# whats the best varmit caliber



## Mikedgates (Nov 22, 2008)

whats the best varmints caliber thinking of getting into varmints shooting

looking for some flat shooting caliber where over the counter amo is not to costly. thinking 22-250 but would like to here about others


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## rlzman68 (Jul 14, 2008)

223 ammo can be had and is cheaper


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## Ruthless (Nov 6, 2008)

I like the .204 Ruger, flat shooting and cheaper to shoot than 22-250 with similat balistics. The other nice thing about the .204 is almost no recoil, so you can watch your hits through the scope and are ready for the next shot.

As far as cheap shooting goes the .223 is a good all around caliber and has good balistics out to 250 yards. I own an AR-15 in .223, a Mini-Mauser in .223, and a Weatherby Vanguard Sub MOA in .204.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Fight Fight Fight

It truly depends on what you want to shoot and how you will shoot it.

The 22-250 gives good speed but you will be replacing the tube before a 223 with shooting the same.

The 223 you will get a good speed and great tube life.

I really like the 223 even though I also have a 22-250, 6mm Norma BR, and 22 hornet for shooting Pairie dogs. If you have to buy ammo 223 will be some of the easiest to come by.

If you re-load and will only be shooting a few hundred rds a year the 6mm BR is hard to beat. I like mine far more than my 22-250.

Crop circles are Chuck Norris' way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie down.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

> The 22-250 gives good speed but you will be replacing the tube before a 223 with shooting the same.


People, I know this comes from being able to push the 250 so much faster, but if you shoot the .223 and the 250 at the velocities will the tube still need to be replaced sooner on the 250 or will they be about equal?

I am shooting 36gr Barnes VG's out of my 250 at around 4100-4200 fps so I am expecting to burn out the barrel rapidly, but I am also getting the best accuracy at the higher speeds. I am trying to figure out if a little less accuracy is worth longer barrel life.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Heat is what kills tubes. If you shoot max load in both and they are shot in the same way the 22-250 will need a new tube first. There is allot more very hot gas that is rushing down that little opening in a 250 than a 223.

With that said no two tubes are the same it is possible for a 223 tube to wear out first but on average the 250 will go first.

Over cleaning will also kill a tube.

If you take care of your rifles (for me it is hard to do shooting PD) you will get many many years of faithful service from your 22-250. My Grandpa has always had a 22-250 as far back as I can remember and he keeps them cool and about every 4 to 5 years he gets a new rifle or barrel. Keep in mind he used to live about 15minutes from the dog towns where they just want to die. I do not know how many rds he gets but he is very careful about keeping the rifle cool. He always has a wet rag over the tube to keep it cool. When I ask how many rds he shoots he will never really give me an answer it will just be not as many as you do. I would think he was shooting 500 to 700 in his 250 each summer. My AR-15 I use for shooting PD has 6,000 to 7,000 down the tube and still shoots very well.

I also shoot a max charge of Varget pushing a 55gr V-Max bullet. I also get better accuracy with the max charge. I really try to keep the tube just warm not hot.

The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.


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## d_handley00 (Nov 23, 2008)

22-250 or 25-06 on windy days


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

22-250 should give very good accuracy to the 3-4000 round range, and maybe even further, depending on how hot you load it. If you try to push it to 220 swift velocities in the same bullet weights it will burn out much faster. Keeping it cool is the key.

223 ammo has seen a great jump in price due to the war.

Personally, I have a 222, actually 3 of them, and don't know how many rounds have been through them, but at least 4-500 a year at dogs on each of them. And I have a heavy barreled 22-250 that gets at least 4-500 rounds a year through it. I load 40 gr ballistic tips in the 222's at around 3450 fps depending on which rifle I am shooting, takes about 8-10 rounds to warm up the barrel to where I cool it.

Shoot 50's and 55's in the 22-250, except when I need brass I usually buy the winchester varmint packs on sale, 46 gr hollowpoints, usually about $22-25 per 40 when I need to build up some new brass.

All shoot as well as they always have, I clean about every 75 rounds when dog hunting, but use wipe out foaming bore cleaner unless I see severe copper fouling, then go to CR-10 or Sweets 7.62. That way with the foaming bore cleaner I believe it cuts down on cleaning wear.

222's show little to no wear at all, and 22-250 seems to have a bit of wear in the first inch of the throat, but no affect to accuracy yet.

