What caliber do you like for predator/ varmint hunting?

[mitchell]

Browning Bar 243 is best for coyote if you are looking for great kill ability and minimal pelt damage. I use a Remington 100 grain Core-Loct pointed soft point bullet and it drops them instantly on a 100 yard broadside shot. To top it off, no exit wound. Kinetic force of bullet all gets absorbed inside of animal. Dont dare use this setup for fox or cats.

 

[Rafter_K]

I'm loving my 25 creed I put together. Running 70gr. sierra blitzkings right around 3800. That quarter bore hits like a ton of bricks with minimal to no pelt damage.

 

[kmr1983]

.243 ai with 75vmax, or small caliber...17 rem or .204

 

[atrouth]

Currently running 6.5 creed with 95 vmax running at 3400 FPS. Building a 6 creed and plan to shoot 70gr Nosler Ballistic tips or the 80gr ELD-VT depending how it performs.

 

[BowHunter4life71]

Was running 223 gas, 243 bolt for a while. I then used 6.5 Grendel for a couple years, good performance, tough on fur. Recently the 204 has been my go to using Hornady 45gr sp. Factory doesn't load anymore so I hope to find some to reload, which i am just learning to do. Currently am focusing on 22ARC.

 

[atrouth]

Was running 223 gas, 243 bolt for a while. I then used 6.5 Grendel for a couple years, good performance, tough on fur. Recently the 204 has been my go to using Hornady 45gr sp. Factory doesn't load anymore so I hope to find some to reload, which i am just learning to do. Currently am focusing on 22ARC.

I have a 22ARC barrel being made for my next AR, something to play with to see how it performs.

 

[TaperPin]

I never expected to be in this awkward position, but I might have just ordered a 30 cal varmint barrel. It seemed like a good idea at the time - I wasn’t even day drinking. I have a few slow twist 6br barrels and one fast twist, but really I’d rather just grab the 22-250 for most beedy-eyed critters - heck a 22 br makes more sense than what this barrel is. Well, a slow twist 30 br fell out of the sky, before the left side of the brain talked it over with the right. I have no idea what I’ll do with it. There are 4 guns I’d rather shoot prairie dogs with and 20 that are ahead of it for big game. Lol

 

[6mm Remington]

Ruger 1B 6mm Remington 6x Leupold scope

 

[Mortar]

only choose .224 because state regulate sit at night. hopefully that goes away this year and 6mm it is.

 

[atrouth]

only choose .224 because state regulate sit at night. hopefully that goes away this year and 6mm it is.

What about 22 ARC or 22 Creedmoor?

 

[Mortar]

What about 22 ARC or 22 Creedmoor?

I would be very happy with either round. If I am going to buy a new gun I would still prefer a .243 or better. I can shoot a .243/6creed cheaper and find ammo locally.

Would love to have both though.

 

[atrouth]

I would be very happy with either round. If I am going to buy a new gun I would still prefer a .243 or better. I can shoot a .243/6creed cheaper and find ammo locally.

Would love to have both though.

Thats definitely fair, 6 creed seems to be catching on and ammo is starting to pop up more. Took a few years for the 6.5 to do so, but now its everywhere. On gas guns I would definitely go the ARC route, im building a 22ARC next for places that have the night caliber restrictions. My go to has always been my 6.5 but im venturing into the 6mm territory with the latest build, hopefully your state gets rid of those restrictions.

 

[farmermail]

.221 Fireball is my favorite. 40grn NosBT. Not a long range gun, but inside of 300yds, great on just about any varmint or predator.

 

[North River]

17HMR

I shoot fox for fur and small game for food. On fox 17gr tipped bullets almost never exit and are instant death within 150yards. Drop and drift are light years better than 22LR in open windy country. 17gr hollow points do ok but don’t shoot as well, 20gr hollow points are too tough and usually leave a big exit. FMJs are good to have a few of - good for birds, though anything ptarmigan sized and larger it’s OK to use expanding bullets with junction of neck/breast shots. Squirrels and hares, 22LR is better but 17 is ok with head shots. Larger rodents like beaver, 17hmr is perfect. Like a little mini 223. Anything bigger is tough on hides and meat. 223 with fmj is way too destructive on fox, rabbit, ptarmigan, etc…. 17 Hornet also tho to a lesser extent. At least within 100 yard where most of these small critters are shot. Squib loads for bigger rifles work well but are kind of a pain and rarely shoot as well as the HMR. I would like to try light loads for the 223, something in the 22 Hornet level but with sleeker bullets for wind resistance. Then a guy could use full power ammo for big game. One rifle for everything. My preference for medium game currently is 6.5 Grendel because I have a lot of ammo for it, but I suspect a 223 may be better general purpose due to the availability of different bullet types and weights. I have a 100gr fmj light load for the Grendel but have not used it on game yet.

 

[NM-F250]

For varmints and predators, it's a 22-250 for me.

 

[huntsman22]

first blood for the new 22 ARC.

 

[RJ@3FArmory]

Love my 22-250 have shot many varmints with it, have thought about doing 22-250 AI but the gun shoots to good to mess with even for a gun I bought on clearance for $300.

 

[Elkhntr08]

I’ve got a REM 700 Classic in 22-250 that just doesn’t seem to miss. Hard for me to change to anything else. If I did, I’d grab my 257 Weatherby.

 

[Rafter_K]

I'm loving my 25 creed I put together. Running 70gr. sierra blitzkings right around 3800. That quarter bore hits like a ton of bricks with minimal to no pelt damage.

figured I might update. I just spun up another 25 creed with an xcaliber carbon wrapped barrel. 20" 10 twist found a load that it seems to really like with the 70 blitzkings in less than 50 rounds on the barrel and its chrono on a 7 shot group is 3925.

 

[copperhead121]

Never have used a .17 cal, shot a 17 hmr a couple times, but never took it out very far. I could see how that would be a fun caliber for ground squirrels, prairie dogs and similar.

I had a 204 for 1 winter and never cared for the way it put dogs down, maybe at the time it was a problem shooting cold weather on shoulders that fast, but would get splashes, spinners and runners. That is a reason I like the .224, still crank the speed up for flat trajectory and still have a punch. Probably the most devastating combo I ran in .224 was a .22-250ai with a 1:9 and running the 75 amax at 3350. Made a couple shots 600 yards range and it would tip them right over and the ballistics where very capable to go further.

For those of you running the 6mm I am a fan too, just .224 comes 1st if ever asked. I have had 2- 243 ai and a 6-284, never could get the 6-284 to shoot great so thats when I built another 243 ai.
The 1st one I ran berger 95 grain vlds and this was the 1st gun that I really got into long range with. Longest dog was 750 and longest shots made accurately were 1250 to 1275, low recoil, cheap components and very capable whether steel, dogs or deer.

Obviously when a dog presents itself, everything changes to put that dog down. Here is a link to a video of a coyote I shot with a 338 norma while waiting for a deer to come out for my dad.

Love the discussion, sharing and talking about the small game hunting.

Very Nice