This custom war wagon transports varmint hunters around the Longmeadow Game Resort, Colorado. Summer Solstice in 2024 was on June 20, so we’re at the height now of summer. Will you be heading out to the varmint field this summer? Planning is the key to a successful, safe, and enjoyable varmint hunting trip. You’ll be busy reloading but you should still make a list of all the equipment and supplies you will need. Bring several rifles, if you can. You’ll need to switch between them as one barrel heats up. Also, the chambering for close-range shots may not work for shots beyond 400 yards. Here are some tips that our Forum members have shared to help you avoid problems and shoot more efficiently on your varmint hunting trip. Here’s a key tip: place a stripe of surveyor’s tap on a tall stake at your shooting position to indicate the direction of the wind. Shoot in the direction of the wind. This will reduce the effect of crosswinds.
This photo is taken from a Dan Eigen TV Show featuring a P Dog hunt. Varmint Safari Equipment and Shooting Tips From PatchHound : “The gear that you bring can make or break your trip to Prairie Dog Land. It all depends on where you’re going and how far away you are from [civilization]. Bring lots of water. Bring warm clothes just in case. It’s going to be hot in Wyoming for a few weeks. Wear leather boots unless your walking skills are excellent. A wide-brimmed sun hat and good sunscreen will also save the day. What you bring depends on if you’re going to be shooting on a friendly ranch or if you’re going to be 100 miles away in the middle [of a wilderness area]. For the latter, it’s a good idea to have some survival gear. From Stoner25mkiv : “I would suggest an adjustable bipod for anyone who is going to be walking. A laser rangefinder can be a great asset. A fanny-pack or backpack is a great way to carry extra ammo, bore-snake and water. When you go walking. We also bring a couple of pivoting benches, a heavy movers’ blanket/pad, and sandbags for shooting near the vehicle. Boonie Hat for blocking the sun. Sunglasses, sunscreen. High leather boots. CTShooter says: “The.204 (Ruger) is a laser and good up to 400 yards easily. Forget about rimfires! Do you have a portable, pivoting bench? Bring bipod, binocs. Bring A LOT OF WATER. I have a milspec sniper-shooter’s mat/dragbag with shoulder straps. It is good to have everything with you when you want wander off and shoot bipod-prone. Here’s my 6BR in North Dakota.” From RJinTexas, “In most locations where we’ll be doing shooting we’ll set up at least 200 yards away from the edge of major dog towns. We’ll begin by shooting the dogs that are close to us and work our way out. Some of these towns can be as deep as 500/600 yards. [A.204 ruger] will shoot well out to 300/400 yard unless the wind blows hard. We classify a crosswind of 10 mph as a calm day. What makes it more challenging is the fact that it is often gusting. From Wes (P1ZombieKiller), “[For my very first PD trip] I was not prepared for so many things. I brought a canopy (which no one had told me to bring). I’m glad I brought it. Even though the weather [was] [nearly perfect], I knew that sun can make you feel very weak. I could shoot all the time without being killed by the sun with my pop-up canopy. You had to secure the canopy well, or else the wind would blow the canopy across the pasture. We sat in shooting benches that pivot around 360 degrees and are quick and easy to set-up. The majority of shots were between 175-250 yards. I felt more comfortable at that distance. It was more enjoyable for me to film the hits. The camcorder that I was using did not produce good video beyond 350 yards. The digital zoom distorts the image too much. I knew I’d only get one chance to film my P-dog outing and I wanted it on film [for posterity].” Bring Multiple Rifles on Your Varmint Adventures We like to bring multiple rifles on our P-Dog adventure — a.17 HMR to work close, a.20 Practical for 150-250 yard shots, a 22 BR for long shots, a 6BRA, a 6 Dasher, or a 6-6.5×47 to take on those long shots. The.22-250 cartridge is a very effective varmint round. Varmint Rifle Chambering Options: .17 HMR, .17 WSM, .20 Practical, .204 Ruger, .22 BR, 6mm Dasher, 6-6.5×47 Lapua .17 HMR Savage A17 Varmint Rifle
For shots within 150 yards, we like to use a Rimfire Varmint rig. The.17 HMR and.17 WSM would be good choices. You can save money on ammo and don’t waste barrel life with a rimfire. This video shows how to successfully hunt Prairie Dogs with a.17 HMR. Watch to see the hits at 160 yards (00.50) proving the range of the 17 HMR. The host is using a Savage A17 Semi-Auto 17 HMR rifle with a Boyds laminated Stock. Franklin Armory’s F17-L.17 WSM Rimfire What is the ultimate rimfire rifle? A AR chambered in.17 WSM might be the answer. Eric Mayer, Varminter.com, states that the Franklin Armory F17L in.17 Winchester Super Magnum has many firsts. It is the first semiautomatic rifle available to the public in.17 WSM. It is the first gas piston system, AR-15, rimfire rifle, built in partnership by Franklin Armory, Osprey Defense.” Eric used the.17 WSM AR to shoot ground squirrels and rock squirrels. He also shot prairie dogs and rabbits. Eric notes that the.17 WSM’s report is not as loud as the majority of centerfire [varmint] ammunition. When I shot the FA-17 it didn’t cause the other ground squirrels to run for cover. The lack of recoil allowed me to see exactly where I hit. If I missed, [low recoil] allowed for quick corrections to wind or distance.”
