Short barrel Varmint rig advice

B

BDriskill16

New member
I am wanting to build, rechamber, or whatever I need to do to get a short barrel varmint gun.
Short barrel 18”, anything from 204 to 6MM caliber, it will be suppressed and a bolt gun.
I know I can google and find a lot of info on this, and have, but can’t trust google.
So reaching out to the pros, the guys that know.
I’d like to shoot factory ammo, but can reload. Shots out to 200 occasionally, but 75-150 range mostly. I have a .204 with 20”, but feels like it’s forever long and a bit heavy with can on it.
I’d love to hear some real life experiences and knowledge if possible.
 
My go to rifle is a rem 700 tactical 223 1 in 9 with 2.5lb Timney. Original 20” barrel was cut to 18” and threaded for my can. Shoots 69gr smk into one ragged hole. 65-40hr bullets do the same with some load work.

My only complaint is that it’s a bit heavy. A heavy sporter barrel would be slightly better vs the rem varmint contour.

A sweet all around rig I’ve considered is a Ruger ranch 5.56
 
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Not into supressors, kind of old and no close hunting partners to leave it to so no reason it invest that kind of money.

That said I do like short barreled rifles, my goto rifle for fur and control work was an 18" Rem 600. Most of my bolt actions are 20"-22" no can.

I'm contemplating a Rem 783 16.5" and dropping it in a chassis with an AR butt to make a compact rig for on the bike.
 
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Main calling gun is a re barreled Remington 600 18" threaded in 6x47 rem. does most everything I ask of it.

Have a .17 rem and .17 mach IV in suppressed 18" and 20" I do my part and they do theirs.
 
I’d go light, since you already have the heavier 204. One needs to evaluate potential uses. If hunting mostly, carried at that, one may be mostly mobile & only shoot 0-4 times a day.

If you want something larger with factory ammo options, the 22-250 or 243 makes the list. With handloading, either of those cover a wide spectrum.

Most of my carry rifles have lighter, 20” barrels, the rest of the gun is light too. The heavy barreled ‘Varmint’ rig is more suited to the range or a prairie dog bench.
 
You don't reload and it will be a VARMINT rifle (GH, GS, PD's) not a predator calling rifle(low volume shooting). Varmints usually mean volume shooting so your really looking at a 223/5.56. Shooting will be off a rest of some sort and you didn't mention it being a walking varminter. So weight is pretty irrelevant.

Mine is a Savage 11 in a Boyds stock with a 20" 222 Rem(I reload) heavy barrel. The barrel will last a long time. It is great off of a rest but would be very awkward as a calling rifle. All up it weighs about 10.5#

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I just built a predator calling rifle that is a little on the heavy side but it isn't meant to be hauled a long distance on foot and I carry my rifle to the stand in a back scabbard. It is another savage action With a 21" magnum contour 20 Practical.

I do have ligt calling rifles for areas I take long hikes calling in, again 222 Rem.
 
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Given barrel length and range parameters, my vote is either on .223 OR .22 Hornet. Both will perform well at that range with that barrel length and suppressed. There a gentleman on youtube called Cave Dweller and i believe he shoots both .17 and .22 Hornet CZs suppressed further than you would think you could
 
My 16" 223 BHW barrels can get up to screaming speeds for barrel length. I'm currently shooting 53gr bullets well over 3400fps, I just started playing with HBN bullet coatings and my very limited tests so far show that I can stuff a good bit more powder into an already full case, I think I can get 53gr bullets close to 3500fps.
 
I have been cutting my barrels down for over 15 years. Long before the suppressor industry caught hold and now it's easy to purchase pre threaded shorter barrel rifles.

I've gotten criticism but IMHO the pros outweigh the cons. I've posted on this subject quite often but I'll give you a little info that I like to use.

I would go 18"-22", those have been great lengths for us. I've got everything from 308, 260, 6.5PRC, 6 Creed, 243, 22 creed, 22 Swift, 22-250, all with barrels at or under 22".

