I've been looking to get a new groundhog rfle .. Looking To get any feed back on Rem. 233. , 22.250. Or any recommendations ? - Im not wanting to spend thosands of $ just want something with a little more power than my 22 that ive been using - Anything helps thanks in advance !
Groundhog rifles ... any advice
- Thread starter Plmrc16
- Start date
There are lots of great rifles for groundhogs. Depending on the range you expect to be finding them, a 22-250 is about as close to perfect as there is.
I always preferred a heavy barrel because I knew I would not be carrying it very far.
Put some good glass on your rifle and you can make 3-400 yard hits all day long.
Geetarman
I always preferred a heavy barrel because I knew I would not be carrying it very far.
Put some good glass on your rifle and you can make 3-400 yard hits all day long.
Geetarman
My DPMS AP4 in .223 took out a groundhog just fine yesterday at 75 yards, I was using 55 Grain jacketed hollow points and it almost tore it in half. If I could trade my AR for a bolt action it would be a Savage in 22-250. Its alittle bigger than the 223 and Ive always wanted one but settled for the AR instead of ordering a bolt gun.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
If you load you're own, 22-250, if not, 204Ruger. I can't imagine why anyone would pick a 223 over those 2 for woodchucks. For anything, actually, but certainly not for woodchucks.
The 204 has factory muzzle velocities of 4225 fps with 32gr bullets and 3900fps with 40gr.
Handloaded 35gr Nosler ballistic tip bullets exceed 4,400fps in 22-250 at a mild, barrel friendly 58,000psi and 4,500 if you push SAAMI max. It is unquestionably the flattest shooting combination I've ever seen.
The 204 has factory muzzle velocities of 4225 fps with 32gr bullets and 3900fps with 40gr.
Handloaded 35gr Nosler ballistic tip bullets exceed 4,400fps in 22-250 at a mild, barrel friendly 58,000psi and 4,500 if you push SAAMI max. It is unquestionably the flattest shooting combination I've ever seen.
22-250 is a wildcat load and has a shorter barrel life. Good hot round, flat shooting but more expensive to shoot and maintain unless you handload.
Jim
P - A 204? Not a bad round for ground hogs, but a 55 or 60 grain 223 will give you a little more variety on things to shoot. And you can find 223s almost anywhere.
Jim
P - A 204? Not a bad round for ground hogs, but a 55 or 60 grain 223 will give you a little more variety on things to shoot. And you can find 223s almost anywhere.
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big al hunter
New member
Search the used gun racks at your lgs. Get a bolt action; Remington 700, Winchester 70, or Savage 110, or any other well known for accuracy. I have a Rem. 700 in 243 win. that puts all shots inside 3/4 inch with 58 grain hornady v-max bullets at pretty close to 4000 fps. It is devestating on vermin. Your first choices are good too. If you just want to get more range than the 22 most any cartridge from 223 to 243 will have some good bullets for small critters. One of my friends loves his 220 swift for long range prairie dogs. Another loves his 204 Ruger. There are so many good cartridges available it is hard to suggest only one. The used guns are a good way to save money. I just found a Winchester model 70 heavy barrel in 243 win for $550 with a scope. The only drawback is that you don't know for sure it will shoot well. I have 3 rifles I purchased used that shoot extremely well. I am either lucky or have a good eye for good guns, not sure which. Most of the time a bolt action can be made to shoot well with minimal cost. Try different ammo to get the best accuracy and free float the barrel are good start if it won't shoot well enough at first. Good luck and have fun shopping!
bamaranger
New member
2 rifles
Back in the day, I used to hunt groundhogs,.......alot. I found that two rifles was about ideal. One, a heavy bbl. big scope rig, obviously for when fields were mowed and shots were longer. The other a lighter portable rig for walking and stalking when the clover was high and shots were 100 yds +/-.
For me it was a Ruger 77V 22-250 and an old Weaver K12, paired with a Rem 5mm mag.
Lots of folks are talking about "walking varmint rifles" these days, and lots of these seem to be made up in .223.
Back in the day, I used to hunt groundhogs,.......alot. I found that two rifles was about ideal. One, a heavy bbl. big scope rig, obviously for when fields were mowed and shots were longer. The other a lighter portable rig for walking and stalking when the clover was high and shots were 100 yds +/-.
For me it was a Ruger 77V 22-250 and an old Weaver K12, paired with a Rem 5mm mag.
Lots of folks are talking about "walking varmint rifles" these days, and lots of these seem to be made up in .223.