The.17 WSM round is larger and more powerful than the.17 HMR. The size difference is shown above. Here is a.20 Practical (20-223 Rem), AR-Platform Varminter built by Robert Whitley. Whitley’s Ultimate Prairie Dog Rifle features a 24″ Bartlein cut-rifled barrel with a 1:11″ twist, DPMS side charging upper, and Jewell trigger. It is chambered for 20 Practical, the cartridge popularized by Warren ‘Fireball’ Brookman. This.20 Practical is just the.223 Remington shortened to.204. You can use your existing .223 Rem brass — no special case-forming required! The 20 Practical is flat-shooting and accurate with almost no recoil. The advantage of the.223 Remington standard is that the bullets are more powerful and have a higher BC. They also travel faster, which has a greater impact on small varmints. Even without a muzzlebrake, the ultra-low recoil makes it easy to see your hits. The 20 Practical, which launches 40-grainers with 3750 fps and 55gr hollowpoints, shoots flatter compared to a.223 Rem. The.204 Ruger AR-15 for Cottontail Rabbit Hunting. As a varmint-hunting tool, the.204 Ruger cartridge in an AR-15 makes a versatile and worthy cartridge/rifle combination. This video shows a cottontail hunt. The host states, “We were contacted from a farmer whose alfalfa field was being eaten up by cottontail rabbits.” This suppressed Ruger AR-15 in.204 proved to be very effective against the rabbits. It fired high-velocity shots with impressive accuracy. Varminter.com has more information. .22 BR Savage Varminter – Accuracy at a Budget
Maynard, a forum member, calls this.22 BR Savage his “pride and Joy”. Sharpshooter Supply upgraded it. Note the heavy contour custom barrel with brake. The.22 BR is a great choice for varmint hunting, as the ground hog on the photo shows. The.22 BR cartridge and.22 Dasher can achieve outstanding accuracy using a wide variety of powders and bullets. A.22 Dasher cartridge can rival the ballistics and recoil of a 6mmBR at 500+ yards. Bill White, aka “CT10Ring”, a varmint-hunter who frequents our Forum, agrees that the.22 BR Cartridge is effective: “.22 BR – My.22 BR cartridge is my first pick for most prairie dog missions. The accuracy is excellent with 6mmBR Lapua Brass necked down — quarter-MOA, and it’s blazingly fast. This chambering can fire anything from 40gr FB to 80gr vlds with the right twist rate. Load development can be done easily. Here is my.22 BR ammunition for another varmint hunt. I use 55gr Sierra BlitzKings Varget in my Shilen-barreled 1:12” twist rifle. 60gr Bergers have a flat trajectory and are accurate for distances that matter. 6mm Dasher for Voldoc’s 2024 Prairie Dog Safari Respected Forum Member Voldoc has an extensive thread about his 2024 Prairie Dog Safari. This is his 20th trip. He reported: “After a day of shooting in 30+ MPH winds, we settled on a High Point and set up Benches for non-stop shooting the second day. Voldoc’s rifle is equipped with the following components: Nesika RBRP action, Krieger 1:12″ twist barrel chambered for the 6 Dasher by Mike Bryant, 2 oz. Jewell trigger, Thunder Beast suppressor, Nightforce 7-35X FFP Optic. He uses 87gr Vmax bullets in annealed Lapua Brass, pushed at 3240 FPS with Vihtavuori powder N135 to achieve his usual shooting speed. To spot critters, Voldoc uses Vortex Fury 5000 AB Rangefinding Binoculars. More Power — 6-6.5×47 Lapua For Longer Range Varmint Shoots As soon as Lapua released their 6.5×47 cartridge wildcatters realized the potential of a necked down 6mm version. The 6-6.5×47 is a versatile cartridge that excels in High Power competitions, Benchrest matches at 600 and 1000 yards, and PRS tactical match. The 6-6.5×47 cartridge is not only for paper punching. The 6-6.5×47 is a high-performance cartridge with excellent accuracy. It can be used as a flat-shooting long-range varmint bullet. Stan Stewart’s 6-6.5×47 varminter, a BAT-actioned rifle, is shown here. Stan’s rifle is fitted with a Krieger 1:10” barrel and excels at a variety of varmint ammunition. This 6-6.5×47 rifle is well-balanced and easy to handle. It can shoot 70-grainers or Berger 88gr High BC FB bullets at speeds of 3700 fps. He has developed loads that are very accurate with Varget, Vihtavuori, and Reloder 15 Six Tips for novice long range varmint hunters 1. Take twice as much ammunition as you think you will need. You may find that the fields are richer than you expected, or because of wind, or other variables. 2. Set up your sails with the wind at back (or alternatively, directly in front). This will reduce the effects of cross-winds. Set up a stake and a ribbon on it to indicate the direction of the wind. 3. Bring at least two guns. Ideal would be to have a rifle with low-recoil and cheaper components, for closer shots. Bring a rifle that uses bullets with a higher BC for the longer shots, where wind is more of a factor. 4. Check the weather before you go out. Prairie dogs prefer calm and sunny conditions. If a cloudy and very windy day is forecast, consider staying in town to clean the rifles. 5. Bring lots of water with you on your trip. A male adult should drink at least 64 ounces (or another liquid) of water every day. This amount can be increased if the weather is hot or if you sweat a lot. 6. Always hunt with a friend. If you go out alone, bring a Garmin InReach SatComm/GPS in case of emergency if your location does not have cell coverage. Bill White, Forum Member. Tips and photo.
