Group discussion: What cartridges do you varmint hunt with?

[knight0334]

As titled,  what calibers do you varmint hunt with?

Also, your local varmint game critters?  PD's, wood/rock chucks, coyote, etc??

I use .22 Hornet, .225 Winchester, 45-70-all of which are NEW or H&R single shots..  I'll be trying out this new .223 sometime this spring before I rechamber it.

Do you guys like to make a "day" of an outing?  Got varmint hunt'n buddies that you tag team critters?  Any good stories you wanna share?

Any tactics you'd like to share?

[quickdtoo]

The varmint hunting around here is limited to california ground squirrels or gray diggers as they are called, a 17hmr is plenty for the limited range habitat they are encountered in, so that's what I've used so far. I'm planning on a trip to central Oregon this spring for a sage rat hunt, ranges for them can be farther so I''ll take the .204 Ruger Handi and .223 Ultra Varmint, maybe the .22-250 Fluted Ultra IF I can get a load worked up for it by then...the problem is, turkey season hits about the same time and I can't miss that turkey huntin!! :grin:

Tim

Oops, forgot about the 22 Hornet, it too!!!

[cpj]

I wish that we had some of the varmits that yall have.  Only thing that we have in MO is yodel dogs and a ground hog here and there. I use my 223 survivor,  although I havent seen a yodel dog this year since I started hunting them. I use an electronic call that I built, but I think that I am going to try a mouth call.  Here are some pics of the calls that I have made. Talk about redneck engineering on the first one. The second one I got an amp kit and soldered all the components on, assembled the whole thing. MUCH LIGHTER THAN THE FIRST MODEL!!!

Old model, made from 30 ca ammo can and a car stereo
[/img]




New model plastic bow accesory box, with small 7 watt amp and now uses cds instead of tapes







A pic of the guts of the new model
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If you have ever made a coyote caller out of speaker, an ammo can, and a car tape deck...........................









 :-D

[myarmor]

Here in the western part of VA in the mountains, we don't have too may coyotes and Foxes that show themselves.
These little guys are VERY willie.
 The main Varmints I go for is Groundhogs, Rabbits, Tree rats, Musk rats, Crows, ...and to me snakes, I hate these little buggers. They make a real ordeal out of some fly fishing. Copperheads aren't my friends :devil2:

    -223 Gotta love the classic straight shooter, and with some nice rip and shred bullets that do very very well in a Handi-The WWB 45grJHP

   -22Mag and old reliable for me. Always a working mans rifle.

   -22LR-Perhaps the best stories are with the guns you didn't need for the job. I shot a Groundhog out to 200 Yards with my Savage 22 bolt using Agulia Maximun bullets. These are great, being at just under 22MAg velocities, though they are dirty..they are HOT!!..........Also a Groundhog-In a tree :?  :eek: Yes in a tree, they can climb.  

   -17HMR These little fellas can be very explosive with the V-Maxs and can drill holes with the Hollow Points.

 These handle all my the Varmint needs up here.
-Aaron

[Hunternz]

Here in Otago New Zealand, Opossums, Rabbits, Hares, Magpies, Stoats and Feral Cats. Mostly my  silenced .22lr, 12ga and .22 Hornet. Mostly just me and the dog, sometimes with a mate especially when spotlighting on the back of a 4wd.
Regards Howard.

[dodd3]

howard did not no you had stoats in nz i used to have one as a pet when i was 6 back in the uk never  had a more loving pet just like a ferret sept smaller, he used to get me a lot of rabbits. the old possums are protected here.
bernie  

[Hunternz]

funny isn't it, protected in Aus and here the possum is regarded as the no 1 enemy in our bush and as TB spreaders, millions of $ (not that I agree how it is spent) are spent every year trying to keep a lid on their nos, stoats are not far behind, happily munching on the native birds. The stoats I have shot have all stunk something awful, otherwise I would have skinned and tanned the skins, their fur is beautiful.
Regards Howard.

[stimpylu32]

Well lets see now , 22LR , 22 mag , 223 , 357 mag , 41 mag , 30/30 , 270 , and 30/06 .

Everything from ground hogs to fox to yotes to crows and lets not forget the stray cats that love to eat baby bunnies . And if all goes right i plan to add p-dogs to the list this spring .

I mostly hunt by myself but will take the kids if they ask , my daughter loves to shoot g-hogs with me but hates it when i plug a cat .  :eek:

[raynor]

308 Ultra loaded with 110 grain Speer HP's.   Crows and woodchucks mainly, once in a while a coyote.

Most of the time just killing paper.

[ajshoots]

22LR, 22MAG, 17Mach2, 17HMR, 204Ruger, and .243Win.
 
I hunt g-hogs, crows, coyotes, and "feral cats".

[cattleskinner]

I've used 22LR, 22Mag(out of a pistol), .223, .308, and 20guage shotgun.  

