what do you consider to be the best varmint cartridge?

Mr. Friendly said:
.22-250 would fit just fine...I actually never realized it had that much on the .223! :eek

just thinking about a varminter class to buy. was thinking of something like the .243 so I can take the low end of large game too, but it would be interesting to get cartridge in lever action. handgun ammunition is a lot cheaper then rifle ammunition.
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A .32 Special is a rifle round (think .30-30 Winchester, necked to .32 cal). Ammo will be harder to find and more expensive than .30-30.

Varmint rifle means .17, .20, .22, .24, or .25 rifle rounds, not century old lever action deer rounds.

A .223, .22-250, or .243 would all be excellent picks.

The "Bob" aka .257 Roberts would be excellent as well, although it is largely a handloaders round. Factory ammo is limited, anemic and not in abundant supply.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
in my noobishness, I don;t understand anything said there, but for the Ruger Hawkeye. what or who is 'Bob' that shoots 60 - 120g? :confused:

edit - I meant to ask about the SKS. considering how cheap you can get the rifles for and how the ammuntion costs are almost on par with the .22 Mag and being so much more powerful, perhaps it fits. :rolleyes:
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Sorry, 257 Roberts. Bullet selection is from about 60 grains in weight right up to about 120 grains. Bullet velocities are respectable & a very efficient powder burning cartridge.
 
Every varmint round expressed in this forum will do what you need, just pick your possible favorite, then form an opinion like everybody else. Although in my opinion I like the 22-250 & the 257Wby for Longer shots. Spend some of that hard earned money & dont worry about the price of ammo, it will all work out in the end!!!!
 
Wrong Way said:
Yawn.

.223 and 22/250 : BORING
.204 and 223 WSSM : Trendy
.17 Rem: NOW yer talkin'! Gotta love a classic that makes a cloud o' pink mist :D
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I did say up to something the size of Coyote. a kill is all about placement, but I'd not trust a .17 for a Coyote me thinks... :redface:

edit - interesting thought about the .308...but I want reason to buy another rifle! ;)
 
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Mr. Friendly said:
I did say up to something the size of Coyote. a kill is all about placement, but I'd not trust a .17 for a Coyote me thinks... :redface:

;)
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I read your post....and answered appropriately. I did say 17 remington (not HMR).
HMremfire_062107A.jpg

There is not a coyote on the planet that wont drop from this classic round within 250 yards :)

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hunting_photo3.jpg


25 Gr. bullet at 4130 FPS is like a lazer beam. About 1000 lbs of energy at the muzzle, with around 400 lbs at 200 yards.

Check it out :)
 
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That .17 remington looks like it should have a belt...

Everyone has plans, My next rifle, a marlin 45/70, the next next rifle, probably a stevens or savage if I can manage (I want huge scope)... 22-250.

But one time, on a family friends ranch, we did some long range ground hog shooting with a lever action, open sight .357 mag, but with .38 sp 158gr cast semi-wadcutter bullets. I bet they only came out of the rifle at 900-1000 fps.

It was awesome, they were really mild loads so it was like shooting artillery. My Speer reloading book says it would have hit low 30 - 60 inches (150-200 yards) inches when zeroed at 50 yards. We had so much fun and only hit one with 30 shells or so but it's a shooting memory I will not forget in a long time.

So for me, mild .38 special is the most fun out of all of the things I have shot varmints with. I know it goes directly against the "laser beam" idea, but I don't care.

Ryan
 
mano

Another factor is noise. If you are shooting gophers a .204 is amazing. A 22/250 after an hour makes you feel like a press ganged gunners mate in the 1800s british navy.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
I'm thinking of varmint's up to about the size of a coyote. thinking range to be a maximum of 200 yards. what would you favor? and on the side, how good/bad would you consider the .32 Special for varminting?
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I'd say the .22 Hornet, if you reload, and the .223 if you don't reload. There's just no advantage to a 22-250 at 200 yards or less.
 
I'm honestly still thinking an SKS...they're cheap and the ammo is even cheaper! how an you beat $0.18/cartridge? might not hit out to 200 yards accurately, mind you...but 100 yards I should still be good. :D
 
I'd say the 22 Hornet would be okay for varmints up to 200 yards, so long as you were willing to stick within that range limit, and use handloads. I wouldn't reccomend it as a dedicated coyote rifle, then I would go to 17 Rem or 204 Ruger, as these are a little more powerful, but won't turn the pelts inside out.

The .32 Special question got me thinking though. The .25-35 and .30-30, both of can be loaded with lighter bullets for occasional varmint shooting. I checked and unfortunately the .32 Special is .321 diameter, and 32 cal pistol bullets are much smaller,so they can't be used for a varmint load. The 170 gr FN factory loads, and bullets by Hornady and Speer are certainly capable of killing a coyote at reasonable distances, and if you could get the new Hornady Leverevolution 165 gr ammo, it would be better, but expensive for high volume varmint shooting.

If all else fails, go with the suggestion of a Stevens 200 in .223 with the best scope you can afford.
 
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IMO a Stevens 200 in .223 is the cheapest viable, accurate varmint rifle you can build (with some additional down-the-road potential such as rebarreling, aftermarket stocks, etc).
the rifle is $300+scope/mounts, and decent winchester white box varmint ammo works out to about 50 cents a pop.

an SKS with cheap 7.62x39 surplus makes a great plinker but is a far cry from a viable varmint rifle. its not exactly an expensive proposition at $170, so if you dont believe us feel free to just try it and see... you dont have much to lose - even if you dont keep it for varmints you can keep it as a plinker, and if you dont like it at all theyre easy to resell.
 
that sounds good manbearpig. I'll probably go with something like that.

still have that deal on the Savage 11 in .223 the Simmon's scope for $350. accutrigger model. put the Simmon's scope on my semi-auto .22.
 
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