Time for a change--
 

The .22 is dead on at 50 yards and this afternoons shot was no more than 30. The groundhog had been moving toward me eating grass and I got him high in the chest. He managed to roll and fall back into the burrow. Iv'e gotten maybe a dozen this year and this is the second that got back to the burrow. I need more knockdown power. I'm not much of a fan of the .22 mag, but I'm ready to start using a .22 centerfire. I'm thinking a .223 or possibly the .204. Some of you think very highly of the .204, please tell me about it. I'm open for suggestions-------John R

Save your money, keep shooting the 22, and aim for the head.

Any of the calibers you mentioned will get the job done for what you're hunting. Especially at those ranges.

Longer ranges might dictate the upgrade, but if you're looking for an excuse to buy a larger caliber, just make something up and do it. Can never go wrong buying another rifle if you can afford it! Both the .223 and .204 have proven themselves.

Only thing I would say between the two is that .223 might be easier to get ahold of. But the .204 is getting really popular. Don't have one, so I didn't notice, but I suspect they're not too hard to find either.

I have a .223, .22-250, and a .17HMR that I use for ground hog hunting.

It seems that I always grab the .17. Inside 150yds it gets the job done extremely well...and I've shot a couple at nearly 200 with wonderful results.

If your shots are inside 100yds consistently, the 17 will anchor a groundhog. Especially if you shoot the V-Max bullets.

The centerfires work extremely well and are somewhat more powerful and do a wonderful job on coyotes, too if you ever do that.

I have a Remmy in .204 Ruger. It's the bugs nutz.:rock:

Here is what I use in .204 with 40gr V-Max



http://www.savagearms.com/16fcss.htm



Hope this helps.


http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.204-ruger.html

Head shots! Can't run when your brains are oozing out on the ground.

Gentlemen, it would most certainly have been a head shot, but as he stood up, his head was just out of sight behind the ends of the 2x2's used for winter shrink wrapping. He had been using a metal drainage culvert as a subway to get to the field behind me and he was only a couple feet from the entrance. This was the first time I had seen him in weeks although I knew he was still there. Had I waited another minute he'd have been in the culvert, and it wasn't safe to shoot at him at the other end. So, I had a very brief moment to take a safe shot in the right direction, I know I didn't miss, he fell over like he was dead, kicked and then still managed to roll back into the burrow. Had it been a .223 or Hornet or some such, he'd have dropped right there. A lesson learned---That .204 sounds like a winner and thanks for the information, are most of the manufacturers chambering something in this caliber?--------------John

John,


Any manufacturer who makes a varmint gun.




Some call it the best Varmint / Predator round to come down the pike in a long time !

Thanks for the info, sounds real good. If most are chambering for it, then finding ammo shouldn't be a problem. Iv'e pretty well cleaned out the two dens where most shots were close range so it's time to start reaching out there-----thanks again and I'd better start thinking about a new rifle, Remington, Savage, maybe a Ruger------------John

You need to know the drawback of the .204. Small varmints tend to explode. The debris field is terrible. It's very hard to hit them and have them walk or crawl away. Viewing the ugliness and carnage is best viewed on video.

Drawback ??? , Best viewed on video , sat it is'nt so, that's the best part.

I'd suggest a .22-250. Load it with a 50gr varmint bullet and they won't go back into the hole unless they just happen to land there. I shot a nice fat groundhog with my 22-250 and a 50gr Nosler Ballistic Tip right at 200 yards. Hit it in the chest, and it turned his chest and abdomen completely inside out. It was gruesome, but very effective. He didn't do anything but roll down the hill he was standing on when he died.

Mike

If the 22 was "dead on" as you say it was why didn't you just aim for the head? Do that and you'll save your money. As much as I hate doing this I'm going to recommend the 17 hmr to you. Its a good ground hog gun and won't mangle them to bad if you're goal is to stuff these things.