Groundhog rifles ... any advice

awesome info guys - my longest shot were we hunt was 225 yrds (not with my 22 ) but i dont normaly shoot that far normaly between 150 200 yrd. thats why i want somthing a bit bigger with a little more whistle behind it.
 
I have a .223 and .204 but I would choose the .204 over the .223 and both are 26'' heavy barrels and for the same amount of powder the .204 would impress you now until the day the Lord takes you home. When you get 4000+ fsp and talk about explosive...... it will leave you drooling and smiling long after you leave the field. And as far as the bullet selection you will have many choices of these little pills that pull the dog out of the hole and do the dance in the air. So....... its the .204 over the .223.
NES
 
Dead is dead. And if you don't reload, .223 is the cheapest way to get there. a 55 grain bullet will do it every time. Easiest to find and probably the barrel will last longer than the other calibers.

If you reload, price is no longer an issue.
 
My rifle suggestion is on the expensive side. My only experience with a real Prairie Dog/groundhog rifle is my old Remington 10x, in .220 swift! I could suck a Prairie Dog out of the hole at 400 yards with the sweet shooting gem!
 
The best rifle I have for PDs is my Ruger #1 in 204, it's flat fast and a killer.

I have a Remington 700 in 223 that is also good but doesn't have the range of the 204, nor is it as flat shooting. It is quite a bit cheaper to shoot especially if you don't reload.

Having said that, I do most of my PD hunting with my hunting rifles, 257 Roberts and 270 Winchester simply because its great training for hunting purposes.

Both those guns are Featherweights so I can't shoot them as much at one setting so I take one or both of the other two (Ruger & Rem 700) to play with while my Model 70s cool off.

If I was to recommend one rifle for varmints it would be what ever you use as a main hunting rifle for training sake.
 
Everybody keeps talking about how "cheap" 223 ammo is....

Turns out not to be true if you compare "apples to apples" rather than "surplus bulk to premium high-end".

Check MidWayUSA. Premium 223 ammo is essentially the same price as 204 ammo of the same quality.

If you want to shoot lots of "bulk" ammo for less, yeah, the 223 wins. If you want "premium" ammo for long range precision, or if you load your own, 223 DOESN'T win.

Even when it "wins", 223 does it STRICTLY on price. It has NO other benefit over the 204 or 22-250. None of them are quiet enough to shoot without protection and the 204 and 22-250 absolutely OBLITERATE the 223 from a ballistics standpoint.
 
Still waiting for the OP to come back announcing that he bought a .22 magnum for 120yd groundhog shooting, rendering all of our 500yd ballistic comparisons moot.
This would be especially funny after peetzakilla's spirited .204 promotion. ;)
 
Don't take this wrong, I am just curious. I have only hunted rabbits, I figure you can't eat a groundhog? They are hunted because they are a nuissance; digging up the ground, eating your crops ect? Is that why people hunt prarie dogs too?
 
I don't know about other places, but we shoot groundhogs around here for two reasons: they endanger cattle by digging holes, and they destroy gardens. A single groundhog can wipe out a whole row of veggies in a single night. More, if you have short rows.
 
Groundhogs LOVE soybeans. An adult groundhog can clean off a quarter acre of soybeans. With 4 corners on a field, it is EASY to lose an acre of beans.

Farmers back in Illinois used to call me and tell me where they saw them.

From the middle of May until the last of June, the hog hunting was superb. After June, the beans got so high, you could not see them.

The best time was when the beans had sprouted and were about 3 or 4 inches high.

Peak time was in the afternoon just about the time the sun went down.

I had some wonderful times way back in the day. . .

Geetarman:D
 
mnero said:
Don't take this wrong, I am just curious. I have only hunted rabbits, I figure you can't eat a groundhog? They are hunted because they are a nuissance; digging up the ground, eating your crops ect? Is that why people hunt prarie dogs too?
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You can eat groundhog but not too many people do. There's nothing wrong with them. They live on the farmers best clover and alfalfa.

