Affordable trainer/varmint gun…?

[wilkup]

Been on the fence for my next rifle and have finally gotten it narrowed down… I think

Howa Mini 6mm ARC
CZ 455 22LR/17HMR switch barrel

I know the 6mm is more than up to the task of targets and hunting, but will cost more to shoot. *Could also legally use for deer*

The rim fire is definitely cheap to get trigger time with but I'm not very confident in its ability to take bobcats and coyotes effectively or humanely past 25 yards.

Which would you pick? Why?

 

[Panhandlin Pat]

Can't go wrong with the rimfire. 17 hmr kills coyotes good, especially inside 100 yards. My CZ 452 17 is crazy accurate with the 20 grain hollow points. Shoots much faster than the advertised velocity, think I'm getting 2650 with the 20 grainers, and 2900 with the A17 ammo (shot like crap).

 

[Winkfish]

I have 2 rifles in 6 ARC, one gas, one bolt. I think both are fantastic and regularly shot them out to +800 yards. The gas gun shots the factory Hornady 108 ELD-M so well I do not reload for it. As for the bold gun, it is shooting handloaded berger 108s. It is currently costing just as much if not more for the 6mm ARC factory as it would for 6 or 6.5 creed. Brass is very limited on the ARC right now as well.

If I were doing a trainer and wanting to take varmints, I would give a strong consideration to just a normal .223, great barrel life, and components or factory loads are considerably less money.

 

[Cohunter9887]

222 rem is about 36 cents per firing, just another option, would do anything you wanted it to.

 

[wilkup]

I

Can't go wrong with the rimfire. 17 hmr kills coyotes good, especially inside 100 yards. My CZ 452 17 is crazy accurate with the 20 grain hollow points. Shoots much faster than the advertised velocity, think I'm getting 2650 with the 20 grainers, and 2900 with the A17 ammo (shot like crap).

I should've stated, average shot on predators is >100 yards. Good to know you drop coyotes at 100 though

 

[wilkup]

222 rem is about 36 cents per firing, just another option, would do anything you wanted it to.

That's the same price I'm seeing for 17HMR!

 

[Hand Skills]

I setup a Tikka T3 .223 as a trainer years ago - best thing I ever did. Spends more time in my hands than any other rifle;

Skunks, racoons, coyotes, ground squirrels...

Transition to big gun for big game is seamless!

 

[wilkup]

I setup a Tikka T3 .223 as a trainer years ago - best thing I ever did. Spends more time in my hands than any other rifle;

Skunks, racoons, coyotes, ground squirrels...

Transition to big gun for big game is seamless!

I've definitely looked past the .223/5.56 for some reason… maybe cuz it's subconsciously exclusive to my ARs
The .222 suggestion by @Cohunter9887 got me thinking about .223/5.56 though. I've also spent time the last months on the Rokslide forum reading the thread about .223 and TMKs for hunting and been impressed by the performance photos.

 

[Hand Skills]

.223 Rem can be a lot more versatile than a 55gr FMJ might suggest 1:7 or even 1:8 Twist really opens up the options.

I use a few different recipes;

45gr HP's for small stuff in the summer

60gr NBT for fur in the winter

This seems to provide a constant supply of 1f brass.

I always have a spare mag of 64gr Hammers in case something bigger shows up (cougar/hog/wolf)

75gr Berger's shoot good enough to keep the rust off my wind reading...

...and probably 10x dry fires for every live round

Not flashy, but covers a lot more bases than I anticipated.

I love that I don't *have* to reload for it - factory ammo is plentiful and relatively affordable.

 

[wilkup]

Not what I asked about or even my first or second choice, but saw Brownells has a barreled action in 6.5 Grendel on sale for $400 right now and Stocky's came out with a sweet CF stock just for the mini action that weighs 20oz! That'd make for a super lite walking varmint rifle that could also take down the big mule deer of central Washington.
Seriously considering snapping them up and just rebarreling to the new 22 ARC or 6mm ARC at some point down the road.
I was starting to seriously consider the .223 but can't find a barreled action in stock

 

[wilkup]

Did some poking around over on the Hammer website to see if there was any information on Grendel loads and saw a review for the 97gr ABs moving 3000+ fps from a 16'' Ruger Ranch Rifle!
WHAT!?
That males it a legit 300 yard deer rifle! And plenty for predators out past 700 yards...
Thoughts?