Fish-Hawk.Net

Thought this might be a good place to post this but it may have to get moved to the classifieds
I am looking for a nice varmit rifle, 222 or 223 preferably, and I have some outboard motors I would trade for it
PM me if interested
TLunge

.222 is a great round but you might have difficulty finding decent ammo as this calibre is no longer produced by any of the major manufacturers. bad timing I just sold a Remington 788 in .222

have you concidered a .243 TLunge? You can step up in grains to have a decent deer rifle and it is super accurate and light recoil.

Ya my 243 gets used for deer, it seems to do too much pelt damage on coyotes, never mind fox and I like to ship the pelts in if possible. I would also think about a 22hornet or 22magnum and maybe a couple of others
I still see 222 on the shelf at canadian tire so someone must still be making them

I am concidering picking up a Remington Model 788 in .223 @ $375 no scope excellent condition. If I opt out would you be interested?

PM sent Bardern

Hey TLunge,
You may look at the 7mm '08 as well ( not 7mm mag). Excellent trajectory out to 300m and a variety of weights from 90 gr. up to 125gr. Ammo you will have to get at sporting store as CT does not carry it. browning makes an A bolt versionand leaver as well. Vey good deer gun too. I know several that use this as a coyote gun and love it.
hook&shoot

The 7-08 would not get my vote for a varmint round, especially because T-Lunge is looking for a fur-friendly cartridge. It is also, at .284 cal, north of the .270 restriction in a lot of jurisdictions here in Ontario. No question the 7-08 is a great deer cartridge, and there are LOTS of 7 mm bullets available if you roll your own ammo.

And it is NOT TRUE that .222 ammo is no longer produced. Here, for example, is just one type (Remington) currently offered for sale by Wholesale Sports, in two loadings:

CENTERFIRE RIFLE CARTRIDGES · 222 Remington
Type - PSP • Description - 222 Remington • Grain - 50
Mfr. # R222R1 · 91060
$17.99 x [ADD TO CART] CENTERFIRE RIFLE CARTRIDGES · 222 Remington
Type - HPPL • Description - 222 Remington • Grain - 50
Mfr. # R222R3 · 91065
$28.99 x [ADD TO CART]

And there are LOTS of possibilities for hand-loaders with this cartridge, it is a very good one. In general, .222 has a significant accuracy and distance edge over .22 Hornet, and of course .22 Mag. But if shots are not much more than a hundred yards, both of them will kill coyotes dead as door-nails.

Anyways back to T-Lunge..............if you still need a rifle, please send me a note. I can find you one.

Doug

sorry for the mislead on the .222 guys. I meant that the .222 rifle itself is not produced by any off the major manufacturers, at least as far as I know of. I don't reload and I was finding it hard to get the quality of ammo I would like in this calibre. Doug is certainly correct that there are still opportunities to buy .222 ammo, I just ws not fussy about the short selection.

22 Hornet No pelt damage -- low recoil--low noise--good out to 150 yds having enough punch to put something down
I don't know why this nice little calibre doesn't get more attention !!

A guy is selling a .204 Ruger on the Renegade Bass Message Board.

back to moondog.........

I suspect the .22 Hornet is not as popular as some varmint choices because of the relative scarcity and cost of ammo, and for those of us who load our own it is a serious PITA to load! The necks often collapse when the bullet is seated.

But the Ruger 77/.22 Hornet is a good seller and there are fair numbers of .22 Hornets around the country both in the Rugers and other makes.

Doug

I have been using a .243 for a number of years. Haven't shot a deer with it but many a coyote.

To cut down on damage just go to a lower grain bullet. I typical am shooting 60-80grain. Does the job nicey and neatly most of the time.

Browning Bar is something to look at. I picked up a used one in Peterborough some time ago at Accuracy Plus. Hey was quite fare on the price.

I'd use a 7mm-08 for a coyote or a .243
Both are great for them, just reduce the grain size.

My gunsmith laughs at people who insist on having huge calibre guns for this, that and the other..I am in agreement with him on this.

a .30-06 will kill deer and moose no problem.
The .30-.30 has killed more animals in North America than any other calibre.

If you have the $$$$ to have a gun for each application by all means go ahead. For the majority of us 1-3 is all we need.

As for messy kill. I see coyote's as a damn nuissance. I'd kill them simply for pop control. If nothing else the farmers can't stand em for the damage they do to livestock. Do I or farmer Brown really care about the condition of the pelt????? Nope and neither does his backhoe...

7-08, .243, and many (MANY) other cartridges are all perfectly useful for varmints. But the poster wants a FUR-FRIENDLY cartridge, and in general a slower moving .22 cal centre-fire will fit his needs better than some of the other possibilities.

Rifles are tools, and if a man is content with one tool that meets his needs, more power to him. If he wants a bunch of specialized tools, more power to him too. I would be very unhappy if I had to make do with only a very small number of rifles and shotguns. I "could" do it, but I sure as hell do not want to!

Doug

My arsenal is pretty big, or at least I consider it.
I am no shooting nut.
I used to shoot handguns as part of a club but found it a wee bit too political for my taste (i.e Vote Conservative or Die!)

I have shotguns for fowl and turkey and several rifles for different apps.
All I am saying is I would not go out and buy a gun JUST for coyote's.
I'd buy reduced grai bullets for my .243 or .7mm-08.

I will say that unless I am 40 yrds from the dog, the fur damage will be minimal.

But guys who hunt deer with 325 wsm's grind my gears! I shot a moose at 80 yrds with a .300 win mag and still had wastage!!!

If you want a good coyote/groundhog gun I'd say .222, .223, .204 or .22 mag.