Varmint rifle what caliber ?

andygumpers

andygumpers

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Hi there I am looking at building a new varmint rifle i had one in .308 and i was getting under 1/2 groups at 100 with custom loads. So what i would like to know is what else is good i have been looking at these cals .223,6.8spc,30-06 . I like these cals but what i would like to know is who else is using them. I would like to shoot out to maybe 400 yards no farther. But this rifle may be used to hunt bigger varmints like deer and moose. The rifle will be a Remington 700 heavy barrel. And will get a good scope. But what i would like to know is what cal out of the 3 i have chose is the best. This is a open question (maybe a mistake ?) but i would like to know, maybe i will just stay with the .308. Now i know this will come up that is you can only use up to a .270 cal in this area. But I am not worried about this.
 
Pretty broad spectrum your looking at. If deer and moose are on the menu, scratch your .223. Not sure if you plan on shooting to 400 at moose but if you do you need to be looking at 06 and above cartridges for energy. Me thinks by the question you are asking you need to do alot of practising with whatever cartridge you go with, no offence intended. There are lots of gun/cartridge combos capable of this, but not many hunters. Wind will definately come into play at 400yds. So to answer your question I would choose none of your choices. Probably the two best cartridges for the job would be 7mm or 300 mags, recoil will be up from your choices, but you really are asking alot from the cartridge. If you weren't going to build it there are still factory options from Savage and Remington to start with.

Need more info, Homesteader
 
If nothing bigger than a deer is on then menu look into a rifle in 6.5 X 55 swiss. Light to moderate recoil, excellent accuracy.
 
The 6.5 x 55 will drop a moose with no fuss.
"...want a good rifle for varmint fox coyote etc and maybe deer. But mostly for small game..." Look into one of the medium calibres. .243 and up to .270. You'll likely have trouble finding 6.8 SPC ammo and brass. The .223 is not suitable for deer even though it's legal in Ontario. The .30-06 is too much for small game. Even loaded down with light bullets. Same ballistics as your .308 anyway.
 
For strictly varmint,I would choose the.223.It has very little recoil, ammo selection is huge, then you have the reloading choices.If you want something a little more powerful for deer hunting,think about a .243win.,which is simply a necked down .308win.Again,lots of ammo choices for either varmint or big game.A friend uses one for everything from gophers to moose with good results.
 
243

I would go with the 243 for deer and varmints. I've got one and you can load really lite bullets for varmints, great match bullets for targets and 100 or 105gr bullets for hunting Deer. Recoil is less than your 308. If you add Moose to the table your only other choice would be the 30-06 unless you wanted something bigger (read Magnum). The 30-06 will really eat through your powder for varmint and target shooting, roughly twice as much powder as a 223. A magnum will run you about three times as much powder as a 223. 30 Cal bullets for hunting are also much more expensive than target or varmint rounds in smaller calibers.

My suggestion would be to get a 223 for varmint AND a 30-06 for Moose. Practice enough with the 30-06 to get your shots in at 400 yards and shoot the 223 the rest of the time for much less $$$.
 
.308 for the ungulates....lots of bullets available for reloading.
.204 or .223 for varmints. (Depending on the varmint size too)

I just started reloading, and to buy a box of 20 .204 shells in 32 grain Vmax is $17.99 + tax....I can reload 20 .204s for about $6.70 using my once fired brass. And .204 can really reach out there with the 32 or 40 grain bullets.
I just bought a .223 but haven't reloaded anything yet for it. Bought a box of 53 gr. HP and a box of 40 gr. "poly" tips to try.
 
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