Small Game, Predator and TrappingFrom shooting squirrels in your backyard to calling coyotes in Arizona. This forum now contains trapping information..
I' d probably go for what I' d get for a bench rest rifle, Remington 700PSS, then do some necessary smithing to get it as accurate as possible, then glass it with a 9-25x40mm in either a ziess or Leupold (depending which had those exact specs at the cheaper price). Of course, that' s a .308win, so I' d have to use hard bullet construction to limit the extent of the pelt damage.
What I use now, my cousins gun actually, Hand rolled V-maxes in a .240 Weatherby with quite a lot of smithing and accurizing work done...but it shoots .5MOA to a quartermile.
(it' s a sin not to mention a .22-250, and it is my favorite round by far, but the other two I mentioned are considerably more accurate and more powerful WAY DOWN RANGE than what I' ve seen out of comparably priced/worked .22-250.)
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"When you tell a fellow to go to hell, you had better be sure you can get him there."--LBJ
Hi bspittman;
Actually all the guns mentioned above are all great calibers to have. But where are you hunting, and what are the conditions where you hunt? Remember the calibers like the 22-250, and 220 swift, with the big scopes aren' t worth a dime if your hunting in the woods. The lighter calibers like the .17HMR, and the .22 hornet aren' t worth a dime if your shooting long range. A good shotgun will always come in handy when your hunting up close and in the woods. The #2 shot, and #4 shot will definitly put the hurt to any bobcat or coyote.
I agree, shotguns are invaluable small game hunting tools, I love taking .410' s after any and all small game species, and yote hunting with 12ga' s is a blast (quite literally). However, the limited range of shotguns eliminates them as " ideal" varminters, a bolt action .22-250 with open sights and quick d-tach scope mounts holding a high powered glass can handle any range from 10 feet to 500yrds or so. Even a mild tempered .22lr has the same range capabilities as most shotguns, if not better (slugging for yotes not included, which isn' t very nice for smaller game). Being in the woods is kind of irrelevant, regardless of whether you have a serious varmint rifle (high powered centerfire) or not, almost ALL hunters have a .22lr, which can handle any distance a shotgun can without having to worry about shot rebounding from surrounding trees. Open sights on a high powered centerfire also gives great results in the brush, so I wouldn' t go as far as to say that a shotgun " rules the roost" in the woods. High magnification glasses can be a pain when you take them in the woods, but I' ve used a 4-16x32 for years without any problem, 16x for LONG shots, and 4x for in the woods.
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"When you tell a fellow to go to hell, you had better be sure you can get him there."--LBJ
Best all around varmint gun??
