500 yard rifle for PD's

cabman

New member
I took the advise of this talk group last year and went with different guns for different distances and it really worked fine. I presently have a Cooper 17HMR., Cooper .223 and a Sauer 202 22-250 Varminter.

Last year in Montana we got into dogs at all different distances and I was very please with my rifles. We did get into who could shoot the "longest confirmed kill". This has resulted in the ineviditable competeion for longest shooter for this years trip.

One if the guys just got a Rem.700 in .243 from the remington custom shop. Awesome looking thing. First groups @ 100 yards not any better than my Cooper. I am sure that because he reloads he will tighten that up considerably.

I don't have the space and time to reload although it sounds like the real solution. I was thinking of having someone make some ammo for me but won't know how to develope "the right stuff" if I wasn't experimenting myself.

Anyway I was looking into a Les Baer rifle. They look a little extreme to me and then thought you guys could point me in another direction if I a barking up the wrong tree. Does anyone specialize in long distance rifles?

Thank you all for your help,

Bill
 
If you are just looking to kill p-dogs at 500 yds, the rifles you already have will work fine for that. Either one, your Cooper .223 or your .22-250 should be up to the task.

If you really want a purpose-built long range rig, there are quite a few really good riflesmiths that specialize in such rifles. Just how serious do you want to get? Or, put another way, how far do you want to shoot and how much do you want to spend? The top end long range varmint rigs are usually handloading only propositions, but you could easily have one built in a factory chambering to accept factory ammo.

- DAA
 
Cabman: Sounds like you are on the right track. 223 and 22-50 are hard to beat but be careful as there is nowhere to stop. Hard to believe but 3-400 yds can become boring as well as the fact that the longer distances you can be effective at the more shooting you get. Prarie dogs are every bit as addictive as calling. Have a ball and you always need another rifle.
REM
 
Welcome to the board Cab and Rem.

DAA has you on the right track. It all revolves around money. Whatever you are looking for, I can put you on some people if you like.
 
After looking at the posts I called Cooper and ordered some of their benchrest ammo made for the 223. Then I called Hornady and ordered some of their moly 22-250. I guess that is the best I can do for now. I would be interested in another rifle if it would get me out tere more accurately.

What about .243?

Is their anothe rrifle that would be more accurate or am I better just buying better ammo?

Thanks,

Cabman
 
Of course there are other rifles that would be more accurate, and especially at long range. But again, you need to decide how much you want to spend, how long you are willing to wait and how far you really want to shoot. For that matter, what is your shooting style? Prone off a bipod, portable bench rest, off the hood of the truck? That will make all the difference in what kind of rifle you would want. In a factory chambering, you could go with anything from an off the shelf varmint rifle in .243 or similar, up to a 50 pound custom in .338 Lapua Mag. I've no idea where you are looking at within that spectrum.

If you want to get serious about it, you can get a rifle that sure enough will make it easier to make those long range hits! You could order a whole rifle from Nesika, or Borden, or have a custom built by one of the "long rangers" like Tooley or Baer (Bruce! Not Les...), Tannel has been building some competitive rifles too, Dowling is always a good bet, there are others. You can take it as far as you want with any of these craftsmen. Bottom end for a complete rifle without scope would probably start around $1500, up to several times that much for a really nice "heavy gun", with a tensioned barrel, in a magnum chambering on a large custom action.

- DAA
 
There is a fairly well know gun smith that lives less than 25 miles of me that builds 500 yd and 1000 yard rifles. HIGH quality and has won many awards. If your interested I can get you his phone #

Boat
 
has anyone ever gotten better results by putting a better (read more expensive) scope on thier rifle? Do they make scopes with a built in range finder (and I don't mean mildot or the like)

Shot some prairie dogs on Saturday. I never thought I would be shooting prairie dogs in SD at the end of December!
 
