Varmint rifles

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.

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?

huntsman22 said:

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?

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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.

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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

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.

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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

Rem 722 in .222

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.

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.

Triple Deuce

tndrfttom said:

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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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

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.

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.

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".

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

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).

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