Selecting Varmint Calibers

[ADMIN]

Typical varmint calibers include .17, .20, .22, and .243. Varmint loadings use light-for-caliber bullets to achieve maximum velocities, and quicker fragmentation. This creates more explosive terminal performance. Read More...

This is a thread for discussion of the article, Selecting Varmint Calibers, By Jared Bauder. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.

 

[gpmcdowell]

Re: Selecting Varmint Calibers ...add one more!

A great varmint caliber is 221 Fireball....20 grains or less of powder, easy reload, up to +/- 3600 fps w/40 grain bullets, low recoil, and slow to heat a barrel. Watch your hits or impact and 1/4 moa accuracy. Real world effective to 400 yards. Neck down to 20 for a 20 Vartarg. You can shoot hundreds of rounds before cleaning and the throat won't get burned out in a year or two of shooting.

 

[Wendet]

The article stated .204 for almost a dollar a round I have found it this year for as low as 25.00 for fifty rounds of Hornady ammo either in .32 or 40 grain bullets and my jp upper loves them both.the .40 seems more consistent at longer ranges my last years best was 460 yards on a prairie dog and he still exploded

 

[Idgunner]

Much of my varmint hunting is on small rock chucks out to 500 yards and in Idaho the wind is usually blowing. Small caliber, light bullets would be worthless. I had an 8 twist barrel installed on my action and shoot 75 and 77 grain bullets to carry the distance. Nothing better than seeing flying rock chucks at 487 yards!

 

[jrock]

I am in southern Idaho with blowing winds. I find that past 400 yards, the small bullets are difficult to shoot but I have scored well at that distance with the .204 (40 grain bullets) and .243 with (55 grain). I would agree that past 400, the higher BC bullets are a better choice