Most of the time the pests are g-hogs, cats, crows, possums, raccoons, and pigeons.  Longest g-hog last year was 321 paces with the .223.  A buddy of mine and I sometimes hunt along the train tracks here because the little buggars cross the tracks going from fields on one side to the other.  They also like to burrow in the stacks of old rr ties.  Hopefully this year I'll be able to sneak up on a few with my .41 mag. Blackhawk pistol, and get more practice in for deer rather than just paper, rocks, and dirt clods.  I usually carry a Ruger MKII pistol along for the close pests that I don't want to waste a rifle cartridge on.

~~~Amos

[Cappy]

Use a .22lr for g-hogs and the .243 for coyotes. Thinking about picking up a .223 to us on both.

[MSP Ret]

For coyotes my Sportsters in .22 Mag for Maine and .17 HMR to be legal in Mass (for rifles, nothing larger than .22 LR), and for longer range Maine coyote hunting my Handirifle in .223 (both regular contour and bull barrel), these are my coyote guns. A Sportster with iron sights added and shooting Super Colibris with headshots for pest squirrels and the occasional ground shot at a crow around my wife's backyard bird feeders....<><....  :grin:

[tstevens41]

Here in the Texas Panhandle we are lucky to have lots of things to hunt.  I grew up just one mile from the rim of Palo Duro Canyon.  If you don't know that is the second largest canyon in the United States.  It has wild hogs, coyotes, Audad Sheep, Mulies, and lots of other varmits.  The hogs have really become a problem to farmers and they are more than happy to let people they know hunt them down.  They are a pest that are really becoming a problem.  We also have lots, and lots and lots of P.Dogs.  They are everywhere.  
We sometimes get several of us together and go sit in a town and shoot till we run out of ammo, but most of the time we just go out when we want and shoot for awhile and go home.  I went out Sunday afternoon for about 2 hours and shot a bunch of dogs, then went home happy.  It is very flat up here on the plains, so you can see for 50 or 60 miles very easily.  Dogs can also see you so as soon as you drive near a town they all head for cover so all you can do is wait and take the shots that they give you when you can.  We also have the constant wind.  On a still day you have wind from 15 to 20.   Yesterday it was gusting up to 40 mph.  I use a new NEF .223 that i have fallen in love with.  I am still trying to find good loads for that one, but i have found that any super explosive bullets and some good IMR powder are a deadly combination.  I also have a 22-250 that i use on some P.Dogs and a lot of coyotes.  We raised cattle so we always had coyotes to contend with.  I love to go over to the canyons and call dogs out to the top.  I have spent hours when i was younger doing that.  I use the 22-250 or a good Remington Pump .270 on the hogs. Some of those critters are getting up to over 300 pounds so i use the 270 when they get that size. I use a good 150 grain spire point with IMR 3031 for that load also.  I can't complain about the hunting here, we are in paradise.

[aulrich]

The varmints I hunt:
Predators (At this point Coyotes, but hopefully I'll add wolfs, couger, bobcat and fox)
Vermin PD's
Other Depending on the land owner badgers, crows , pocupines, jackrabits and magpies but they are targets of oppritunity.

Guns Used

Handi 204 ruger All of the above except wolf and couger
Marlin 917v 17hmr every thing fox and smaller
Various 22lr But a new toy for this year 10/22T small stuff

If modivated to load or try

Stevens 200 270
Knight American 50 cal

[Hildy]

22lr in a Rem

17HMR in a custom Marlin 917

223 in both Rem VLS and Handi

204 in CZ 527 Varmint

243 in Savage 110

25-06 in a Ultra with choate stock

Out of all of them...the CZ is looking like it might be the most accurate.  Groups around 1/4" at 100y aren't uncommon and it has more potential if I did some smithing to it I think.

The Savage 243 is another accurate one...200y 3 shot groups under a dime if I do my part. Speer 70 grain TNT

25 still holds the record for pure groundhog devastation though. Can you say 75 grains of exploding lead at 3800fps? nasty for sure :shock:

[FirstFreedom]

What's a stoat, I was going to ask, but then answered my own question:

http://www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factsheets/animal_facts/stoat.html


--.22 lr super colibris & .177 pellet for starlings, grackles, english sparrows, & city crows

--.17 HMR or .22 mag for country crows, p-dogs, pigeons,

--.22 mag for possums, racoons, and miscelleneous rodentia.

--.223 rem for same at distance, and for yotes, beaver, & bobcats up close.

--.243 win for same at loooong distance.

(and not varmint, but .22lr standard or .410 bore or 20 ga for hunting squirrels & rabbits to eat).

[statelinerut]

.243 Fusion 95 grain! Awsome round!
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/96896_ts.JPG?cell=200,200&cvt=jpeg

[Dean van Praotl]

I'm planning on a trip to central Oregon this spring for a sage rat hunt

Don't forget a plain ol' 22 RF for sage rats.  In a good field you can sit in one place and shoot sage rats all day within easy rimfire range.  It's easy to go through a whole brick in a day.  The high powered rat splatters are fun, but for sheer volume of carcasses you can't beat the old standby!

[quickdtoo]

I'd use a 17hmr or 17M2 before I'd use a 22LR. I bought 4 17hmrs in the spring of 2004, haven't shot a 22Lr since, they just don't appeal to me any more.

Tim

[RemingtonMagnum]

Varmit hunting with the Remington 375 Ultramag is a Dusting experiance.

Don Jackson Remington Magnum/Ultramag

[Ditchdigger]

I wanna see Warf bring his 460 Wby. to the P.D. shoot,and bust a few. It's really a awesome rd.    Digger

[DanielWGriggs]

Just for fun how about a .58cal muzzle loader for yotes, just after they ran off the deer you had been waiting on all afternoon. He dropped like a rock and the barbarian I hunt with skinned him and used the skin for a quiver. sewed up a hole about the size of a Kennedy 1/2 dollar.

[shaner]

well lets see , depending on the day  the area iam hunting? and my mood it could be
17HMR
22mag
22hornet
218 bee
223
243
357 mag
those would be my varminter's
also got a 30/30
45/70
all handis

[warf73]

I'll see what I can do :-D  I could bring 100 or so of the 300gr. HP's anything much bigger than that hurts to much to shoot off the bench :shock:

Digger I did shoot a crow last weekend with it  :-D  :-D only thing i found was the head and one leg the rest floated away in the breeze, it rained black for a few mins.

The 300grs. should be enough bullet to take out a Pdogs?

Warf