I hunt them for the thrill of the hunt now. It used to be because my grandfather owned a farm and they cause the problems talked about above. Now it's just because they make good targets.
 
I figured it was something like that. I guess I just couldn't do it, heck I would probably pet skunk if it would let me:Dbut rabbits are really good and if you want to eat one you can either use a .22lr, a 20 gauge shot gun, a trap or pay one of those gourmet shops a bunch of money. ;)
 
The Colorado Division of Wildlife has seen fit to consider the groundhog AKA marmot,to be an edible species,therefore placing a bag limit of 2 per day on them,possesion limit of 4.The season runs the middle of August to the middle of October. Our prairie dogs,considered inedible,also have a season for public land from the middle of June to the middle of February and no limit,on private land the season is year round.This is what happens when the state wildlife and forestry units are over run by environuts.
Here,in the South West mountains of CO. groundhog shooting usually involves wide draws,canyons and long parks so a cartridge capable of long range is needed,and,if you plan on eating your kill something that does not destroy much . The OP is not about prairie dog shooting ,but around here if it goes bang it is going to get used
 
Except for playing at the range, I have narrowed my rifles down to 4 that I activly use.

22lr for plinking, squirrels, and rabits.
22-250 for varmits
25-06 for coyote and antelope
300WM for just about everything else.
 
Everybody keeps talking about how "cheap" 223 ammo is....

Turns out not to be true if you compare "apples to apples" rather than "surplus bulk to premium high-end".

Check MidWayUSA. Premium 223 ammo is essentially the same price as 204 ammo of the same quality.
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One difference is that I can buy a box of .223 PMC Bronze for less than $7 a box (in Alaska, where pretty much everything costs more - shipping) that I am getting .3" groups with at 100 yards. I can, and do, spend more for "better ammo"; however, I have the option of shooting quite a bit of quality accurate .223 for not too much money.

I personally have never seen any .204 or 22-250 for anywhere near $7 a box.
 
AZAK said:
One difference is that I can buy a box of .223 PMC Bronze for less than $7 a box (in Alaska, where pretty much everything costs more - shipping) that I am getting .3" groups with at 100 yards. I can, and do, spend more for "better ammo"; however, I have the option of shooting quite a bit of quality accurate .223 for not too much money.

I personally have never seen any .204 or 22-250 for anywhere near $7 a box.
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Even if you get that kind of accuracy, surely you would not suggest that one would EXPECT to see those numbers from that ammo? That level of accuracy is beyond what many guns are capable of with ANY ammo, beyond what most ammo is capable of in ANY gun and beyond what most shooters are capable of with ANY combination of gun and ammo.

Besides which, you are doing exactly what I suggested... comparing apples and oranges. Among the issues being that PMC Bronze is FMJ ammo, hardly what anyone would suggest for ethical hunting.
 
Even if you get that kind of accuracy, surely you would not suggest that one would EXPECT to see those numbers from that ammo? ...
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I did not expect this accuracy from this ammo, just get it. I have posted targets in the last week or so from a NIB Remington 700 sps varmint 223. I have since been out again and continue to get .3" three shot groups (and a few sub .3) with the PMC Bronze; maybe I got a really good case or maybe it is well made ammo.

My point is that with 223 you have the option of much less expensive "accurate practice ammo"; at one-half to one-third of the cost of the 204 and 22 250. With these last two no real option for inexpensive ammo.

With the 223 barrel life should be longer than say the 22 250. For most shots an accurate rifle/ammo combo in 223 should be good and save money in the long run. I like to shoot and prefer to not hear the cash register ring too loudly each and every time that I pull the trigger. (For those cartridges, I reload.)

YMMV
 
that would be a great idea to use what i hunt with but .... in ohio we can only hunt deer with shotgun.. and i dont use my shot gun i use my muzz.loader . i have taken it out to kill hogs. but it gets to be a pain in the but when you are out for a while and esp. if you miss and have to reload becuase after everyshot threw my muzz. i run a patch threw
 
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