varmint gun

tomc983

tomc983
Jan 20, 2009
154
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New Jersey
looking for a good varment rifle/ long range rifle looking for some imput i like the 17hmr but was also told the 308 varmint rounds are good
 

maxaholic

Active member
Dec 6, 2008
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Central, Texas
The .17 hmr will not get you out long range. Or I should ask. How far are you wanting to shoot? The .308 is a good round for shooting far but I don't like how fast it drops. Sometime when funds allow I want either have a .300 wsm built or a 7mm wsm built. Right now my favorite gun is my .204 ruger. Anything out to about 400 yds I can dust. But I recently started shooting a .223 my boss bought. I like it so far and it is a lot cheaper to shoot.
 

PSConvert

Old FNG
May 30, 2009
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SW Michigan
IMHO a .223 with 18"-20" HBAR will do you just fine. Bolt or Semi you can't go wrong.:thumb:
A 1/7 twist with 52gr or 55gr should be a good match but even a 1/8 or 1/9 will still work great.

The .223 is a very good, accurate round with plenty of takedown power @ 200yds +, LOTS of options/upgrades and you can build it yourself to make it exactly what you want.

That being said I am pretty partial to the .223/5.56 :D
I love both of mine! My 16" NATO does just fine hitting a 5x5 plate @ 250 yds with crap ammo.
 

JoshH

Daggum farm truck
Staff member
Vendor/Sponsor
Feb 14, 2007
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I know from my experience, it is pretty amazing how much barrel length can change accuracy with the .223/5.56 rifles. A 16" barrel is much easier to hit your target than a 14" barrel.
 

Whitetail Addict

Rockin' the stock tune
May 8, 2008
2,350
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South Central Pennsylvania
220 Swift...mine is a 24" sporter barrel (not a dedicated varmint gun) and it cuts holes (5 shots) at 100yrds with factory shells. The gun is a collector so thats all I fired out of it...I should handload for it so I can really test it. There is one recipe in the RCBS manual to push it over 4000fps :D

On the barrel length subject...twist plays a part in trajectory (spiral on a football).
 
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wes06dmax

New member
Feb 23, 2009
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South Central Kentucky
Remington model 700 with a bull barrel 223 or 22-250 the shells for a 223 is cheaper than a 22-250 but the 22-250 to me is a flatter shooting gun great for long range and you cant go wrong with a good nikon or leupold scope either
 

Osubeaver

Professional Grade
Aug 30, 2008
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Oregon
IMHO a .223 with 18"-20" HBAR will do you just fine. Bolt or Semi you can't go wrong.:thumb:
A 1/7 twist with 52gr or 55gr should be a good match but even a 1/8 or 1/9 will still work great.

The .223 is a very good, accurate round with plenty of takedown power @ 200yds +, LOTS of options/upgrades and you can build it yourself to make it exactly what you want.

That being said I am pretty partial to the .223/5.56 :D
I love both of mine! My 16" NATO does just fine hitting a 5x5 plate @ 250 yds with crap ammo.

I have not tested it personally, but isn't a 1/7" twist ideal for heavier bullets (77gr-ish)? Not that it shouldn't perform just fine with 55gr-ish bullets. Never heard anybody recommend a 1/7" for lighter bullets and say a 1/8" or 1/9" "will still work great." That seems backwards.
 

tomc983

tomc983
Jan 20, 2009
154
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New Jersey
you guys definetly narrowed my search i am suppost go shoot a gun later today at a local gun shop 22-250 its used with a leupold scope on it. my friend who owns the shop says it is a tack driver at about 350yrds. the 700 sounds a lot like what im lookin for. i cant remember what remington i was lookin at but it had the triangulated barrel is that more for looks or dose is compansate for any thing.
 

Cougar281

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2006
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St Louis, MO
Sometime when funds allow I want either have a .300 wsm built or a 7mm wsm built.

Why the WSM stuff? Why not just stick with the "traditional" cases? IMO, the WSM cases are a "solution" to a non-problem... JMO. I have a Browning BAR-II in 7mm Mag with a BOSS on it and it shoots like a dream. With handloads, I was able to get about a 3/8" group @ 100yd.
 

deHuncho

New member
Jun 18, 2009
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SW Va.
What would be considered long range? Most centerfire varmint rounds are good to about 400yds, much further and lots of skill becomes involved. I bought a 22-250 last year and love it. It's a Savage Model 12 varminter, I shot .820" at 200yds 5 shot group with Hornady ammo, so plenty for me. It was also very cheap compared to other rifles, 500$:cool:
 

maxaholic

Active member
Dec 6, 2008
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Why the WSM stuff? Why not just stick with the "traditional" cases? IMO, the WSM cases are a "solution" to a non-problem... JMO. I have a Browning BAR-II in 7mm Mag with a BOSS on it and it shoots like a dream. With handloads, I was able to get about a 3/8" group @ 100yd.

I don't know. Because I'm paying for it. I don't mean to sound like an ass but that is just what I want next. And also I want to be able to shoot at around 800-1000yds. The few people I have talked to have said that those two calibers would be a good choice.

But it is going on hold because I need (or should I say want) a new deer gun right now for our trip to Alaska. And I imagine you wouldn't like the gun I'm having built for it. It's going to be a .280 Ackley improved.
 

PSConvert

Old FNG
May 30, 2009
30
0
0
SW Michigan
I have not tested it personally, but isn't a 1/7" twist ideal for heavier bullets (77gr-ish)? Not that it shouldn't perform just fine with 55gr-ish bullets. Never heard anybody recommend a 1/7" for lighter bullets and say a 1/8" or 1/9" "will still work great." That seems backwards.

Your right.
For some reason get this bass ackwards all the damn time.....
:banging:

Heavier bullet = more twist to keep it stable (1/7)
Lighter bullet = less twist (1/10, 1/12)
(velocity dependent of course)

Either way I would still recommend a the 1/9 all around.
 

JMK777

16's, but i keep em clean
Mar 20, 2008
1,433
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Moss Beach
Savage 22-250 12bvss . I load 50g molys and get a .25" grouping at 100 yards and that is just under 4000 fps. Most accurate gun iv ever bought over the counter, very impressive.