stick a variable scope up to 16 or 24x and a harris bipod on it, and whack the diseased little prairie rats before some fool with real power decides they really are endangered.<P>------------------<BR>"When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk." - Tuco, GBU

" � if you could build any guns you want for PDs, what would they be, and why?" This is just what I've been doing for the last several years, so some of my answer is past tense, some present, some future.<P>Since my first use of a .22-.250 on Virginia groundhogs in the early 1950s, I've wanted a larger .224 case and heavier .224 bullets. But we had neither the heavier bullets nor the necessarily slower powders until the last few years. Now that we have the right makin's available, I've designed my "dream" varmint cartridge for prairie dogs on the windy plains. And it works great in every respect!<P>I have two rifles for my .220 Howell (which BTW is a factory cartridge � see <A HREF="http://www.hunting-rifles.com)." TARGET=_blank>http://www.hunting-rifles.com).</A> One rifle is on a new old-style Model 70 action and McMillan stock. The other is on a CZ-550 action, also with a McMillan stock. Both have the incomparable Talbot QD mounts, with scopes I'm not ready to settle down with yet.<P>But the rifle now a-building is the one I have the highest hopes for � a bench-rest-quality Broughton-Richards barrel on a Nesika Bay action, with Kepplinger single-set trigger and H-S Precision Pro-Series stock. And of course another Talbot mount and the best scope I can get.<P>This combination of rifle and cartridge is specifically designed for a lot of shooting at very long ranges, in the wind, without burning barrels up as fast as the .22-.250 and .220 Swift in the same situations.<P>The .220 Howell uses 75-grain and heavier bullets for their superior ballistic coefficients. The larger case COULD be loaded to the same high pressures (60,000 lb/sq in.) as the .22-.250 and the .220 Swift and could therefore drive the heavier bullets faster than what I load them to, but those loads would erode throats faster. I load 'em to milder pressures (50,000 lb/sq in.) for longer barrel life and STILL get performance significantly superior to the .22-.250 and .220 Swift.<P>A ten-mile-an-hour cross-wind, for example, pushes the 50-grain bullet from the Remington .220 Swift load about 170 inches off-course at a thousand yards � but pushes my 75-grain only about 70 inches down-wind at that range.<P>The 50-grain Remington .220 Swift bullet starts at 3,800 ft/sec but slows down faster than my 75-grain. The 75-grain from the .220 Howell starts at 3,450 to 3,600 ft/sec but holds its velocity better. At about 180 to 190 yards, its retained velocity equals the lighter Swift bullet's velocity at that range, and from there on out, it's increasingly faster than the Swift bullet.<P>And of course, 50% more weight means 50% more energy at the same velocity.<P>All this has been a long time coming, and at 70 I'm not sure how many more prairie-dog shoots lie ahead for me � but I'm one happy ol' shooter, expecting great fun with these rifles and this cartridge.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by treeratkiller:<P>Slap a Schmid & Bender 4-16x50 scope with the varmint $8 dot <P>Treeratkiller,<BR> By chance have you actually used a Schmidt and Bender 4-16x50 with the #8 varmint dot? I have owned the holdover varmint #8 and their No. 6 fine reticle. Did'nt care for either one. Optics are first class, however, the reticle disappears below 10 power on the No. 6 and becomes equally useless on the No. 8. They would be in money to make a fixed 16x with either reticle. Personally found Leupold and Nightforce in a class of their own. Just passing an expensive lesson along to another. Best, Matt.<BR>

Matt<P>No I have never used a S&B w/ the #8 varmint dot . I have looked at a few "not with the #8 dot" , and they see first class "not that I have $1000.00 to spend on a scope" .<P>I only put that in there for lack of anything better that I could think of that had not already been said .<P>Regards: Treeratkiller

22 CHeetah Mach 1 on a Dakota 97 round bottom single shot bolt action, with a 28" No. 8 contour shilen select match all black teflon coated with a fancy reddish hue black walnut stock, pillar and glass bedded wearing a harris BR bipod, and Mk 4 bases and rings with a Leupold Mk 4 10x and a leupold LPS 3.5-14x50mm as backup

I have been bit by the varmint bug bad. I have a Rem 700varmint in 22-250 that has seen action on chucks and dogs. However this was in some cases to big for long term dog blastin and not enough for long range chucks. I had a 257AI built for deer hunting but with 85gr ballistic tips its awesome on chucks. A wby SVM in 243 also needed adoption. For an upcoming PD shoot a Cooper M21VE in 223 seemed like the ticket. If I was to build the next varmint rig I think I'd just call cooper and get either a 223 AI,22-250AI or a 243AI throw in a wood upgrade and a Leopold 6.5x20.

Wildman,<P>Had the choice between .223 and .22PPC in the Cooper M21 VE. Went with the PPC and havent regretted it a bit.

A lot of water and not a few brown toilet lumps have gone under the bridge since my 02-21-01 post (above). I use a wheelchair now, can't swallow ("eat" through a belly tube), etc, but the good news is GOOD.
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<br>The .220 Howell custom job is here, ready to go with four fixed-power scopes in Al Talbot's amazing mount (8x Leupold for close shooting out to about 250 yards, old 12x Redfield zeroed at 300 yards, 24x Sightron zeroed at 400 yards, 36x Weaver zeroed at 500 yards).
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<br>I'm looking forward to seeing how good all this makes me look -- shooting off a BR Pivot bench, with a Harris bipod on the forward swivel stud and an Accu-Shot butt monopod on the rear swivel stud. The 'smith who put all this together (Greg Richards, Hobbs, NM) tuned the trigger to a light, smooth regular pull -- and the set trigger is even lighter.
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<br>I have a feeling that if this gorgeous beastie doesn't turn out to be a match-lighter -- a candle-snuffer at least -- the culprit will be Trigger Creep (AKA Trigger Jerk, AKA Ken Howell).

Holy doggy doo!!!!
<br>Doc ,you are a serious NUT!
<br>You're eating through a tube and all you can think of is the advantages of the wheelchairs stability on the shot???
<br>Ken,I wish you the best my friend....
<br>I also admire your strength.I hope I have your outlook if I ever come realize your current situation.
<br>All I can say is "Bite down HARD"...Those sage rats havn't seen true wrath yet!
<br>Spring is coming and I'm looking forward to a story about the 220 in action.
<br>Bless you my friend.
<br>E4E
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Being just a dumb ole country boy I use a Remington VSSF 223. I think the fluting helps to keep the barrel a little cooler, the 223 don't get the barrel as hot as a 22-250. So I get a few more shots from the rifle and a pound of powder.
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<br>Dan

My line up includes a
<br>22 WRM
<br>223 (plain variety) 0-300yrd
<br>243 AI 300-600yrd
<br>25Gibbs greater than 600yrd (with some luck) ;-))
<br>I hunt ground squirrels in my area and started with a 220 swift that is now shot out. I slowly started adding to the varmint collection and have most of the ground covered.
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