Varmit rifle suggestions

[JohnW]

Just for the sake of conversation, do you have other guns, doc?  And how good are your eyes?

[doctorb]

JohnW-

I think those questions are very pertinent....

The only gun I own is a Colt revolver from the Civil War, used by my great, great, great grandfather.  I did some target shooting as a kid, but I consider myself a complete novice on the practice of handling and shooting firearms.  I do consider myself knowledgeable about the "physics" of guns, so the discussions about muzzle velocity, flat trajectory, energy of the projectile at various distances, size and weight of the ammunition, etc. Make sense to me.

With respect to my eyes....let's just say I'll be using a scope :D

[dgdrls]

Another Vote for the 17HMR or 22 Mag,

Rim fire will be less expensive and for "Woody the Chuck" you will do just fine.

Best DGD

[Magicman]

Another Vote for the 17HMR or 22 Mag,

Plus you can put a baby bottle nipple over the end of the barrel and suppress the noise.   ;D

[Chuck White]

I'd say a Bolt action Savage with the accu- trigger system in 17-Hornet. For optics I would suggest a 3x9x40, even the cheaper ones are still good.

The 17-Hornet is a new chambering and it is a spin-off from the 22-Hornet.

One of the nice things about the 17 is that compared to most, it is relatively quiet!

[pappy19]

Put me in the 22-250 group; I am a firm believer in more is better than less. Deadly accurate and very deadly to a g-hog, and, will kill a deer if needed.

[ely]

if quiet is your desire then i highly reccomend going thru the process of filing thru the NFA system and getting your suppessor legally. as stated it is getting to be a lenghtly process but still worth it imo. a simple .22 rifle with a quality can on it will be super quiet with sub sonic ammo.
a .22 pistol supressed with any 22 ammo is also quiet.
.223 with a supressor and sub sonics is way quieter than most could imagine.

i shoot the 300aac blackout round in my T/C encore and quite simply i have shot pellet guns that make more noise than that rifle. and thats pushing a 220 gr projectile, which i feel certain will stop a chuck.

word of advice, if you entertain the idea of sound supressors then purchase the host gun with a threaded barrel. cheaper than getting the machine work done later, silencers will work to some extent on .17hmr but not perfectly.

[Sprucegum]

  I have been trying to hold back  but - you got to get a 50 cal. like Norm's. Guaranteed no grounhogs in his silo  :D

[Raider Bill]

Here's my thinking.

.17 nice little round will kill them. Not very versatile. ammo available.

.22 will kill them, a great round to play/plink with, lots of platforms to choose from like bolt action, semi auto, lever, ammo's almost cheap and "generally" easy to find although not lately :(  A savage bolt with accu trigger would be super accurate or Ruger 10-22 versatile, available and fun. Limits you to small stuff and short distance.

22 mag will kill them, ammo's available but pricey, a bit more range and power, nice shooter but not a popular round just never caught on

22-250 Great round, way more punch, very accurate, ammo's available, platforms are limited.

.223 everything a 22-250 is plus, many platforms to choose from, extremely popular , ammo's in short supply right now  but will come back. I'm sure we can hook you up doc. ;) actually you being a intercity trauma doctor .223 is popular on the street just put out the word in the hood but make sure you specify unfired :D

Speaking about air rifles, I've got a Ruger Air Magnum .22. 1440 FPS It's a lot of air rifle even has kick enough to scope cut and blacken a buddies eye :D  but I doubt it will kill a wood chuck at 100-120 yards just doesn't have the lasting power.

[Texas Ranger]

DocB, go to a gun range that will let you fire some rifles, find one you are comfortable with, and go with it.  Suppression is a good idea if you have sensitive neighbors, but will increase the bill by several hundred.  If your neighbors are sporting, work on some of theirs for their support.  If you have horses, as you know, ghogs can break a leg for a horse.

Personally, I would not go with a rimfire, .22 Hornet, .223, .204, all will do the trick.  Bolt action for the accuracy, or a TCenter.

[doctorb]

T Ranger-

Check out the Benjamin Marauder Air rifle videos on youtube.  Talk about quiet.  I have looked up their muzzle velocity (1000-1100fps) and must question the range on this rifle.  But these videos look pretty neat.  I think that the rifle and scope would be pretty pricey, and the amo might not be readily available with such a specialized tool.  It does, however, change a bit of your thinking about air rifles.  I do not think I am going in that direction at this time, but you never know.

