Varmint caliber?
 

Time for a new gun.......
Well got the itch to add to the family, and have decided to go with some kinda varmint gun, but a little undecided as to what calibre/gun to go with. What's everyones opinions/experience with calibers/guns out there? Is burning out a barrel a major problem with some of these small fast calibers?

What you looking to accomplish, what's your budget, do you reload?
And once you answer those I probably got a bunch more for ya.

Varmint
 

Hey Dick

Just looking for something to take out and tend to the odd 'yote situation once in a while..... Not real concerned about weight of the gun, nothing that I am going to packing any for distances, more aless set up and shoot type thing. Definately want something with respectable accuracy, not just a lead thrower so to speak. Budget, well not really looking to part with whole bunch of money, likely try to keep the gun itself under the $800 mark, or less would be better. I do some reloading now, so would likely reload if it was something that I was going to start shooting on a regular basis.

Rem SPS in 22-250 ,243, 223,204

I think the 223 is the best choice if you plan on shooting a lot i.e. gophers and don't reload, but a 204 Ruger would be a good choice as well if you reload. A 22-250 is a great choice for coyotes as long as you don't plan on shooting hundreds of rounds in a day.

Stevens in .223 and that leaves lotsa dough for a Leupy.

What about a 17HMR? Is it maybe too small? I have one for gophers and thought about maybe trying it on a few coyotes to.

HMR is good for yotes under 100 yards but past that they just dont pack the punch. Plus you can shoot a .223 for just about the same price as a HMR so why not just shoot the .223

I bought a 22-250 I wanted enough gun to reach out and the .223 just doesnt do that. I wasnt worried about hides either but if one day I do I might buy a .223 or 17 rem in a stevens.

I think i might have to get a 223 also the ammos cheap and packs more punch then my 17 hmr.

6mm
 

I shot .223 and 6mm for dogs and the 6MM in a Remington 700 VL is my choice. I get 3900 fps out of a 55gr BST. Fast,flat and nice to shot.. Not a lot of choice in a 6mm only Remington and ruger still chamber the 6mm.. That is just my choice.. its a hot .243:D

I would look at the savage 12FV for about 600 dollars you have a smokin accurate rifle 223 204 243 0r 22-250 8.75 lbs synthetic Varminter with Accu trigger first choice for me is 223 for cheap ammo and barrel life based on your statement 204 for cool factor or 243 for verstility cheap reloading and availability JMO:D

As far as caliber, I have a 204 and love it. No recoil, can watch the hit thru the scope which is cool. Accurate as well.

I have a 223 rem vls love it awsome acuracy cheap bullets. I reload now. but you can buy the winchester packs of 50 for $20. thats cheap and they shoot good.

I've been shooting a .223 for 14yrs now and love it! my hunting partners all shoot the 22-250 ,been wack'n em just as far and just as dead with the 223.
Cheaper to reload ,longer barrel life,last barrel had over 5,000 rnds still shot .75" Savage gets my vote!

Thanks
 

Thanks for all the input gentlemen, to be honest, never even thought of a 243 or 6mm. As far as a flat shooter with some range ability, what is the better of the bunch? (22-250, 17Rem, 204, 223, 6mm, 243) I have looked at the charts, but printed on paper sometimes leaves a bit to be explained... As far as the 17HMR mentioned, I actually have a Savage 17BVSS, but wanted a little more for coyotes and the bigger critters.

Hey Rum,
Well like others i would take a look at a Stevens .223, thats what i use for the yotes. I got mine last year it cost me $226 about and shoots like no other. Infact i was out today and put 8 rounds within 2" at 200 yrds. They dont look all that great but man are they smooth. I got the gun, scope mounts, scope (16X24X42 Tasco) sling and rounds for all under $600. Not the best scope but it seems to stand up and works fine.
Also have a really good hand load for it with 55grain Vmax. Let me know how you make out and if you want the hand load PM me.
Little Buck

go with the .204 the lastest and greatest in varmit hunting. I have owned one for 2 years and love it. flat and fast with the 40 gr. vmax a real coyote killer.200 to 500 they go down! mine is a remington 700 sps. the ruger m77 is another good bet. cheap 2 shoot at 21 bucks a box. They buck wind unbelivable and wont burn the barrel like that of a 22-250.

if you go with the 243 or 6mm it could be used as a back up deer gun as well

i have a 243 also and have it shooting ballistically equal to my 204 with 55 gr. handloads. no matter what gun i pick up it shoots the same. and yeah it makes a good back up deer gun. i shoot 100gr. handloads for deer but still find it a bit light. thats why i shoot a .270 WSM

Almost time...
 

Thanks again to everyone for the info, certainly helped with the decision......
Well I am going with a Remington for sure at this point (either the SPS Varmint or SPS), SIR has the pricing on them so kinda made the decision for me that way. Narrowed it down to a 204 or a 243 at this point. I like the idea of at least having the option to shoot something else with the gun, but really can't see it happening is all. So I guess the only other question I have is how critical is a heavy barrel? Likely not so much for the 243 I assume?, but how about the 204? I am going to be putting my bipod on it, setting up and calling, weight really not the concern, the only real consideration I have is barrel life........

they claim the 204 is not a problem on burning barrels, ive shot hundereds upon hundreds of rounds through mine and it shoots just like the day i bought it. And it to is a remington sps. good luck with it your going to love it!

If you are doing alot of fast shooting or are lazy with the cleaning you should go with the heavy barrel. When I was looking for a varmint caliber everywhere I read said that as long as the 204 is kept clean and you are not firing a bunch of shells all at once through it its no worse than a 22-250.

I have the SPS Varmint with the heavy barrel and it weighs no more than my Remington 1100 so I am used to carrying around the weight. It feels a little weird at first with all the weight in the front (I am new to rifles) but it blances really nice with a pair of shooting sticks.

The heavier barrels tend to give the edge in accuracy. If you are not doing any high volume shooting (the odd yote), a reg barrel would be fine. If you plan on taking it out during the summer for some high volume prairie poodle misting, then go with the heavy barrel. As for caliber, I would go with the 204. I now have two of them and plan on getting a third. They are way way to much fun.:) :) . With any type of high volume shooting, you will want to reload to get the best performance out of your rifle in terms of accuracy.

I'm lazy, so how does a heavy barrel get me out of cleaning chores?

I dont know just what I have read.

or a
 

.338 Lapua AI !!!!!!!:evilgrin:

I use a .204 alos but i find it a little under powered for longer shots, hence force the barnard actioned .22-250AI.......Pushes the 55gr nosler at near .204 speeds...... My current load is at 4030fps, but I have had it up to 4125 with varget, just to hard on the $$$ norma brass.....