Best caliber for a wind prone area?

F

FarmerShawn

New member
Hi all, I am new to posting but have followed this site several months. I have a farm in western Oklahoma and we have a prairie dog problem. I have used bolt guns in 22-250 to try and keep them under control, and find that caliber great at smacking yotes, cats, and smaller wild hogs. I purchased a POF in 6.8mm to take out the hogs, they really make a mess of my fields. The prairie dogs have completely taken over about 125 acres of grazing land, and they have migrated into my cultivated fields. So I need to get after them hard. Poision only slows them down for about a year, and they are back to full force. The bolt gun does not have a quick follow up shot, so I loose many pd's that way. And the 22-250 kicks enough that I loose sight of them, dont see if I hit them or not, or where I hit for that matter, so I can't make wind adjustments.
So here is the question. I need an upper in a caliber that can shoot across a large field accurately, not buck so much that I loose sight of what I am shooting at, and be resistant to wind. I know that there is no magic bullet and that the wind will always be a factor, but some bullets handle wind better than others. I am not afraid of reloading. I was thinking of DTec's 6.8 necked down to .22, the .22 WSSM, or the .204 ruger. Will the .204 carry 500 yards? With a compensator, can the 22 dtech or 22 wssm be shot without loosing the scope picture? Unfortunately, I have to shoot diagnal to the prevailing wind which is seldom less than 15 to 20 mph. I do like high velocity loads because its easier to compensate for range and wind if the bullet gets there like a laser beam.
Thanks all.
 
The best answer would be to invite me to come over and shoot! I don't mind missing due to wind. I'll also bring my own ammo so you don't have to provide.
I wouldnt choose to 204 for the wind. I'd say stick with the 22 250 or a 223 and just run some heavier bullets
 
I forgot to mention that I have to use very fragile bullets. We have two neighbors that live about a mile away, one due North and the other due West. We have had people come out and shoot from the road, and rickochet bullets into one neighbors house and boat, and thats just not cool. So heavy bullets of any caliber are generally not an option.
 
If you want a lazer beam shooter, have dtech build you a 223 wssm with his comp. You won't lose sight picture and have quick follow up shots with it. Get a scope with mil dots and you can quickly adjust to windage.
 
Last time I shot my brother's 243 (700 clasic) or his 243 (R25), lost the sight picture. Thought the OP was looking for something that he wouldn't lose the sight pitchure with. The 243 might work for that if it had a comp on it, but never shot one with a comp so I don't know.
 
i would imagine the 204 would be your thing out to 300yds, but the 6mm bullet is pretty slick at fighting the wind, as is the 6.5
 


223 is really hampered by wind. I think the 77 SMK is about the best you can do and still mag feed. 6.5 Grendel or 6mmAR (or RAT) would much better.
 
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I am tempted to purchase a 22-250 AR, but not wanting to deal with the manufacturer. Since the 22-250 uses the same bullet as the 223, is it hampered by the wind like a 223?
 
I dont have an AR 22-250 but I do have a bolt. It gets windy where I shoot and the wind does mess with me. My 22-250 has a slow twist rate so the 55gr to 60gr pills is about as big as I can go. A 22-250 with a faster TR can send a bigger bullet down range and buck the wind better.
 
The 22-250 uses the same bullets as the 223, it just pushes them at higher velocities. In a .22 caliber and your situation, Hornady 53gr. Vmaxs sound like a great choice. Fragile yet good balistic coefficiant and very good velocity, it moves fast so it has less time to drop and get blown around.

Having to worry about neighbors is too bad, otherwise a larger 6mm would be great on the practical side. If you didnt have to worry about neighbors or money, 6.5 or even better a big 7mm you would forget what wind was at 300 yards and under.

22-250 in an AR sound great for you. It may be more of an investment than you would like but if you put a suppressor on the end of your rifle it would kick less and sometimes add velocity. You would also scare less varmints at closer range. Good Lucky.
 
Originally Posted By: eneranchOriginally Posted By: MPFD6x45 works pretty good in Kansas...

Works fine in Colorado too !!

There's a lot of them that work good, and there's dang sure absolutely nothing wrong with wanting/getting a new rifle to kill prairie dogs. In fact it's good for the soul.

BUT, if you truly think you're going to eradicate prairie dogs by shooting them, I'm afraid you're in for a big surprise. It WILL be fun trying though.
smile.gif
 
I have 2 Stag Arms model-6 .223 1-8 and shoot 52bthp in one and 75bthp in the other. 9.7lbs so follow up shots are easy as you never lose sight picture. I do agree with Doggin yotes. It would be very hard the nix the pop by shooting but would be very fun.
 
Originally Posted By: doggin coyotesOriginally Posted By: eneranchOriginally Posted By: MPFD6x45 works pretty good in Kansas...

Works fine in Colorado too !!

There's a lot of them that work good, and there's dang sure absolutely nothing wrong with wanting/getting a new rifle to kill prairie dogs. In fact it's good for the soul.

BUT, if you truly think you're going to eradicate prairie dogs by shooting them, I'm afraid you're in for a big surprise. It WILL be fun trying though.
smile.gif


I agree, I guess I meant for bucking the wind more so then making PD's extinct...
 
In the past, I have been able to keep them out of cultivated land by working them over with rifles along the edge of the fields, and poisioning them along the edges also. Off topic, I built a device out of welding equipment and auto ignition components that blows their tunnels up. Its a pipe with welding hose and a spark plug. I put it in the tunnel and lay sand bags over the opening. I turn on propane and oxygen for several minutes, shut off the valves, arm the electronics and press the button. At night, it blows a blue flame about 50 feet into the air. At times, dogs fly out of connecting holes. They are fun to try and kill, but cost me about 20 acres of wheat last year. That is about $6000 in revinue and a loss of about $3000 in expenses to plant. If you lost a total of $6000 because of those rodents, you would want to be burning up barrels also.
 
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