Bucks Gun Shop
New member
PLM:
If you reload, I would highly recommend that you check out the .204 Ruger... Wonderful cartridge for prarie rodents... I have clocked small squirels out to 550 yards with my .204 Encore... As for the rifle, I highly recommend the Savage rifles... Dollar for dollar I believe they are the best value on the market right now...
If you reload, I would highly recommend that you check out the .204 Ruger... Wonderful cartridge for prarie rodents... I have clocked small squirels out to 550 yards with my .204 Encore... As for the rifle, I highly recommend the Savage rifles... Dollar for dollar I believe they are the best value on the market right now...
I'd also go .223 Rem
22-250 is the superior varmint cartridge, without a doubt. It will work on bigger varmints too.
But I think for most folks, .223 is better due to ammo availability. All these guys with their ARs increased the demand so much that supply caught up with it. Result: cheap blasting ammo when you want it, and no lack of variety of high quality ammo either.
For reloaders, it is good too, as you can get free brass everywhere.
BSA makes a Sweet 223 scope that automatically compensates for bullet drops of different weights too. I got the 22LR version myself; just mounted it tonight, so I haven't tried it yet. The purists say to spend hundreds on glass, but I don't think it is needed. You'll want to spend over $100, but I don't think you need to spend over $250. If you want to go more upscale than BSA, but less than Leupold, have a look at Weaver. They seem to be a well-kept secret; I've never read a bad thing about them. I have one on the way for my other 22.
Barrels will last longer with .223 than with 22-250 or 220 Swift too.
I would avoid 204 Ruger and anything else less than 22 caliber, because I don't want to have to buy special equipment for cleaning. (most stock cleaning rods only work down to 22 cal.)
22-250 is the superior varmint cartridge, without a doubt. It will work on bigger varmints too.
But I think for most folks, .223 is better due to ammo availability. All these guys with their ARs increased the demand so much that supply caught up with it. Result: cheap blasting ammo when you want it, and no lack of variety of high quality ammo either.
For reloaders, it is good too, as you can get free brass everywhere.
BSA makes a Sweet 223 scope that automatically compensates for bullet drops of different weights too. I got the 22LR version myself; just mounted it tonight, so I haven't tried it yet. The purists say to spend hundreds on glass, but I don't think it is needed. You'll want to spend over $100, but I don't think you need to spend over $250. If you want to go more upscale than BSA, but less than Leupold, have a look at Weaver. They seem to be a well-kept secret; I've never read a bad thing about them. I have one on the way for my other 22.
Barrels will last longer with .223 than with 22-250 or 220 Swift too.
I would avoid 204 Ruger and anything else less than 22 caliber, because I don't want to have to buy special equipment for cleaning. (most stock cleaning rods only work down to 22 cal.)
saddlerocker
New member
Good Accurate Inexpensive Rifles...
Tikka T3 Lite
Weatherby Vanguard
Remington 700 SPS ( I have seen some cheap 700 ADL's for sale at Gander Mountain/Cabalas)
Savage 11
Marlin
.223 is cheaper than 204 or 22-250, but if you handload 22-250 is sweet
Tikka T3 Lite
Weatherby Vanguard
Remington 700 SPS ( I have seen some cheap 700 ADL's for sale at Gander Mountain/Cabalas)
Savage 11
Marlin
.223 is cheaper than 204 or 22-250, but if you handload 22-250 is sweet
Jack O'Conner
New member
I've had good luck with these two rifles:
- Marlin 22 MAG
- Remington 243
Good shooting to you.
Jack
- Marlin 22 MAG
- Remington 243
Good shooting to you.
Jack
ammo.crafter
New member
g dogs
Since I already had a Thompson Contender, a 23-inch barrel in .204Ruger worked great along with a 4x12 scope.
Speed kills!
Since I already had a Thompson Contender, a 23-inch barrel in .204Ruger worked great along with a 4x12 scope.
Speed kills!
Bohica6284
New member
Both are excellent calibers for the job. I have used many .223 and my go to gun these days when a chuck pops up is my AR 20" bull. I built this specifically for chucks. It's a true 1/4" group gun and my best shot was 3 years ago next month at 509yds. I do have another gun that I built for myself which is a 22-250AI. It's a real murder machine also. Here's the bottom line. Both are capable of the same accuracy depending on the gun and the shooter, but the .223 is cheaper because it's more popular...plain and simple. The 250 is quite a bit faster, but the chuck doesn't know the difference between 3000fps and 3600fps, he's dead either way. Another consideration is that the 250 will wear out a barrel much faster than a .223
If your shooting is within 125yds or so...I'd probably just look at a .22 mag or a .17 though they will not be much cheaper to shoot than a .223
If your shooting is within 125yds or so...I'd probably just look at a .22 mag or a .17 though they will not be much cheaper to shoot than a .223
Poodleshooter
New member
What range do you plan on shooting chucks at?