I don't know if they still do or not, but Swarovski was making scopes with built-in laser range finding. One of my buddies has one, it's slicker than owl-poop. Cost about twice as much as a Nightforce though. I'd rather just get the Nightforce and a Leica laser range finder for the same money. Actually, that IS what I did! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

- DAA
 
It's just like drag racing how fast can you afford to go! why don't you take you 22-250 and have some tweaking done to it? if you have a fast twist barrel you can shoot the heavy bullets to help with wind but that 22-250 will or should have no problem at 500. I met a guy about 10 years ago that was shooting P dogs with a custom Mauser action in 300 Win Mag w/28" 1.125 dia barrel and one big @$$ break on the front and when I ask him why he was using such a big caliber for these little P dogs he said "cause I can" good luck with the descision but I think you already have the rifle you need to get the job done.
 
Here's a little suggestion you might consider before dropping a lot of bucks into another rig. Why not try to optimize what you have already to "reach out" a little further with some degree of consistency. I think i would take that 22-250, and load the highest B.C. 22 bullet that shoots accurate. Get a computer ballistics program (Exbal- www.perry-systems.com is an excellent choice at a bargain price of about $35), and invest in a good laser rangefinder. Now if you're using a good scope with a target elevation turret, then you can simply run in the clicks calculated from the ballistics program to establish zero's at any distance you want to shoot. If you don't have a scope with a target turret, Stoney Point sells graduated target turrets that can be installed on the turret screw cap threads for about $25, depending on the make of scope you have. If you're shooting from a stationary position, you could print out a drop table set up in 25 yd increments or so, and have it right there as a reference. The limiting factor here is the rangefinders ability to register readings, but my Leica 1200 isn't bad out to about 700 yds or so, even on relatively flat terrain. With a little bit of money and ingenuity invested in the right places, you will be pleasantly surprised what you can do with this sytem, if you haven't already done so.
 
I use a 25.06 with a 90grain sxt and have now problem getting out to and past the 600yard barrier with the greatest of ease. Have many confirmed woodchucks kills at the 600yd range. Relatively less expensive then larger bore guns. Two out of the box accurate makes are Remington and Savage. Rem is more expensive but it is a Rem. Savage has a new bull bore that is more accurate then the Rem. (my opinion) plus has the new accura trigger. Best trigger I used in a long time besides custom jobs.
 
How 'bout something in .338 Lapua Mag. or .408 CheyTac? The CheyTac is a 2000 meter round! :eek: Can you say, reach out and touch someone?

Paul
 
Cabman, I have been shooting an over the counter Ruger M77 22-250 for several years now. I have a Nikon 3x9 on it and it does fine out to 500 yards. We take 2 liter bottles filled with water to the beach and measure off 500 yds using a 100 yard piece of string. Even using factor ammo and a good rest, the shot can be made. AW
 
I agree with sscoyote.

For varmint shooting, you don't need a lot of power. All you really need is accuracy. Some rifles are capable of shooting better than others, but you might find a great load for the rifles you have.

I have a Ruger 77 MKII in .223 that shoots better than it has any right to. My brother and I were out about a month ago when he spotted a coyote at 500+ yards in the bottom of a canyon. He asked me what the most accurate rifle was that I had in the truck. I handed him that .223.

He asked me it it would kill a coyote at 500 yards so I said kinda sarcastically "Yeah, if you hit it right. At that range it will be about the same as a 22 mag or a bit less." He asked me how much it dropped and all I could tell him was "About 18 inches at 400 yards."

All this time the coyote was mousing in a grassy spot and seemed pretty unconcerned. My brother found something to rest the rifle on to steady the shot, waited 'till the coyote stopped, and shot. With a big grin he said "It drops about 3 feet at that range!" We took my airedale because we weren't sure the coyote would be dead, but he had hit it just above the left eye and the bullet exited behind the right ear.

It doesn't take a fancy rifle and it doesn't take a cannon. It just takes a gun/load you can hit them with.

DWL
 


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