Popular varmint calibres

[Heym SR20]

I have come to really like both the 222 and 223. Out of choice I would have a 222, but being a lefty the 223 is available. And lots of cheap ammo for range use. With the right bullet it will be good for any varmint and small deer. I am impressed with the 51gn Peregrine on everything from crows, squirrels (yes on the ground) to roe at ranges out to over 200m. And they use half the powder of 243 sized cased cartridges so cheap to run.

In the 1990s I used a 243 necked down to 22, shooting a 55gn ballistic tipped bullet. It shot laser flat to 300 - vitually no change of sight hold needed. Shot quite a few crows, many rabbits and foxes and culled plenty of deer (all head shot - the estate insisted). But these days I can’t see that the 22-250 or 22 Max etc make much sense, when the 243 is deer legal and probably shoots a light bullet even faster.

 

[User00053]

I have come to really like both the 222 and 223. Out of choice I would have a 222, but being a lefty the 223 is available. And lots of cheap ammo for range use. With the right bullet it will be good for any varmint and small deer. I am impressed with the 51gn Peregrine on everything from crows, squirrels (yes on the ground) to roe at ranges out to over 200m. And they use half the powder of 243 sized cased cartridges so cheap to run.

In the 1990s I used a 243 necked down to 22, shooting a 55gn ballistic tipped bullet. It shot laser flat to 300 - vitually no change of sight hold needed. Shot quite a few crows, many rabbits and foxes and culled plenty of deer (all head shot - the estate insisted). But these days I can’t see that the 22-250 or 22 Max etc make much sense, when the 243 is deer legal and probably shoots a light bullet even faster.

Love them all really which is my problem But if forced to have one it would be the 243 and could manage happily for everything with different loads (uk), in fact if not for thermal/ night vision I now probably would.
Could not part with the 222 though

 

[Ratel]

22 hornet zeroed 140 yards its point n shoot trajectory wise , 5.6 moa fv 10 mph 200 yards windages and 2 moa elivation 45 grain seirra, so not fantastic ballistics on paper but totally useable .
Remember though is like half the powder of say a 222 making it very suited for moderator use , you will get a very long barrel life and of course use up expensive powder and barrels very slowly
can load cast lead rounds for .22 lr or 22 wmr velocities or send a 45 grain jacketed round 2800-2900 fps
great for denning foxes without alerting the whole parrish
Just a pity its not legal for our smaller deer , i feel it would be absolutely ideal for this use especially muntjac in small plots of land

My own favourite rifle, would be last one to go. I killed a great number of Fallow with one sixty plus years ago when it was a legal calibre and using iron sights. I had no complaints, they all died and it was a big rifle compared to the .22 RF I had used before. In those days our knowledge was limited and there weren't so many experts about.

 

[Klenchblaize]

K25 Hornet

K

 

[One on top of two]

Mine is .223 AI nowadays

 

[cooper89]

.17Rem is by far my favourite, it’s with me 4-5 days a week, my 220swift and 204 hardly get a look in

 

[ChesterP]

Pretty safe bet the 223 was going to win, if question asked early seventies perhaps 222 and hornet, eighties 22/250 or 243, into and past the naughties the ascension of the 223 been pushed by uk gun shops and sporting press for numerous reasons and now so many choices between various age groups.
Wonder when the question will be asked, what was your favourite caliber, when we could.........

Yep, and for good reason. It's every bit as accurate imho, shoots a wider variety of bullet weights and with higher MV's. What's not to like? It's been around a darned sight longer than the naughties!! Since the late 1950's in fact from inception and as a sporting rifle since 1963 (Remington Model 760), although not popularised on these shores really much until the 1980's, still some 40 years ago, so hardly the new kid on the block. I'd settle for a 222 if there was much of a choice new which there isn't these days, but things evolve and the 223 could be considered a natural evolution of the .222 Remington. Both exceptionally nice rifles to shoot though. Everyone should have one or the other in their cabinets; one of the most versatile cals in production imho.

 

[JTO]

I found a dead fox on my place that must have been shot from next door. It would have been a about a 375 yard shoot. I heard he uses a .243 with a 58 grain bullet. Not a shot that I would have taken with the hard clay of mid summer and houses a further 200 yards behind, up a slight slope.

 

[ChesterP]

There's always someone willing to throw caution to the wind. I'd like to think as responsible stalkers, we'd always consider the backstop, and also the ethics of taking such a long shot unless very confident in our abilities and the terminal ballistics of the round.

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

I found a dead fox on my place that must have been shot from next door. It would have been a about a 375 yard shoot. I heard he uses a .243 with a 58 grain bullet. Not a shot that I would have taken with the hard clay of mid summer and houses a further 200 yards behind, up a slight slope.

