Can't decide which is better for Saber Toothed Tunnel Rats, 22ppc or 22br? it's going in a 7lb SAKO for walk & stalk

Clint: I am a firm believer in the excellent performance of the 22 Remington Bench Rest for all around Varminting! It does especially well on Prairie Dogs! This is an inherently accurate round! I know several Varmint Hunters that use this round and all are happy with it. It is also very efficient giving great velocity with a small powder charge. It is easy on brass and does not heat barrels as fast as a 22-250.

I consider the 22 Remington Bench Rest to be one of the top 3 Varmint cartridges of all time! It is simply a great all around performer and is very easy on barrels.

I have two dedicated Varmint Rifles in 22 Rem. BR. Both are factory stock Remington 40X's. One is a 40XB-BR (wood stock) and the other is a 40XB-BRKS (kevlar stock)! Excellent accuracy from both and like I say they really shine shooting Prairie Dogs along with Rock Chucks, Badgers Jack Rabbits and such. 22 BR brass seems to last forever in my Rifles and its not to expensive to begin with either.

The 22 Remington Bench Rest has the edge velocity wise so you will get a bit more range and flatter trajectory than the 22 PPC. Accuracy wise I would guess its a toss up between these two - your accuracy results would depend more on the quality of your components and the expertise of your Riflesmith than the cartridges themselves.

If you are cagey (like me!) when you are out on a walkabout for Prairie Dogs then either caliber will do well for you. I would dress in appropriate camo head to foot, take a good shooting mat, set up quickly and bag a bunch of them! I would also put lots of scope power on your walking Prairie Dog Rifle. At least a 4.5X14 or 4X16 variable. I have a 24X scope on one of my 22 BR's and a 6.5X20 on the other.

Maybe the bolt face of the Sako action will help you decide which cartridge to go with? As I understand it the 22 PPC needs some extra smithing of the bolt face from standard cartridges (like a 243 or 22-250 boltface). I had a Remington XP-100 bolt face changed from 221 to 6mm Rem. BR (same as the 22 Rem. BR) and it was about $125.00 including the then needed installation of a Sako extractor.

Both of my 22 Rem. BR Varminters are single shots and I do not feel qualified to give you an opinion on its feeding reliability out of a magazine! It might feed OK I am just not sure. I have both a 6mm Rem BR and a 6mm PPC (Sako factory bolt action) that are also single shots and I get along Hunting Coyotes and Fox just fine with all my single shooters. If you want the repeater capability then make specific inquiry there!

Good luck with your project gun!

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy

Actually I'd like a redhead and a blonde, but my wife would get kinda pissed off.....

So I would have to agree with Varmint Guy by default. ON this side of the Atlantic, I'd go with a 22 BR. No flies on the PPC, just like something that has a head size that is not oddball to the rest of the world. Heck the PPC may even be more accurate, but the BR is plenty accurate enough even for small rodents.

Cheers and Good Shooting.
seafire

British: Here is the short answer to your question regarding my choices for the top three best all around Varminting calibers!

#1 = 22-250 Remington

#2 = TIE for second - 222 Remington Magnum & 223 Remington

#3 = 22 Remington Bench Rest

And now British let me explain why I consider these calibers tops.

First of all I have to exclude (and explain why) these two excellent Varmint calibers the 223 Remington Ackley Improved and the 243 Winchester Ackley Improved. The reason they are excluded is because of the trouble (wasted time, effort, expense and barrel life) in fire forming the large number of pieces of brass needed for North American Varminting. Additionally the 243 A.I. has a bit to much recoil to stay in the top 3 on my list.

My definition of the best all around Varmint calibers includes these attributes/considerations: inherent accuracy (easy to obtain), low recoil, long barrel life, economical to shoot, long brass life, efficient (good speed with moderate powder charges), modest report (noise), slow to heat barrels and good velocity (for flat trajectory and wind bucking ability).

Now I know each of my picks is not perfect in all categories I have chosen but they do well enough to stay at the top of my list.

Now remember, I am talking all around Varmint caliber which includes the Hunting of all types and sizes of Varmints! Including the following which I have Hunted in the past: Rock Chucks, Coyotes, Fox, Prairie Dogs, Jack Rabbits, Porcupines, Skunks, Raccoons, Crows, Weasels, Bobcat, Ravens, Magpies, Ground Squirrels, Cliff Pigeons, Badgers, feral cats, Snowshoe Hare, Turtles, Cottontail Rabbits, Tree Squirrels, Starlings and Oppossum (to name a few!).

To name the four MOST important attributes of an all around Varmint caliber I would list them in this order capable of extreme accuracy, low recoil, good velocity and mild report.

With todays variety of excellent bullets each of the top calibers I mentioned above can do an excellent job at a variety of ranges and on a variety of Varmints. Let me expound a bit on what I consider long range - to me long range is 400 to 500 yards and I never shoot at Varmints beyond 600 yards. And yes I have killed Colony Varmints at 500 yards with my 223's! Many times. So for those that enjoy trying for Varmints at 1,000 yards plus my picks may fall short - so to speak. But I would not want to be shooting Ground Squirrels with a 1,000 yard+ capable Rifle either. Yeah how would you know if you hit a Ground Squirrel when you were shooting a 338 Lazzeroni?

How about yourself British - which calibers do you give the highest marks to for your side of the oceans all around Varminting?

And hello to you by the way from halfway around the world!

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy