Favorite Varmint Cartridges / Loads?

[CountryGent]

Might be a fun and informative one: what are some of your favorite varmint hunting cartridges and why? (Can be for any varmint species or firearm type you wish.) Any that you found surprisingly good? Any that didn't really work out?

Thanks for sharing!

Read More

 

[DLS]

I'm pretty "old school" and boring for varmints. Depending on distance:
.22 Hornet / K-Hornet (suppressed)
.223 Remington
.220 Swift

 

[Andy54Hawken]

.22LR
.22Magnum
.22 Hornet
.223
For modern guns...all of which I have used for varmint / small game...even deer with .223.

.36 caliber .375 .lead round ball...65 grains of 2F and a .15 patch.
.45 caliber .440 lead round ball....75 grains of 2F and a .15 patch
.50 caliber .490 lead round ball...75 grains of 2F and .15 patch
.54 caliber .530 lead round ball ...80 grains of 2F and .25 patch
Andy

 

[drstrangelove]

22-250 Ruger 1V. Only need a single shot. Never had a varmint stick around for another try.

 

[bionic knees]

I shot a 6mm remington for years, hundreds of rock chucks misted over the years. 87 gr hollow point handloads, don't remember the charge. Sold that rifle to member here a decade or so ago.

 

[arrowshooter]

22 LR
22 WMR
17 HMR
17-556 KAK
20 Practical
223 Rem

The 223, 22 LR, 22 WMR and 17 HMR is what I had for my first trip to the "rat" fields. The 20 Practical and 17-556 KAK only exist because they are based off the 5.56 case. The center fires all get the V-Max over H335.

 

[Retired Guy]

22LR - CCI SV (hollow point with Waltz die)
17 HMR
223 Rem - 53 grain VMax with TAC powder.

I'm now starting to test loads with the 40 grain VMax.

Also sort of looking for a 17 Hornet. I am really impressed with that round but not sure I want to get another rifle and start loading another caliber.

 

[kmk1012]

22 LR
22 WMR
17 HMR
17-556 KAK
20 Practical
223 Rem

The 223, 22 LR, 22 WMR and 17 HMR is what I had for my first trip to the "rat" fields. The 20 Practical and 17-556 KAK only exist because they are based off the 5.56 case. The center fires all get the V-Max over H335.

I'm very tempted to get something in the 17-556 KAK as sub calibers draw me in for some reason. Brass seems easily converted and load data is getting more available. Would be a fun cartridge.

 

[oremike]

.223 Remington loaded with Speer 50gr TNT bullets. Shot out of a CZ 527.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

.22 H & N target Trophy Power. Couple thousand invasive squirrels and hundreds of crows and starlings. Other oddballs such as rats and pigeons. Very accurate and hits with more power than other pellets for my gun.

 

[357 MAX]

25 06 Varmints to Elk. my only rifle for many years. I once shot a rock chuck with my T/C contender in .41 mag, DRT. my dad shot chucks with 300 win. mag, turned them into flying squirrels!

 

[MTpockets]

I don't have trouble with predators anymore... but these were my favorite. They were recently discontinued.
Federal .308 Winchester 130 grain ~3000+ FPS at the muzzle.

There may be better options... but this is a decent option for people who want to use their deer/elk rifle for critter control, without wasting their hunting ammunition. The bullets fragment well, so they tend not to ricochet into the distance.

All of my other favorites are just as boring as my choice above... Probably because I was more of an opportunist when it came to varminting. Usually my dog would unearth a mountain beaver or bounce a critter. If she couldn't (or wouldn't) finish it, I would take care of it with whatever I was carrying. Sometime a Savage 24 22LR over a 20 gauge, other times a Ruger Mark II Government Target Model, Single Six in 22LR/22WMR, Ruger Blackhawk 30 Carbine, S&W Model 19 in 38/357MAG. Once used a Browning Hi-Power to rid an apple tree of a goose thieving bobcat (had the goose in the tree). If the animal is strictly a pest without any redeemable value, a shotgun might be a good choice...unless it is in the hen house.

