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Varmint Hunting With The AR-15 Type Rifle - Part II |
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BUSHMASTER VARMINTER
Bushmaster is one of the major manufacturers in this business of building AR-15 style rifles. As can be seen in my Part I article in The VARMINT HUNTER Magazine, Issue #66, page 18, I got started in my evaluation of this rifle model quite early on during a hunt in Wyoming with Bushmaster, and also several even earlier hunts with their guns that go back several years. Bushmaster is building a dedicated varmint rifle in two barrel lengths and three different configurations. The rifle built for me by them is a hybrid system taken from the basic new 2007 offering in that varmint rig.
This Bushmaster AR-15 Varminter in Digital Camo pattern was custom-built for the author.
The Bushmaster Varminter I tested in Wyoming was the 20" barrel version because I wanted less weight, but still retain the accuracy of the fluted, medium heavy weight, target style barrel. The Bushmaster Varminter is a well-thought-out rifle, and my custom rifle makes use of all its features except for the addition of flip sights and the telescoping butt stock. Surface finish is digital camo in a coyote color configuration. Unlike my custom Bushmaster, the standard Varminter rifle has a dull black finish that won’t reflect light when moving across open country.
It’s all American-built, and right down to the butt stock this rifle is a class act. In Wyoming I took a morning and moved well out of rifle range from my partners, Cory Lundberg and John Anderson. With an extra box of Remington 50-grain V-Max style cartridges in my Blackhawk hydration pack, and three full 20-round magazines, I set out with shooting sticks and searched for targets of opportunity.
With the rifle’s uncluttered and vented free-floating tube fore-end, the rifle dropped nicely into the set of Sniper Styx I was packing afield. On the other side of a deep draw I saw more prairie rats than I could count. With the Burris varmint scope focused at 275 yards, which I ranged with a lightweight and very portable Leupold rangefinder, the first round that the Bushmaster Varminter spit out ended in a completely crushed rat that never knew what hit it. After that I just worked my way along the far side of the draw, cutting down those standing pop bottles that seemed to have no idea at all where the fire was coming from.
Around the time I went through almost all of my loaded magazines, Cory walked up behind me and asked if I needed any help … or at least some extra ammo. He’s my guide and friend and also director of Coda Hunts, a Salt Lake City-based operation that was putting Bushmaster on these targets. I asked him to join me and run a few rounds downrange himself, as I needed a rest after all that action. With Cory dusting off a few more of the unsuspecting sage rats, it was time to head for the truck and the waiting armorer supplied by Bushmaster. This is almost always the case on a writer hunt that is shaking out a new rifle. That armorer is standing by to cover any problems and observe the functioning of the firearms. In this case the gun got a drink of oil directly applied to the bolt and receiver, and that was all there was to it.
With the arrival of my own custom-designed varmint-style Bushmaster, it was time to stow it in the back of the pickup truck and turn to South Dakota coyotes, badgers, and sage rat populations. With permission from willing ranchers, it was game on, and the Bushmaster was headed for some gunning work out on the open prairie.
With a Sightron Inc. scope on the Bushmaster, my first encounter with sage rats came about with an afternoon sun at my back highlighting the large yellow and brown dogs that sat atop their lodges about 300 yards downrange. I was shooting off sticks and leaning against fence posts for added support as the Bushmaster turned loose round after round of fire. In some ways these guns put almost too much pressure on a good dog town because the rate of kill is considerably upgraded from that of a turn bolt or single-shot rifle. The AR-15 style of rifle is a real town cleaner when you want a body count on prairie rat populations.
Shooting Federal’s new 43-grain TNT Green non-lead soft-core bullets in a prototype form, accuracy held within 1 MOA at all times. When shot, dogs rolled off their lodges in a state of disrepair, to say the least. This new direction in “green” ammunition by Federal is going to develop a following among fans of the 223 Remington round. There was no doubt that this Bushmaster, built as a dedicated varmint rig and coyote rifle, would get the job done … in spades.
With Bushmaster being a leading company in the manufacture of AR-15 type rifles, you can opt for this advanced type of critter control system, or move to the side or down, depending on what you’re searching for in this rifle configuration. Bushmaster will offer you everything from a simple 22 LR in an AR-15 pattern rifle, to the heavyweight 450 Bushmaster. Currently, Bushmaster also is offering a page out of the AK-47 handbook by offering a Bushmaster upper that utilizes the AK-47 gas piston system rather than the straight gas tube and bolt thrust system employed on current AR-15 designs.
In terms of my custom setup rifle, I would be hard pressed to ask for more in a field-ready varmint rig. Classed as a “medium” in that it has a lighter-weight barrel than heavy target models, the rifle is readily packed with the butt stock completely collapsed. With a number of new AR designs now coming out as varmint hunters’ rigs, you could say that the Bushmaster is right in step with the whole family of autoloading AR rifles.
My test rifle is able to dust anything with ease inside 450 yards downrange, then work back toward my static position on any target inside that established zone. To date, I have shot a good deal of Black Hills 60-grain V-Max and Remington 55-grain V-Max through the Bushmaster’s chamber without a single hitch. With the fine support of Wolf Ammunition, to which I am very grateful, I continued my observance of test rounds by trying out steel-cased Russian ammo. Like the American brands of 223, the steel-cased cartridges functioned very well. In fact, when it came to hunting my fall prairie gobblers, the Russian ball ammunition again proved very effective on the light-skinned birds, producing minimal meat loss as well.
With a quad fore-end housing a Weaver system, I mounted with a loose fit my extra rear battle sight to the right side and ahead of my normal hand position. This rail can allow mounting lights, lasers, or other backup sights all the way around the barrel. Not a thing to be done every day, but there when or if you need it. AR-15/M 16 type rifles are very flexible gun systems, as I have been quickly learning.
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