What Was Your First Dedicated Predator Rifle

Bloodhound

Bloodhound

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When I was growing up I remember my uncle had a dedicated Coyote rifle...he owned an insurance agency and he was the "Wealthy" family member. When I was 9 I bought my own .22 rifle (Stepdad said it would mean more if I earned the money myself...he was just a cheap %&^*%$# and he had a .22 rifle and a 20 ga single shot) I knew better than to think my little single shot iron sighted .22 was a coyote gun...I dreamed of shooting a bobcat with it, but nothing other than prairie dogs and rabbits fell to that little rifle.

Other than my uncle I didn't know anyone who had a dedicated predator rifle. Most of my friends dad's, when they hunted predators used the deer/elk rifle.

When I was a young adult, early 1990s I knew a couple of guys who had 22-250 or 223 or something that they just used for predators.

My first dedicated "Varmint Gun" was a Savage 340 in .222...it had a Weaver K-10 scope.

I have since run into guys my age who have always had a dedicated rifle for coyote hunting...but that has just been since I started traveling in these circles...the circles with dedicated predator hunters
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I have had a couple of different rifles and cals...and just recently picked up another .222...Its gonna be fun
 
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Remington R-15 .223 with Nikon buckmasters scope.

I'm still using the receiver set and some small pins/springs, but literally every single other part has been changed and upgraded.
 
Savage axis 223. Then savage axis 22-250 with a 3x9burris ffii, then my 6x6.8 ar15 with 4-16 vortex pst. Now my main was is a custom based of the 22-250 axis as a 22-243.
 
The first two were borrowed, a Drilling in 16ga/16ga/9.3x72R doing control work on feral dogs, second was a 7.7 Ariska for bounty fox. circa 1960.

1966 I purchased a Rem 600 in 223 with a Weaver K-4 mounted for $69. I used it for 30 yrs and rebarreled it to 6x45 and killed a couple of coyotes at the PM Convention in Sept with it. It will be the last to go, it has a lot of great memories in it.
 
First was a Remington 5mm Rimfire Magnum, circa 1969, for fox, racoon, crow, etc. inN Illinois.

Then, around 1990 or so, for coyotes in Colorado, a Ruger M77 in 22 Hornet.

Still have both, and use them regularly.
 
I worked up to it as my first rifle I purchased on my own was a new Winchester 88 in .243 used for deer and coyotes.
After a few large caliber rifles I started buying dedicated predator rifles of every make and model and trading them off when they would not perform fully out of the box.
I was never happy until buying My first Tikka and then Sako.
Even then I have traded up to new improved models.
 
Originally Posted By: RePeteRemington 788 in 22/250 with a 4X Tasco.

The first rifle I bought solely for calling was a 788 .22-250 too. Can't remember what scope I had on it. Leupold M8 6x I believe.

- DAA
 
Remington 788 in .222 with a Weaver V9 3x-9x with fine crosshairs and a one minute lee dot. The scope I bought in 1969 and it is still my favorite scope. I traded the 788 for a Ruger M77 with a tang safety in 220 Swift in 1976. The Swift had a 26 inch semi bull barrel with "made in the 200th year of our liberty" stamped on the barrel. I rue the day I traded off that little .222. It sure could shoot. I also rue the day I traded off the Swift. Don't do much trading anymore. Just buying. Guess I finally learned my lesson.
 
A Stevens 200 in 22-250 purchased in 2010. Put a 1997 Leupold VX2 3-9x40 on it that my dad gave me he had new in the box. Today it sports a Boyd’s pepper laminate classic stock with a Matt’s Fabrication cheek riser and a Harris Bipod. It is still my primary calling rifle. It shoots 50grn Vmax’s at 3/8 to 1/2” and has smoked some coyotes.
 
A Remington 600 in 222. it lived in my truck for long enough that I cannot remember how many years. well over 25 for sure. still have it, still shoots well, but on its second barrel, mostly due to never coming in the house.
Barry
 
I am almost ashamed to tell the story. New Jersey 1961, first year of high school..... There were two older gentlemen that were friends of my Dads who were ground hog fanatics and as I later found out, bench rest shooters. Any way, they would take me along on some of their "safari's" and I would be their pick up boy. They would let me shoot a ground hog every so often. The one guy always let me use his gun and man did I want that thing.

I asked him if I could buy it from him and he said we would need to talk to my Dad. Well, they talked and decide that I could buy the gun... I never knew the price but Dad told me I needed to get to work and see how much money I could come up with by spring. So, I busted my butt trapping and doing odd jobs all fall and shoveling snow and helping out all winter. I came up with $300.00 from hides and everything else.

Time came to close the deal and Dad said he would throw in some extra if needed....... The gun, oh yea, and original dbl set trigger 1885 Winchester re-barreled to 222 with a stainless barrel and re stocked in some fancy walnut. It originally had a Unertl scope on it but when I got it it had a Weaver 12x on it and was sighted in at 200.

I am sure Dad and the guy had the "fix" in on me but thats OK.......

I shot a ton of GH's and crows with it. Had it up through college and sold it in a weak moment for a really good price.

God do I wish I had that one back now...... Dont we all.....
 
After I got out of the Marine Corps in 69 I bought a Win 22 mag lever action ; than a savage 24v, 222 rem and 20ga over/under--wish they were still mine---1985? replaced them with a Winchester Model 70 222 rem 24" heavy barrel---to this day it still shoot's the eye's out of a grasshopper at a 100 yds LOL----svb
 
Originally Posted By: DAAOriginally Posted By: RePeteRemington 788 in 22/250 with a 4X Tasco.

The first rifle I bought solely for calling was a 788 .22-250 too. Can't remember what scope I had on it. Leupold M8 6x I believe.

- DAA

The Tasco came on it but it was an old Jap Tasco so it was actually a pretty good scope.
I was just out of trade school and working on a job in Prescott AZ. We were all at a bar one Friday night and I had a pocket full of money so when one of the locals ran out of drinking money and asked if anyone on our crew wanted to buy it I grabbed it. $150 later and she was all mine.
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Remington 700BDL 22-250. Next I added 2 Rock River AR’s. Sold the 700 BDL to replace it with another 700 VSSF II in 22-250. Absolutely love the 26” VSSF topped off with a Leupold VX6 3-18. My son and his 3 boys and myself hunt coyotes and fox all winter. It has grown into an expensive hobby that I wouldn’t give up for anything.
 
1974 Ruger varmint tang safety 220 Swift with a Leupold 3.5x10 vx111, actually ordered 2 the same day out of Shotgun News, one for myself and one for my younger brother...
 
Mine is a Remington 700 VSSF II in 22-250. Put a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x40 on it when I bought it. I have since swapped the scope for a Vortex Razor AMG 6-24x50. It shoots awesome but man is it heavy!

Currently in the process of building a 6.5 Creedmoor coyote/deer rifle that will likely take over as my favorite rifle.
 
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