Groundhog Guns

[Groundhog Devastation]

Decades of shooting groundhogs here in VA and the 22-250 and 25-06 are still two of the greatest varmint rifles for that purpose ever devised! HOWEVER the advent of the 204 caused me great pleasure when the performance of that round got tested! 27.5 grains of AA250 and the 39 grain Sierras is great fodder for shooting groundhogs at some pretty far distances! If I was recommending a caliber for groundhogs now it would be the 204! And within the last 3 years I have been introduced to the 17 Rem Fireball!! Absolutely astounding performance on hogs! "Just turns the lights out!!" (words of montdoug). For this year I have a LowWall in 22K Hornet that will get some field time and also a 218Bee #1 that will shoot ridicoulously well with the 40 grain Sierras! When they get a long ways out there (700 + yards) then it's time for the 6mm and the 260 get the nod. I'm groundhog rifle poor!!! Not to mention the 222, 223, 17HMR and other various and assorted rifles with which to dispatch! If I had to only choose one though it would be the 204!! Charlie (Groundhog Devastation or GHD)

[Drumie]

I started out with a Remington 700 in 223. Used that for a few years. I got a Blaser LRS2 in 22-250 that is a real tack driver, just kinda heavy to carry. The last 4 years I have been using a 17 FB. That might be my favorite, but Kevin Weaver is building me a nice gun in 204. Hopefully it will be ready when the chucks start comming out around here.

[RowdyYates]

The .221 Rem. Fireball is near the top of my list. With just about any bullet type, 40 or 50 gr, Mr. Groundhog's guts are turned to Jello with almost no external drama; can't remember last time I got a crawler with my FB's.
Out past 250 yards or so, my .204s are hard to beat and I can see the hits through the scope, although the .22-250 still sees occasional use - the extra bit of muzzle blast/noise is noticeable, though.
To answer the original question: if I could keep only one of my groundhog guns it would be the one with BR accuracy yet still light enough to carry reasonable distances, and nice to look at to boot; it would be a .204 Cooper Model 21 Varminter.

[wahoowad]

17FB turns 'em to jelly around here.

Otherwise the 243 turns 'em inside out.

Sometimes I have a hard time choosing!

[jdunham]

My favorite has been the 17AH for several years now. My Cooper Jackson Varmint in 17AH is a joy to carry and very accurate off the shooting sticks. When walking fields it is always the rifle I grab. My 20 Tactical is my current favorite when parked in one place.
Kind of scares me to hear of all the places that used to have Hogs and no longer have them in numbers. I have noticed that we no longer have the numbers we used to have. Would take the joy out of my summers if we had no groundhogs to hunt.

[sshcoyote]

My favorite was my big old 25-06 Eddystone, because of some great experiences i had with it years ago--

[Qaz]

My favorite GH hunting is up close and personal so here is my list: Recurve Bow- have only killed a couple this way, but it is really a challenge. 22LR- within
70yds, and the 17HMR- out to 200yds. I also use a 223 and 243 as distances get longer, but I rarely go past 200yds and enjoy it more at 50 or less. The fun for me is putting the sneak on them.

[Alex]

I'm having palpitations! Couldn't do it! Over the years I've campaigned a bunch of different rifles. Still in my safe are a Kimber 84 in 22-250 (one of the original Kimber '84s, stainless with a 24" barrel), a Cooper Schnabelly stocked, pencil barrel Classic M21 in 17M4, a Cooper Classic M21 in 223 (older model with .720" muzzle), two really great Cooper 223AIs, two 20Tacs, three 20VTs....., couple of 17AH's....

I should "clean" out the safe, but every time I try to do it, I get sick in my stomach and a epic sized headache.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as an "ideal" groundhog gun. When the wind is high, one of the heavier guns seems the best, as much for stability of the rifle as the BC of the bullets. When it's hotter than hades and the humidity, the lightest thing possiblle is ideal. When I just want to walk and have my "best girl" in my hands, a Jackson Varmint 20VT probaby goes along.

When I started out it was with a Ruger M77 V/T on 22-250, then a 223 or two, a Sako 22-250....finally secumbed to the sub-cal craze. The ones I've held on to have all been really good producers over the years. As I've gotten older, I've come to favor toting rifles in the 7-8 lb or less all up weight. My wife will give me a kitchen pass anytime I'm going somewhere walking, but gets real stingy if she thinks I'm just gonna cruze around in my truck.

I think if I could have only one it would be a mid-weight 223, either a Cooper Classic, a Kimber American Classic or ProVarminter, maybe a Browning Micro Hunter or a CZ Kelvar stocked Varminter. I'd shoot Sierra BK 40 grers pushed by VV N-133, Hodgdon Benchmark or H-4198. I'd try a box of factory Vmax 40s to use as a reloading reference. I've had only one 223 that I couldn't get to shoot sub MOA (a lightweight Sako 75). I would probably recommend the CZ Kelvar as the best all-round midweight gun, but let that one get away because I really don't like synthetic stocks.

Right now I'm having an affair with a 17AH.

And that's lot more than you even thought about asking for.

Alex

[Marks]

It's no small cal, but I like a 6BR with 70 gr Blitzkings running 3500 f/s.

Mark Schronce

[cooperve]

My favorite will always be .222 magnum. Remington 700 BDL, Browning Safari HB, Cooper Varmint Extreme and 40 XBR. I still use other calibers that may or may not be better/worse, but its just my favorite. Maybe because they don't chamber that caliber any more (except Cooper).