The best factory varmint rifle

19 October 2003, 03:58

Cal Sibley

I was extremely lucky. I'm one of those oddballs that doesn't like ugly women or guns! I ran into a young gunsmith from England some years ago. I showed him my butt ugly Savage 110 in .243Win. I guess he needed the practice, and for $50. he put a nice grip and forend tip on it for me, redid the checkering and finish. It's now a really nice looking rifle, and is typically Savage accurate. I certainly wish I hadn't lost track of him over the years. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

20 October 2003, 14:41

Ric N

Coopers are taking up my time now, along with a 19 Calhoon! I guess for a pure factory gun, my two old 700 VSS rifles in 223 would be my favorites. Both shoot tiny groups with the right loads but for varminting I raise the velocity some, still at .6 to .7 there good enough for whatI need them for.

RIC N

20 October 2003, 16:11

Gravel

My favorite varmint rifle, Savage model 110 in 22-250. Period, Piles up praire-dogs,Wood chucks, no problem.
Corbide

21 October 2003, 05:41

chuckduster

Mine was my Remington 700VS in .22-250. But Im getting a Cooper in either a .22ppc or 6ppc.

23 October 2003, 05:13

poletax

I'll have to jump in there with the other Savage lovers. I have two, one in .308 and the other in .220 Swift.The Swift is an old 1960's model that hasn't been shot out(or out shot) yet. The .308 is a Tactical sporting a sniper stock. It's too heavy for field carry so I whined about it and the better half let me buy a portable swiveling bench.What fun!I didn't even know they made factory ammo. I like my reloads.Over here in West Virginia we get some long shots at 'Whistlepigs'.(Groundhogs)What I can't reach with the Swift,I dust em with the .308.I believe that any brand is great, as long as you can hit what you are shooting at.

23 October 2003, 15:17

Hounddog

My Howa 1500 Lightning .223, 24"SS HB, 1:12 w/Sightron 4-16 42 Mildot. Consistently shoots 3/4 MOA @200 yds w/Hornady VMax. Working up some loads to test using Barnes Varmin-a-tor(40&50gr), Barnes VLC (40/50), VMax (40/50) using IMR3031 and Benchmark. Should be able to get 1/2MOA.

02 November 2003, 15:54

<MachV>

After 6000 rounds I guess my Ruger Vt in 223 gets the nod.The AR is fun,the 8twist 22-250 and 6.5WSM will shoot farther and the BMGs are both but when its time to go huntin the VT always gets the most use.It will not shoot the 40Vmaxes at all anymore and the 55s are slipping to so maybe itle get a new chamber this winter....thinking 223AI just to help keep the brass organized.
CJ

04 November 2003, 07:11

VarmintGuy

Ray-Marine: What happens to a golf ball when hit by a shot from your Rifle at 300 yards! Of all the "things" I have shot at I have never shot a golf ball! Do they pop or blow up or ricochet away? Aren't those expensive targets?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

04 November 2003, 08:30

eshell

quote:
Originally posted by VarmintGuy:
Ray-Marine: What happens to a golf ball when hit by a shot from your Rifle at 300 yards! Of all the "things" I have shot at I have never shot a golf ball! Do they pop or blow up or ricochet away?

Every one I shot got the guts (little rubber bands) pulled out the far side, an appropriate demise, but no explosion or excess reaction, dang. [Frown]

quote:
Aren't those expensive targets?

Yes, they are. Unbelieveably, some folks even take a chance on losing them prematurely by beating them about with little sticks. [Wink]

05 November 2003, 03:49

<Elias>

Tikka LSA-55 in cal 22-250,OK it is customized.Heawy tight barrel,custom made stok,pipods,scope is Leupold 6-20,scopemounts are Apels.If the circumstances are ok,I can shoot 5 holes into your forfinger nail on 150 meters range. I admit that I love too blast crows with this.Once I was forced to shoot a cat in only 5 yds range,there was almost nothing left of it,but it was a cat.

14 November 2003, 06:11

bull cook

Used Golf balls are cheap. Run a small screw into them and hang them from a piece of wire in front of a dirt bank at 300 yds and have at it. I do this almost every week with my 17 center, 223 wssm and 220. Great fun and they hold up amazingly well unless you hit the wire.

