What's your caliber of choice for varmints?

Inside 50 yards: .22 LR.
Feel the need for centerfire: 9mm.

Cheap, effective, and many handguns to choose from.

For me, those two would be employed in a Browning Buckmark or Ruger Wrangler for .22 LR; and a Ruger P95 or Beretta 92S for 9mm. I have others to use for each cartridge, but those are the preferred lead delivery apparatus.
 
I want accuracy with enough killing power to get the g-hogs killed effectively. Therefore, my preference of centerfire vs. rimfire. I usually carry a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c or a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 45. Both handguns will shoot 1" groups at 20 yards.

I'm the same, in preferring high velocity JHP bullets, in any caliber being used.
I've killed g-hogs with 125 gr. JHP bullets out of a .357 Mag., 180 gr. JHP bullets out of a 44 Mag., 147 gr. JHP bullets out of a 9mm M&P.
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Have you tried either of your carry guns for groundhogs?

Is the M&P you've already used full-sized? How was that for groundhogs? I'm just trying to understand if there is something more you need or want for the task and if so, what.
 
22lr. at 50 yards if you can't hit one in the head you need to go home. You need nothing more than open sights unless you have vision issues.
 
Thinking further I must say there is groundhog hunting, and there's groundhog, and other varment shooting.
If you are talking dedicated semi-auto handgun groundhog hunting I'll stick with my first suggestion, a Ruger Charger in 22 LR.
But if you are talking about the incidentally ambushing of a whistle pig or two while you are hiking, or cruising around, then just about any pistol you can shoot accurately at that distance will do.
 
armednfree said:
22lr. at 50 yards if you can't hit one in the head you need to go home. You need nothing more than open sights unless you have vision issues.
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I hope this assertion is under the mistaken assumption that he's talking rifles. A pistol shot to the head of a ground hog at 50 yards, rest or no rest, is not an easy shot.
 
armednfree said:
22lr. at 50 yards if you can't hit one in the head you need to go home. You need nothing more than open sights unless you have vision issues.
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With a semi-auto handgun of any caliber, I don't think many people could hit the groundhog at all at 50 yards.
 
50yds is within range of any CF cartridge. The cartridge wouldn't make as much difference as a pistol capable of that kind of accuracy. Unless you are Bob Munden a soil swine head shot at 50yds ain't easy. I've only got 2 pistols other than 22s that I would carry for that purpose. A Brn HP competition model 9mm and a S&W 38wc. M52. If you can shoot irons offhand into a groundhogs head at 50yds you a bad dude. At 50yds with handgun I center shoot them. I've shot thousands of groundhogs most with Varmit rifles. The bulk of pistol kills were with a Hi St 22.
 
Buckmark, Ruger Mk whatever, or S&W Victory.

For groundhog-sized varmints a .22LR will work just fine. If you want more dramatic hits/aftermath try something bigger and faster.

I've shot dozens of prairie dogs with my S&W Victory, some as large as 16 inches long, probably almost 2 lbs. and a .22LR will kill them just fine. Though a borderline hit will allow them to crawl away or even run off. But they don't generally survive the hit, it just takes longer for them to expire.

Oh, my longest shot so far with the Victory on a p-dog was just over 40 yards. One shot to the chest and he ran in circles for about ten seconds then keeled over.
 
I can put bulk 22lr ammo into a 4" area at 50 yards with my mkIII 22/45 and that is running through the mag pretty quick. I'm not bragging, just saying I think a 50 yd shot on a groundhog seems pretty doable at least with a 22 semiautomatic pistol. I can't shoot my centerfires nearly as well at those distances, but they are not target pistols either.
 
A .22 LR is pretty light for humanely hunting ground hogs, and especially at the extended range (50 yds.) you've specified. I spent much of my youth running a trap line and ridding the local dairy farm meadows of woodchucks with a .22 rifle and believe me, they are hard to kill unless the shot is spot on. Accuracy is always primary to get a clean kill on any animal and few center-fire semi-autos have it right out of the box. A well tuned .45 ACP on a 1911 frame is a possibility however.

In over 50 years of handgun competition and some hunting, I've never found a gun/load combination to beat the venerable .45, and that includes 9mm's, .40 S&W's, & .38 Super's as well. Since you have specified out to 50 yds in your original post, for ground hogs, you'll need a gun/load capable of 2" grouping and that, IMHO, precludes any but a tuned .45.

If you include revolvers, at a minimum I'd recommend a .32 H&R or .327 Magnum with any good SWC bullet. In my experience, it's a rare S&W or Colt and some Rugers that will not suffice out to at least 40 yds for this type of hunting. Good sights are a must, and they must be able to center your groups and that eliminates any fixed sight gun. I've owned three .32 H&R caliber revolvers; a pair of Rugers and a Smith M16...and all would hold 2" out to 40 yds with a good steady rest. I'd also recommend (and own) a good .357...again, S&W, Colt and Ruger make guns that'll suffice right out of the box...

Overall, unless you are phenominally lucky, I think you'll have difficulty finding an auto that has the accuracy you need out past 25 yds...and even that will take a tuned gun/load combination.

YMMv Rod
 
All the handguns I would personally consider for varmints are single shots but I think a Ruger .22 target pistol would be OK if the varmints weren't too far away...

