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

[chicken farmer meigs]

Have you tryed head shots? A .22 cal in the head will stop almost any small critter in its tracks. You could also try a flow up shot on the animal to try and stop it in it tracks.

 

[funonahonda]

Yes, Iwould use the 17HMR or the 22Mag, The 17HMR is a AWSOME little round with a lot of knock down power especially for a coon type animal. Good luck.

 

[ticks]

since we are on the show and tell a little bit, here is my first deer a few years back.
shot with a .243 dropped her in one shot. Me and my dad. Wow, I look nothing like I do now.

 

[bluey]

Nice pic!

 

[michaelvcrowder]

i have been away from the bbs for a while but had a little extra time and decided to see what was up. since killing is the topic and i consider myself good at killing i'll throw my 2 cents in.

for small game at close distances i like a 22 long rifle. use aquilla 62 grain subsonics. these big ol slow bullets pack a big whallop and are very quiet. if you are having trouble anchoring a varmint with a .22 then going to a .17 is not really a step up. yeah, it shoots a little faster and a little flatter but mass is important when it comes to making stuff fall over dead.

personally i like to match my rifle to my game. for possums, raccoons and groundhogs i like either a .22 hornet or a .223. a nice little turn bolt .223 can be found economically and ammunition is plentiful.

for varmints a little farther out i step up to a .22-250. once we step up to coyote and dog sized vermin at distance i like my 25-06.

from here i can go one step at a time near about to a cannon sized round. but for the original poster and their situation a .223 would be the best bet. if they want to split the difference and want to be able to deer hunt and shoot varmints with the same rifle then a .308 win is the best all around cartridge ever.

my personal favorite varmint rifle is below. a browning a-bolt in .22-250. i had the thing disassembled by a renown rifle smith who recut the chamber, sent the barrel to be black starred and cryo treated. the lugs were hand lapped the factory rubber bedding was removed and the action rebedded properly. the trigger was tuned and the entire thing was teflon coated and reassembled. then the scope mounts were hand lapped for the leupold 36 power scope which was blueprinted by a specialty optics shop. this rifle will put five rounds through one hole at 100 yards and can shoot a ragged one hole group at 200 yards on a calm day. it is certain death for any varmint that crosses its path.

for the closer in and smaller varmints around the house i use this ruger 10-22 target model with a leupold 6-24 power scope. of course it has seen all the tricks of a custom rifle smith and will turn any groundhog or raccoon off like a light out to about 75 yards with my pet 62 grain subsonic loads.

here is what i would recommend as an all round get it done rifle. this is a winchester model 70 featherweight in .308 win. this rifle used properly will kill anything that walks in the continental u.s.a.

if you want a rifle that will do it all including go to war then this is my favorite all round rifle/caliber combination. a springfield m1a in .308. you can kill varmints, deer, bear, or hoards of invading ruffians. this may be the best designed rifle to ever be built. it will shoot less than one inch groups at 100 meters with iron sights and factory ammo.

hope my recommendations help rather than add to the confusion. for the most part stick with .22 and .30 caliber. there is a reason there are so many choices in those two calibers....
michael

 

[Davaroo]

Hey, Mike? You're on my team...

 

[michaelvcrowder]

thats *michael* to you davaroo... ;-)

do you feel lucky?

my wife and all her folks are from your neck of the woods. couldn't resist the little poke. nice to meet ya.
michael

 

[dakotasnake]

i use a 12 gauge around here, its safer and very deadly up to 80 yards, coyotes, skunks an coons never knew what hit them, even at nite, 3inch mags in 2 shot are perfect for low or no lite shooting.

 

[willheveland]

In my opinon I would look for something cheap to shoot and something abundant in ammo.
I read through all the pages and some of the calibers mentioned are really $$$$when it comes to ammo.
I would look towards 12ga. or .223 for an all around gun. Will

 

[seminolewind]

I know this is small potatoes, but a few days ago, I popped a rat in the scrotum and killed it with my ruger 22 handgun with birdshot. Today, I found mrs.rat, she disappeared, but I filled the hole with water, and drowned 5 little 2 inch babies, and the chickens swallowed them whole. Boy did they fight over them.
This was my first time with bird shot, and it didn't make much noise. I think a reg. 22 bullet would be a bit louder, but out of all my guns, it is the least loud.
Now that I've shot one, I am really on a rampage.