Which one... Varmit, Small Game...

[chad1043]

So I came over here from the Marlinowners Forum... I'm looking into getting a H&R Rifle... Leaning towards the H&R Ultra Varmit Hunter... I would like to use it for small game (squirrls and bunnys) to Coyotes. Just seeing what Caliber I should go with from all the experience in here... I think my choices are 22WMR, 223 Rem., or 243 Win.. If there is another choice or favorite out there let me know...

Peace,
Chad

[darat100]

don't forget the hornet!

my favorite of them all.

definately better on the coyote than the 22 mag, but won't completely destroy the little guys

and my hornet is my most accurate gun

[dw06]

I agree with darat100,although I did buy a 223 remington barrel off of him and it shoots great.The hornet with good hand loads with say a 40gr bt or v-max will do well out to 175-200yards,and a lb of powder will load between 550-700 rounds.Now if you plan on shooting much past 200yds,the 223 would be better or even longer shots a 22-250 is great.

[Swampman]

Only the hornet would leave anything to eat. 

[quickdtoo]

Welcome aboard! One thing to consider is the hornet isn't available in an Ultra if you had your sights set on one, the 22mag is on a rimfire frame, so choosing it would preclude any additional centerfire barrel, where a Hornet Handi or a .223 or .243 Ultra Varmint would be a fine choice for additional barrels. The only answer for a true Handiholic is ALL of em!!

Shooting the .223 with reduced loads for the edible game may be an option too, there's a thread on that topic a page or 2 back.

Tim

[dw06]

Only the hornet would leave anything to eat. 

oops,I was only thinking of the coyotes,hunting the squirrel and rabbits to eat I would go with 22mag,or the hornet with head shots.

[Uncle Ji]

I love my stainless 223 but the 204 Ruger intrigues me, may need to order a barrel.  I do feel rimmed cartridges and single shot are made for each other, the 225 Winchester would be fun if ammo still available.

[wcf3030]

Well I went with the .223 Ultra, but I also had a mountain of componets for that cal as well.

[joshco84]

gettin the 204 in about a month myself.  this would be my suggestion, just take head shots on the little guys

[Fazak]

My rather biased opinion is,... if you only own one Handi rifle it should be a .223.

The cartridge and rifle were made for each other.

[acloco]

This is almost a blonde/brunette/redhead sort of question.

17 Rem/17 Mach IV/19 Calhoun/20 Vartag/204 ruger/21 fireball/22 hornet/223 (add ackley improved to anything)......

[aulrich]

You know you sound like a candidate for one of those new rimfire shotgun centerfire combos.

[myarmor]

If you handload then I would go for the 223. Like many, I have been using BlueDot for my reduced loads and with good results. The noise level with the light loads isn't bad at all. I wouldn't want to shoot'em all day without ear protection, but for the occasional shot like with rabbits, and squirrels it's just fine. And at lower velocities I have seen that expansion, at least from the 50gr soft points I'm working with, shouldn't be too bad. Not to mention how easy they are to shoot with no recoil at all. I still have a lot of experimenting to do, and it's a ton of fun 
Im going to go out this week with one of my 223's to hunt some squirrels with these myself..
-Aaron

[Mac11700]

Why comprimise...get 2..it's  better than 1..

For small edible game animals..you don't want a high powered center fire rifle..a rim fire would be more appropriate...but it wouldn't be the best for coyote's...I suggest if you want a Handi..then get 2...a rim fire..and a center fire rifle..You will have a frame to accept all of the rimfire barrels on...and a frame that can accept all of the center fire barrels on...and you hunting needs will be covered...The rim fires are pretty inexpensive...and the center fires are too bad either..Go with a nice little Mach2 for the bunnies and tree rats....and pck up a nice Ultra Varmint bull barreled 243 for the yotes...

Mac

[jack19512]

Why comprimise...get 2..it's  better than 1..

For small edible game animals..you don't want a high powered center fire rifle..a rim fire would be more appropriate...but it wouldn't be the best for coyote's...  Go with a nice little Mach2 for the bunnies and tree rats....and pck up a nice Ultra Varmint bull barreled 243 for the yotes...

Mac

I have a 22 mag, 22 LR, 17 M2, and 17 HMR in rimfire and think the 17 M2 is just about a perfect squirrel gun.  Every squirrel I have shot so far with the 17 M2 have dropped instantly.   For me the .223 seems to be overkill for rabbits and squirrels.  Even when downloaded.

  A lot of people keep talking about head shots on squirrels but I get very few opportunities for any of those.  I don't know what is wrong with the squirrels in my area, they just don't want to stand still long enough for that kind of shot.