A Little Rifle Help, Please (Purchased Gun w/ PICS!!! Pg 12)

[spiderman]

how big was said rat

 

[Darin115]

17hmr. It is devistating to coon sized game. It will not run from it. It has a crack that is not too quiet. I have one and have dispatched many many small animals with it. I do not deer hunt with it but I wouldn't shoot a deer round at a coon unless nothing else is available.

.223 is a great caliber. Will splatter a coon. Been there and done that. Numerous deer are dispatched every year with a 223. I think it is a little small for deer but to each his own.

I have a 6mm Remington. It is similar to a .243. Excellent deer round for a experienced hunter. Good shot placement is important with the small 100 gr bullet.

30-06 is an excellent deer round. I have several of them. Overkill for a coon.

25-06, my personal favorite deer round for where I hunt. Long open shots. Quick clean kill. 100gr ballistic tip. Good varmit rifle as well. I prefer the 22-250 for varmits over this round.

.308, another excellent deer rifle. Overkill for a coon.

I suggest 17hmr for a coon. Excellent round for this application. Coon will die right there. No followup shot needed. Very accurate and affordable. I keep one behind the seat of my truck for small game dispatch or whatever needs killing.

Just my opinion.

Darin

 

[pkeeler]

What is the backdrop your shooting at? Are you on a farm with acres behind the racoon? Or are you in a more densely populated area? Are livestock housed behind where the varmint would be?

I ask because if you are thinking of these higher energy calibers, they will go much farther than a .22. A .17hmr can do damage out to 150-200 yds and a .30-06 probably out to a half mile.

If it is just coons, I would go with the .17 or .22wmr. Maybe one of the smaller centerfires with a larger than normal bullet.

 

[bluey]

My backstop is the best you can get, a hillside!

 

[spiderman]

perfect, whatever gun you feel comfortable with!

 

[Davaroo]

Im a big proponent of the quarter bore for anything between varmint and deer class.
This means things like:

.243 WIN/.244 REM
6mm REM (same as .244 REM, renamed)
.250 Savage
.25-06

Of these, the .243 is the more ubiquitous.

 

[bluey]

"Ubiquitosity" is definitely a desired trait for the gun I purchase.

The last thing I want to do is pay ridiculous prices for rounds or have them to be hard to find. I am definitely leaning towards the .243. Thanks Davaroo!

Boy, do I love making up words...

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
You, I like! Ubiquitosity, indeed!

I like the .250 Savage myself, but it is about defunct, sadly. It was the first cartridge to beat the 3,000 fps mark, but was supplanted by the .243 WIN, for good reasons. The .243 WIN started out as a necked down .308, so had some leeway the little Savage didn't. This can be said for the other calibers in that class, as well - equally as good, but they're timing was off and so just couldn't hold out against the better marketing of the .243 WIN.

I gather from your comments you will be shooting factory loads. If you had been shooting as long as I have, since early 60's, you would be appaled at the cost of factory ammo today. You definitely need to shop around.

And if you are going to do very much shooting, I suggest you get into handloading. That can be done for $100 using simple tools and buying used. It can cut costs in half and pay for itself. It also offers choices not found in factory loads, such as reduced loads and differing bullet weights.

I envy you, I dont have the places to shoot I once did. Good luck.

 

[nautical_bouy]

One other thing to consider is the area we live, you will have more selection with the 270 and 30-06, and as I said before I prefer the 270.
If your worried about ammo prices, I pay more for the kids 243 than for my 270 and there are more choices for ammo and reloading supplys.

Yes I agree you can start to reload for not a lot of money, it usually doesn't take long to get frustrated with the basics and buy more and better equiptment and unless you shoot alot it will take forever to save your initial investment, not to forget it is time consuming. Plus every rifle I own I can buy factory ammo that will shoot less than 1'' @ 100 yards.

You get a 250lb corn field buck 300 yards away or on the other hill top you will want the 270 over the 243.

This guy puts it pretty well,,
http://www.chuckhawks.com/270family.htm

It's hard to find a caliber in north america with as many die hard fans.

 

[pkeeler]

If ammo availability is an issue, a good rifle for protecting the hen house would be a lever or pump action in one of the handgun calibers. I believe several such guns in .357 mag are marketed. These have been used for years for shooting varmint like coons and coyotes. Plenty of ammo available too.

They aren't up to snuff for deer at anything farther than 75 yds. But then you won't find a caliber that is perfect for coons and deer. Anything you try will be overkill or underkill for one or the other. I'm a big believer in just simply buying two rifles rather than trying to stretch one rifle between two very different sized animals. You can get a perfectly good rifle for the price of 5 tanks of gas.