Thoughts on the ideal Egg Shoot gun?

AWS

AWS

Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
"Run what you Brung" shooting your light calling rig. Or put together a dedicated rig more suited to shooting PD's, pushing the weight and scope power limits. I've placed very well in local shoots with either here at home. At the PM shoot I can't seem to get past the second round, in NM because I couldn't dope the wind with my light bullets and this year just plain cr-ppy shooting. Didn't practice this year as we didn't have a local shoot, my coyote shooting has taken a hit too missing some chip shots that should have been on the stretcher.
 
I'd personally lean towards something on the order of what I consider to be an "ideal coyote rig." Why? Because the unique mix of speed and precision required in the egg shoot are similar to that which I feel are required in the coyote killing fields.

So...

A free floating 20-22" AR-15 in 223rem, heavy barrel with either a 0.750" block to muzzle dia, or a fluted 0.920" barrel. Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x50mm with Varmint Hunter or Mil-Dot reticle. 2 stage Geis trigger ideally, but I wouldn't feel undergunned with a RRA Varmint Match or Bushmaster match 2 stage trigger. Not sure if a Primos Trigger Stick Bipod is legal or not, but that's what I'd use if it is.

Something heavy enough to settle in on the shooting sticks well, but fast enough to get on target quickly for the last round.

I'd also have to find someone to shoot it for me, as I'm not quite up to par with how well those boys shoot anymore!

EDIT: I suppose it's worth mentioning - the reason I'd pick an AR is based on the early rounds where quick follow up shots might mean the difference between advancing and not. Beyond that, an AR is plenty accurate to get the job done at 150yrds, so I wouldn't be as worried about extreme inherent accuracy as I would be under other formats.

I agree with Coyotejunki below though - a 223rem will be just fine for 150yrd shooting. Faster or flatter shooting rounds really wouldn't have much advantage.

Then again, maybe I could understand an argument similar to the philosophy of "line breaker" arrow shafts. Shooting a 45-70 at an egg gives me about a half inch more margin for error than a 223rem.
 
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Shooting at 150 yards? I'd go with a bolt action, because I believe it's undisputed, they are generally more accurate. Other than that, I also believe it should be a hunting rifle. I guess that isn't necessarily the best but it is in the spirit of the even. Something you actually use for coyote hunting. I think most accurate 223's will outshoot most shooters in a hunting situation, not using bags or a rest on the bench. I don't really believe their odds would go up much if they used 6 ppc's.

But this is all opinion anyways, so it does come with a full refund for what you paid for it.
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Bolt gun in 20P, .223, 6x45, 6x6.8...only due to the fact those are what I have.
Most important is practice & knowing your rigs.
 
As far as I can recall, a gas gun has never won the egg shoot, though venatic has come awful close a couple times with his Dtechs.

I'd recommend a Browning A-bolt Medallion Varmint in .223, but only because it worked for me twice. Although...I got beat out this year so maybe I need a new egg shoot rifle too!
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I'd say any good bolt gun chambered for a moderate cartridge will do the trick. Make sure she's shooting good, work up a nice accurate load, and spend time shooting 1.5" wide targets at 150 yards off of sticks in varying conditions.
 
Thinking about it a little more, maybe a 30 BR. They are very consistent and the bullets OD gives you better odds of touching that 1.5 inch egg.
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Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiThinking about it a little more, maybe a 30 BR. They are very consistent and the bullets OD gives you better odds of touching that 1.5 inch egg.
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^^^ this on a panda or bat action
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Edit : 30's have around eight thousand round barrel life to boot. If you got a old savage, pick up a brux 30BR barrel from here http://www.sharpshootersupply.com/
 
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Quote:the reason I'd pick an AR is based on the early rounds where quick follow up shots might mean the difference between advancing and not.

Quick follow ups are not really needed. First round is 5 shots in 5 minutes and no one ever takes more than 3. Second round is 3 in 3 and most are done in less than 2.

Quote:As far as I can recall, a gas gun has never won the egg shoot, though venatic has come awful close a couple times with his Dtechs.

Actually the 2009 winner (JessieL) was shooting an AR.
And yes, Venatic has multiple 2nd and 3rd places finishes with his many different ARs in 20 tac(3rd 2009), 6x45 (2nd 2014)and 6mmDTI(3rd 2011)


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Ah, yeah, I'd forgotten of JessieL's winning AR. I read about that and should have remembered. I've seen some really accurate ARs and always wondered why more didn't show up in the Egg Shoot. Folks just more comfortable with their bolts?
 
Any gun that will shoot 1" at 150 yards is good enough. Not all but plenty will out there will do that. The 30 does make sense for nicks but being able to stay in the scope helps tremendously.

Spend the other money on eggs & ammo for practice. To have a chance to win you need to be hitting at a pretty high percentage. If not when it gets to make or break your not going to last long. A little luck & good nerves under pressure will separate at the end.


Shooting of sticks is a skill/nitch but a man that knows what he is doing, can do quite well. We do this same format at the end of a shoot we hold once a year. It's pretty surprising how many rounds deep the match goes for the guys that have it together. Not sure how long it usually goes at the PM match? But it turns in to quite the spectators sport right often here(2-4 guys get to the end and seems like it takes forever to miss).

Wish PM would do a sponsored/sanctioned egg shoot for the east coast boys that can't make it to the PM hunt. Would be fun & likely a good fund raiser as well.
 
ive been wanting to make one of these shoots. I wish they would hold one in Tucson or phoenix that I could make. I think a decent ar would work wonders. I have a oly arms k8 that's a 1-8 that shoots 68-77 grain bullets very well. 150yrds youd need pretty decent wind to push you 1' off egg as long as your running them a decent speed.
 
Originally Posted By: nastynatesfish 150yrds youd need pretty decent wind to push you 1' off egg as long as your running them a decent speed.

If the wind is blowing that hard, the eggs will be swinging like mad. That is if they are hung by string... How does PM hang the eggs? String, golf tee or ????
 
We do egg shoots just like you guys and people show up with just about everything from AR's to .338 Lapua's. We mostly do it for fun but a cash pool usually shows up some where. What I have found out from our's is that consistency in a rifle and shooter are usually what win. I use my rifle I call with which is a Savage Model 25 in 17 Hornet. I usually don't notice to much wind drift unless it's really blowing outside. I shoot my calling rifle to just get more trigger time on it. That's what i have found.
 
Originally Posted By: coleridgeOriginally Posted By: nastynatesfish 150yrds youd need pretty decent wind to push you 1' off egg as long as your running them a decent speed.

If the wind is blowing that hard, the eggs will be swinging like mad. That is if they are hung by string... How does PM hang the eggs? String, golf tee or ????

The eggs are glued on top of a golf tee.

I think the perfect Egg Shoot gun is any rifle you are comfortable with and practice with that rifle is most important thing you can do.
There has been quite an assortment of rifles win the shoot in the 5 years I have attended.
 
In NM my first year I shot a 6x45 bolt gun with 55gr bullets and in practice I was holding 3" off the egg to hit it, during the shoot I made it through the first round with a fist shot hit, the wind kicked up higher the second round and I never found and egg.

The second year I brought a 22-250 shooting 52 gr match bullets and had to hold 2" off the egg the first round and it worked, again the wind kicked up a notch or a dozen and I moved out to three inches and never found the eggs, I asked the winner how he shot it and he was shooting a 223AI with 50gr V-max and said he had to hold 4.5" off the egg. Durring practice the wind was strong enough that I had to bungee my spotting scope to the bench.

Shooting in wind is my nemesis, it is something that I can't practice for and rarely have to deal with hunting as I rarely take long shots, calling to me is getting them in close. Guess that is why I like a combo gun so much.

I have a little 22lr set up for MS and BR shooting that I shoot well sitting and can practice with it a lot shooting dime size targets at a hundred. I have a little 20" varmint barreled 22-250 here that is scary accurate and would make a very nice open country calling gun(as long it is pretty close to the truck) that I will set up just like the 22LR to use in the match next year and hope the wind is like it was this year.
 
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How about a slug gun or muzzle loader... the 50 cal could buck some wind and have plenty of egg nicking area...LOL.

People would laugh at you at first... until you won... then you would be labeled a cheater...LOL.
 
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From shoots that i have been too and the people that i have talked to that shoot in those, think that most people over compensate for wind. Their gun works, they just miss based on wind adjustments.

Knowing your rifle and knowing what it takes to move that bullet is key. I didn't realize that I was over compensating for wind with my 22-250 and 50gr Vmax bullets.

After shooting PDs all day and being called a dog hog, i realized that it's not that much of an impact. It has to really be blowing at that distance to move those rounds. But, this all came back to practice and comfort with what you run.
 
Since the PM Egg Shoot has been mentioned, I need to point out an overlooked item in this thread...Quote:A rifle weighing no more than 13 pounds complete with any attachments used at the firing line and his ammo. The scope will be limited to a max setting of 15 power while on the line....Any discussion of using a Shotgun in the competition is a moot point if the rules are followed...I don't think that a slug barrel with rifled slugs would qualify as a "Rifle"..

I'm a little hesitant to even go along with the 13 pound rule, since very few actually would carry a rifle that heavy in reality for actual Coyote hunting...but I didn't establish the rules..If they hold to the 13 pound rule, I may bring my bench rifle next time...
 
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