Next year I hope to take my first trip out west to shoot prairie dogs, probably in SD, Mt, and Wy. I already own a 22/250 that should be good out to 500-yards, but I know I should take at least one more rifle w/ me, and that is the problem. As finances are limited, I have decided to either have a .223AI on a Ruger #1 action built, or build a 25/06AI on either a Ruger #1, or buy a Cooper Arms rifle.

Question: Should my second rifle be the .223 for closer shots or the 25/06 for longer ones? Having gone through all the Varmint Hunter magazines, and it appears that I will have plenty of shooting to do at <500-yards. Is this correct or will I be forced to do alot of shooting at >500-yards?

[ 04-12-2003, 21:19: Message edited by: Kevin Rohrer ]

My experience is that with some wind and ranges over 350 yards something with a little more umpf would be desirable. Let me show you what that country looks like so you get some idea of what you will be involved with. By the way I like a .260 Remington with a 100 grain SIERRA varmint with Vm = 3200+

Two different days and locations in Northeast Montana





[ 04-12-2003, 21:43: Message edited by: DMCI* ]

When the dogs are active shooting gets hot and heavy, with an emphisis on HOT! It's easy to cook a good rifle. Not trying to spend all your money but if possible I,d go over "and" under. The .22-250 is one of my favorites, for those windy or SMART dog days I have a 13 lbs .25-06 But it doesn't take many rounds to need cooled . I would be lost without something smaller that doesn't heat as fast . .223's are great, but in all honesty it's not far off a .22-250. I'm really fond of .22 Hornets, .22 K Hornet etc as well as a .17 Mach IV I like a lot. Something like a .22mag or .17 HMR can also liven things up for the dumb ones as well as close to camp. So many rifles, so little time .DMCI, again I'm jealous.---Shoot Safe---montdoug

260 REM

Kevin, I think you have chosen the absolute best first gun for your prairie dog hunt. I cannot imagine a better prairie dog gun than the 22-250.

I have been on several trips to shoot these things and would highly recommend the .223 in either a standard chambering or the Ackley version for your second rifle.

Unless you are shooting an area that has already been over shot and the dogs are VERY spooky, you only have to shoot over 500 yards if you so choose.

Shooting at long range is lots of fun, no doubt, but I imagine most of the folks that go shoot prairie dogs do most of their shooting WELL under 500 yards. My buddies and I like to shoot them way out there and take pride in beating each other for the longest shots. BUT, most of our shooting is at more reasonable ranges.

I have taken a 25-06 to shoot prairie dogs a few times and basically shot the barrel out doing it.
The 25-06 is one of my favorite guns, but it burns too much powder and therefore kicks too much and burns barrels too fast to be an ideal prairie dog gun. Believe me, those 25 caliber bullets really kill prairie dogs way out there, but it just gets tiring shooting the darned thing.

My current choice for long range dog shooting (say over 600 yards) is a very heavy barrel custom Rem 700 chambered for the 6mm Remington cartridge. This does quite well at long range and does not beat you up in a days shooting.

Having said that, unless you are a die hard long range addict, take the .223 along with the 22-250.

My current choices for a prarie dog hunt would be:

A 22-250 Remington, primary rifle.
A 223 Remington, backup rifle that just MAY get more use than anything.
A 6mm Remington and a 22-250 AI to supplement the other two.

R F

a Savage in 223 , hard to find better accuracy out of the box at this price and now savage havea broad range of accessory and after market parts as trigger , stock and even barrels.

Good shooting

DAN TEC

AR15 in .223 w/ a flat top upper and x-high rings/w 6.5x20 scope

I think it's hard to beat a Colt CAR-15 for prairie dogs. Accurate, fast doubles/follow ups and you don't have to constantly reload. That being said, a second 22-250 might be a good idea so you can use the same ammo. Have fun!

Yes, for a number of reasons you want a second rifle. If the dogs are so scarce and spooky that you can't get them with a .22-250, then you won't get them with something larger, either.

That means if you need a second rifle, the dogs are numerous and most of your shots will be well within the range of a .223. By all means, take a .223, and you'll probably find that you'll shoot it more than the .22-250. Its lesser recoil and muzzle blast (and ammunitioon cost), as well as ability to shoot longer strings before heating up, will make it your go-to gun most of the time. Shoot the .223 until the dogs are spooked out of range of your stand, then switch to the .22-250 for the ones on the margins while the .223 barrel cools.

Another vote for the .223! Stonecreek hit it on the head. I have a cooper VE in .223 and have added a savage. I shoot moly out of the Cooper, and I like having the Savage becase if I'm running short of handloads I can be lazy and run Black Hills or other bulk reloaded ammo through it. I have also added a second 22-250 (Also a Savage) to back up my Ruger Varmint that was accurized by John Lewis.

260 all the way!! Load some 107 grain Sierra's up and push them 3100fps +. With this setup i can pluck 20oz. pop bottles all day long at 600 yards!

I'd say .223 like many others. I've been shooting dogs with a Savage 110 on a Boyd's thumbhole laminate for a couple of seasons and I would say I can touch any dog that my shooting partner's Rem 700 .22-250 can. Savage rifles are flat-out tack drivers.
Started shooting a Sendero .25-06 this season and really like the range but gets spendy to shoot all that much. I would agree about how fast they heat up too.

