Best gun for varmints

[DTchickens]

Rooster Cogburn Jr. :

Quote:
Just depends on what you can afford and what you plan to use it for. Rim fire .22's are not legal for deer. But a .223 or 22-250 would be legal. Also depends on how much you plan to hunt with it and how much it's going to be a varmit rifle. The .270 is great for deer hunting but a bit much overkill on varmits. The .25-06 is also good for deer and would do fine on large varmits but a bit much for small ones. There is no perfect rifle for everything from snakes and weasels up to 250lb Whitetails. So decide what you want first and get that rifle. Then add to your collection when you can. If it's coyotes and whitetail I'd get the .25-06.

Probably would be mostly a hunting rifle, i like to hunt but i really don't like to use someone elses stuff in case it messes up or something else.. I don't really have a problem with predators except for possums which then i just use the multi-pump BB gun i've used for years... But just in case i needed something bigger i'd like to have it.. Aside from hunting

.​

 

[Rooster Cogburn Jr.]

Quote:
If it's going to be deer hunting. Are you going to be hunting over fields where you'll be making long range shots. Or open woods or thick, brushy, vine filled woods, or 500 yard shots down a powerline. Then choose the appropriate caliber from there. A 30-30 is good in woods but terrible for long distance shots.

 

[DTchickens]

Rooster Cogburn Jr. :

Quote:
If it's going to be deer hunting. Are you going to be hunting over fields where you'll be making long range shots. Or open woods or thick, brushy, vine filled woods, or 500 yard shots down a powerline. Then choose the appropriate caliber from there. A 30-30 is good in woods but terrible for long distance shots.

Deer hunting indeed. As for where i'd be.. In a field most likely, my grandfathers both own a lot of land and have fields etc set up just for deer hunting.. So i'd probably be going around in there unless i happened to get invited somewhere else (Unlikely).. I'll check into it more and may go talk to some of the people that are pretty into guns in my area. Thanks!

-Daniel​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We deer hunt in the fields behind our house- it's about 100 feet from our back door to the deer stand. lol The fields are set up in natural range markers, there is a drainage ditch right at 100 yards out, then the field behind that is 200 yards deep. My wife uses a .243 and she can hunt the front field and about 1/2 the 2nd easy. I use a .308 and can cover the whole thing. Knowing the range makes shooting easy. The only thing to chance is the wind and practice helps there.

For you DT, talk to the local hunters and see what they use. you don't need a "super wabam" magnum to put meat on the table. The rounds are ALOT more expensive plus some are flat out not fun to shoot. You want to be able to practice often and get good - you owe that to animal you are hunting.

Steve in NC

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

but a person on here mentioned .22's being illegal for deer hunting.. So any suggestions?

Actually it will vary by states. Some states DO allow the killing of deer with rimfires, and other 22 cals.

That being said they are NOT the best choice.
Reality is deer are NOT hard animals to kill, so basically anything from a 243 and up will do the job.

For ranges beyond 250 yds, you'd be better off with a heavier bullet, but in the REAL world, most deer are shot at LESS than 100 yds.

A GOOD SHOT with a smaller caliber will consistantly take more deer than the poor shot with the big magnums.

Someone will probably come along and say a 30-30 is all anyone needs, and if you NEVER hunt anywhere that you may want to shoot past 150 yds, that may be true, but they are NOT a good choice for longer distances.​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Would that be Guns Unlimted in Ayden?

Thats the one!​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Rooster Cogburn Jr. wrote:
Also. Sighting in. The best targets are the kind with crosses on them.

Another great suggestion. Thanks! I'm hopping off to Google Images right now!

Google " free printable targets" and youll find LOTS of nice targets.

I like ones with 1/2 inch grid lines for zeroing scopes, and I like most of these:

http://www.varmintal.com/atarg.htm

To me. it's actually easier to see where youre aiming with the squares than it is if your target has a cross​

 

[archerobx]

awesome. never thought of googling free targets.
Thanks, alot better then what remington has

 

[4estgump]

If you can shoot. Buy a Marlin Glenfield Semi-Auto 22 with a 4 power scope.
It will kill animals up to a deer. At 200 yards i can drive 10 penny nails into a post. The right placed shoot will kill any of your problems. Go 101st Airborne.
Good Luck 4est

 

[Davaroo]

Rooster Cogburn Jr. :

Quote:
Just depends on what you can afford and what you plan to use it for. Rim fire .22's are not legal for deer. But a .223 or 22-250 would be legal. Also depends on how much you plan to hunt with it and how much it's going to be a varmit rifle. The .270 is great for deer hunting but a bit much overkill on varmits. The .25-06 is also good for deer and would do fine on large varmits but a bit much for small ones. There is no perfect rifle for everything from snakes and weasels up to 250lb Whitetails. So decide what you want first and get that rifle. Then add to your collection when you can. If it's coyotes and whitetail I'd get the .25-06.

Another option is the .243 WIN. A tad light for the really big deer, but sufficient for most in the east. It's a good choice for most predators, too, if a little too much lightning for the small ones, like 'possum and skunks. On coyotes, its the ticket.
I'm also a big fan of the .25 calibers and would love to see the .250 Savage come back. But the .243 WIN does all it can and is far more popular. When you cant find .25-06 ammo or some of the less popular mid-bore ammo, you can probably find .243 fodder.​