Varmint Cartridge Comparison

Got Juice? said:
Indeed. As a fellow enthusiast in varmint hunting, it is simply the best hunting out there.
Click to expand...

stubblejumper said:
It's a hobby. And given that I shoot more varmints in a year than anything else, I don't mind investing the cash. The 20 tactical took down another coyote yesterday afternoon, and I hope to take several more this winter.
Click to expand...


I fully understand where you guys are coming from. To me there's no such thing as too many varmint rifles or too much redundancy. I need one big game rifle but can't whittle my varmint rifles down at all.

Even here where most varminting is quite limited, I still just love experimenting with the different rnds and having rifles for specific species, styles of hunts, and even specific shots.

Small and fast bring fun and smiles.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
I fully understand where you guys are coming from. To me there's no such thing as too many varmint rifles or too much redundancy. I need one big game rifle but can't whittle my varmint rifles down at all.

Even here where most varminting is quite limited, I still just love experimenting with the different rnds and having rifles for specific species, styles of hunts, and even specific shots.

Small and fast bring fun and smiles.
Click to expand...

When you bring a Rack of 5K in .22lr, 5 rifles in .22lr, 5-600 rounds of .204, 3 or 4 rifles in .204, a black powder 46 cal, a lever action 44 mag, a cooler box full of goodies, a chair, a full koolatron with coke, and water, and a gopher whislte.

Of course that's just for me. When friends look in the back, I hear more than one comment about who are we invading today?

Some people... I swear, they bring a .22, and 100 rounds and like to think they are bob lee swagger or some crap.

I have another saying. 'Nothing Succeeds Like Excess'

Best day was just under 970 gophers.... from 0730-1900.... it was unreal. I ran out of 204 ammo, only brought 500 between 4 guns. The .22's were even warm, and I even had the smarts to set up an umbrella in the truck bed for the 5er hitch.
 
22 Hornet, 17 Rem, 204, couple of 222's, numerous 223's, one sporter 222 Rem Mag (still looking for a HB version, guess I'll have to make one). 22-250, 22-250 AI, 22-243 Middlestead, 224 Clarke, 6x47 (two of them), 243 (two), 6mm Rem, 6mm AI, 240 gibbs. Think that's the varmint chorus. - dan
 
dan belisle said:
22 Hornet, 17 Rem, 204, couple of 222's, numerous 223's, one sporter 222 Rem Mag (still looking for a HB version, guess I'll have to make one). 22-250, 22-250 AI, 22-243 Middlestead, 224 Clarke, 6x47 (two of them), 243 (two), 6mm Rem, 6mm AI, 240 gibbs. Think that's the varmint chorus. - dan
Click to expand...

240 gibbs, that sounds interesting. Never shot one, what can it be compared to? a faster 243?
 
Nice lil collection

I too like the lighter cals, but only have a 17hmr, 204 and 223 now but building a dlask 1022. Maybe in the future I would like to pick up a 17rem or a 20vartarg, something like that to play around with. One thing I DONT like though is reloading small cals with flat based bullets. OMG if they would just stay on top of the brass for a few seconds so that you can get the ram up enough to seat the bullet. heh Wrecked a few 204 brass with 35 bergs trying to rush it. lol

If your into shooting alot of gophers(if you can find em now a days) and small varmints these smaller cals are the way to go

970 in a day is a good shoot, specially if its been in the last few years. Back in the late 80's I dont think it was a problem find tons of em around like that. I try to make a fun day out of it every year by shooting all morning then setting up a portable bbq for some hotdogs and then a good afternoon of more shooting. It makes for a nice relaxing day outdoors away from all the regina noise. :)
 
Got Juice? said:
When you bring a Rack of 5K in .22lr, 5 rifles in .22lr, 5-600 rounds of .204, 3 or 4 rifles in .204, a black powder 46 cal, a lever action 44 mag, a cooler box full of goodies, a chair, a full koolatron with coke, and water, and a gopher whislte.

Of course that's just for me. When friends look in the back, I hear more than one comment about who are we invading today?

Some people... I swear, they bring a .22, and 100 rounds and like to think they are bob lee swagger or some crap.

I have another saying. 'Nothing Succeeds Like Excess'

Best day was just under 970 gophers.... from 0730-1900.... it was unreal. I ran out of 204 ammo, only brought 500 between 4 guns. The .22's were even warm, and I even had the smarts to set up an umbrella in the truck bed for the 5er hitch.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a good day in the gopher patch to me! A guys gotta be prepared for sure, completely unacceptable to run out of ammo, and a guy can't do without refreshments and shade :) Sun can be vicious.

Your post made me wish that "The Varmint Hunter"magazine was still being produced. Miss that one.

Nothing worse than running out of ammo. I brought a friend out to one of my spots and as we were loading up to start shooting he asked if his one box of HMR ammo would be too much. I shook my head and told him to take along my case of HMR ammo and I'd stick to centerfires.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
Sounds like a good day in the gopher patch to me! A guys gotta be prepared for sure, completely unacceptable to run out of ammo, and a guy can't do without refreshments and shade :) Sun can be vicious.