[giant splinter]

DoctorB
I am not sure if you have an indoor range near you, if so they often rent firearms for use on the indoor range and many times have many rental models for sale. I think I must agree with the many posts that are leaning on the .22 cal. and .22 mag. if you need the extra punch.
My favorite handgun to plink with is a Rugar .22 LR target pistol, semi-automatic it is very accurate and inexpensive to shoot, I also have a Remington pump action .22 LR with standard sights and this also is very accurate and easy to use. last time I bought ammo for these it was about $24.00 to $29.00 for 500 rounds. Be careful not to ventilate your barn in this effort to de-varmit the area. ;D

[240b]

My good friend who is a farmer says the .270 works great because there is not much to pick up after,"kinda starts the breaking down process. Plus, I only going to keep one gun in the truck."

[Corley5]

.204 Ruger 

[ancjr]

My good friend who is a farmer says the .270 works great because there is not much to pick up after,"kinda starts the breaking down process. Plus, I only going to keep one gun in the truck."

Well, yeah.  .50 BMG would vaporize them too, but I wouldn't want to fill the craters!   :D

[Larry]

Wind will blow a 22lr bullet a long ways at 100-125 yards.  Makes hits tough, killing hits even tougher.  When we had 22lr Sunday afternoon egg shoots we learned all about tack driving rifles.  A myth only exceeded by 10 pound bass.

A 223 has all the requirements for a short range ground hog rifle.  Plenty of quality choices in guns.  Great choice of ammo suited to the game if we ever get through the current ammo shortage.  My choice based on the criteria, would be a Savage bolt action with as much money spent on optics as your comfortable with.  Something in the 10 power plus or minus range.  Variable power not required.

[Banjo picker]

Larry is right on... I have been bustin caps since is I was waaay too young to be doing so... I have hit a ground hog with a 7mm Mag Rem.  and still not stop it cold ...it was a very long shot... but I stand by the .223... flat shooting, deadly..accurate.... can get just about any bullet weight or set up...I hand loaded my own... One of the very few guns I reget that I sold....  Banjo

[GAB]

doctorb:
I have used a 22, a 22 mag, 30-30, 30-06. 20 Ga. & 12 Ga whatever is handiest at the time of the siting.  When a woodchuck receives and opens a 30-30 or 30-06 or 12 Ga with buckshot high speed telegram they do not usually move anymore.
Have you considered buying or borrowing a hose like the garages use and use a vehicle to deliver a dose of CO.  Make sure you shovel dirt around the hose.  Give the vehicle a few revs for a little while, then move on to the next one.  This eliminates having to pick up the remnants, or possibly hitting the barn.  Check the holes in a few days and redo the ones needing a second or longer dose of CO.  Not as much fun but safer.  Gerald

[D L Bahler]

Some folks around here used to do that with anhydrous ammonia
kills em stone dead

[doctorb]

Gerald-

Yes, I tried that last year and was partially successful.  Unfortunately, with the configuration of my barn and outbuildings, the ground hgs have openings under the structures that can not be easily reached and blocked off.  They have a self-made easy exit from the gas, which I can not contain.  Thus, I think I need to "deter" them when they are out of the holes, much as I'd like to kill them inside their dens.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[Bibbyman]

We shot a lot of ground hogs back in my teenage years.  A farmer nearby had fields full of them.  They were tough critters.  I shot a number of them with a 308 Winchester with 110 grain bullets.  Some had their inerds ripped out but still made it back to their hole.

I'd recommend something of the 223 class with light bullet made to explode on impact.   One for the range and power but also the bullets tend to explode when they hit anything thus are not likely to ricochet where 22 LR or Magnum have a chance.   

[limbrat]

cz 527 is a very good rifle. i like the lux with the hogs back stock and palm swells but i shoot it with open sights. if you are going strictly with a scope the american style stock and no tangent sights may serve better. they make several varment versions all with the same mouser action. cz use to be cz brono.

[Chuck White]

.204 Ruger 

I like this one too, I have a heavy-barrelled TC Encore rifle chambered in the 204 Ruger and I will guarantee that at 100 yards I can shoot 3/8 inch groups.

Reloading helps to cut down the cost a lot!

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I have always used a 22.lr with a Bushnell 3x9.sc8.pe a buddy gave me. A fun gun to shoot.

I have just acquired a Remington 700 in 22-250 that i can't wait to shoot.
I was told its a true varment round.

[Magicman]

There is actually no ill consequences shooting a .50 unless you have a silo as a backstop.   :D