I generally like to increase the twist rate when taking your barrel down I tend to get more RPM and stability vs a slower twist and shorter length.

With shots being limited to 200 max, I personally don't see the need for a 6 unless you plan on taking larger game, ie. possibly Deer, Antelope or Hogs. I would look into the 22-250, inherently accurate, very easy to load for, caters to many different bullet selections, and one of the most proven Predator/Varmint cartridges of all time.

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So is that a long exposure kind of shot? I'm terrible with cameras but I was blown away by some videos of the new color night vision and your pic looks really similar.
 
Yes sir, I was somewhere around a 15 sec. shutter, pretty nice night, kept ISO low, but since shoot in RAW, I can do some pretty neat stuff in Lr. I do have a Sony A7SII, I've posted some really cool videos online with it, using only the moon for lighting. I do have a speed booster for it which gives my F2.8 70-200 a whole other stop, so I can pull in even more light, regardless the ISO on that camera is capable of insane work, you do get noise that is tough to remove when get you get above 80K, but I'll ramp mine up to over 100 sometimes 200K just to get a visual of whats happening, and for YouTube, it don't matter. Most guys won't invest the time or money to use equipment like we do, but it's cool none the less. I really enjoy filming and more importantly sharing it.
 
I would take a hard look at a 223. Mine was 24" and cut it back to 20". Lost 100 fps or so.

The reason I say 223 is because you can use Blue Dot powder to load it and match 22 Mag to 22 Hornet velocities comfortably and then use full power normal 223 loads as needed.

Google James Calhoun about the 223 Blue Dot loads. Gives firm pressures without being position sensitive and shoot to very similar POI as full power loads. What's not to like!

Lastly, 223 brass is laying everywhere on the ground so no need to buy brass if you want to save a little more.

I ve shot 1,000 s of the BD loads with 40-50 grain bullets. A friend has shot 10,000 s of them; yes, 10,000 s!
 
Ruger American Ranch is a great budget friendly rifle already set up with a short threaded barrel available in many calibers.

Cz-527 SR is another great option that makes a nice compact handy shooter threaded from the factory.

Howa Mini-action is available with 18" threaded barrels.

T/C Compass 2 Compact has short 16" threaded barrels and 1 MOA guarantee.
 

My CZ 527 300BO Boyd stock 1X4 Leupold with a Specwar 7,62.
I can only hear the firing pin with subsonic Remington 220-grain.
I also shoot the 115-grain Magtech 2280 fps.
The 4X is all I need at 100 plus yards. Most shots are at 2-3X.

2IOGimj.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: BDriskill16I am wanting to build, rechamber, or whatever I need to do to get a short barrel varmint gun.
Short barrel 18”, anything from 204 to 6MM caliber, it will be suppressed and a bolt gun.
I know I can google and find a lot of info on this, and have, but can’t trust google.
So reaching out to the pros, the guys that know.
I’d like to shoot factory ammo, but can reload. Shots out to 200 occasionally, but 75-150 range mostly. I have a .204 with 20”, but feels like it’s forever long and a bit heavy with can on it.
I’d love to hear some real life experiences and knowledge if possible.

I can give you a lot of real world MV's on barrels from 15-18 inches in a number of cartridges: 20 Vartarg, 20 BR, 223 Rem, 22-250, 22 Creed, 6 Br, 6 Dasher, 6mm Long Dasher, 6XC, 6 Creed...
 
A couple of my favorites are a Kimber 223AI with an 18" barrel, and a Tikka 22-250 with a 20" barrel. Both are threaded and wear a can. I am having a 18" 20 Practical done up on a Trued Rem 700. All these are pretty light, but I use them for predators.
 

I put together this SBBR 300BO for uses at a friend farm to keep the noise down.
It is a 10.5 in barrel with a Specwar 7,62. Nighttime calling less than 100 Yards.

jcJ5bck.jpg
 
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