AardvarkSlayer

I' ve been successfully taking woodchucks with my .22 rimfire for a while now and i' m just sick of screwing around trying to sneak up close enough for a shot. I need to get a more serious gun that can reach them easily @ the 200-300 yard range, and i like extreme accuracy. Anybody have any suggestions on what caliber and brand of gun i should go with? I' ve compared ballistics charts and the .243' s and 22-250' s seemed the best. Also, I really do' nt want to go over 800$ for the budget. I' m just not sure what to go with. thanks

Pro-Line

The 22-250 is a great chuck gun. So is the 223, 220 Swift, 17HMR, 222, and so fourth. Personally, I like the 223 and 22-250. You should have no trouble getting a good gun for well under $800, just put a good piece of glass on it.

woodseye

I would suggest the Savage 12BVSS varmint gun in 223 or 22-250 caliber.Picked up one yesterday and they are real nice!Laminated varmint/benchrest stock with a fully adjustable accu trigger that goes down to 1 1/2# safely along with a stainless fluted 26" barrel.Mine looks to be a 1/2" or better out of the box factory remington green box ammo shooter and its a joy to shoot.Fit and finish were fine and that fluted barrel stays nice and cool even in the hot weather we' re having.At $550 you will have some dollars left over for a good scope and you' ll be ready to go and kill chucks easy to 400 yds.A 3200 Elite or Weaver Grand Slam scope would get you in under budget.Ammo is cheap and available at any Wally World for a decent price if you don' t handload yet. Good Shooting!



woods

diyj98

For long distance shooting I' d recomment a 22-250, 220 swift or a .243. The 22' s shoot flatter, but the .243 is great for bucking a slight breeze. Actually yesterday I was hunting them with a .308, so about any caliber will work.

As far as brand of rifle, everyone will tell you to buy what they have. About any rifle will work. You' ll find a heavy barrel model will generally be more accurate and consistant. That being said, I' d recommend you take a look at Tikkas. I think you' ll find on average they' re better made and more accurate than about anything in their price range.

AardvarkSlayer

Thanks for all the great advice guys. It really helped. i' ve had my eye on a nice savage just like woodseye' s, except synthetic because i' ve read that they' re more accurate than wood. But those tikkas look nice too now that i' ve looked at them. i have one more question though..which caliber? i know the 22-250 is super accurate, no kick, but might get thrown around by wind...so i was thinking i might get a .243 to be safe with the wind, but do they have any recoil..., enough to throw off accuracy on any long range shots? thanks for the help!

woodseye

The 22-250 will work well for you as will the 243,the heavier bullet weight in the 243 will be moved less by the wind but it will recoil a little more because of that same fact.In a heavy barreled gun the recoil is very light and while worse than a 22RF it should not be an issue for you.I always used a 22-250 and my Dad always used the 243 in a similiar type varmint gun and we seemed to do about equally as well.In a 300yd plus shoot on a breezy day I could see the 243 having an edge.I just sold the 12FV savage two days ago to get my current one and the laminate stock is pretty much the best of both worlds while the savage synthetic could use a little stiffening up in the forend to really make it prefect.Good Shooting and Choosing!

regards woods

seattlesetters

The minimum for woodchucks is the .300 Ultra Mag. Most on this board will tell you, though, that is a little light for the job.

ELKampMaster

I' d say that woodchucks are a nice 22-250 sized job.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

iowabuckslayer

you guys left out some of the newest rounds to come out namely the 223wssm and the243wssm.both of these are awesome rounds and now you can buy ammo at your local wal-mart.if you dont want alot of recoil but you want to buck the wind try the 243wssm.i think you love it as a chuck gun and possible a deer gun.

AardvarkSlayer

thanks for the help everybody woodseye, where did you get your savage 12bvss from for 550$? they are listed retail for 675$ on the savage website.