15 November 2003, 05:24

icelander

I have a BRNO CZ602 made in 1956 in cal 243 win. from wich I have fired thousands of rounds in the last 15 years and never get tired of shooting I get 1/2" groups at 100 meters with good handloads,it might get a long deserved rest now (only used on special occasions) since I just bought a Sako AII heavy barrel in cal. 22-250 it is a real pleasure to shoot, I am still trying out handloads to find the best one, but it looks promising. In Iceland where I live we dont have varmint shooting as you know it (no prairiedogs or such)but we shoot a lot of seagulls wich are a pest here and we have a lot of fox wich I love hunting and for this these rifles are verry good.

By the way winter still isnt here yet, temp. in the 50s.

A hunters greetings from Iceland.
G. Olafsson
e-mail g_olafs@hotmail.com

15 November 2003, 09:42

Hired Gun

Put me down for a good old seagull shoot next time I get to Iceland. We have many seagulls here in Oregon and can relate to the pest issue with them. The white bodies look like they would provide a lot of contrst for your crosshairs. I wouldn't know personally (choke....cough....laugh...uh hum)but it just seems like they would be a good target.

28 December 2012, 22:43

lofter

I like my Cooper not to heavy to carry. I also have hold your laughs please a Remmy Etronx in 22-250. sub 1/2 moa all day but it is heavy.

29 December 2012, 00:28

Thunder Head

Savage predator in .223, shoots .75" 3 shot groups right in a horizontal line. Right out of the box.
More importantly we have shot many yotes over the last couple of years.

06 January 2013, 11:29

cobrad

That's easy: Cooper... if you don't want to gamble that you will most likely NOT get a half-inch rifle that is. I've shot enough Remmys and Savages to know that, while we read about the good one's here, and there are good ones, the majority of them are just factory rifles that shoot factory groups. Most of the factory rifles I have shot averaged more around 1 to 1.5 MOA. I've had 5 Coopers and they all made the accuracy guaranty of 1/2 MOA, with handloads.

08 January 2013, 03:54

TEANCUM

I agree with many above:

Remington Varmint Special Stainless Fluted Ver I in 22-250 with a 6x24 glass. Perfection.

08 January 2013, 06:48

45-70 shooter

Cooper if you have the bucks, Savage if you don't.

08 January 2013, 20:21

bartsche

Am picking up my .223, CZ 527 Varmint this morning and will be shooting it tomorrow. Don't know what scope I'll put on it yet. Will let you know how it works out. Will be trying 52 grain hp flat base Berger's pushed by a generous load of 2230-C.

roger
better than MOA out of the box. Love the trigger

roger

10 January 2013, 08:16

cobrad

Take a look at the 52 gr. JLK low drag bullet as well. They advertise a .307 BC, but my testing is suggesting more like .244 but... they shoot very well in my 14 twist barrel. The last time I shot the rifle gave me a .178 3-shot at 100. (no need for any more

) followed by two sub-half-MOA groups at 284 and 586 yards.

15 January 2013, 10:23

JustinL01

I have probably killed more ground hogs with my Remington 700 VS in .22-250 topped with a Leupold Vari X III 6.5-20x40 than any of the others, so I will say that is still my favorite even though it's been a few years since I've had it out. My Remington 700 ADL .243 is becoming a close 2nd though, I love walking around with it!

Bart,

I also have a CZ 527 in .223, mine seems to favor lighter bullets, the 40-grain V-max seems to be the best thus far with it. Just an FYI, it shoots anything up to about 55 grains well, just punched tinier holes with the lighter bullets, and I've heard others say the same about their 527s.

16 January 2013, 06:24

bartsche

The CZ 527 varmint was MOA or better out of the box. Love that Trigger.

roger

16 January 2013, 08:41

cobrad

I do not find MOA to be suitable accuracy for a serious varmint rifle. Real varmint accuracy starts at half-MOA.
Your needs may be different.

17 January 2013, 22:22

Dr. Lou

In addition to my Sakos I mentioned in 03, I just picked up a M70 Coyote Light in 22-250 and find it to be well built and worth the money, especially since I only paid $799. Now to see if shoots as well. I know the Savages shoot great, I still can't bring myself to buying a Savage - they are just butt ugly. I'll spend a little extra to buy a nice looking rifle that shoots well.

17 January 2013, 23:15

drewhenrytnt

Many years ago I had a Ruger 77 varmint stainless, that would shoot lights out with otc ammo. It had a preference for Federal Premium-the old gold/white box 55gr HPBT. Lots of coyotes, two deer and several pigs just got too close. Wish I still had that one. Oh well.