When the 22-250 barrel does wear out, probably going to put a new tube on it in 22-250 AI.


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## CoyoteBlitz (Apr 11, 2007)

how long do you think a 22-250 barrel would last shooting a couple hundred rounds a year?


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

I've been shooting an awful long time and I've yet to "shoot out" a barrel on any caliber. I bet I put a lot more rounds down range than the most guys, too. Shooting a couple hundred rounds a year, a 250 barrel will last longer than the shooter will...

223 used to be cheaper and easy to get than other 22 centerfires, but as has been pointed out, the war on terrorist iceholes is putting a crimp in that.

In a 22 centerfire, I like the 250 best for varmints. I'm a big fan of the 243 for coyotes, and it's way better in our ND wind than any 22 centerfire...


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## Mikedgates (Nov 22, 2008)

if I new tube is needed what that cost a guy?


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

I guess so far I have been shooting quite a bit testing loads, but once I get set on a few great ones I will probably shoot a lot less. It seems all my 250 loads prefer max velocity. I am hoping I won't have to switch barrels too soon as I am just hitting a stride with the bullets I have chosen.

What is this about too much cleaning??? Explain please. I have had some people tell me I clean my rifles too much. I bore snake twice, then run Hoppes 9 until the patches are almost completely clean, then CR-10 until I get no more color on the patches, then finish with a few Hoppes again. Usually 75-100 patches total with the wet and dry. What is too much cleaning, and how does it shorten barrel life?


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Barrel wear from cleaning rods depends on the user, what you are using for brushes, if you use jags or slotted ends. Every pass through the barrel has the potential to cause wear, if the proper technique is not used.

Multi piece rods are junk, don't ever use them, they will flex at the joints and rub the barrel at those joints, damaging the rifling.

Personally, I prefer 1 piece coated rods, and bore sized jags. For quick on the run, I use bore snakes. I always wipe the solid rods clean in case any buildup is on them between each pass through the barrel.

Using the foaming bore cleaner, I reduce the number of patches required to clean, which in turn reduces the number of strokes needed to clean the rifle. I also use nylon brushes, because the only fouling I have gotten that couldn't absolutely be gotten out with the foaming bore cleaner was copper, and copper solvents eat bronze brushes, ever so slightly at a time, giving you a nice blue tint, even when the bore is clean. I prefer Wipe out as you can leave it in the gun overnight, and in my experience it will get 99% of the fouling out, if too many layers aren't present.

75 to 100 patches seems like a lot, especially once a rifle is cleaned properly, depending on how many rounds through the barrel. With CR 10 I can usually get it done with 15 to 20, leaving it set about 10 minutes between, I believe the bottle says no more than 15 minutes. I always use a bore guide and clean from the action. Also prefer bore mops for application of copper solvent.

As far as what a new tube costs, totally depends on how high dollar you go. Shaw is fairly reasonable ($150, plus installation) and a pretty decent barrel, there are many others, douglass, mcmillan, krieger, H-S, and others.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

You do have to work at wearing out a tube but it can and will happen over time. It took my Grandpa 40 years of shooting his 25-06 improved to wear the tube to the point it would only shoot 1 inch groups. Plenty good for deer but when it was shooting super nice one hole groups with a fixed 6X scope 1 inch may as well been a foot. He had a Douglas or Schling match something put on. This rifle was the rifle that he let everyone shoot if they needed a rifle. It has shot far more deer than I have ever seen. So who knows the actual round count.

I have been using Lilja and Kreiger for the last few rifles I have had built and barrels replaced. 
http://www.riflebarrels.com/products/ce ... arrels.htm
http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Calibers_ ... wp3390.htm

There are many very good manufactures you can get a good or bad tube from any company. There is no one (this is the best maker) of barrels the Bench Rest guys like company X and the Service Rifle / Long Range people like Y.

With all that said the only thing you need to worry about when shooting your rifle is trigger control, breath control and sight alignment sight picture. Then keep it cool. If you can not comfortably grab and hold the tube it is too hot.

Oh yeah enjoy shooting.

Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear.


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## CoyoteBlitz (Apr 11, 2007)

Who are some of the better brands of barrels?


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## laxratnd (Jan 23, 2008)

I would look into the .260 rem. Its basically a .308 but in .260. The ballistics are just about the best you are going to find and it is not a barrel burner. Dont get me wrong its not the easiest round to find but if you can reload you possibilities are endless with the many different bullets that are offered for this caliber. its quick and has the punch to take out anything you should see and recoil is very light also.

