I have decided on using a .223 for several reasons. It's cheaper to shoot. Hopefully cheaper to reload when I get into that. More variety of factory loads for it. Not as fast as a .22-250 so hopefully the barrel will last longer. The ranges I will be shooting at are less than 300 yards.

The gun I will buy is the Remington 700 SPS Varmint. There were several choices for a rifle but I found that I can get an awesome deal on the SPS. It has a 26" heavy barrel on it. I will primarily be hunting ground hogs with it. It's a bit heavy for carrying but not too bad. I want to try hunting some Coyotes also. That will be from a blind so weight and length shouldn't be a concern. Will also be hunting some paper targets so weight and length aren't a concern again. I have heard a lot of good things about this rifle but also that the stock isn't the greatest. Anyone have any experience with one?

Thanks for all the replies so far.