Tony
 
... In over 50 years of handgun competition and some hunting, I've never found a gun/load combination to beat the venerable .45, and that includes 9mm's, .40 S&W's, & .38 Super's as well. Since you have specified out to 50 yds in your original post, for ground hogs, you'll need a gun/load capable of 2" grouping and that, IMHO, precludes any but a tuned .45.

If you include revolvers, at a minimum I'd recommend a .32 H&R or .327 Magnum with any good SWC bullet. In my experience, it's a rare S&W or Colt and some Rugers that will not suffice out to at least 40 yds for this type of hunting. Good sights are a must, and they must be able to center your groups and that eliminates any fixed sight gun. I've owned three .32 H&R caliber revolvers; a pair of Rugers and a Smith M16...and all would hold 2" out to 40 yds with a good steady rest. I'd also recommend (and own) a good .357...again, S&W, Colt and Ruger make guns that'll suffice right out of the box...

Overall, unless you are phenominally lucky, I think you'll have difficulty finding an auto that has the accuracy you need out past 25 yds...and even that will take a tuned gun/load combination...
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Part of the issue here is a balance between "humane kills" and challenge. I hoped to make the case for pushing a carry gun (within reason). On the one hand, needless suffering is bad. On the other hand, we're not talking about deer here. These are relatively small varmints that are considered big pests in a lot of cases. The .22 LR we're moving away from here can cause serious long-term suffering, possibly without death. On an animal this small, a hollow point in 9mm (or anything more powerful) starts doing much more dramatic damage.

Speaking of .32-caliber revolvers, I've taken a few long shots with my 4" SP101 in .327 Federal. There can be a little luck involved but it can be very rewarding. At least with JHP in that setup, even a hit to the hind quarters is probably more humane than a mousetrap can be on household rodents.
 
There is nothing to keep a groundhog from being solidly anchored with any standard 9mm hollow point, anything bigger would be an unnecessary waste of cost and power, and create an increased risk to others if you aren't outside of a ricochet zone. I would use 115 grain or smaller, and just compare them on paper for the one that is most accurate.

Even so, I once had to shoot a raccoon in near absolute darkness with a 9 in 115 silvertip. God knows where he was actually hit, but he limped away with a trail of blood. This area is densely populated, houses are less than thirty feet from wall to wall. I wasn't going to make any follow up shots because they couldn't be fired straight into the ground.

This isn't an answer to your question, you didn't ask it, I would personally have suggested an accurate revolver firing .38 special in standard hp rounds or a .357 with light loads and bullets. It is possible that you could find a more accurate revolver than a semiauto, and there is no need at all to have the high capacity magazine. You could even load the single fired chamber between appearances.
 
38 Spl. and .357 Mag. in a revolver are very accurate and I've owned several over the years.
* I'm considering a Ruger GP-100 in a 6" barrel. The S&W 686 is too expensive...a good handgun, but the Ruger is more affordable.
* Very affordable is the Taurus 627 with a 6.5" barrel, but I question its' reliability. :confused:
* I've owned and shot many S&W M&Ps in 9mm that would shoot 1" groups at 20 yards and these were CC style handguns with short barrels. I'm sure a M&P with a 5.25" barrel would be plenty accurate out to 35 yards and beyond with a good rest.
* A Canik SFX is another consideration. A full "race gun" from the factory with a Vortex Viper installed, it has great potential for accuracy with the correct ammo from 10 to 35 yards (estimated hunting yardages).

*** Rimfires "can" get the job done, but are borderline for clean kills, when compared to centerfire handguns. I will not consider any rimfire handguns for this task. :(

Bowhunter57
 
Rimfires "can" get the job done
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I don't care what in the world is being discussed, those words should set off the storm sirens every time they are heard. You can drink cheap beer, you can eat generic baloney. A friend of mine spent god knows how long putting a 302 and a holley four in a pinto. You can hunt grizzly with an AR.

The Phrase "you can..." should always be followed up with "but you may regret it when it fails to live up to what you expect it to be capable of."

Any item that is recommended by "You can" should almost always be set aside in favor of "this will do it well."

Jeeze, I get so tired of my wife telling me "it's not bad" if I try new food on her. "not bad" covers a whole lot of territory. Like the time I tried making curry.
 
I don't care what in the world is being discussed, those words should set off the storm sirens every time they are heard. You can drink cheap beer, you can eat generic baloney. A friend of mine spent god knows how long putting a 302 and a holley four in a pinto. You can hunt grizzly with an AR.

The Phrase "you can..." should always be followed up with "but you may regret it when it fails to live up to what you expect it to be capable of."

Any item that is recommended by "You can" should almost always be set aside in favor of "this will do it well."

Jeeze, I get so tired of my wife telling me "it's not bad" if I try new food on her. "not bad" covers a whole lot of territory. Like the time I tried making curry.
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Damn. Genetic resistance to Magnumitis has crossed from big game to varmints.
Now even squirrels and spiders are immune to .22 LR.

What can we do to combat this phenomena of natural armor being evolved by mammalian game species...?
 
Now even squirrels and spiders are immune to .22lr.
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Maybe it's a regional thing. The big wolf spiders in my basement still fall to spring action airsoft pellets.:) But, to play devil's advocate, I've heard them whistle pigs are tough and at 50 yards out of a pistol, maybe it's at the edge of appropriate. But, we are talking ground hogs..varmint in my neck of the woods.
 
I DO understand the OP was looking for center fire suggestions. I only brought up 22 rimfire because(IMO) it's adequate for ground hogs and something I can consistently shoot accurately at those distances.
 
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