 

[357 MAX]

started with a daisy BB gun for sparrows starlings and lizards. graduated to 22 LR. ground squirrels chucks and jacks. where I grew up 200 yards east you were in the mountains 200 yards west in the lava beds, paradise for a growing kid. too bad fishing was 30-45 min bike ride away.

 

[CountryGent]

Going from memory ...

• Have in the past: .22 LR, .22 WMR, .223 Remington, and .30 ̷ 40 Krag. (I've also used revolvers loaded with CCI shot to dispatch rodentia and other pests, but I wouldn't consider that "varmint hunting", exactly.)
• Have in the battery that could conceivably work, but haven't tried: .30 Carbine, .300 Savage.
• Considering for future: .243 Winchester, .22—250 Remington, or 6㎜-ish something. (I'm looking at various rifles for a dedicated varmint gun. Leaning towards a Remington 7400 in .243, but I'm not wedded to the idea by any stretch. I found a couple svelte Steyrs with set triggers in .243 and 6㎜ Remington and a Tikka in 6.5㎜ Swedish, for example, that look neat.)

 

[JRuby]

I have a Frankenstein mauser 98 in 244 remington that will stack 85g hollow points on top of each other. Not much of a hunting rifle but one accurate target rifle with 85g hollow points. 100g bullets look like a shotgun pattern. If I had to compete this would be my choice. Not a pretty looking rifle.

I have aqured a 22-250AI in a mark x mauser I have yet to shoot. It was built by my friend a gun smith for himself. I could not ask for a more perfect rifle it I commissioned it. I have high hopes for it. I will admit never really cared for rifles under 6mm. This will be a neat learning experiment. He supposedly a.long time ago killed wild burros with it quite successfully.

 

[Cerberus Group]

22-250 Remington 788

Looking for a 6mm Remington in a model 788 or 700

Also looking for a good rifle in 22 Mag

 

[kmk1012]

I have a Frankenstein mauser 98 in 244 remington that will stack 85g hollow points on top of each other. Not much of a hunting rifle but one accurate target rifle with 85g hollow points. 100g bullets look like a shotgun pattern. If I had to compete this would be my choice. Not a pretty looking rifle.

I have aqured a 22-250AI in a mark x mauser I have yet to shoot. It was built by my friend a gun smith for himself. I could not ask for a more perfect rifle it I commissioned it. I have high hopes for it. I will admit never really cared for rifles under 6mm. This will be a neat learning experiment. He supposedly a.long time ago killed wild burros with it quite successfully.

My father in law gifted me an Interarms Mark X in 22-250 AI when I married his daughter. That thing looks like a hunting rifle but would shoot a dime taped on a board at 220 yards every time! 220 yards was the longest shot at the "landing" where I cut my teeth with firearms. I ended up gifting it to his son, my brother in law when he wanted to take his son hunting, really wish I'd had bought a compass or other cheap rifle and gifted that to him. If you want to rid yourself of that Mark X, I'd be really interested for certain.

 

[JRuby]

The rifle is as important to me for who it came from as what it is. I have known my friend since 1998. To me this rifle has a value to me that is irreplaceable.

 

[kmk1012]

The rifle is as important to me for who it came from as what it is. I have known my friend since 1998. To me this rifle has a value to me that is irreplaceable.

I get it, hang onto that thing as it has more than monetary value.

 

[Bobbygun]

The last coyote I shot was with a .300 Weatherby Magnum. Kind of expensive for a varmint cartridge, but it did stop him in his tracks. Back when I used to shoot a lot of digger squirrels and such, my go-to was my Dad's .222 Remington 722 with handloaded Sierra 55 grain spire points. The most accurate rifle I ever shot. Dad's long gone, but I still have the rifle.