It's a category much in demand in the Southwest. These are usually configured as a tack-driving bolt action firing a cartridge suited for rabbits, chucks and occasionally coyotes and javelina. After much thought, here is the one I settled on.

It's a Ruger Model 77 Mark II target rifle, chambered in .223 Remington, which I settled on for ammo availability. It's in stainless steel, with a laminated stock and a free-floating 26" barrel with a recessed crown. It's a controlled-feed action, with a 2-stage trigger pull. The second stage is quite light for a precision touch-off. I equipped it with a Simmons Pro Hunter 3-9x-40mm scope, which I found about ideal. The bright finish is good for use in the Arizona sun, as it does not absorb heat like the blued variety. I bought it brand new in 1996, and it still goes tighter than a minute of angle today.



You might have one or more similar rigs. Whatcha got?

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

My Savage 17HMR. I've upgraded the scope to a Redfield. Squirrels fear me... Kinda wanting to try it out on coyotes as well.



Remington 700 in .270 I guess counts as a varmint rifle also:

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Isaiah 41:10

My Savage Axis in .223 also has shot extremely well all day long in dog towns here in Montana. It is scoped up with a Nikon 3x9 BDC scope.

With 50 grain Hornaday V Max it will deliver 5 round groups under 1/3 of an inch easily.

Randy

Howa Ranchland .223 with 55 grain Winchester soft points. Spends most of it's time on an ATV. I put on the Leopuld Compact 2 x 7. Perfect truck/ATV rifle for out to 150-200 yards which is about all one can see in around here.

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Possum—The other white meat!

Remington 700 Varmint heavy barrel in .22-250. Leupold 4 X 12 if I remember. Most accurate rifle I ever owned. I wore out the barrel and sent it back to Remington and had it rebarreled to .308. It cost almost as much as another new rifle would have and I should have done that instead. It shot almost as well, but I soon found I had no use for a game rifle that weighed so much and sold it.

I bought a Rem Model 7 in .223 a few years ago to replace it. Shoots better than I have any right to expect and much, much better for walking around. Leupold 1.5 X 5 on it now but I may get something a bit more powerful for itty bitty targets at longer range.

My small varmint rifle is a Marlin XT 22 mag. Great for 100-125 yard shots. Its very accurate.
Its a bolt action, comes with 2 mags,
black polly stock, nice deep bluing on sale new $159.
I have always felt the 22mag is an underrated & under appreciated caliber.

I bought this Savage model 12 VLP in 204 Ruger caliber and added a Leupold 8.5-25x50 VX-3. I recently used it for a prairie dog hunt in South Dakota. Savage's reputation for out-of-the-box accuracy is well earned and the Accu-trigger is light (adjusted down to just under 2 lbs.) and smooth. This thing is fun and it flat out shoots with almost no recoil and the barrel does not get hot.

Kimber 6x47
Sako 222
CZ 22 mag semi auto

Back in 1984 I had a Remington 700 BDL heavy varmint in 223. This rifle was a first or second year of production and shot fair (which was pretty good for the 1000's of rounds the previous owner put through it) In my possession it shot 1" at 100 on a good day. My youngest son was born on October 23 that year at about 4:30AM, after I cleaned up the room from that, I went bow hunting for deer. Didn't see a doe or buck so I came home and after lunch laid down prone under an apple tree and shot at crows with that gun for about an hour. The black kitten we had at that time had learned that gunshots resulted in food for him. So he walked up my back and sat on top of my head while I was shooting. About 1 shot in 3 were connecting at the 400 to 500 yards I was shooting at. The cat wasn't impressed with my success rate and walked off in disgust. I traded the rifle off the next day! Since then I have had 20-30 heavy barreled varmint rifles, most shot in the 1/4" area at 100 yards. But my favorite is a pre-1962 340 Savage in 22 Hornet, with a 3 x9 40mm. The gun shoots that 1/4" group, is light weight, low recoil, and somewhat ugly (someone did a "re-styling of the stock). In the hills of eastern Ohio, unless you shoot along a straight valley or across to another hill you usually get 150 yard horizon stalking for ground hogs. These shot are usually standing and a quick snap-shot before he sees you and drops in his hole. If you are successful they often fall in their hole also, the proof is if the is grey matter on the berm! The Hornet has left many ground hogs thoughtless!

Iven

Savage Mark II FVSR 22 LR in a BVSS stock. This is the 16.5" threaded barrel version. With a suppressor and subsonic ammo it is stupid quiet. A Daisy Red Ryder is louder. This gun is ranch house friendly due to low noise. This one still needs a cheek riser installed.


