Prairie dog rifle

[hardluck]

I am thinking about getting a Specilized Dynamics 22-250 or a 22 Nosler for a prairie dog hunt. I have never been before so these will be semi auto guns. What semi auto would you recommend?

 

[vonb]

.223 rules in the pdog fields.

 

[Spoonbill]

Ammo cost will be a factor as well. A 223 will be a lot cheaper to shoot and you can find ammo

 

[B23]

Curious, why do you want a semi auto for PD shooting?

 

[Wingshooter]

I would use a few rifles take .223 a .22LR maybe a 22/250 for longer shots to brag about.

 

[shtrbc]

As stated above, if you are "in them" you will need something economical and LOTS of ammo. For a educated dog town, you won't.....That being said we normally rotate 2 rifles (.223 for 300ish or less, something bigger for long shots) and have a 3rd as a spare. Never leave home with less than 400 rounds for every rifle. In 30 years of pd shooting, a couple times a year, I have come home with zero ammo about 6 times in my life. The least amount of shooting has been 100-150 per rifle in 2 or 3 days of shooting. We experimented with the .17 rimfires a bit when they came out and honestly, unless its perfectly calm, they just arent very effective. Fun to shoot, own a couple still, but just not for open, windy country. My something bigger reference would be .220 Swift, .22-250. .257 Roy, 6.5 something or other. Another thing to consider, if you have a big game rifle that you either need to practice with or burn up some "old" ammo, its a great way to do so. My current setup woul be alternating between a couple .223 heavy barrels and a 6.5-.284. Most fun you can legally have with a rifle....

 

[Finaddictions]

Half the fun of shooting prairie dogs is seeing the impacts in the scope. With anything larger than a 223 that starts to get pretty hard to do, and the 223 can still be tough sometimes to see the impacts if it’s not a pretty heavy rifle. I like 204’s the best because it’s low enough recoil that you see your impacts but fast enough that it does a spectacular job.

 

[Ripnbst]

.223REM or 260REM for the longer pokes. Run the .223 out of any AR platform that is known for Accuracy, same for the 260REM. DPMS LR308 for the 260 and anything you enjoy on the 223, theres so many accurate AR15 rifles nowdays my recommendation would be Larue Tactical.

 

[rayporter]

i would recommend a fast twist barrel on whatever you get so you can shoot heavy bullets.
a 22-250 with 70 to 75 gr bullets will reach way out.

if you opt for a plain 223 and get stuck on a field that has been shot you wont get good shooting. shots will quickly be 300yd and out.

my favorite rifles are 6mm remingtons with 8 twist barrels. they can shoot 55 ballistic tips very fast and a 108 at3100fps.
with a brake i can see my hits.

a 6BR will do great with a lot less powder.

a 6,5x284 will always be available for each of us in our group, too.

 

[pacoalcracker]

For whenever I get out to do a PD shoot, I have a single shot 1885 in .223 with the 28" octagon barrel and a 26" fish gill braked, long throated heavy barrelled 6.5x284 by Bartlein on a blueprinted 700 action and heavy HS Precision stock. Perfect rifles for the task at hand.....100 yards to 1000.

 

[hardluck]

I would like a semi auto for quick shots. I have a bolt CZ 527 222.

 

[Lawnboi]

Grab a suppressor while you’re at it. Spooks way less of them.

I wouldn’t buy anything you can’t realistically get 400 rounds of ammo for or components needed to make that for a weekend.

 

[Spoonbill]

I would like a semi auto for quick shots. I have a bolt CZ 527 222.

A 6mm arc may work for you. Built to be used in an ar-15 and is capable of longer shots than your 222.

 

[Stugotz]

I built 3 - AR15's (all are .223 Cal). I ended up building all 3 with 26" WOA heavy Varmint barrels and couldn't be happier with them. One year a friend was able to borrow a bolt gun chambered in .204 Ruger. That rifle/Cal. combo was one FLAT shooter! I was so impressed with the way that caliber shot I ended up building a 4th AR15 in .204 Ruger (26" WOA H. Varmint barrel here as well). I couldn't be happier with it. Only issue I have had with it is it copper fowls pretty quickly. I will run a brass brush through it every 200-250 rounds or so because of this issue. Other that that, it's my favorite AR platform for P. Dogs!

 

[hunting1]

I built a MOD40 clone in 223 with a 26" barrel and 4-16 Toric. Works well.

 

[Viper*6]

22-250 and the 204 Ruger are king on the killing feild fields

 

[Ripnbst]

22-250 and the 204 Ruger are king on the killing feild fields

220 Swift is worthy of mention.

 

[tstith]

My prairie dog rifle is a Savage model 12 in 223 with a bull 26" 1:9 twist barrel. I had a custom stock made for it. About to upgrade the scope. I handload a 60 grain V-max H335 load for it. It works really well.

As its been mentioned, the 223 is a big go-to for prairie dogs. The biggest part of it is volume. When you're on top of a prairie dog town, you can be shooting a LOT, especially if you're suppressed.

 

[Stoneface86]

I had a Remington 700 classic in 250 savage. I used 100 gr bullets and because the bullet heads are .25 caliber they stabilize at long distances much better than .223 and the accuracy is outstanding

 

[Wyobohunter]

I’d start with something that’s cheap to shoot and add from there. Also not a bad idea to practice with your big game rifle.

I have several guns I use for p-dogs.

.22 LR for <100 yds. Mine is a CZ 452 American with a 2-7 scope. Very accurate and pretty cheap to shoot.

.17 HMR for reaching out a little farther so long as it’s not windy. Still fairly cheap.

5.56mm AR for out to 300 yds. One has a 1-5 scope and the other a 4-16 power. I only use these on commie p-dogs.

.243 for windy days

.338 RUM because why not. It’s more fun to practice on p-dogs than paper.