If it's a 500yd deal for you,then sure, get the .22-250 or .204.
Inside of 200yds, there's no appreciable trajectory difference between a .223, 22-250, .204, .243 or whatever else you want to compare. Even at 300yds, it's a marginal difference (5" or 8" of drop, I'm still dialing or holding over either way!) I say this because for me, 300yds is about as far as I can reliably hold on a feeding chuck from a field position with a rifle that does 1MOA.
Inside of 150yds or so, just get a .22 Magnum.
Inside of 80yds, just get some CCI Velocitors for your trusty .22lr.
If it's a 500yd deal for you,then sure, get the .22-250 or .204.
Inside of 200yds, there's no appreciable trajectory difference between a .223, 22-250, .204, .243 or whatever else you want to compare. Even at 300yds, it's a marginal difference (5" or 8" of drop, I'm still dialing or holding over either way!) I say this because for me, 300yds is about as far as I can reliably hold on a feeding chuck from a field position with a rifle that does 1MOA.
Inside of 150yds or so, just get a .22 Magnum.
Inside of 80yds, just get some CCI Velocitors for your trusty .22lr.
Back in the old days when I lived in Ohio,,the longest shot I can ever remember is about 250yrds. just because thats how the farms are layed out where I lived.
I have a Ruger VBZ in 223,,the one I have is the first year production,,hammer forged 26" barrel and a blue reciever,,,this gun will do 1/2-3/8 groups all day long at 200yrds,,with the loads I have worked up for it,,53gr. hornady match hollow point
it has a truck load of whistle pigs under its belt,,,several coyotes and foxes
the gun is zeroed at 175,,and i have a target that has 5 holes touching at that zero,,this gun is heavy,,in the 10# range IIRC,,you never lose the target in the scope ,, recoil is hardly noticed
223 is cheap and deadly,, and fun because it is cheap,,easy on barrels and throats
IF you are planning on streaching the range out to longer prairie dog distance then maybe a 22-250,,,,
If I were going to go to a bigger gun,,for me a 243 would be the gun,,,it has a range of bullets that go from where the 223 and the 22-250 stop on up to the deer class bullets of 100gr+ range
is the 22-250 a better cartrige,,depends on what you are doing with it,,,in Ohio,,,I don't think so,,more muzzel blast,,more cost,,and like said earlier,, the pigs don't know if the bullet is running 3300,,or 3800,,he is DRT
This 223 I have has never failed to get the job done for me
thats my .02,,,YMMV
ocharry
I have a Ruger VBZ in 223,,the one I have is the first year production,,hammer forged 26" barrel and a blue reciever,,,this gun will do 1/2-3/8 groups all day long at 200yrds,,with the loads I have worked up for it,,53gr. hornady match hollow point
it has a truck load of whistle pigs under its belt,,,several coyotes and foxes
the gun is zeroed at 175,,and i have a target that has 5 holes touching at that zero,,this gun is heavy,,in the 10# range IIRC,,you never lose the target in the scope ,, recoil is hardly noticed
223 is cheap and deadly,, and fun because it is cheap,,easy on barrels and throats
IF you are planning on streaching the range out to longer prairie dog distance then maybe a 22-250,,,,
If I were going to go to a bigger gun,,for me a 243 would be the gun,,,it has a range of bullets that go from where the 223 and the 22-250 stop on up to the deer class bullets of 100gr+ range
is the 22-250 a better cartrige,,depends on what you are doing with it,,,in Ohio,,,I don't think so,,more muzzel blast,,more cost,,and like said earlier,, the pigs don't know if the bullet is running 3300,,or 3800,,he is DRT
This 223 I have has never failed to get the job done for me
thats my .02,,,YMMV
ocharry
I'm with Pete on this one. If you want a screamer these will do it for ya.
However, I want a 223 just cause I don't have one, and now with four 204s I don't really need the 22-250.
Of course, there'a always the 220 Swift, or a 243 shooting 55 grainers....just too many options........
Seriously, I really want a 223 just to see what all the hoop-la is. I bet they are a ton of fun.