If I was only going to take one rifle it would be a 223 bolt action with a 1 in 9 or so. This would make a good combo shoot 55 grain or 69 grain MKs'. The 69gr in a 223 will carry so don't sell it short.

The 223 will cool faster and it is so efficient 25-27 grains of powder its amazing what this little guy will do.

Mike

Well I sort of feel if you have a 22-250 you have all the long range rifle you need - to me the best option would be to have a precision shooting 22 LRor 17 HMR in a Kimber, Cooper or even 77/22/17 offering - I just bought a 77/17 for just one purpose and thats Montana gophers (ground squirrels). Based on my initial range session with this caliber it will easily smack a gopher out to 200 yds - and its quiter, lighter to carry and a pleasant change after banging away with centerfires. Lots of gophers will raise their little heads within 50 to 100 yds - and thats rimfire territory. I also have a 222 and even though it does the job with a little less oomph than a 22-250 I never take both it and the 22-250. I've also used a 25-284 with 75 gr bullets but to me its more gun than is necessary and does not blow em up any better than the 22-250.

I have a quite unorthodox answer for your question.

Get an H&R Ultra rifle with several barrels.

Changing a barrel is as easy as unscrewing one screw, snapping off the forend with one motion, and tipping off the old barrel. Reverse the process to put on another barrel Takes about 30 seconds if you take your time.

They make extra barrels for less than $100 and you can get 223, 243 and 25-06 barrels. Heck... Get one or two of each...

The rifles can be had on the net for less than $250 shipped new and you can send in the frame for a FREE trigger job and more barrels (each fitted to your frame).... Total cost per extra barrel is less than $100 plus shipping.

Beat that for practicality! And the damned things are so accurate that you'll probably start selling bolt action rifles.

Note: Be sure to get the Ultra Varmint model and Ultra barrels.

Ultra Varmint Link:
http://www.hr1871.com/firearms/index.php?cat=4&subcat=22

Barrel Accessory Program:
http://www.hr1871.com/barrelAcc/index.htm

Note: They don't list the 243 barrel on the accessory page but a quick phonecall confirmed that you can get them.

The 223 and 243 barrels for the Ultra Varmint are bull barrels and the 25-06 barrel is pretty fat and heavy but has a slight taper. I don't know about the 308 barrel.

$bob$

My next varmint rifle project begins today.

7 WSM.

Should do very nicely with 170 grain bullets and extend effective range significantly.

D.

[ 04-30-2003, 17:25: Message edited by: DMCI* ]

i think the others have made some great recommendations on caliber choices. all would be good depending on your preference. i would address something else though. it sounds like you have the #1 bug, and they sure are some beautiful guns....but they arent known for extreme accuracy. talk to some other owners and you will hear the same. yes, some do shoot well, and sure you can have all sorts of work done to the hanger and forearm, but for out of the box or real precision shooting, id go with a bolt rifle.

With your 22/250 your almost home. I shoot in Wyoming 2X a year. As others have said you don't really need to shoot at 500 yds unless you want to. My battery consists of a 223 Cooper VE, Rem 700 VLS and a Weatherby SVM in 243.

If you look closely at the cost of haveing a rifle built on a Ruger #1 action and the Cooper you could get the Cooper upgrade the wood and have a more accurate rifle in less turnaround time.

My Cooper gets the most use of the three when I'm in a dog town.

I would have to go with the 223. But...I would get it in a bull barreled flat-top AR-15. The 223 won't heat up the barrel like the 22-250 and can you imagine a second gun that would be more fun to shoot?

G AI

I agree a .223 in an AR or a bolt gun would be your best bet. You could also have alot of fun with some of those .17 cal guns.

I have several #1's, no accuracy problems with any of them, none took any more "tuning" than any other factory rifle. One thing I have found that is they can be sensitive to fore end pressure changes, easily cured by a shooting technique adjustment. When shooting off sandbags place the fore end bag as far back toward the action as possible. A little clumsy until you get the hang of it but eliminates the "Flyers" for me.

I'll take the second gun choice in a little different direction. A T/C Contender with Super 14 barrel in .222 Rem, .223 Rem, or .17 Rem. The "Short Guns" a real blast to use when the PD's are cooperative and shots under 200 yards are available. We have more fun handgunning them in those conditions than with any rifles, .22lr/mag or .17HMR included.

HAve Fun
KDK

why not get another 22-250??? There's no law that sez you can't have two. I have two. One sporter and one heavy barrel. I also have three .223's. No particular reason, there just happened to be something about each one that I liked or I got a special deal on them. anyway............
If you get another 22-250 and you full length resize you brass, it will fit in either rifle. If your 22-250's are like every one I've owned, even with "generic" reloading, they'll shoot plenty tight enough to kill dogs a long way out. May I also suggest bulk 55gr bullets (horn, rem, etc) and either H380 or H414. If you're serious about prairie dog hunting, you want to leave the house with several hundred rounds of ammo.

A 500 A-Square shootng a 750gr A-Max should devastate several p-dogs at once at extreme ranges : ) 45nut