Thread: beginner varmint hunter

I have a different view from the above. First how many rounds are you hopping to shoot every year?
If your rounds count is going to be high and your distance limited to 300 m then yes 223 make sense.

But if your varmint victims are going to be a limited number ( under a 100 per year) and shot quite far then I would look at 204 ruger, 22-250 ( AI if you reload) or even 243. The later two could take care of a deer or a pig as well with the proper bullet ( dual loads).
Although a mate of mine has shot a 40 kg boar with a 204 ruger and I have seen a few farm pigs being shot with 17 hmr ( I don't say they are adequate for the task and I would not recommend them for that).

Scope wise and binocular wise, as above. You would although do well with a small rear bag of some sort to get super stable on your bipod when shooting far.
Reloading your own ammo is essential also if you want to achieve the ultimate accuracy and you might save a bit of $$ if you go with something else than 223.
Rig wise, if you are very static or/and shoot a lot, then you might look at a heavier barrel, if not a standard barrel if fine. Avoid the ultra light barrels ( Remington 7, kimber, savage ultra light...). Free floating barrels with a good bedding is essential.
Good luck