Savage 93R17 FVSR 17 HMR in a BV stock. The suppressor does not eliminate the supersonic crack of the bullet, but it greatly reduces the muzzle blast so I don't have to wear earmuffs. This has been my main varmint rifle for the last two seasons.


Browning 1885 Single Shot High Walls. Top is a 22-250, bottom is a 223. The 223 used to be my most used varmint rifle, until the 17 HMR displaced it. Not shown is a Browning 1885 in 25-06, the Wyoming Centennial. Also not shown are a couple of original Winchester 1885s. A High Wall in 32-40 with a 15x Lyman Targetspot scope. And a Low Wall in 25-20 Single Shot with a 3x JW Fecker scope. The latter two are used before the fields are dry as they are for blackpowder cartridge varmint hunting.


Remington R15 18" carbine in 223. This is my dedicated coyote rifle.


And for very long range varminting, a Ruger Precision Rifle in .243, with a .308 suppressor.

My favorite was an older Remington 700ADL sporter in .243 that I also used for deer. With the right handloads it was sure as poison on groundhogs to beyond 400 yards.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I have the Ruger M77 MkII like yours except mine is in the 220 swift. Rifle is fun to shoot and very accurate.

My all time favorite rifle was a Ruger 77, 220 Swift with heavy barrel.
I should have kept that one

I've become a CZ fan..................

452FS/mannlicher in .22magnum with a little Leupold 1-4x20 is my favorite walk in Penn's Woods rifle.

in .223 I've got a 527 FS and a American.

Currently setting up a 453 Varmaint in .17hmr with a 4-16x40

I'm 69, and for 50 years have campaigned open war-fare with the prairie dogs here in SW North Dakota. I'm also a lifelong fan of the Remington "triple deuce". This is my good old 1952 vintage Remington Model 722 wearing the original Weaver scope. I wouldn't care to publish the number of "dogs" that have fallen to the little 50 grain semi-jacketed soft point for fear of a law suit by the SPCA

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John

I inherited this one. Ruger m77 .223

This is the closest thing to a varmint rifle I have. A Winchester model 43, .218Bee, with an old 3 X 9 power Redfield scope. Loaded with V Max it works pretty well.

In order of increasing range:

CZ 453 Varmint:



Remington 799 in .22 Hornet.



A DPMS Panther 20" bull barrel (on the right):


A Ruger 77 Mk II VT in .308:



This is the newest addition, a Rem 700 SPS Tactical:

Don't shoot as many varmints as I used to but still like that kind of rifles a lot. Just picked a Mossberg MVP 5.56/.223 but haven't got it dialed in yet. Going to use it on hogs on my deer lease. Not sure if it will be enough gun yet but a lot of people are using them for pig eradication it seems,number of special hog loads advertised.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Put a Winchester soft point right behind the ear. They will drop like a rock.

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Possum—The other white meat!

Ruger 77/17 with a Burris 3x9.Sure was fun and a challenge in those Wyoming breezes

1980 Remington 700 heavy barrel 22-250. It's shot 1/2 m.o.a.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Savage 112V (heavy barrel) in .223. It shoots every load well, but is fairly heavy if you need to do much walking with it. I've optimized my load and cartridge OAL, and it can be counted on for consistent 5-shot groups between .5" and .75" at 100 yards.

sure are lottsa pics of rifles, targets, benches, floors and furniture. How many actually get out in the field and really use them on varmints?

I was hunting prairie dogs long before it was a cool destination hunt for out of state shooters.

I was born and raised in western SD and spent my first 40 years there. I cut my teeth form about age 6 onward shooting prairie dogs in the south pasture in the summer and jack rabbits and cotton tails in the shelter belts in the winter, and I've had more 500 round days on dog downs that I can count.

I shot coyotes and fox in my teens, back then a prime coyote brought about $40 and a prime fox brought about $80 (and jack rabbits were about $1 each).

I don't get out on a dog town nearly as often since I transferred to the east coast 9 years ago, and the varmint opportunities in NC are more along the lines of rabbits and squirrels.

----

Please feel free to post what ever you want, but implying we don't
hunt much because we don't post pictures is a mistake - and a bit of an insult.

I just don't post pictures on the internet.

Strangely enough folks who've never put down a cow with a broken leg from a prairie dog or badger hole tend to regard them as "cute" little animals, rather than flea ridden cannibalistic pests.

Those same folks also haven't seen what happens when a rabbit population gets out of control due to a lack of predators - or what happens when predators run out of rabbits and mice in the midst of winter. They don't see the need to maintain a balance or view hunting as the essential tool that it is.