18 January 2013, 23:15

k-22hornet

Sako Vixen (L461) in 222mag, very accurate and lightweight. It is my main coyote gun.

01 February 2013, 01:14

Donald Nelson

I just got a Remington 700sps Varmint model in 22-250

I can cover 5 shots with a nickle using Winchester white box 45 grain HP's and the same with the first load I worked up. Only have about 50 rounds thru the rifle so far. I am very happy.

I also just got an older 1979 Winchester .243 heavy barrel that so far has shot 2, 5 shot and one 4 shot groups just under an inch. Not bad for the first 15 rounds. First shot was to get on paper.

01 February 2013, 07:47

Joe R. Lock

It would have to be my Ruger #1 that was rebored to .225 Winchester. I have other rifles I like, but the .225 has to be my favorite.
joe

03 February 2013, 07:23

MyDogsHunt

Cooper M38 Classic in 17AH.
Hard to beat a Cooper out of the box.

Field sports are not about targets and scores. Score-keeping is necessary in competitions between humans, unattractive in competitions with weaker adversaries. Constant scores of many to zero do not smell of struggle and chance. They smell of greed.

11 February 2013, 07:02

R. Walter

Wow! After nine years dormant... this thread was brought back to life!

13 February 2013, 10:54

2ndtimer

quote:
Originally posted by R. Walter:
Wow! After nine years dormant... this thread was brought back to life!

Well, maybe some of us have new favorite varmint rifles since the thread started! At the time the thread originated, it would have been my Savage 110 Light Varmint in .223 with the wood stock and straight tapered 24" barrel. Now, it would be my Remington 700 SPS Varmint with single shot adapter and Timney trigger. It is very accurate and produces some excellent velocity with 40 gr Ballistic Tips, V-Maxes, Z-Maxes and Varmageddon bullets out of the 26" barrel.

13 February 2013, 20:17

Swamp_Fox

This site picks up 150 to 200 new members each month. I bet some of those 20,000 + new members have a varmint rifle.

14 February 2013, 03:15

Quintus

Bushmaster predator. Ziess 4.5-14 with the z-1000 that is actually very close out to 500 with 55 grain b-tips, and will throw everything into a dime or less to 100. The big advantage in my eyes comes right now as the yotes are pairing up and 2 or three at a time are comeing to the call.

14 February 2013, 16:22

budiceale

for a light rifle, i have(my son's really)a cz 527 american in 223. sub 1/2 MOA since the day it came out of the box. for a heavy rifle it would be my cz 550 varmint in 308. it shoots sierra 165 spbt's into tiny groups.

15 February 2013, 01:46

nilgi

Rock River Varmiter .223 with a Vortex Viper 3.5x10, 1/2" to 1/4" 100 yrd groups if I do my part.

15 February 2013, 07:41

wymple

My 1973 Mossberg 800 bull bbl .22-250 was a superior tack driver. In the hands of a shooter (not me) it would put three shot groups touching. I had the bbl fluted and the bolt jewelled because I liked it so much. My eyes are losing it and I just passed it down for free to a serious youngster who can shoot, and has never sold any rifle he's ever bought. He appears to be a long term collector and really loves this gun, as it is not something you see every day. A couple guys closer to my age that are familiar with the gun are pissed that I didn't give them a chance to buy it. It wasn't about money. It was purchased new by my best friend of 45 years, and he let me talk him out of it. I got his OK before sending it to a deserving new home. That rifle is dead on. I'd miss it a lot more if I could shoot better.

15 February 2013, 11:24

Swamp_Fox

23 February 2013, 01:56

Bob Whelen

Remington 788 in 6mm Remington. Nothin' finer !

24 February 2013, 00:29

Bear Cat

Just purchased a Kimber 223 , 1/12 twist .
I haven't gotten it yet , it's in the mail .
Iv'e got to figure out a load for it .

My win. mod. 70 , 225 win. , has been my go to
varmint rifle !

Thanks , Bob

02 March 2013, 18:20

alleyyooper

I don't know about a best factory varmit rifle, there are just to many good ones.

For me it is my old Rugar medium weight in 220 swift. I just wish there were information on how to adjust the adjustable trigger and it isn't a MK II.

A dream is to some day find a Remington 700 and have it rebarreled in 22 millstead/cheeta.