what gun to buy for "varmints"

[ToadHill]

You could use my Grandfathers method. Wait until the hog is feeding away from his hole, sneak around so you can get between his and his hole. Carry a big club and have at him when he heads home.

 

[coobie]

My choice would be a 410 ga. shotgun with 3 inch slugs or a 17cal. HMR or 22cal. rifle that shoots long rifle and short shells.I would also take a hunter safety course if you do not know a lot about guns.coobie.

 

[Donkey Shade Farm]

Hey Bill I agree with the .22 fans. Check out some revolvers. Their cheap, accurate, easy to clean and fun to shoot. If you get the right one you can use .22 shorts for close shots (and a pop no louder than a firecracker) or move up to a .22 magnum for larger or farther away targets. You can even switch to a "shotshell" for snakes.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Last year i bought my 12 year old son a rossi that came with two barrels, a sling & case at a local fishing & hunting store.... Its a privately owned store and i got it all for $150

Its a 410 & .22... On the .22 barrel it was already drilled for a scope.

With the .22 barrel on its only 32in. long.....I carry it on my ATV sometimes and i also carry a .22 magnum pistol

You can read more here.

Rossi's Matched Pair - A Combination For Success



I also keep (his) gun locked up in a fire safe and only let him shoot it when I'm around, or when i take him squirrel hunting

 

[QRTRHRS]

My Ruger 77 22/250 with the heavy barrel has not been used since I moved from my last place. Seems like the coyote's have cleaned out the groundhogs.

At the last farm, I would average about sixty hogs a year. A lot of my shots were at 600 and 850 feet. I think my longest was about 1250. As long as I did not blink, the rifle would do it's stuff.

I like the 55 grain Hornady Varmit Specials. I am not a munitions expert but I believe that they are hollow points that disapate their energy once they hit something. I always make sure that I have an angle that puts the round into the dirt should I miss along with a clear path beyond.

 

[CurlyDave]

I will take the .223 over a 22-250 any day.

The last time I bought ammo it was $6 for a box of 20. That is because it is a military caliber and there is economy of scale in making it. With the current ammo shortage I can't find any to buy so I don't know current prices.

For every 400 yard shot I get a chance at, there are 25 or 30 200 yard shots, and an equal number under 100 yards.

Same thing for a deer rifle. I use a .308 and my ammo is $14-15 for 20 rounds. A lot of the people I hunt with think you can't kill a deer with anything less than a .300 WSM at $40-45 per box. I don't think you can sight in the rifle with less than 20 rounds, maybe more. They solve that problem by not practicing and not sighting in.

I have yet to miss a deer for lack of power in the cartridge. I have missed because they stepped behind a tree, ran behind a tree, or ran into the next county.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I agree with the .22 crowd. The OP has never owned nor shot a gun and the .22 is infinitely safer than the centerfire cartridges mentioned. As far as being powerful or accurate enough, I have killed dozens of whitetail deer at 100 yards with a .22. This is when I was growing up on the dairy farm and it was legal for us to remove crop damaging varmints which IMHO is all a deer is, a long legged varmint.

If I may offer an even safer alternative, if allowed in your state. I would set a 110 conibear trap at the entrance to his burrough. Google "conibear trap." It is a body grip trap that will kill the critter instantly and won't go through your neighbor's house.

 

[LC '92]

Gotta go with 3gun on this one. A single shot .410 from Walmart and a cheap box of number 6's. It will kill your varmints out to about 40 yards and is easy to hit with. If momma is doing the shooting, she will be frustrated with her misses with the rifle. The .410 will fix the missing problem. Also the .410 shot would not do any damage to your neighbors if accidentally hit.

The same shotgun in 20 gauge would be a good choice too if more power is wanted.

 

[vsteel]

I have used my 22-250 for paper punching at 1000 yards. With only 400 yards to the next house you are going to be sending lead over to the neighbors. A centerfire 22 is way to powerful for the ranges you are looking at.

I think the important question that no one has asked, how close can you get to them before they get spooked. I would look at 22 rimfire or a break barrel pellet gun. Rimfire I would get a ruger 10-22, its more than accurate enough, though a bolt action is a little quieter. Pellet gun, I would get a RWS. Don't think of the pellet gun like your red rider BB gun, these are pretty serious, they get the pellet going out the barrel 1000 fps give or take.

I would still be careful of the 22 rimfire, it can still skip if you are not careful as already mentioned.

 

[WVBill]

Thanks very much for all your comments and suggestiona.

To answer some issues folks brought up:

I will definitely take a firearm safety class before I buy.

The neighbors will not be bothered by an occasional gun report for a couple of reasons. 1) one neighbor is a county Sheriff and periodically takes target practice with his service weapons on a range he built on his property (in fact, I intend to ask him his opinion too and if I could join him for target practice when I get whatever I get). 2) we all live less than a mile (across the field and through the woods) from Summit Point Raceway where BSR conducts anti-terrorist driver training, police driver training and other courses that employ simulated automatic and semi-automatic weapons firing.

I am VERY aware what might be in the background of my line of fire - fortunately Chuck and his holes are usually in the direction of the corn field and woods beyond.


The .22 seems to have the majority of "votes" but with those there was often mention of ranges in the hundreds of feet/yards. If Mr. Chuck is that far away, I'm happy to let him enjoy life eating daisies with Mrs. Chuck. We frequently see the ones I'm looking to dispatch grazing within a couple of hundred feet - often less.

Given that - and the probability that I'm not going to be the world's greatest marksman - wouldn't a 410 shotgun be a better choice?

Actually, the Rossi mentioned by johndeere4300 might be the perfect solution. It is definitely in the price range I'm looking to spend and would be versatile.

Thanks again for your wealth of information.

WVBill