What they do see are cute little critters all shot to hell, and it's generally not good press for us.

I also spearfished extensively, and I found that the worst press we had were one or two divers in the area who'd get their picture in the paper with an 8 pound walleye. It created the wrong impression. Yes, when spearfishing you can be more selective in your catch, but you can't cover nearly as much water on any given day or weekend as a fisherman in a boat and in terms of fish per day and even pounds of fish per day, a fisherman is far more effective and more consistent.

Yet a couple pictures in the paper skewed the whole message, gave the wrong impression and created negative press we didn't need.

Thus, I don't post trophy pictures. Ever.

What, you guys shoot cute, fluffy little bunnies? Disgusting...just kidding. Too many folks don't understand how the little varmints multiply, destroy crops, bring diseases with them. The same people that think rabbits and squirrels are off limits for population reduction due to their cuteness quotient, would scream bloody murder if they saw a mouse or a rat in their house.

Back when i was making two trips a year to S.Dakota for
prairie dog shoots i took these 4 rifles.
Remington VSSF in .220 swift with Leupold 6.5x20
Remington 700 in .243 Leupold 6.5x20
Custom Colt AR with Shilen barrel Leupold 6.5x20
Remington model 7 in .17 centerfire Leupold 3x9

Yes i like Remington 700's and so does my gunsmith.

I also took a 40X in .308 one year to play at long range.


Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

In Montana that is a good way to get ground squirrels, shoot one (or run over one) and wait for his brother to come out to eat him and you can start stacking them up.

bob

I'm with VIS35 on Model 722 Remingtons.

This one came to me with a Lyman All-American 8X which I replaced with a 1980’s vintage Leupold 3-9X. The date code places it as 1955 production. I don't know how many shots its fired but it still groups into 1" at 100 yds. using 4198 powder and a bullet in the 50 to 53 grain range. I've never shot a critters with it but to me it's a classic "Varmit Rifle".

Recently I bought a new .223 Marlin X7VH (discontinued by Remington). It shoots great right out of the box. Now the 722 Remington isn't getting shot as much.

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I have 3 Remington 700s that left the factory as Varmint rifles, but that is not the role they serve now.

I have a late '90's vintage 24" barreled 700 in 308 that is my current 600 yard and 1000 yard long range rifle, equipped with both a Weaver T16 and Redfield Palma sight. It was restocked ages ago with a Boyd palm swell laminated varmint stock. I recently discovered that I can shoot this one prone with a sling despite arm injuries.

I have two recent manufacture 700 Varmints, that started life as an ADL Varmint rifles. They are rigged with a Boyd Thumbhole Varmint laminated stock, BDL furniture, Versa Pod bipod, and Weaver T10 scope on the 223, and a T16 on the 308. These were built for F class matches. The 223 will shoot a 20 shot group inside a half dollar at 300 yards. Sadly, the 308 doesn't shoot as well, it is shooting about a 2 MOA group, which I attribute to an excessively long throat.

I will post pictures as I can. The blue thumbhole stock is the 223. The brown thumbhole stock is the 308 with the long throat. The blue/gray palm swell varmint is my 308 long range sling rifle.

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Judge control not gun control!

Nice old 722 Remington Just another of the great assets of the old "triple deuce"; I can shoot all day and not worry about the barrel, while my buddies that shoot 220 Swift, 204 Savage, 223, and 22-250 need to stop the action to cool off their barrells

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John

This is one of my shooting buddies where we were set up in S Dakota for P Dogs. I use two Rem 700 VS, in 22-250. One of which has been re-barreled with a stainless Douglas heavy barrel in a 1-9 twist. Leupold scopes with custom target elevation knobs made to work with my specific load. Take a good rangefinder reading and adjust the elevation, judge the wind, dead dog. My walking around gun is a Sako .222 L46 with a Redfield 4-12.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I can play in this thread! My Mossberg MVP Varmint.



Topped it off with a Nikon ProStaff 4-12 x 40. Dropped in a Timney Trigger. The rifle definitely prefers metal AR-15 magazines to polymer.

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-John

I shoot a Ruger 77V in 22-250 that I bought new in 1977. It is topped with a 6-18 Redfield of the same period. I also own a heavy barrel Belgium Browning safari grade built on a Sako action in 222 REM topped with a 4- 12 Redfield. The Browning is the sweetest gun I ever owned

Well, I don't get in a lot of varmint hunting but I do have an AR in .223 that's up to the task. Except it's not really wearing the right scope for the task......

I also have a nice Remington 700 ADL, black fiberglass or polymer stock, .223 caliber, Leupold 4 x 9 scope (no picture presently). If I was headed out to varmint hunt it would be my first choice.

