Ideal rifle & scope for prairie dogs?
John Moyer
A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
scope for this sport.
Toby Bradshaw
#Posting for a friend, please respond via news...
#
#A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
#go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
#700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
#prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
#scope for this sport.
Having shot a few thousand dogs, I can unequivocally say that no single
rifle will work, mainly because in a good town there is nothing with
enough velocity to reach out and touch them that won't also heat the
barrel excessively when fired at the rate necessary to keep up with your
friends' body counts. The .223 is an excellent choice for a single
rifle, though. I've shot them with .22RF through .300 Weatherby, but
anything above a small .22 centerfire gets tiresome when you're shooting
hundreds of rounds a day. With the smaller .22 centerfires you can
see your bullets hit (or miss, it's windy where dogs live), which
is half the fun. I like the Nosler 50gr Ballistic Tip pushed at
maximum speed (easily 3400fps in a good bolt rifle with 24" barrel).
The Rem 700 VS is a good choice. The trigger is easy to adjust down
to about 2 pounds; for $30 Neil Jones will take it down to 8oz. or
so (which I prefer for varminting). Glass bedding may or may not
be necessary, you'll have to decide (my PSS wouldn't shoot well
without it). Get a 6.5-20X Leupold in Kelbly rings and Davidson
bases (glass bed the bases), a Harris bipod, and a few thousand
rounds of handloads or Black Hills ammo, and you're off to the
dog town. Of course, when your buddies are smoking the dogs
at 350 yards with their .220 Swifts with a dead-on hold, while
the .223 is lobbing them in there artillery-style, the urge to
escalate the arms race will be severe. Still, you can shoot a
few while they're cleaning and cooling their 4000fps wonders :)
Toby Bradshaw
Department of Biochemistry and College of Forest Resources
University of Washington, Seattle
to...@u.washington.edu
Bumper sticker: Don't like hanguns? Don't buy one!
Bob Paasch
#A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
#go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
#700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
#prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
#scope for this sport.
My personal favorite:
Remington 700 VS in 22-250
Leupold 6.5 x 20 AO
Why?
1) I own this setup ;^) (and it shoots well)
2) The 22-250 will give you about 50 yds more effective
range than the .223. That will count in Montana.
3) I believe the 700 VS is the best factory varmint gun
on the market _right now_. Good out of the box accuracy.
Decent trigger (and good aftermarket ones available). The
700 VS has a composite stock with an integral full length
aluminum bedding block, so minimal bedding problems.
4) Leupold? I guess I'd settle for a Burris also, but
Leupold is here in Oregon (support the locals). The
20+ powers are handy to have at the range, although most
my varmint shooting has been at ~12 power (ground squirrels
and coyotes).
I'm getting consistant 5 shot groups under .5" at 100
yards off the bench with this setup (that's with hunting
bullets, not 52 gr BTHP match). I expect to do better
after some accurizing, and a new barrel (after I shoot the
factory one out).
My buddy is doing well with his Ruger 77V, but I think the
Remington has more potential.
For the really long range stuff .243 and 6mm is probably a better
choice but Reminton hasn't chambered the VS in these yet. Get's
kinda windy in Montana.
The "ideal" varmint gun is a total custom job. Just ask Boyd
Mace ;^) But that's big $$. To modify an old hot rodder saying:
Accuracy costs money. How good do you want to shoot?
Bob
stark
Remington 788 in the 22-250. Only had a cheap Tasco
6x scope but it did a very nice job.
When the wind wasn't blowing I would get MOA holes
in the paper.
Lots of good ones out there. One that seems to get
overlooked a bit is the 25-06.
Have fun,
Monte, Stuck in Nevada!!!! KU7Y
Gary Coffman
#
#go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
#700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
#prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
#scope for this sport.
A Winchester Mod 70 Heavy Barrel in .22-250 topped with a Lyman 20x
scope is a good start. If the glass isn't bigger than the gun, it's
too small. :-)
Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | |
Bob Moore
#Posting for a friend, please respond via news...
#
#A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
#go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
#700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
#prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
#scope for this sport.
We don't have too many prairie dogs in Missouri but we do like our rifles to
do what's require...reach out and knock a gnat off a fly's rump at longish
distances. So my .02:
A Ruger M77 VBZ in .22-250. This rifle has a stainless, 26 inch bull barrel
and a blued receiver. Mine wears a Tasco 8-32x44 T/S scope and the smallest
5 shot string to date measured .39 inches...this being my first batch of
handloads for the rifle. The stock is laminated and has a widened forend.
The biggest drawback with this rig is its weight - about 12 lb., w/o a bipod,
unloaded. I wouldn't want to tote this over too many "hill or dale".
I looked at the many production varmint rifles available and settled on the
Ruger due to the quality workmanship, Ruger reputation, and recommendations
from other owners. That the barrel is stainless was also a factor since a
stainless barrel SHOULD outlast a non-stainless barrel (the Winchester is
available in stainless also I think). There doesn't seem to be a big difference
in wholesale price for this class of rifle. With the exception of the Savage
116, a price of $400-450 (wholesale) wouldn't be out of line (at least from
my catalogs).
