what gun to buy for "varmints"

[Highbeam]

Every rural homeowner needs a 22. I bought a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic from a pawn shop with my first paycheck when I turned 16 and have used it non-stop for the last 16 years going through thousands and thousands of rounds. The 22 rifle is only slightly more difficult to use than a red ryder BB gun and certainly less safe but on a relative scale, the 22 long rifle round is wimpy compared to a deer rifle. You don't need hearing protection and the recoil is barely noticeable. Excellent for plinking and small game. Remember, shooting is fun.

Compare the cost of 22 LR ammo at 3 cents per shot to the others at dollars per shot. You want to shoot the gun frequently to become proficient and familiar with it. You don't need to start out with a single shot 22 for safety. I have never heard of a dangerous gun, just a dangerous shooter.

 

[dodge man]

I have killed about 12 ground hogs in the last few years plus many other varmits, and my experience is that a shotgun or a 22 rimfire is not the correct choice. Unless you have a way to sneak up on them, you will never get a shot off. They have great eye sight. If you can get up close enough, a shot gun would be great, 00 buck works great. But my opinion is that you have to be within 25 yards for a shot gun. If you are a great shot, a 22 rimfire would work, but not well. I'd say 50 yards is tops with a 22 rimfire. Of the 12 I have shot, a 223 didn't always kill them with the first shot, it just depends on where you hit them. The way I have killed most of mine is staying in my garage, in the shadows, and they don't spot me, but you might not have that option. Its really loud, but hiding in your house and shooting out a open window works great.

I would recomend a 223 IF you have enough confidence not to shoot the neighbors or the noise won't bother them, which it sounds like that won't be a problem. I have seen Savage offer a 223 bolt action, with sling and scope pretty cheap. Maybe as little as $300-$400. The gun I always grab is my scoped Ruger Mini 14, which is a semi-auto 223. If I were buying new for the sole purpose of killing ground hogs I would go with a bolt action though.

I'm sure there are some that say they can drop a 16 point 300 pound deer at 400 yards with a 22 rimfire, but trust me, its very border line for having enough power on ground hogs. The shotgun is great, but much past 25-35 yards, it just scatters to much.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have killed about 12 ground hogs in the last few years plus many other varmits, and my experience is that a shotgun or a 22 rimfire is not the correct choice. Unless you have a way to sneak up on them, you will never get a shot off. They have great eye sight. If you can get up close enough, a shot gun would be great, 00 buck works great. But my opinion is that you have to be within 25 yards for a shot gun. If you are a great shot, a 22 rimfire would work, but not well. I'd say 50 yards is tops with a 22 rimfire. Of the 12 I have shot, a 223 didn't always kill them with the first shot, it just depends on where you hit them. The way I have killed most of mine is staying in my garage, in the shadows, and they don't spot me, but you might not have that option. Its really loud, but hiding in your house and shooting out a open window works great.

I would recomend a 223 IF you have enough confidence not to shoot the neighbors or the noise won't bother them, which it sounds like that won't be a problem. I have seen Savage offer a 223 bolt action, with sling and scope pretty cheap. Maybe as little as $300-$400. The gun I always grab is my scoped Ruger Mini 14, which is a semi-auto 223. If I were buying new for the sole purpose of killing ground hogs I would go with a bolt action though.

I'm sure there are some that say they can drop a 16 point 300 pound deer at 400 yards with a 22 rimfire, but trust me, its very border line for having enough power on ground hogs. The shotgun is great, but much past 25-35 yards, it just scatters to much.

With enough practice and a good .22 rifle/cartridge pairing you can shoot chucks out to 130 yards on calm days. Any further then you are just hoping as they drop a lot after 100 yards. There is a reason I use my .17 for chucks now as I can easily take them and just about any small critter out at 100 yards without having to even try. It is very accurate out to 150 yards but I haven't had a chance to shoot any further with it to see how it handles. I dispise shotguns around the house as they are way too loud and bulky.

I love the V-max rounds from Hornady in .17 (the red tipped ones). They are very reliable and deadly for small critters.