Does back yard, bushy tail varmint hunting count? I have a RWS break open single shot pellet gun, big scope on it (I forget who made it; set at 4x I believe) and it is DEATH on squirrels.

Oh, the M1A in the picture is not a varmint rifle. It just happens to have been along that day whilst we were playing with our "black rifles".

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Great article on the Remington .222 in the August issue of American Rifleman

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John

Ruger 77/22
CZ 527 221 Fireball
CZ 527 223/5.56
Ruger American 22 LR
Remington 700 223

All tack drivers. Especially the 77/22 and both CZ's (set triggers).

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Response to this statement: "I have two recent manufacture 700 Varmints, that started life as an ADL Varmint rifles. They are rigged with a Boyd Thumbhole Varmint laminated stock, BDL furniture, Versa Pod bipod, and Weaver T10 scope on the 223, and a T16 on the 308. These were built for F class matches. The 223 will shoot a 20 shot group inside a half dollar at 300 yards. Sadly, the 308 doesn't shoot as well, it is shooting about a 2 MOA group, which I attribute to an excessively long throat." A retired gunsmith in Plano Tx would take off two or three three depending on the bullet and OAL you were using. This resulted in some really accurate 308s.

I have two rifles that I consider varminters. One is an old winchester model 70 heavy barrel in .243.The other is a ruger no. 1 heavy barrel in 220 swift. I dont hunt anymore but I still keep em wiped down. Both lots of fun to shoot.

Remington 700/RX100/22-250 Single round.
Scope : Leupold 6.5-20x50 30mm

After shooting 3006 & 270 most of my life
this thing is like a cap gun.
Even @ 4000 fps

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NRA Life VVA Life USN Seawolfs

The Winchester maybe old, but even after 1964
Model 70 were known as A Rifleman's Rifle.
I have a 1965 Winchester 70/270. It's one of those
rifle a person has complete confidence in.

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NRA Life VVA Life USN Seawolfs

I have just thinned my Varmit rifles down to 3. All mine were old
school, except a Ruger#3 in 223. I kept the 223, a Rem 722 in
222, and a custom built 243 on 98 action. In my area a Varmit
gun was a groundhog gun. Pic of 98 / 243, built on 98 my uncle
brought home from WW2. Weaver K10, been on gun since it was
built 1964, still holding 0.

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The comparative lack of heat is one of the things I like about the .22 Hornet for shorter range varmint hunting (under 250 yards). It also has a significantly reduced report compared to the .223 and that's handy here in NC where the neighbors are a lot closer than they were in SD.

I have a few that I use for Varmints although they are not specially made varmint rifles.

H&R 300 Ultra rifle in 243

Browning A-Bolt in 223

CZ 455 in 17 HMR

The best for last a CZ 550 American in 22-250

Mine are all heavy barreled Ruger 77s

a 223
a 6mm that started life as a 220 swift and I burned the throat out of.
a 25-06
all of the are running 6x18 Redfields.

Lots of dog towns around here in the winter coyotes are prime and pay for gas and ammo

Ive had many and used them in Missouri. A 1972 Win M 70 in 222.

2 Colt HBARs. still have one and use it.

A Husquvarna with a small Sako action in 22-250, a GI bought it in germany and brought it here to lose in a pawn shop.

A brand new Rem 700 Heavy BBL in 308, the absolute least accurate gun I've ever owned.

A Rem 700 in 25-06 and 2 Rugers in 25-06. Shoulda kept the first one it would shoot under 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

Had an early Ruger in 7 Mag for big varmints. I once shot a 3/4" group at 200 yards with it.

My first one was a Rem 788 in 22-250, should have kept it too. Shot coyotes and crows with it. And a pack of dogs that treed my little brother.

I tried a WBY in 240 WBY mag, was not impressed. Dont think I ever had a 1.5 or 2" group at 100 yards.

On one mule deer hunt I popped a bunch of little dogs with a custom 6.5 swede on a commercial mauser action. No follow up shots required on the dogs or deer it took.

My first high power rifle was a Win M 100, it took every thing I shot at, Fox, coyotes, ground hogs deer. Traded it in on the first pre 64 M 70 in 270 I had.

Of all the fancy ones I've had I wish I had the Rem 788 in 22-250 and the Win 70 in 222 back. I was young and had trade fever. What can I say...

Plus 1 on the Remington 788.

I still have mine in .243 Win.

They shot far better than they ever had a right to shoot for what they cost and I've always suspected that their accuracy and the resulting in roads into Remington 700 sales had lot to do with why Remington discontinued them.