Did you mention anything to him?

 

[kenbro]

I have come to really like both the 222 and 223. Out of choice I would have a 222, but being a lefty the 223 is available. And lots of cheap ammo for range use. With the right bullet it will be good for any varmint and small deer. I am impressed with the 51gn Peregrine on everything from crows, squirrels (yes on the ground) to roe at ranges out to over 200m. And they use half the powder of 243 sized cased cartridges so cheap to run.

In the 1990s I used a 243 necked down to 22, shooting a 55gn ballistic tipped bullet. It shot laser flat to 300 - vitually no change of sight hold needed. Shot quite a few crows, many rabbits and foxes and culled plenty of deer (all head shot - the estate insisted). But these days I can’t see that the 22-250 or 22 Max etc make much sense, when the 243 is deer legal and probably shoots a light bullet even faster.

Hi Heym,
I’m playing catchup with you….. just bought a Middlestead reamer.
I’ve got past worrying about the cost of consumables.
Ken.

 

[Heym SR20]

Hi Heym,
I’m playing catchup with you….. just bought a Middlestead reamer.
I’ve got past worrying about the cost of consumables.
Ken.

You will enjoy it. I was using a 22 Max which a friend built. It’s like the 22-243 but with the walls and shoulders really moved out - more like the AI version or for that matter the 22 CM. It was built on heavily tuned Rem 700 with a long 26” varmint weight fluted barrel. About a 50gn bullet doing best part of 4,000 fps. It was very flat shooting - Centre of crow hold to 300m plus.

I do though recall it needed a really good clean every 20 shots or so otherwise it fouled badly and accuracy dropped right away.

 

[JTO]

Did you mention anything to him?

Just told the tenant farmer neighbour it must have been a good shot, an inch and a half lower would have been a miss. Not seen the chap who made the shot for years, to speak to.
This thread is about calibres!

 

[norcan]

I do though recall it needed a really good clean every 20 shots or so otherwise it fouled badly and accuracy dropped right away.

That seems a bit inconvenient. Good excuse to try some moly-coated bullets, perhaps?

 

[Erik Hamburger]

I use a .22LR and a .17HMR
The .22LR is a S/A and that was a mistake: The blow-back action is noisier than the shot, so if you go for .22LR go for a B/A or even a single shot version.

If I could start again would ditch the .2LR and the .17HMR, and opt for a .22 Hornet as a main varmint rifle.

 

[norcan]

I
The .22LR is a S/A and that was a mistake: The blow-back action is noisier than the shot, so if you go for .22LR go for a B/A or even a single shot version.

Which one? There’s a lot you can do to make a Ruger 10/22 cycle without too much racket, starting with swapping the steel bolt-stop pin for an elastomer one.

 

[User00053]

Yep, and for good reason. It's every bit as accurate imho, shoots a wider variety of bullet weights and with higher MV's. What's not to like? It's been around a darned sight longer than the naughties!! Since the late 1950's in fact from inception and as a sporting rifle since 1963 (Remington Model 760), although not popularised on these shores really much until the 1980's, still some 40 years ago, so hardly the new kid on the block. I'd settle for a 222 if there was much of a choice new which there isn't these days, but things evolve and the 223 could be considered a natural evolution of the .222 Remington. Both exceptionally nice rifles to shoot though. Everyone should have one or the other in their cabinets; one of the most versatile cals in production imho.

Totally agree. Only seven years between the birth of each caliber and if asked by new starter on a suitable varmint caliber think most would recommend the 223 for so many reasons, given the choices available today.
Love the 222 and also have 223, but if one had to go it would be the 223 only through nostalgia for the 222.

 

[MarinePMI]

That seems a bit inconvenient. Good excuse to try some moly-coated bullets, perhaps?

Uhh...no. That's just tying a red ribbon bow onto a turd.

 

[MarinePMI]

.224 Valkyrie. Great on vermin, near and far, and with enough velocity to do so effectively on critters up to fox or coyote with a wide range of bullet weights.

 

[Bowland blades]

I use a .22LR and a .17HMR
The .22LR is a S/A and that was a mistake: The blow-back action is noisier than the shot, so if you go for .22LR go for a B/A or even a single shot version.

If I could start again would ditch the .2LR and the .17HMR, and opt for a .22 Hornet as a main varmint rifle.

i wouldnt have another hmr if it was free personally and i dont use 22 lr much now unless i am shooting very high numbers on supplied ammo there is little point . Reloading .22 hornet is cheap, easy and fast . If i cast lead it would equate to RF costs , i would get into that if 22 cal can keep lead