What are some of your favorite varmint calibers?

[radamus210]

 I'm curious what everyone likes for woodchucks, fox coyotes.
  I'm sure this is a subject beat to death but there's always something new that can come about.

 I'm curious what your tack driving favorite is. Which for mass destruction and for the really long shots.
 I have some nice shooting calibers, (original TC) 222,357mag w/hotshot,357max,357Herret,45-70
 I can't keep mounts on the herret, I'd also like to know what you might have done to keep mounts on the heavy recoil barrels. The 222 is accurate, need a better scope though. Just got the max, haven't shot it yet, the 357mag isn't anything special, vent rib, could do without it actually. The 45-70 is by far the most exciting. 14 hunter with brake, factory loads are light enough to have fun with it, good handloads it becomes a real sledge hammer. This is the one for fireballs at dusk and a thump in your chest. It's actually very accurate wth a Propoint red dot. I busted every scope I tried on it so gave up on them. Anyhow, that's what I got going on, appreciate everyones opinion!

[canyon-ghost]

 Some of my friends are using the new .204 Ruger for prairie dogs.  TC produced it with the original rate of twist for the contender in a 23" length. Everything I've heard about it is wonderful. It just happens to be on sale at MidwayUSA this month, too. Do I spend or not? Sure would like to.

[SD Handgunner]

For Varmints and Predators, 1st on my list would have to be the .223 Remington, provided it is in a 14" (or longer) Barrel. I have had several .223 Super 14's over the years (both Blued and Stainless-Steel), and have always been able to obtain the performance and accuracy I expected out of this cartridge. Granted some barrels have been more of a challange than others. For years my favorite Bullet for the .223 Super 14 Contenders was the 52gr. Speer Flat Base Hollow Point. Pushed by either W-748 or H-322 I generally obtained about 2850 FPS with this bullet and was never disappointed with the Accuracy or Explosiveness of this bullet.

Then I discovered the 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip and 40gr. Hornady V-Max for the .223. Either of these two bullets have become my standard for the .223 Contenders. I have had the best luck with either IMR-4198 or H-4198 with the 40's, but also have used W-748 & H-332. I currently have a series of test loads loaded with the 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips with Hodgdon's Benchmark that I have not had a chance to test in my Stainless-Steel Super 14 .223 Contender.

A couple of other favorites have included the 6mm-223 and the 6mm T/CU. Over the years I have had a couple barrels in each of these cartridges. I generally used bullets from 55grs. to 70grs. for Varmints and Predators. Bullets I have used with good results on Varmints and Predators in the 6mm's have included 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips, 60gr. Sierra Hollow Points, 70gr. Hornady Super Explosive and 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips.

I have also used the .250 Savage in a 14" Contender. I only ever tried one load with this barrel for Varmints and Predators, and it dispatched them with authority. That bullet was the 75gr. Hornady Hollow Point loaded with W-748.

Other than these cartridges for small varmints (Gophers) I normally use a 14" .22 LR Match Contender Barrel. The one I am currently working with was built by Mike @ On Target Technologies and so far has been proving to be quite accurate. Time will tell when I get a chance to test more ammo in it.

Larry

[Lone Star]

My two favorites are the .223 and .250 Savage.  My current .223 is a 10" version, and with the 40-grain Hornady or Nosler and BlueDot powder it is extremely accurate and has plenty of power for sub-100 yard shooting (2800 fps).  Report is much lower than with rifle powders in this short barrel too.  In a 14" barrel I'd probably use IMR4198 with the plastic tipped 40s.

I too prefer the 75 Hornady in the .250 XP, best velocity and accuracy results with H4895 at 3050 fps.  The 85 BTip works well too, velocities run ca. 2850 fps.


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[Del]

For critters up through coyote.......
I gotta vote for .223 Rem., and I'd go with a "Super 14" barrel for a bit more velocity, a 14" Hunter barrel would be hard to beat!!

Myself, I purchased a 12" Hunter barrel not because the recoil is harsh, but it makes it possible to 'see the impact' most times! :-)

A person can go a bit lighter or certainly heavier, but the .223 is a hard one to beat for the application you want a barrel for.

Good luck with your choice, and once you choose, best thing you can do is just shoot it a LOT to get good w/it!!!
Del

[SD Handgunner]

Geez, guess I have a one tracked mind. When I read your post I was thinking in the Contender.

I have also used the .243 Winchester for Varmints & Coyotes in a Savage Striker, and more recently have been working with a buddies 15" .243 Encore also. The main two loads I have been working with in the .243 Encore have been 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips loaded with Varget (3240 FPS) and 80gr. Speer Hot Core Spitzers loaded with H-4895 (2920 FPS). Both of these loads are quite accurate and not to bad to shoot at all. I think for a Wood Chuck / Coyote / Deer Handgun this cartridge would be tough to beat, but may be a bit much for sustained shooting in a Prairie Dog Town.

Larry

[skb2706]

Some of my friends are using the new .204 Ruger for prairie dogs.  TC produced it with the original rate of twist for the contender in a 23" length. Everything I've heard about it is wonderful. It just happens to be on sale at MidwayUSA this month, too. Do I spend or not? Sure would like to.

Oddly enough all of my varmint Contender barrels are my favorite

I have
(2) .204 Rugers in carbine length...both legitamate 400 yd shooters - one factory and one MGM

.221 FB will make a pound of powder last thru nearly 400 rds. most accurate barrel I have

6mm 30-30 AI most unique and versatile

[Johnly]

I have dozens of barrels, but I find myself grabbing by 11" SSK Ackley Bee most often, followed by my Bullberry 218 Mashburn Bee. If I'm going after larger varmints, I use my 6mm TCU.

