Caliber for Prairie dog rifle

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Andrew B

Member
I just returned from Colorado from my annual PD expedition. A little disappointed in the numbers of dogs available. Drought plus hunting pressure? Don't know. Had a good time anyway. The wind teaches you humility.

Thinking about South Dakota for next year - would like some feedback. Long damn way from south Louisiana.

Thinking about building a new PD rifle. Have a 8.5 Bat M, have a 15 pound McMillan stock, have 1.25 barrels in .224 12 twist and 6mm in 8 and 12 twist. Have 6x47 Lapua, 6mm BR, 220 Russian, 6mm PPC, 6mm remington and 22-250 brass. Have 22 and 6mm bullets from 40 to 87 grs. Rifle will end up around 30 pounds with a muzzle brake. I like to see my hits and my friends won't spot for me anyway.

I was kinda thinking about a 22 BR in 12 twist. Low recoil and accurate with good speed.

With the components available, what would you build? Why?
 
Andrew B said:
Thinking about building a new PD rifle. Have a 8.5 Bat M, have a 15 pound McMillan stock, have 1.25 barrels in .224 12 twist and 6mm in 8 and 12 twist. Have 6x47 Lapua, 6mm BR, 220 Russian, 6mm PPC, 6mm remington and 22-250 brass. Have 22 and 6mm bullets from 40 to 87 grs. Rifle will end up around 30 pounds with a muzzle brake. I like to see my hits and my friends won't spot for me anyway.

I was kinda thinking about a 22 BR in 12 twist. Low recoil and accurate with good speed.

With the components available, what would you build? Why?
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Something without a Muzzel Brake so you're not porting expanding powder gasses at friends. No wonder they won't spot for you.

The 22BR makes sense [ http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/22br/ ], and you won't need a muzzel brake, or a 30 lb rifle, and your friends just might return and spot for you. Reloading components will be less expensive too.
 
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abintx said:
Something without a Muzzel Brake so you're not porting expanding powder gasses at friends. No wonder they won't spot for you.

The 22BR makes sense [ http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/22br/ ], and you won't need a muzzel brake, or a 30 lb rifle, and your friends just might return and spot for you. Reloading components will be less expensive too.
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I think seeing the downrange acrobatics is an important aspect of what PD shooting should include. I have a 17pound braked 22x47L that fires 75Amax at 3,400FPS and I can spot the hits as close as 100 yards........never mind a 30lb rifle. Geees with 30lbs and a brake you can sure choose a lot of cartridges! If I planned a PD rifle wisely in advance of starting the project (as you are doing) why would I want to depend on somebody else to be my eyes for me, and exclude myself from having that fun?
 
A friend has a close neck, 6mmBR that has a 12" twist barrel, that has worked very well with 70 grain Blitzkings for his longer shots on prairie dogs. Another friend has a similar rifle, that has a zero freebore throat, that he shoots 55 grain Ballistic tips in to good effect. The first fellow has done well dialing his wind adjustments into his scope turrets for longer shots, rather than holding. I would never consider such a build without a muzzle brake, since seeing your own hits can enhance the experience so much. If everyone is wearing good hearing protection, it should not be a problem. I have hunted with a friend that has them on all of his varmint rifles, just so that he can see his hits, and it has never been a problem. I just make sure that I have foam plugs under shotgun muffs, which is no big deal for me.
 
IMO you have two logical options.

6BR with 8" twist braked bbl. All around, hands down your tightest value, bang-for-buck you won't beat it.

It'll easily hit stuff that the 22's, 204's and especially the 17's can only dream about and it'll do everything the liddle guys will do, BETTER.

And if you're really serious, if slightly reduced barrel life doesn't offend you then step up to the 6X47 Lapua, it will do things no other 6MM will do.

It'll cost you more. Reloading dies alone will cost you 250.00 more and each shot will cost you an additional 25% over the BR.

BUT.......

My rule of thumb is exquisitely simple, yet refined..... "at what distance does my setup start missing on it's own?"

You need accuracy quarter minute or better to actually SHOOT stuff and not just shoot at it, far out.

Quarter minute is easy, far out quarter minute IS NOT.

It's about wind. Out in the real world wind wrecks everybody shooting those teensy pills, leaving
them stranded at the 250yd mark. If you want to really hit animals all day then you need something
that'll reach out THROUGH THE WIND which dictates a BC of over .5 IMO (an opinion earned by
actually hitting stuff far away) and nearer .6 is a huge step up. So, really, you need a .5-.6 BC
bullet shooting quarter minute or better. And low recoil..... trust me on this one.

A quarter minute rifle is capable of 1.5" wide at 600yds. With no wind.

Think about it.



My first hunt I had a couple 22BR's, 3 6PPC's, a .308, a 17lb .243AI and a 22-250 all of which were capable of the 1/4moa part........ tightest twist in the bunch was the 10twist on the 308. By 8:30-9:00 in the morning I was helpless. Guys with factory 7MM Mags were eating me up :)

al
 
I agree with Al. I have been on 15 prairie dog trips in the last 12 years and the wind and accuracy at distance is the key.

This last trip, every dog was over 400 yards away. I think they were left overs from last year and had been educated to what a parked truck and guys on benches meant. The close dogs dropped into their holes and waited us out. I use a wind meter. The average wind speeds ranged from 14 to 19 mph with gusts to 25. When one of the guys asked a local about whether the wind was always like this, the local replied no, that sometimes it blew hard. In my experience, on the plains of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado, the wind always blows like this. The .204's and the .223's and the lighter 22 cal bullets have a very tough time connecting with this kind of wind and distance. On a calm day, they are okay but there are few calm days. If you can pick your days, you can do okay.

I think the ultimate prairie dog rifle for out to a 1,000 yards is a heavy, braked 6x47 lapua in a 8 twist. I shoot this with IMR 4350 and a 87 grain V-max (.4 BC) at 3400 fps. I used to use 105 bergers and a-max's for this but they do not expand well at lower speeds and they pencil hole PD's at distance. I have used up to a 300 Weatherby magnum with 178 A-Max's for longer shots, but even a heavy braked rifle in the larger calibers becomes hard to see your hits with. IMO, the 6x47 is the best compromise.

Some of the guys I go with are using the 75 a-maxs in a 22-250 8 twist with good effect. The 22 A-Maxs seem to expand much better than the 6mm version.
 
Dogs

The only time I ever went dog hunting was in Colo. took my old .220 swift. Shot dogs all day but didnt shoot any 600 yds. About 300 yds. was the longest. That was 25 yrs. ago though Im sure its different now. Didnt take my .300 weatherby though. Dam, that would be like hiting them with a kraut 88.
 
Before you choose a cartidge, compare a 6BR or 6x47L sized case firing a 6mm bullet..... VS..... a 22-250 or 22x47L sized case zeroed at 400 yards firing the 75Amax. Be sure to look at drop, windage, and energy at 300-600 yards. When I did that, I dropped the 6mm bullet as a choice. We are looking to build a PD rifle, not a target gun.

My thinking looks to coincide along the lines with Butch's choice of a 204. My first choice and primary PD rifle is a 20Tactical firing 39 Sierras at 3820 FPS into 1/4" MOA. It's a 15lb rifle that doesn't require a brake. I regard it as the staple rifle for the 50 to 300 yard shooting. It's fun and easy shooting all day.......without running your buddies off too.

The braked 22x47L (that I mentioned above in post #4) shoots 75Amax at 3/8" MOA at 3,400 FPS. It is intended to take over at 300 - 350yds where the 20Tactical leaves off. If given the choice today, I would still build a 20Tactical rifle as the primary PD gun. (It's just so easy on you to shoot all day) My second choice for a do-all long distance shooter would not be a 22x47L, but it would still be a braked rifle firing the 75Amax. With Lapua offering the 22-250 case now, resizing and fussing with a 22x47 case is no longer neceassry.
 
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My Experience

A good,good while ago, I hunted prairie Dogs in West Texas with a 220 swift and a .223. I killed more prairie dogs with the .223 ,shooting 52 gr bullets. That was back when PD towns were densely populated and shooting distances were favorable to the .223. I missed more Prairie Dogs than I hit with both calibers,due to wind and mirage.



Glenn
 
Andrew B said:
I just returned from Colorado from my annual PD expedition. A little disappointed in the numbers of dogs available. Drought plus hunting pressure? Don't know. Had a good time anyway. The wind teaches you humility.

Thinking about South Dakota for next year - would like some feedback. Long damn way from south Louisiana.

Thinking about building a new PD rifle. Have a 8.5 Bat M, have a 15 pound McMillan stock, have 1.25 barrels in .224 12 twist and 6mm in 8 and 12 twist. Have 6x47 Lapua, 6mm BR, 220 Russian, 6mm PPC, 6mm remington and 22-250 brass. Have 22 and 6mm bullets from 40 to 87 grs. Rifle will end up around 30 pounds with a muzzle brake. I like to see my hits and my friends won't spot for me anyway.

I was kinda thinking about a 22 BR in 12 twist. Low recoil and accurate with good speed.

With the components available, what would you build? Why?
Click to expand...

Go with a 6mm if you have it already (6mmBR or 6x47) if you go with the 8 twist use heavier bullets...I understand friends not wanting to spot...because they want to shoot..;)...unless you have someone that agrees to spotting...you will have to go it alone..by the way realistic numbers for Prarie Dog kills in the open prarie in all directions/distances (wind angle/speed) is about 20% (1 in 5) because if you only shoot at the dogs 250 yards and less you won't burn much ammo..if you shoot from 75-500+ yds as many do you will shoot-miss-and adjust fire..accounts for 20% success..:p
 
I recall hold-offs of 4 FEET in a moderate wind to hit PD's at 500 yards with 52 grain 22 bullets. And it often blew harder.

I realize you already have barrels in 22 and 6mm, but if I were building a 30lb PD rifle, it would be a 7mm, say 284 Shehane, for bullets of 175 grains or more. These larger diameter bullets have greater BC for smaller hold-off for wind. This rifle would be used exclusively for long range. For short range, I would choose a no more than 15lb rifle in a moderate capacity 22, say 220 Beggs. If I got interested in the smaller calibers, a 20 Fireball might be nice.

Fun project to think about,
Keith
 
I'll be leaving on a PD trip in a few weeks and this is what I'm taking, a 22" heavy barreled AR 15 shooting 40gr Sierra BK's @ 3750ish for the 300 on in shots, a 26" bbl 6mmX47 Lapua shooting 87 VMax for medium to long range and a 6mm-284 Win w/ 30" barrel single shot stiller shooting 105 Amax for the beyond 500. Also have a 26" heavy barreled 223 bolt gun set up shooting 53gr Vmax that I just want to play with. I think either a 223 or a 20 tac/ 204 almost mandatory for volume, but we'll see how the others work for the longer shots. It's been 10 years since I've shot prairie dogs so we'll see if I'm better prepared than the single 22-250 I had last time.
 
Size of ammo is a deciding factor

msalm said:
I think either a 223 or a 20 tac/ 204 almost mandatory for volume.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with this observation. Many years ago,I used to take 500 loaded rounds of .223 ammo and a 100 to 200 loaded rounds of 220 swift on a PD hunt. I also took a barrel cooler for the Texas heat. You'd be surprised how quick you can go through 500 rounds in an active PD Town. Of course that was before PD hunting pressure reduced their population.



Glenn
 
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