rifles for pd shooting

[totall]

I will take my first try at parrie dogs in the spring & was thinking what rifles to bring. I have a savage 17 hmr, a cz 527 varmint in 204, and am looking at getting a savage with thumbhole stock in 22-250. I probably would only take two , what would be my best bet?

 

[rick523]

I would take all three, I have taken as many as six. Last year I only took four, two 223 bolt guns, an AR, and a 300wsm. You can never have too many.

 

[L-46]

Total, i only have experience with the 204, so will not comment on the others. It is capable from 200 out to 600yds with the right set up and ballistics programe. The sweet spot is around 400-450 yds with 80%+ success rate quite possible.
The most important thing is to go to the range and set up some targets and get started, you will gain in confidence and be better at using your programe. Once you can pop baseball sized targets at 300-400yds you are ready to go!
You soon see what you did not think about!
Good Hunting!
L-46

 

[tuck2]

I live in prairie dog country and have used various rifles and cartridges to shoot them. The 17 HMR, .204 Ruger, and 22-250 Rem are fine p dog rifles. Take plenty of 17 HMR ammo because the are a lot of p dog pup shot within 150 yards. The 204 is plenty good out to 300 yards and use the 22-250 for longer shots. The barrel of a 22-250 heats up when you shot it fast so use the 17 HMR as much as you can.. Shoot into the wind as much as you can.

 

[MachV]

Tuck nailed it with shooting into the wind and start with the HMR, the rimfires shot into the wind dont seam to scare the dogs much. The 204 will be a big asset, I would take enough to shoot at least 200 rounds a day through it, set it in the shade every 10 rounds or so with the chamber open to cool!
I personaly would get the Savage in 223 as the 22-250 is going to heat up a LOT faster=I've seen guy burn 22-250 barrels out in one day trying to keep up to 223s. The 223 ammo is usually a lot cheaper too!
I usually take at least 4 guns doggin.
The little CZ American shooting 40 Vamaxes always goes.
The old J action single shot 243 shooting 55Nosler always goes
Early season a rimfire goes....either the 77/22 or Savage HMR
One long range rig....Varies 243,6-284,7mag or 338 Edge
Either the 204 Savage shooting 32 grainers or the Savage 20PPC shooting 39 Sierras.Early season the 204 and the 20PPC late summer.
A good town can keep 5 guns hot.....With the sun out even the rimfire will warm up.

 

[totall]

Thanks guys for the feedback on how many rifles to take pd shooting. I am not new to shooting, been doing it for over 50 years, but i am new to varmint shooting & small caliber centerfire rifles. Another thing I am new at is reloading. Something I have wanted to do for many years but just getting started on it. I have most of what I need but am not set up yet. I have a few friends that can help me with that. Mach V thanks for the input on 223 verses 22-250. I have spent hours reading about both and I like the fact that the 250 will reach out further & the cheaper ammo for the 223 is something to look at. While shooting with a friend I realized how close in size the brass is for the 223 & my 204. With reloading in the future I worry about a mistake on that when picking up brass either at the range or on my own 300 yard range in the trees behind my house. I know I wont make a mistake on the 204 & 22-250 brass. Maybe a small worry but something I have to think about.

 

[MachV]

There is acually enough difference in the 204 and 223 that I dont have a problem keeping them seperated. The 223ai however is very close to the 204. After having a couple of 22-250s the only one I have left is the 8 twist shooting 75 grain Amaxe=great long range dog getter! But in my experience there is very little difference shooting dogs with a 39 grainer out of the 204 and a 55 out of the 22-250 exept the 204 stays a little cooler,has less recoil and cheaper to reload....being able to see the results of the inpact really helps specialy if you dont have a spotter.

 

[totall]

I know alot of guys have multipal rifles of the same caliber but there are to many guns I would like for me to do that but thats just me. However sometimes its better to not have what you want then to have what you dont want. I threw the 223/ 22-250 around for a long time and it seems for whatever reason Im stuck on the 250. Being as how the Tikka I would like to have is about impossible to find guess it will be a savage with a 12 twist. Until I can find the Tikka then I guess I will own that to. Dont tell my wife I said that.

 

[varmintH8R]

I think you will really like your 22-250. It puts a beatin on critters and is a flat shooter. It sounds like you are setting up to reload for it - no reason you can't power it down to 223 velocities if you want. There was a pretty good article on this in American Hunter a year or so ago. I've got a cooper with a 1:12 barrel and it seems to like 50gr blitzkings in front of Varget or IMR 4895. Good shootin and enjoy your new rig, and then your second new rig when you find a Tikka!

 

[8 SNAKE]

While there's nothing wrong with a .22-250, I would encourage you to look at something like a 6BR for a few reasons.

1. 6BR should do better in the wind
2. inherently accurate cartridge
3. easy to load for (you're new to the game)
4. better barrel life
5. less recoil, so you can watch your shots through the scope

I do the majority of my prairie dog shooting with .204's, but have also spent time with the .22-250 and 6BR for longer distance shots. In my experience, the 6BR proved to be superior for the job. Hope that helps.

 

[8 SNAKE]

I know alot of guys have multipal rifles of the same caliber but there are to many guns I would like for me to do that but thats just me.

I normally feel the same way, but an experience a few years ago in the prairie dog fields changed my mind in that particular application. I had a .204 and a .223 that I had planned to use for the bulk of my shooting, but a malfunction in the rifle chambered for .223 early in the trip rendered half of my ammo supply useless. Fortunately, I brought enough .204 to keep me busy because I would have been in bad shape otherwise. Shortly after that trip, I converted the .223 to a .204 (an AR rifle) so that I would avoid problems in the future.

 

[MachV]

Good points made! The 6br and 8twist 22-250 are very close but unless you have a very heavy gun and low magnification in the scope its harder to see impacts than the 204.
Another advantage of the getting a Savage 223 is that you could add a 204 barrel, just in case.....Sure you could do it with a 22-250 too but the bolthead would have to be changed.
I have 204,223 and 223ai barrels for this unit and it only takes a minute to swap them out......Kinda nice to be able to use the ammo all up and keep the barrel from over heating. The ai barrel is camoed and uses red ammo boxes, the 204 is SS flutted and uses green boxes and the 223 barrel is blued and uses blue see through boxes for ammo...Shot rounds are put back into the ammo boxes neck up for a hit and neck down for a miss,kinda helps keep track of things.

 

[8 SNAKE]

MachV: I assume you have your scope turrets marked for each barrel, so that you're not trying to sight in after barrel changes? Looks like a slick setup that serves you well in prairie dog fields.

 

[MachV]

Yep the different barrel settings are marked on the inside of the cap of the scope. I actually very seldom change barrels anymore, it is more important for weekend roadtrips..
Another neat feture of this unit is that its left handed, I'm right handed(for the most part). That way my eye stays in the scope, my right hand on grip and my left hand does the reloading.