 

[dodge man]

Let clarify one thing here, we are talking about ground hogs, not ground squirels or prairie dogs right? Ground hogs get pretty big, the size of a small dog, and are pretty tough skinned. I once shot one at 15 yards with a 12 gauge with a 3 inch 00 buck shell and it didn't die right away. I'm not saying you can't kill one with a 22 rimfire, it just seems pretty borderline. I'd like to see someone shoot a pop can size target and hit it 7 out of 10 times at 100 yards with a 22 rifle offhand. I've shot 1000's of rounds of 22 and I know I can't hit a pop can at 100 yards on a regular basis. I know off a bench it can be done, but taking shots at a animal is different, you don't always get a rest. A 22 rimfire still might be a good choice, just because of nearby houses though. Even if it is a varmit, I always believe in a humane kill.

 

[LD1]

Of the 12 I have shot, a 223 didn't always kill them with the first shot, it just depends on where you hit them.

I have never had that happen and I have shot over 100 ground hogs with a .223, some as far as 400 yds.

If you are shooting a MINI 14 then I'd assume that none of your 12 kills were more than 150-200yds as they aren't know to be the most accurate gun in the world.

If you are using varmite ammo (ballistic tips, or highly expanding Hollow points) it doesn't matter where you hit them, even as far as 400yds, a hit anywhere is a dead pig.

If you are using military surplus ammo with solid jackets then I could understand the not killing right away and would highly reccomend changing to varmit ammo

 

[dodge man]

Your right a Mini 14 isn't very accurate. I have had it happen twice where I hit the ground hog and it didn't drop it with the first shot. What happened was it was a through and through shot, it didn't hit bone. If I hit bone, its very explosive and drops them right away. I am using lead tip reloads that I have made myself. Most of these shots were at less than 100 yards.

 

[polo1665]

Let clarify one thing here, we are talking about ground hogs, not ground squirels or prairie dogs right? Ground hogs get pretty big, the size of a small dog, and are pretty tough skinned. I once shot one at 15 yards with a 12 gauge with a 3 inch 00 buck shell and it didn't die right away. I'm not saying you can't kill one with a 22 rimfire, it just seems pretty borderline. I'd like to see someone shoot a pop can size target and hit it 7 out of 10 times at 100 yards with a 22 rifle offhand. I've shot 1000's of rounds of 22 and I know I can't hit a pop can at 100 yards on a regular basis. I know off a bench it can be done, but taking shots at a animal is different, you don't always get a rest. A 22 rimfire still might be a good choice, just because of nearby houses though. Even if it is a varmit, I always believe in a humane kill.

I killed 28 pigs last year, half of them with a 20 gauge and the other half with an open sighted .22 rimfire (only stopped using the 20 gauge because they wouldn't let me get close enough anymore). I have killed 9 so far this year with the rimfire. 80 yard shot was the furthest. Set up a blind that you can walk into as you approach the area, they run if they catch a glimpse of me now. I'm not so concerned with the humane kill. I think its just fine when they crawl off to their holes and bury themselves.

Mark

 

[Sigarms]

I'm not so concerned with the humane kill. I think its just fine when they crawl off to their holes and bury themselves.

Mark

Sorry, unless you're fending for you life, that's a darn sad attitude when it comes to killing.

EDIT: For the original question per this topic, a .308 is good for most anything when it comes to putting something down.

 

[LD1]

Your right a Mini 14 isn't very accurate. I have had it happen twice where I hit the ground hog and it didn't drop it with the first shot. What happened was it was a through and through shot, it didn't hit bone. If I hit bone, its very explosive and drops them right away. I am using lead tip reloads that I have made myself. Most of these shots were at less than 100 yards.

I'm not calling you a liar, I have just never had that happen in over 100 hogs and some at 300-400 yds. I have even hit them in the rump and they dont move. They do flop around a bit due to muscle spazams(sp), but here we call that waiving the flag, as typically their tail is in the air waving, and you know it's dead.

Since you take the time to reload, have you tried the ballistic tips, or the varmit HP's. I am extremely pleased with the performance of the BT's.

 

[LBrown59]

I have a Ruger 10/22