I want to get a .223 rifle for shooting prairie dogs. I understand that one can shoot hundreds per day so I wonder if working the action on a bolt gun wouldn't get tedious.

There are some nice, MOA semi-auto rifles like the Clark Conversion on a Ruger Mini-14 that look promising. See
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/m14hbar.htm

I'm sure it's not as accurate as a bolt gun, but I expect to make shots at 300 yards or less. It seems to me the convenience of a semi-auto might be worth the decrease in accuracy.

What do you guys think? Am I kidding myself that 300 yards will suffice, and once I get into it I'll want to go farther?

Anyone have any experience with the Clark custom guns?

Hunter308
(Soon to be: "Hunter223" )

Two things to consider. 1 if you reload semi-auto has ammo all over to pick up if you can find it. 2 It's not as importan with a 223 but you don't want to heat the barrel up to much so bolt action will help you slow down. If you buy a semi-auto from clark you will be happy they make great guns. Just some more to think about.

Hunter308,

For that price, I'd be looking at a nice AR-15 Varminter,
and with that you can expect bolt action rifle accuracy.
At least my Rock River Varminter is .5 MOA, with it's
favorite ammo. As for policing up brass after shooting,
on the bench, my AR-15 piles them up in one neat little
pile, with consistent ammo(cheap FMJ ammo brass get
spread around a bit). But you do have to pick up brass.
I actually have both styles of small caliber rifles.
I have a Savage 16 SS/Syn. in .22-250 Rem, and a Tikka
WH, in .25-06 Rem, to add to my AR-15's, for varmint
hunting. I will add a .223 barrel to my T/C Encore,
and I expect a Tikka, in .223 Rem, will follow me
home some day. So, for colony varmints, I'd cycle through
the whole battery of rifles, when the barrels warm up.
But if I was going to use just one, it would be the
RRA AR-15 Varminter, with the heavy SS barrel. For
my walk and stalk varmint gun, I just un-pin the
varminter upper, and pin on my M4 pre-ban carbine
upper, and I have a sweet stubby little varmint
rifle. This 16" chome/moly barrel does .9 MOA,
with it's favorite load, so any coyote within 300
yards, is likely to have a bad day. These guns
are a ton of fun to shoot, and I have surprised more
than one "only bolt gun" fanatic, at the bench, with
some itty bitty groups.

But with that said, bolt guns can be addicting, in
their own rite. In my youth, I was a big fan of
semi-auto firearms, PERIOD. As I saw more winters,
I started purchasing bolt action rifles, and even
one handgun(Savage Striker), and learned to love
them for what they were. I would find it difficult
to choose now, but back a few decades, I'd be
choosing the AR-15.

Squeeze

Definitely both...........
I go out and shoot as many as 300-350 rds in a good day of pd shooting. Between my son and I we take as many as five rifles and ammo for all of them. Using different guns and in particular different types of guns keeps it interesting and helps develop different disciplines of shooting. Shooting from the bench, from prone on the ground, all field positions, bipods, offhand, shooting sticks and variations of all make it a fun time all around.

A good semi-auto (Bushmaster Varminter, others) will have excellent accuracy.

Last summer 4 of us took "the arsenal of democracy" on a PD shoot, one guy had a .223 Bushmaster Varminter. It shot as good or better than all of our Savage and Remington heavy barrel bolt actions.

Fact: unless you have true self control, you'll shoot a bunch more ammo out of a semi than you will a bolt. I sure did and it was a gas!! Working the bolt was not tiring because the shooting was so fun!!

Buy both if you can.

I'd steer away from the Mini-14 "varmint" rifles. There are just too many things about the design of that rifle which limit its utility and accuracy. Some guys have gotten decent performance from them, but few come close to what a bolt gun - or an AR-15 - will deliver. Layne Simpson reviewed one of Clark's guns in print a few years ago, and after trying dozens of loads he got one or two groups just over one moa - those were the best! OTOH, sub-moa groups from decent AR-15s are common. Even my 1980-vintage CAR-15 shoots moa with a couple loads, and it was hardly designed as an "accuracy" model.

While some people swear by them (and others swear AT them), I wouldn't recommend an AR-15-type gun for my primary prairie dog gun. The first problem is that they are very difficult to get to shoot as accurately as a bolt. The second is that their configuration does not lend itself easily to shooting from a rest (protruding magazine, downward protruding grip frame, etc.) And the third is the scattering of brass, which, even if you can retrieve it, is distracting to your fellow shooter(s) as it goes flying through the air and maybe clunks against their $1200 rig.

By the time you've made the necessary modifications to an AR-15 (new barrel, floating handgaurd, new trigger, ad nauseum), you'll have much more in it than a good solid bolt-action heavy barrel like a Savage or Remington, and it may or may not shoot almost as well.

Besides, you always have plenty of time to liesurly work the bolt for your next shot. Prairie dogging is not a rapid fire sport; it takes time and deliberation to really enjoy it.

You may consider the Olympic Arms Ultra Match AR-15. It costs about a grand which is comparable to a heavy barrel bolt. Their website claims 1/4 inch groups are possible. I bought one this summer but i have not shot it enough to know what it can do. I have shot 3/4" groups with it sighting it in with the super cheap $4 per box full metal jacket surplus ammo. They will throw the brass, so if you reload, that is a consideration. I bought the gun more as a coyote gun, so I don't have to worry about picking up 500 rounds scattered all over. But you don't have to sacrifice accuracy with the auto is my main point.

How are AR-15's more difficult to to get shooting accurately? Everyone that I know that has bought a varmint style AR (20 or 24 in. medium to heavy barrel) from Bushy, Colt, DPMS, etc. has had sub M.O.A. accuracy out of the box. Secondly, if you you shoot 20 round mags or smaller, you should have no problem shooting from a rest. And your third point of scattering brass - a simple brass catcher will solve that.
I shoot both AR's and bolt guns, and if I was limited to one for prairie dogging, it would be the AR hands down. If anyone has had the opportunity to shoot a good town, a highly doubt that they would prefer a "leisurely" pace. To me, one of the most entertaing aspects of p-doggin with my AR is wackin' one right after another, till an area is shot out. I usually do not shoot off a bench, but prefer shooting prone with a Harris bipod, and when when I shoot out an area, I get up and walk a hundred or couple hundred yards to a new position and start wackin' again. I cannot imagine having to shoot only a bolt gun.

Jeff in MN

Not only is an accurate AR15 easy to come by, the "brass scattering" issue is easily solved by trimming a coil or two off the ejection spring. Our NRA Highpower AR shooters learned that is a simple fix, and will pile up the brass nicely, 2-3 feet from the rifle.
My Colt AR outshot every bolt gun I ever owned, till I bought a Cooper, and even then the margin is small.
And with the twist rate options, and the ability to change uppers, the AR platform offers lots of diversity.

Mulerider,

Can any of these AR15 outfits chamber it for another caliber (204, Tac-20, etc)?

Thanks,
Kory

Kory: AR uppers can easily be configured in any cartridge sharing the 223 boltface, but feeding from the mag may become an issue, and it may require tweaking of the gas port for reliable cycling. Neither are a challenge for an experienced AR builder.
I believe SCN featured a 20 Tactical AR on their cover, a few issues back. Here's a link:

http://www.tromix.com/Tromix_Tackhammer.htm#20%20tact

Bill Ruger made millions with his "mini-14"! If that was all I had to shoot with, I'd rather have a pile of "slick round red river rocks!!!!!" GHD