Target and gopher rifle for inside 500?

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Nelson Manning

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Hey everyone,

I'm a bit of a newby to shooting, but did a lot of practicing with my CZ 452 varmint in 17 hmr last summer and will be moving up to something bigger in a month or so.

I'll just be shooting paper and gophers (inside 500, likely inside 300), and I'm currently considering a Remington XR-100, Ruger 1V, or the new Savage 12 Precision Varminter (if I can get my hands on one) in .223 or .22-250. I'm leaning towards the single shots because of better accuracy (am I misguided in this assumption?), and the 223 because of longer barrel life. I'll also be handloading, so smaller charges in the 22-250 are an option.

If anyone has some thoughts on these rifles, or ideas on better ones for about a grand, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, and great website!
 
The 223, is the same as 22-250 5 yds out of the barrel and is a lot
easier to shoot and cheaper to reload.

IMHO
 
I agree with Troy

in the 22 or 6 BR. They are by far superior to any off the shelf varmint cartridge. The only catch is one needs a gun that can be rebarreled and has to reload.

If not and have to buy one to shoot and later rebarrel I would say 22-250 as the bolt face would not have to be opened up to a 308 face for most other varmint cartridges if wanting to try something different.

Ultimately you are the one going to be shooting it so buy what YOU want.
 
The most economical to shoot is the 223. Ammo is cheap, bullets of all sorts. With a 9 twist, capable of going to 1000yds.

The 204 would be a very nice alternative if looking at the 22/250. Similar ballistics but lower recoil and barrel heat.

Jerry
 
Like Troy and cyb486 said 22br or 6br very accurate and that is what you need if you want to shoot gophers that far out they aren't very big targets .
I've seen some 22br with over 6000 rounds and still have reasonable accuracy I only load mine with 30.5 gr of powder so they are almost as cheap to shoot as a 223 and cheaper than a 22-250 I get 3650 fps with 53gr bullets and 1/4" and better groups at 100yds great gopher rigs .
 
The single shots flex less then the repeaters. They may not be the fastest to load although in BR guys can shoot 5 shots in 10ish seconds and still keep a 5 shot group in the .1s:eek:

Production single shots probably are made to the same tolerances as the repeaters and the Rem 40x might be a slight exception to this rule. True custom actions give improved ignition systems, faster lock times etc....

Finally you can get replacement bolt bodies for Remington 700s to remove bring them even closer to BR standards and avoid the use of glue on or solder on bushings. Nothing is cheap....

From the mass produced lot, I like the latest offering from Savage...

Model 12 Long Range Precision Varminter– with AccuTrigger™

Right bolt left port! Sweet.

Now they need to offer it in some larger actions.


Keep an eye out for some of the older Savage single shot rifles. You can always rebarrel them....
 
Thanks for the info everyone, I've done some reading and I like the sound of the 6 BR in particular. Any thoughts on cost for a decent (but not top of the line) rig?

I don't have a rifle to get modified, so I was thinking of going to a gunsmith to put one together for me. Or are there more cost effective ways? Craige Douglas in Saskatoon was recommended to me, since that's where I'll be this summer...

-Nelson
 
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