John in Oregon

[Special Ed]

My "go to" varmint barrels are the 14" in .223, usually loaded with the old Speer 52gr hollow point or my 14" 22 mag barrel loaded with the Remington premier "accu tip-v".

Ed

[Lone Star]

...I can't keep mounts on the herret, I'd also like to know what you might have done to keep mounts on the heavy recoil barrels....

We didn't do a good job of answering that question did we?        I have scopes on most of my T/C barrels including a .300 Savage, a .35 Remington, a .30 Herrett, a .45 Colt and a .45-70.  Heavy recoilers need three things:

1 - A high quality scope.  I have had perfect performance from Leupold and Burris handgun scopes, lightweight ones like the 2x and 4x work best due to the lower inertia.  Cheap scopes will fail, sooner or later.  Save them for the .222 or the .357 Maggy.

2 - A strong, well-attached base.  I use the Weaver 92A base almost exclusively, and I often glue it to the barrel with Brownell's Microbed.  (A little heat will remove it if I ever need to.)  Of course the screws are well-tightened too.

3 - Three good rings.  I used to use the Bushnell two-piece rings as used by SSK on their barrels, but those were discontinued several years ago.  Now I use the Weaver or Millett aluminum vertically-split rings....three of them.  I put a strip of 400-grit sandpaper between the rings and the scope tube (rough side towards the rings) and tighten the rings well. 

I have yet to have a scope problem once I discovered these three steps.  My first scoped Contender was purchased in 1975, and I haven't looked back.

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[flyfisher]

My Super 14 .222 Rem. barrel is a superb performer on both paper and on varmints.  Extremely accurate.  A 3-12x Burris sits atop and has never had a problem.  It is a great choice for a 14" barrel.

As far as recoil and scopes is concerned, my .375 Win. (without a brake) does just fine with Millett angle-lock rings and a 2x Bushnell Trophy scope.  Had the weaver mount come loose once, but not the rings.  Lock-tite fixed it and never had a problem since. 

[jhalcott]

 I can not really say I have a favorite ground hog caliber. I've used every thing I own on them, even a .577 elephant gun. I shoot them to keep in tune for deer season. If I can hit them , a deer heart will be easy. I use 3 rings on my 358JDj and 45-70 barrels also on my 6.5JDJ barrel though it isn't really a hard kicker. I only use 2 rings on my 7-30 barrel ,which is a near twin to the 6.5 jdj cartridge. I have scopes from most makers but Burris and Leupold are by far better than the others. I think the .223 or the 7tc/u are the most versatile rounds as far as shooting fox,coyote and groundhogs. They are quieter than larger rounds ,recoil less and have great inherent accuracy.

[poncaguy]

17 HMR, 204 Ruger and 223. In a rifle, 22-250 and 243.

[Ken ONeill]

.223 Rem. and .225 Win.

[buffalohunter]

My favorite varmint calibers are 222 Rem and 243 Win, pretty well care take of anything I am going to shoot at.

Good Shootin 

[radamus210]

I appreciate all the ideas! I have visions of more barrels.
 I am going to try gluing the base on, thanks for the idea lonestar! My 357herret is a kick ass round. I'd like to find a quicker way to trim the 30-30cases though, I've done all of them on my regular *rcbs* case trimmer. Thants a lot of cranking taking off a 1/4". The Herret seems to be pretty rough on cases also, they are tricky little devils to reload.
 I'm pretty interested in this 204, been reading a lot about it but I've always wanted to do a wildcat in 7mm. My second and most favorite deer rifle when I was a kid was a sporterized german Mauser in 7mm Mauser. I shot a lot of deer with that one so always had a lot confidence in that. I'd like something like a 7mmM-Ackley improved, but I don't think you can do that on a Standard contender frame, that's probably a Encore type cartridge wouldn't it be?.
 My 222 is a accurate enough for me to appreciate. I have a custom built bench rifle in 22-250 ackley and this 222 will hold them tight right with it within reason, I'm amazed for a 10" barrel.
 I've done some reading about the factory maximum barrel and it's long throat. Is this really that bad of a barrel for reaching out there with a 357?

 Thanks again!

[221fireball]

221 fire ball had it forever

[determined451]

14 inch 223 Rem., then a 218 Bee....D451

[Lone Star]

My 357herret is a kick ass round. I'd like to find a quicker way to trim the 30-30cases though, I've done all of them on my regular *rcbs* case trimmer. Thants a lot of cranking taking off a 1/4". The Herret seems to be pretty rough on cases also, they are tricky little devils to reload.

There are several easier ways to trim .30-30 brass.  RCBS makes a trim die that you run the case into, cut off the excess neck with a hack saw, then file it smooth.  Or you can use a Dremel tool to trim off most of the neck and finish it up in your RCBS Trimmer.   IME the Herretts are no worse on brass than any other bottlenecked case in the Contender - you just have to be very careful not to set the shoulder back when you resize.  If you can get by with neck sizing that will give much longer case life; partial sizing works well too.  I shot a .30 Herrett in IHMSA competition for five years in the mid 80s and used the same batch of 80 cases shooting once a month for the whole time.  I do not remember losing a case, ever.  I did however have five years experience with the Herrett before I started IHMSA, and I learned the value of correct sizing.  Running the case all the way into the die until the shelholder hit the die was not the right way to do it!

I've done some reading about the factory maximum barrel and it's long throat. Is this really that bad of a barrel for reaching out there with a 357?

I knew several Maxi shooters who did very well with factory barrels out to 200 meters - but they all used long cast bullets.  The rep is that most jacketed bullets don't do so well.


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