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Varmint Hunting
Looking for a varmint/deer rifle
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<blockquote data-quote="FAL Shot" data-source="post: 431897" data-attributes="member: 27328"><p>A .223 Rem with a fast twist barrel that can shoot long and heavy bullets will be your cheapest and most versatile choice, provided .22 cal rifles are legal for deer/antelope as they are in Montana. I use a heavy barrel CZ 527 Kevlar Varmint, but drop the Kevlar stock and heavy barrel you can get them about $300 less cost. I had to buy the heavy barrel to get the 9" twist.</p><p> </p><p>.224 bullets are the smallest that come in big game type construction, like Nosler Partition and Barnes-X.</p><p> </p><p>If you can afford ammo for hunting prairie dogs, affording a rifle is no problem. $100 per day for ammo, even if you reload, is very common at dogtown.</p><p> </p><p>The .243 Win is the obvious choice if big game has more of an emphasis, and the ammo is available everywhere. .22-250 rifles are hampered by slow twist rate barrels that don't handle heavy bullets properly, unless custom barrelled. .25-06 will be expensive to shoot, and barrel heating will be a problem at dogtown. The .204 Ruger (mine is a CZ 527 Varmint) is the perfect prairie dog round and barrel heating isn't much of an issue if using a heavy barrel. Heavy constructed bullets for heavier game isn't available yet in .204 cal, and may never be. .223 Rem comes in FMJ for taking fur bearing animals where you don't want to ruin hides, and it's the cheapest thing you can shoot and military rounds are a cheap source for good brass. If you are a crack shot and pick appropriate ammo, a .223 Rem can kill about anything inside of 300 yards in spite of what naysayers might say. Ballistic performance is almost identical to .222 Rem Mag. .308 Win is unquestioned as an adequate short range moose round, and a .223 Rem has half the power and should be just as adequate for any soft skinned animal up to half that size. That means big Mule deer approximately.</p><p> </p><p>If shooting big game at long range, a 6mm to 6.5mm bullet has the minimum ballistic coefficient that you will need. .224 cal bullets seem to tap out at about 300 yards no matter how fast you shove them at the muzzle. An old Swedish Mauser will outshoot any fancy .22 cal varmint rifle past 300 yards, and it's a super pleasnt round to shoot and it shoots dead accurate. I shot one that cost $100 in a pawn shop, and it was a nail driver.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FAL Shot, post: 431897, member: 27328"] A .223 Rem with a fast twist barrel that can shoot long and heavy bullets will be your cheapest and most versatile choice, provided .22 cal rifles are legal for deer/antelope as they are in Montana. I use a heavy barrel CZ 527 Kevlar Varmint, but drop the Kevlar stock and heavy barrel you can get them about $300 less cost. I had to buy the heavy barrel to get the 9" twist. .224 bullets are the smallest that come in big game type construction, like Nosler Partition and Barnes-X. If you can afford ammo for hunting prairie dogs, affording a rifle is no problem. $100 per day for ammo, even if you reload, is very common at dogtown. The .243 Win is the obvious choice if big game has more of an emphasis, and the ammo is available everywhere. .22-250 rifles are hampered by slow twist rate barrels that don't handle heavy bullets properly, unless custom barrelled. .25-06 will be expensive to shoot, and barrel heating will be a problem at dogtown. The .204 Ruger (mine is a CZ 527 Varmint) is the perfect prairie dog round and barrel heating isn't much of an issue if using a heavy barrel. Heavy constructed bullets for heavier game isn't available yet in .204 cal, and may never be. .223 Rem comes in FMJ for taking fur bearing animals where you don't want to ruin hides, and it's the cheapest thing you can shoot and military rounds are a cheap source for good brass. If you are a crack shot and pick appropriate ammo, a .223 Rem can kill about anything inside of 300 yards in spite of what naysayers might say. Ballistic performance is almost identical to .222 Rem Mag. .308 Win is unquestioned as an adequate short range moose round, and a .223 Rem has half the power and should be just as adequate for any soft skinned animal up to half that size. That means big Mule deer approximately. If shooting big game at long range, a 6mm to 6.5mm bullet has the minimum ballistic coefficient that you will need. .224 cal bullets seem to tap out at about 300 yards no matter how fast you shove them at the muzzle. An old Swedish Mauser will outshoot any fancy .22 cal varmint rifle past 300 yards, and it's a super pleasnt round to shoot and it shoots dead accurate. I shot one that cost $100 in a pawn shop, and it was a nail driver. [/QUOTE]
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