What is the ULTIMATE Varmint Round??

SHELL SHUCKER said:
If ye be whackin' pest critters in an area that provides a sure backstop such as shooting down into gullies or into hill bases, then any rifle will do. It's great fun & practice using one's big game rifles & slug guns fer varmint removal. The last coyote I beaned was with an un-bubba'd milsurp Brazilian Mauser in 7x57 at 30 yds as it was sunning itself in front of it's den.

Tracked the den down following the direction of howling from the night before.;)
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how about a 58 Cal Enfield with a 625 grain miniè ball?
 
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adamthebad said:
how about a 58 Cal Enfield with a 625 grain miniè ball?
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Had 2 of the Parker Hale 58's over the years. Beauty rifles they be. I tried a few of the Shilo 610 gr "stake buster" minie's from them but settled on the Lee R.E.A.L boolit as it worked well and was easier on the shoulder. Still use an H&R Huntsman .58 for fun these days with the Lee boolit. Neither of these rifles are rated for charges above 120 gr of black & that is pushing things a tad.:rolleyes:
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
Had 2 of the Parker Hale 58's over the years. Beauty rifles they be. I tried a few of the Shilo 610 gr "stake buster" minie's from them but settled on the Lee R.E.A.L boolit as it worked well and was easier on the shoulder. Still use an H&R Huntsman .58 for fun these days with the Lee boolit. Neither of these rifles are rated for charges above 120 gr of black & that is pushing things a tad.:rolleyes:
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I see....especially after the smoke clears!
 
My favorite coyote round is my 20Tactical, but for high volume ground squirrel shooting, my favorite by far is the 17 Hornet. The 17 Hornet can be loaded for about the same price as 17hmr loads, and it provides far superior ballistics. It can also fire many more rounds than a 223rem , before the barrel heats up.
 
adamthebad said:
interesting, what is it like to get ammo for round that has almost.the same smack as 30-06 (energy)
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Brass isn't cheap, but Weatherby brass is made by Norma, so price wise it's pretty much the same as Norma brass for others. Hornady makes brass now too I've heard, but haven't priced it out or tried it. It's not a high volume shoot cartridge, so maybe not the best for dog towns and gophers, but for long range, flat shooting and hard hitting, it's tough to beat, and I include wolves in varmints, therefore my choice for this one. With 100 gr Barnes TSX it doesn't do much pelt damage either.

It's a pretty popular round so most bigger gun stores carry ammo. You won't find it in Federal $30 blue box though, but price wise it's similar to other premium magnum ammo, however it's best suited for reloading IMO.
 
I do not believe there is an ultimate round.

I use .22 rimfire to around 75 yards, my new .17 HMR to around 200 yards, then my .223 beyond. Dont shoot much past 300 yards. Each round and each gun have their place. I am biased towards .223 due to cost and availability as I don't have time to reload anymore.
 
Personally when I was young and money was an issue I used a 22mag. as I mainly shot groundhogs. Still have a 22mag and always will, very versatile and effective round out to a 100yds. Thanks to many factors coyotes being one of them there are not many groundhogs left to peck away at. So I chose a 243 for coyotes and wolves. The 243 loaded with either 65gr. Hornady V maxes or Nosler 70gr. BT varmits over some varget has worked well for me. For a rifle a Win M-70 featherweight. I found the 243 was accurate, cost friendly, easy to load, and very versatile in bullet weights and types to shoot anything from crows to deer.
 
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BigUglyMan said:
To me, a "varmint" rifle is a rifle you take out to shoot gophers and prairie dogs..high volume shooting. For that game you want something that you can shoot all day and not go broke and not torch a barrel in a season. I think that the 223 is perfect for that game.

If you want a predator rifle you might need more reach and your shooting volume will be much lower. For at I'd take a 22-250.
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yeah that too me sounds like the classification for the varmint rifle cartridge........... for me, it is a .222 only because i am partial to it...... is it the best, proberly not, though it will get er done all day
 
adamthebad said:
is that not a 222 remngton mag?
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when I win the lottery I will build one . .14cal on top of a 222 rem mag case


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adamthebad said:
very interesting!
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Supposedly the Solids can reach 5000+ fps. No copper clad lead though. They simply rotate too fast and tear themselves apart. Or melt.

SuperCub said:
Be the cool kid and have the first one on CGN. DO IT!
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GNGGauge, plus buying the rough and finish reamers, and then machining your own dies, Lilja barrel, Anschutz or Tikka action, GRS Stock, and probably 4 hours of a Smith's time (better make it 6) Comes to a rough total of 5-6 bills.

I figure 400 for the action, 1K for the stock, 1200 for an unchambered rifled barrel, the 2 sets of reamers will run 700.00, machine shop time to make the dies, 300.00 incl steel, Gunsmithing, assembly, chambering at least 1K, go no go gauge will probably only run 300.00

The other issue is the rounds themselves. solids are best, but pricey.

Then there is the downrange energy. Fast, but over too soon. 250m and it is totally spent. :(

however, it is a laserbeam :) Ridiculous speed, the impact would be INSANE! as would the bullet trace vapor trail.

So unless 649 hits, I'll stick to my 204Rugers. But this one, would be so damn cool to build.



Bullets: https ://shop.reedsammo.com/14-Cal-Bullets-127g-Solid-FMJ-Profile-14C127solid.htm


Reamer... http ://pacifictoolandgauge.com/10-cal-14-cal-nopix-chamber-reamers/2909-14-222-eichelberger-magnum-solid-pilot-only-chamber-reamer-order-any-freebore-neck.html
 
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