As was noted in an earlier posting on this thread, the main decider of
.22-250 over .223 is that the .22-250 has an extended useful range. But
this does come at the expense of larger powder charges, hence more muzzle
blast, shorter barrel life, and slower shooting action. Also, factory
ammo for the .22-250 is fairly expensive (about $10/box at Walmart) whereas
cheap military ammo is available for the .223. I hand load for mine and get
by for about $3.00/box, so this wasn't a factor in my case. I've never shot
prairie dogs, let alone shot them in Montana, so I don't know whether the
longer range would be of use to your friend...but in my mind it couldn't hurt.
================================================================================
Bob Moore
r...@stlouis.cray.com
================================================================================
Anthony A. Datri
Get some snakes instead, and let them keep the population down.
--
======================================================================8--<
Bart Bobbitt
: A Ruger M77 VBZ in .22-250. This rifle has a stainless, 26 inch bull barrel
: and a blued receiver. Mine wears a Tasco 8-32x44 T/S scope and the smallest
: 5 shot string to date measured .39 inches...this being my first batch of
: handloads for the rifle.
What's the size of the largest 5-shot string it's fired? I would think
that is the accuracy level you can count on. A .39-in. group at 100 yards
(if that's the distance used) is very good for a factory rifle. But if
the rifle/ammo/sights doesn't do that well, or better, all the time, it
really isn't representative of the accuracy.
BB
Bruce Hoover
|> #A friend wants to get started varmit hunting
|>
|> Get some snakes instead, and let them keep the population down.
|>
Joe McConnell
very strong, are they?
--
Joe McConnell | Opinions expressed are the | Don't blame me! I voted for
mc...@erim.org | author's, not the employer's.| Stephen Maturin!
Bob Moore
#
# : A Ruger M77 VBZ in .22-250. This rifle has a stainless, 26 inch bull barrel
# : and a blued receiver. Mine wears a Tasco 8-32x44 T/S scope and the smallest
# : 5 shot string to date measured .39 inches...this being my first batch of
# : handloads for the rifle.
Bart Bobbitt wrote:
#
# What's the size of the largest 5-shot string it's fired? I would think
# that is the accuracy level you can count on. A .39-in. group at 100 yards
# (if that's the distance used) is very good for a factory rifle. But if
# the rifle/ammo/sights doesn't do that well, or better, all the time, it
# really isn't representative of the accuracy.
#
Admittedly, this was only one 5 shot string. More typical is .6 inch (@ 100yd)
which I still consider pretty good for a factory gun and ammo that hasn't
been tuned. I can't wait for the wind to stop blowing!
Incidentally, maybe someone can speak to this one...the first shot from this
rifle (with factory ammo) keyholed. After that I've not seen the problem
again. Was this due to "roughness" or some obstruction in the barrel?
I was using Remington 55g PTD SP at the time.
================================================================================
Bob Moore
r...@sequoia.cray.com
================================================================================
Bob Paasch
In article <1993Apr1.2...@adobe.com> jmo...@adobe.com (John Moyer) writes:
#A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
#go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
#700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
#prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
#scope for this sport.
My personal favorite:
Bart Bobbitt
: A friend wants to get started varmit hunting, and has an opportunity to
: go to Montana for a prairie dog shoot. He is thinking of getting a Remington
: 700 VS or PSS in .223 for the trip, and would like to know what any of you
: prairie dog hunters out there consider to be the ideal rifle, caliber and
: scope for this sport.
Someone where I work also asked about getting a tack driving pasture poodle
rifle. When I asked him what the furthest away he would accept a bullet
striking from point of aim at 400 yards, he said one inch. That meant he
wanted a guaranteed half MOA rifle at 400 yards. When asked about how good
he wanted the rifle/ammo to buck the wind, he said very well. I asked him
if barrel life was real important; he said no.
So, I suggested he get a .243 Win. built as follows:
* Lapped, trued and squared Remington or Winchester action. If a Rem.
action, replace the extractor with a claw type to improve reliability.
Install a Jewell trigger set to about a 1-pound pull. If not needing
a repeater is important, get one of the benchrest actions.
* .243, 1:8.5 twist, 26" barrel from either Hart, Krieger or Obermeyer to
use the heavy match bullets. Barrel tapering from 1.2 at the back to
.8 at the muzzle.
* Expoxy bed in any medium-weight, wide forearm stock he likes. One
shaped like McMillan's varmit-target stock copied from the Winchester
Marksman stock is a good example.
* Mount a Leupold 24 power target scope in Weaver rings on it.
* Use Berger 105-gr. bullets in Rem. BR cases with the same primer,
and about 39 grains of IMR4064 as assembled with benchrest quality
reloading dies and practices.
He asked why he couldn't just go out and buy a factory rifle to shoot
2-inch groups (worst case, largest size) at 400 yards. I said factory
rifles varied so much in their accuracy, one could not count on getting
that one out of fifty that might do that well. But building a custom job
would put him in much easier reach of his 400-yard, half MOA requirement.
BB