For the barrel i would go with krieger barrels. Another barrel that has been getting some very good praise is McGowen barrels.

how much do you want to spend on this package. And do you want to have it built from scratch or what?

lax


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## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

People said:


> I have a 6mm Norma BR


What type of bullet are you running through yours. I have a 6PPC and I know these two calibers are very similiar. Any tips you could give on it. Thanks


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## nesika308 (Oct 23, 2008)

22-250.........And why worry about the barrel, because the next will shoot rings around the factory barrell


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

The only calibers I've ever owned where shooting out the barrels might have been a problem were a couple of Remington Ultra Magnums, one 300 RUM and the other 7MM RUM. I spoke to a Remington Custom Shop gunsmith about that possibility with these grossly overbored calibers. He told me flat out that barrel life in any RUM caliber is only 1000-1500 rounds! He explained that barrel life was not a consideration with the RUMs, just performance, and that was the price for the unreal performance they have. I ran about 600 rounds through each before trading them in...

It will cost you roughly the same to replace a barrel as it would to buy a new production rifle, or more depending on the barrel you choose.

The exception is replacing the barrel on a Savage. It can actually be done at home if you have some basic skills. Midway used to sell, and may still do for all I know, a kit which included the barrell, barrel nut wrench, and a set of go/no go headspace gauges.

You want to price barrels and see how much it would cost, here's a good place to start.... http://www.montanarifleman.com.

Frankly, I wouldn't even worry about it. Just buy whatever caliber hits your switch and shoot....


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

I haven't found anything in a standard cartridge (edit caliber to cartridge) that will out do a .243 on performance for predators and varmints. That being said, I use a 22-250. I chose the 250 over a 243 because I thought there would be more hide damage on yotes with the 243. Now that I have it (22-250), I love it, but I doubt it would really make enough difference to notice.


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## CV-580 (Apr 29, 2008)

"iwantabuggy" said, "I haven't found anything in a standard cailber that will out do a .243 on performance for predators and varmints."

You must not be looking at all!

Talking CARTRIDGES and NOT CALIBERS (there really is a difference), there are many that easily outperform the .243W.

The 6mm Rem, all the AI CARTRIDGES although maybe not "standard cartridges" are ALL "standard calibers" that outperform the .243W.

Then there is my favorite, the .260 Rem.

Try one of these and you will throw rocks at that old .243.

C.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

> The 6mm Rem, all the AI CARTRIDGES although maybe not "standard cartridges" are ALL "standard calibers" that outperform the .243W.


I don't have any experience with this, but all my reloading books say the 6mm Rem is only marginally superior to the .243. Not enough to make any difference on game. I went with the 6mm just because every one else seems to have the .243.


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## deadyote (Nov 17, 2008)

243.win 65gr.vmax fast flat deadley. best varment cal.out there just ask me.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

CV-580 said:


> "iwantabuggy" said, "I haven't found anything in a standard cailber that will out do a .243 on performance for predators and varmints."
> 
> You must not be looking at all!
> 
> ...


Yeah, I meant cartridge. And I still stand by the statement with that change and excluding magnums. AI's are not "standard". Nor is the 6mm in that no one I know of still chambers it from the factory. I also believe that if you go back and calculate the numbers, comparing apples to apples (ie. light for caliber bullets to light for caliber bullets and heavy for caliber to heavy for caliber bullets) the 260 will not out perform the 243. But it is just an opinion, and you know what they say about those.

As for throwing rocks at the "old 243", I wish I had one to throw rocks at, but I don't. It is on my list, however. Also, just for the record, I own a 260, and I like the cartridge, but I believe it is commonly over rated. It also blows really big holes in yotes with light bullets.


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## duckslyr (Nov 27, 2008)

sure it is really expensive if you buy factory rounds but that is why i reload. i picked the 243 wssm because it will buck the wind 10 times better than the 250 or the 223. i have friends that shoot both and i have a lot higher hit ratio than them. we shoot rock chucks in the spring in the desert of idaho at 400-600 yards with 15-20 mph winds and you cant beat a 75 gr Vmax for that. for yote hunting i use a 58 gr Vmax it does do quite a bit of damage but i dont skin them anyways. i am sure if i used a FMJ it would probably put a pencil hole in em. :sniper:


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