Your post made me wish that "The Varmint Hunter"magazine was still being produced. Miss that one.

Nothing worse than running out of ammo. I brought a friend out to one of my spots and as we were loading up to start shooting he asked if his one box of HMR ammo would be too much. I shook my head and told him to take along my case of HMR ammo and I'd stick to centerfires.
Click to expand...

I always pack 20% more food, and 50% more fluids. When spending the entire day, hydration or lack of it can be killer. I get bugged about the umbrella, but at noon, who's truck is cooler? Yep, that'd be mine.

One item i make sure to pack now is some cleaner and my dewey rods. I had made that mistake, and it cost me 1/2 the day. Hence the bringing of multiple guns etc. Redundancy is Lunacy.... until you have a malfunction. Then it makes sense.
 
Nothing worse than heat stroke starting to set in when the gophers are everywhere. That pounding headache turning the joyous sound of gunfire into torture. I agree lots of fluid and more than necessay is better.

We don't usually get enough targets to warrant field cleaning but i often bring backup rifles for when fouling takes one rifle out.
 
I really wanna get a hold of a fireball based cartridge or two they should be just the ticket for high volume shooting. They should foul a lot less with their reduced powder consumption and comparatively less velocity from .223 & .250 based cartridges.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
I really wanna get a hold of a fireball based cartridge or two they should be just the ticket for high volume shooting. They should foul a lot less with their reduced powder consumption and comparatively less velocity from .223 & .250 based cartridges.
Click to expand...

The hornet cartridges are even better for high volume shooting. I use 9.5gr of powder in my 17 hornet, and it takes a lot of shooting to heat up the barrel.
 
There is a balance between a need for performance and the price of too much performance. When it comes to varmints, performance is about accuracy @ range, not energy... only the shooter knows what is required in their field... perhaps "Hornet-based" shooting is more than sufficient in one field, but not rangey enough in another... and then there are those who just like "explosions..." the same guys who like blasting milk jugs. Reloading, which most volume shooters do, allows you to tailor the cartridge to the circumstances.
 
hoytcanon said:
There is a balance between a need for performance and the price of too much performance. When it comes to varmints, performance is about accuracy @ range, not energy... only the shooter knows what is required in their field... perhaps "Hornet-based" shooting is more than sufficient in one field, but not rangey enough in another... and then there are those who just like "explosions..." the same guys who like blasting milk jugs. Reloading, which most volume shooters do, allows you to tailor the cartridge to the circumstances.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a balance, and superior ballistics generally require a more overbore cartridge which results in more heat being transferred to the barrel. So if you are going to burn more powder to achieve greater velocity, the cartridge will be less suitable for high volume firing. That is why the 17 hornet is superior to the 17fireball for high volume shooting, and why the 20 vartarg is better suited to high volume shooting that the 20 tactical.
 
Yep I'm loading 9.6gr in my hornet as well and a guy can do a lotta shooting with that round. Absolutely love it. The fireball based cartridges just seem to add a touch more range while still allowing more shooting than stepping up to the next level ie .223-222mag cartridge level.

So long as they're a curate they're all awesome for their intended purposes. I barely even get to foul my barrels up anymore on varmint shoots. Sad state. Been doing a bit more bird sniping since I lost another ranch with gophers on it. That turns to a different game again as there's less shooting but the ranges vary quite a bit from shot to shot and the targets never stay still long. So a guys gotta be ready to shoot
 
Got Juice? said:
240 gibbs, that sounds interesting. Never shot one, what can it be compared to? a faster 243?
Click to expand...

A little faster than a 240 Wby. 30-06 case necked down to 6mm, case taper blown out and shoulder blown forward to a 35 degree improved shape. Fun to play with but not the most efficient cartridge. Still, if it isn't fun why bother? I also had a 6mm Mach IV on a Mauser action for a while. Kept meaning to build a nice one, but haven't gotten around to it yet. - dan
 
leveractionjunkie said:
I really wanna get a hold of a fireball based cartridge or two they should be just the ticket for high volume shooting. They should foul a lot less with their reduced powder consumption and comparatively less velocity from .223 & .250 based cartridges.
Click to expand...

Had a 221 Fireball in an XP100 a while back, 4x scope on it. It was amazingly accurate and friendly to use. Low recoil and noise. Still have the action (two of them actually), tore one down and built a rifle out of it. - dan
 
dan belisle said:
A little faster than a 240 Wby. 30-06 case necked down to 6mm, case taper blown out and shoulder blown forward to a 35 degree improved shape. Fun to play with but not the most efficient cartridge. Still, if it isn't fun why bother? I also had a 6mm Mach IV on a Mauser action for a while. Kept meaning to build a nice one, but haven't gotten around to it yet. - dan
Click to expand...

Fme that sounds like a fun cartridge!
 
I personally think that a person should have at least one of the following: 17HM2,17HMR, 17WSM, 17 Hornet, 17 Fireball, 204, 22 Hornet, 223, 22-250. It's even better if you have multiples of some of them. Ask me how I know?

Perhaps a 220 Swift is in order and maybe a few more 20s of some kind! 221 maybe. Just sayin!

I would like one of each that I don't have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom