Thread: Varmint Cal

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

One thing to consider when hunting small varmints such as rabbits at long range is that part of the (sick) pleasure derived from the sport (refer to the thread about what we find relaxing) is the acrobatics they perform when being hit by the high speed projectile. Its actually quite amusing and sometime damn hilarious! Therefore being able to witness the impact is (IMHO) quite important.

Bigger calibers with higher recoil and high powered scopes with small fields of view means missed acrobatics. Having shot several thousand rabbits in the Hawkes Bay in the past two years, the difference between shooting the .223 and the .22-250 is quite marked. The .223 recoil allows you to maintain vision on the target. The .22-250 recoil is just enough for you to miss some impacts. .243 is hopeless.
When I am out hunting rabbits, I take the .223 (or even the HMR) unless I know that the ranges are getting out to +250m or the breeze is getting up, at which point I start going up in the caliber.

Just worth considering if you want to see the kill on a small target.

Well said, hot barrel's
this and the cost, are the reason I favor the 17 fireball, 17 hornet, .204 and humble .222, for varmints,
for a pure varmint cal the little 17 hornet is cheap to run, and big on performance.

From the additional info, the orginal poster 300 BLK, has given, and his desire to use factory, I think the .243 or 6mm rem, or perhaps the .260 or 6.5 CM, in that order are his best options.