Long range varmint rifle...

[Redneck2]

Want to go on a PD hunt sometime, probably next summer. Looking for a long (as in 600-1,000 yard) rifle.

I have a .223, 22-250, and 25-06., and 300 Win Mag. The 250 is a Remington VS and I haven't checked, but I doubt the twist is fast enough for the new high SD bullets (87 gr), etc.

The 25-06 would seem ideal. It has a custom barrel and it's heavy for caliber, but there don't seem to be any real high SD bullets for the .25. The WM would work, but it's fairly light and I'm thinkin' it would get old quick off a bench.

I'd rather stay away from custom rifles if possible, or at least away from wildcat calibers. I was thinking maybe a 6 mm Remington, but then again I understand they tend to be hard on barrels, to the tune of maybe 2,000 rounds before the accuracy goes away. My local dealer has a Styer in .308. I have zero experience but I understand they're supposed to be quite good. I can get it less than dealer cost (NIB),

I'd rather stay 6.5 or less due to recoil, and the fact that I probably won't connect on the first shot (OK, maybe on the first 30 or 40).

so, is there a factory rifle that will fill the bill??? The guys I'm going with each use 6.5-06's with 8x32 scopes, and all three have confirmed 1,000 yard hits. Any thoughts from experienced long range shooters appreciated.

[Art Eatman]

If you re-barrelled the .25-06 to the 6.5-'06, you could use your buddies' loading data...You'd still have the same capabilities that you now use it for.

Art

[stinger]

600-1000 yard shots on PD's (I assume that is prarie dogs and not police departments :eek: )


Are those creatures just too darn vicious to maybe sneak up a few hundred more yards??? :D


Stinger

[Jeeper]

Personally I would look at the 6mm and 257 caliber’s the most. I really like the 6mm-284. It is a really fast round and you can get some heavy bullets from companies like Berger. I think that the 6mm offer the best performance for prairie dogs because of the versatility at different ranges. The 257’s are also good and will give you more versatility on other game you might want to take. I like the 25-06. All of these are close to basically the weatherby caliber’s or the Lazzeroni’s. Those guns will provide you with stock ammo capability also. If you wanted those then the 240 weatherby or the 257 would do ya. You could also go with something a little bigger like a 264 Winchester which is also flat shooting. I don’t like the idea of a 308 or 300 win for prairie dogs because it might beat you up after a while. A lot of hunters take multiple (3-5) guns out that are suited for different ranges or wind conditions. I personally prefer wildcats and custom rifles since they are fun to mess with.

[Redneck2]

since the 6mm Rem is a 6-257 Roberts, a .243 is a 6mm-08, and the 260 Rem is a 6.5-08, is there a "valid" reason (other than wanting one, which I guess is valid) that the 6 or 6.5 x 284 would be worth going to???

As to Art's answer.....man, this 25-06 has an almost new custom barrel. The thought of pulling it off breaks my heart. Also, it gives me a reason to get a caliber I don't already have.

A local store has a Mauser action Douglas 1x10 barrel custom 6mm. Barrel looks pristine. Heavy laminated stock and custom trigger. $550. Don't know if 1-10 is quick enough for the heavy bullets I wanted to use.

Looking for the "best" long range factory round. I had already considered the 6.5x284. Thanks for the replies

[Art Eatman]

Redneck2, I just didn't know you actually had the itch for a new critter. Sorry. :)

There's a formula for bullet weight/length and rifling twist, which is on a piece of paper at my other home, 1,400 miles away.

You might start a thread, "Rifling Twist Formula?" Or hope somebody reads this and chimes in.

Art

[swifter...]

Redneck2,

I'm running a 10 twist in my 6MM AI, it likes 87 and 95 gr bullets.
I don't know why they wouldn't work at 1K, pds ain't grizbars!:D

Tom

[Redneck2]

is yours a 6mm Remington with the Ackley treatment, or start out as something else?? If it's the standard 6, then this custom job may be the way to go

do you shoot long range/competition or just shoot???

to start from scratch and get a full custom gun would probably be way more than $550....that's kinda one of the reasons I shied away from going the custom route. I got my 25-06 with a 3x12 Burris and fancy Fajen stock for $400+. The scope is worth that alone.

[Bogie]

Don't fret about "pulling off" the custom barrel. Likely all you'll need will be a barrel vise and an action wrench, and if the smith did the job correctly, you can just screw the thing back in - no problem. I swap barrels on my bench guns all the time. I assume that the action was trued when the barrel was installed? What make barrel is it? Select Match quality?

Personally, for a reach out and touch varmint gun, I'd go with a LONG and HEAVY 6.5/284 barrel. You MUST handload to get the most accuracy out of ANY cartridge. You can set up to do that for only a couple of hundred bucks - you WILL NOT want the fancy progressive presses, etc., so don't worry abou that part. You're firing one shot at a time, and you want to make each one count.

If I were making a new critter gun, I'd start with a Wally World Remington 700 action, send it to Speedy Gonzales to have it trued and sleeved, bedded in a stock, and a select match-grade full profile heavy varmint barrel installed.

[Charlie Lima]

redneck: formula for rifling twist is on it's way. If file doesn't work, let me know & I will try again.
I'm a harley rideing rifle shooter not a computer geek so I don't always get this stuff right.
:)

[Jamis]

600 to 100 yards??? I wouldn't count on hitting any. Out past 300 yards, those things get pretty small.

[uglygun]

For Ca. ground squirrel, prarrie dog sized or smaller at best, I prefer to use an accurized AR15 in 223Remington for shooting and nailing those little buggers out to 400 yards and attempting shots out to 500+ yards.

The semiauto action makes it ideal with the light recoiling round(especially on a heavy gun with heavy barrel) for watching every single shot impact the target when viewing through the scope, with my Leupold 6.5-20 set to 20x I can watch every impact no matter what the distance. At 100 yards when shooting from a tight prone position the action cycling appears to cause the cross hairs to "bounce" off target by only about 1/4 of an inch, talk about the ability for a quick follow up shot.


So far the custom AR15 I'm using has proven to be a consistent 3/4 inch 10 shot group shooter at 100 yards and shooting out to farther distances is really pretty simple.


As a varmint gun it has the advantage of having:
easy and convinient ammo storage while letting you pick your magazine capacity, gives quick reloads without having to carry loose ammo, gives quick follow up shots, nearly recoiless, still has a potent varmint chambering allowing for impressive "arials", accuracy suitable to do the job.


It can really be a devistating and well suited package if your intent is to go out and get serious with the Varmint Cong.



Only problem and probably the most obvious one, PRICE. Darned things get expensive quick if you aren't careful.



Next up on the slate, an accurized 243Winchester upper assembly for my AR10 to see if I can't turn it into an even longer range varmint rifle.

[Redneck2]

I know you shoot BR so I was hoping you'd respond...

I know it can vary (sometimes greatly) but what kind of $$$$ are you typically talking for something you described???

The 6mm I looked at was obviously built for BR. Any thoughts on that (the suitability of a 6mm Remington)??? For $550 with a Douglas barrel, aftermarket trigger, laminated BR stock, and mauser action, it seems the price is right. Swifter said he runs a 1-10 so I assume I could get by with that. If not, maybe I should buy it, do the barrel switch idea per your suggestion, and "drop on" a 6.5x284. I know Mausers are used for a lot of conversions, but how do they fare for BR???

I guess the question is, how much better (a subjective term) is the 6.5 over the 6mm??

Handload...no problem...all set up.