I used to do a lot of ground hog shooting in southern Ontario (Orangvelle area). In one field we could pot away at critters about 400 yards away.
I used a variety of rifles. I found that I was most welcome when I shot the 22 Hornet. USed that when i could see houses other than the farmer's.
For shooting performance, I used a 22-250, a 243, a 6.5x55 and a 270. The latter two sound like canon fire and locals nervous if you do much shooting.
The 22-250 had a lot of wind drift. If you built a custom one, a 1:7 barrel would shoot 80 vld bullets to any distance you could see.
For critters and deer, the 243 would be excellent. For critters and biguns, the 270 or 6.4x55 works well.
You would be better off buying a 223 and a big game rifle, like a 308 or 270.