May 2nd, 2020Summer Varmint adventures — Gear, Cartridge choices, planningWill 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 barrels as one gets hot and the chambering for close shots might not be suitable 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. Varmint Safari Planning and Equipment, and Shooting TipsFrom 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 at avoiding cactus. A wide-brimmed, good-quality hat and sunscreen will also save the day. What you bring depends on where you are shooting, whether it’s on a friendly ranch or in the middle [of a wilderness area]. “Good survival gear is important for the latter!”
Stoner25mkiv says: “I would suggest an adjustable bipod for anyone who is going to walk.” 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.Anyway…on to the rifles…consider taking a.17 HMR..223 bolt gun..223 AR. and a.243 WSSM. Some years, the.17 HMR doesn’t come out of its case. We had a few windless days, and the 17 was a lot of fun. I would walk into the dogtown, lay down, and wait. After about five minutes, I would have dogs within easy range of rimfire and as far as I wanted to stretch the rimfire. It was only 275 yards. “From CTShooter, “The.204 (Ruger) is a powerful laser beam that can reach 400 yards with ease. 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’s good to have everything with you when you want wander off and shoot prone using a bipod. Here’s the view through my 6BR. “From RJinTexas : “In the majority of the locations where we’ll be filming, we’ll set up at least 200 yards away from the edge a 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. I think that a rimfire is going to put you at a distinct advantage. You can reload your.204s at a cost that is close to HMR ammo. This will make you less likely to be under-armed. Your.204 should work out to 300/400 yard unless there is a strong wind. We consider a 10-mph wind as calm, but it can also be gusty. “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-day without being killed by the sun with my pop-up canopy. You had to tie down the canopy well, or else the wind would blow the canopy across the pasture. We sat on shooting bench that pivot 360 degrees and are quick and easy to setup. Most shots were between 175-250 yards. I felt more comfortable at that distance. It was more enjoyable for me to be in a position to film the hits. The camcorder that I was using did not produce good video beyond 350 yards. The digital zoom distorted the image too much. I knew that I would only have one chance to film my P-dog outing and I wanted it to be preserved for posterity. Bring Multiple Rifles to Your Varmint HuntsWe like to bring multiple rifles on our P-Dog hunts. We have a.17 HMR, a.20 Practical for 150-250 yards and a 22 BR or 6BRA for long shots. The.22-250 cartridge is a very effective varmint round.
Robert Whitley has built a.20 Practical. Whitley’s Ultimate Prairie Dog Rifle features a 24″ barrel. Bartlein’s 1:11?-twist-cut-rifled barrel features a DPMS side charging upper and a Jewell Trigger. It is chambered for 20 Practical, the cartridge popularized by Warren ‘Fireball’ Brookman. This.20 Practical is simply a.223 Remington necked 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. You can easily see your shots, even without using a muzzle break. The 20 Practical, which launches 40-grain hollowpoints at 3750 fps and shoots flatter than the.223 Rem, with 55gr hollowpoints, is a great choice for hunting.
We also like a Rimfire to use for closer shots, within 150 yards. The.17 HMR and.17 WSM would be good choices. You can save money on ammo and don’t waste barrel life with a centerfire. This video shows a successful Prairie Dog hunting with a 17 HMR. Watch to see the hits at 160 yards (00.50), which proves the range of the 17 HMR cartridge. The host is using a Savage A17 Semi-Auto 17 HMR rifle with a Boyds laminated Stock. Tags: 17 HMR, 20 Practical, 22-250, P-Dog hunting, Prairie Dog, South Dakota, varmint hunt, Wyoming
