Predator hunting

[RustyJr]

I know that it is still deer season, but how many here hunt predators during the off season and how many use their deer rifles (albeit with a different load) in order to "have fun" and stay proficient with them? Also who has a "special" varmint rifle and what load and rifle combination do you use?


RustyJr



P.S. Have considered purchasing a Ruger Mdl. 77 Hawkeye in 223 or 243 for varmints.

[cshold]

Planning to start this year.
I'm seeing more fox this year than deer in the woods.

[FWiedner]

I'm not a one-gun guy.

I have rifles purchased, tuned, and loaded for deer / medium-sized game hunting, others for varmints, others for small game, and others suitable for large game. Don't own any DG equipment.

I practice and experiment with many of them at some point during the year, but I don't usually get to handle them all in the field every year. Every gun goes to the range before it goes hunting, and I usually carry two rifles with me in case something happens to one of them.

I alway figured that going through the process with any of them kept me in good form for the rest as long as the bench and range practice is regular.

Maybe I've got too many guns.

Nah...

[SJPrice]

Predator hunting around here consists mostly of coyotes, ferrel dogs, skunks, coons and possums. And it depends on what I have in my hand at the time. Mostly it is one of three, 1886 Browning 45-70, 71 Browning 348 Winchester or 94 Trapper 30-30. In each case it is normal hunting loads.

[madman4570]

Still hunting black bear here. Got my buck Nov 19th.
It's tough hunting bears on the ground. Their smell is unreal. Though most will not admit it usually the dudes getting the BIG bears are in high up stands and coated couple nearby stumps with Anise Oil (illegal here) Not me, so I probably am screwed getting a large bear.
Had a chance a two small bears Nov 24th but waiting for Mr. Big ?? Season ain't over though yet so??

Anyhow, I could use same gun I used for deer this season as for coyote etc. .223 60gr Nosler Partition, Kel-Tec SU16-B with a Bushnell Trophy MP red/green dot.

My usual Varmint weapons though are two that also have killed deer when hunting in Pa, long shot power lines stuff.
Rem 700 BDL Varmint w/Leupold 6-24X in .223
Ruger M77 Mark II Varmint in 22-250 w/ Redfield 6-18X Illuminator

Use hot/hot handloads with Sierra 55gr BTHP's in each. Hey, you know they are good when you shake the case and powder is tight packed in case!

At your own risk of course.

[InTheWoods]

I have been calling midwest coyotes for about dozen years or so. It gives this old retired guy something constructive to do through the colder winter months. I usually eat breakfast, drive out somewhere within a few miles to set up a calling stand, call, shoot (if lucky), and drive back home picking up a cup of coffee on my way through our little town to the patch of woods we call home. I do this two or three times a week and am pretty darn relaxed about the whole thing.

I generally use a Foxpro remote caller, using a variety of common prey sounds. My main calling rifle is a Sako 75 Hunter .223 with a Leupold Vari-III 3.5 - 10x scope. I set the scope on the lowest power when calling because some coyotes come rushing by me at 15 or 20 yards. If I see a 200-300 yard coyote, I generally have time to jack the scope power all the way up. I use factory Hornaday 55 grain V-Max bullets, mainly to reduce ricochet chances with missed shots on running 'yotes.

I have experimented some in the last few years with using an AR15 with the same factory loads. Mine works fine for me, but I am so used to the ergonomics of traditionally stocked sporting rifles that I find even running game easier to take with my Sako bolt gun.

I rarely have bobcats respond to my calls, but the below cat made the mistake this last winter:

[rjohns94]

kewl!

[M. M. Wright]

My favorite varmint rifle is a Ruger 77V in 220 Swift. I usually load it with 55 grain bullets at just under 4000 fps. It will "suck" a prairie dog out of his hole with a chin shot and send him for several loops backward. Spectacular!
If I could have my druthers I would have a Savage that is the bolt action, single shot with the loading port on the left side. Work the bolt with the right and load with the left. It would be in 22-250 AI. We all have "needs".

[draperjojo]

My neighbor has that gun. sweet shooter, but its heavy!

[Mescalero]

Stevens model 200 in .223.
Although I admit it does not get much use, I usually have something else when I run across a skunk.
Which is about all I shoot anymore.

[Griff]

Nowadays, I'm mostly a "by chance encounter" predator hunter... i.e., I look out a window and spot a coyyote or feral dog in the pasture. On those occasions its usually the one gun that's loaded in the safe, a Winchester 94 carbine... Federal .30-30 150gr factory loads. These are typically less than 50 yard shots.

Other times it's when I've heard them the nite before and I'll sit out on the back porch with a call and my heavy barrelled .30-30 mdl 94 loaded with 125gr Sierra HP @ ~2500fps. These can range from 50 to 200yd shots, so the lighter bullet is a little easier to adjust the holdover with.

When I lived in CA I had two ranchers that let predator hunt on their property, both were located north of san Juan Capistrano, and much longer shots were the norm, so I used my Rem 700 in 7mmRM with the Speer 115gr HP. This was the same rifle I usually deer hunted with, albeit a different load. I also hunted the Cleveland Nat'l Forest with the same gun and load when the fire danger was low & the Forest Service allowed entry. This usually involved pre-season scouting for deer season when I didn't get drawn for the mid-state zone I liked best.

[jeepnik]

Mostly coyotes, there are way too many of them. I use a variety of rifles and have tried (not too successfully) to use handguns. It depends on my mood and how really serious I am at the time.

Quite a few of the "hunts" I take with my nephew are really just a chance for him to blow off steam, so often times we just go running around the desert. Kid drives pretty darned good, better than I ever did.

[ollogger]

When I go calling I have a Handy rifle in 223 or I put on the 243 barrel, lots of times
I just carry a lever of some kind, but the M 77 Hawkeye in SS 243 is tempting me lately
but if I could find another 99 in 243 the Ruger would lose out
a scope in poor light for me seems a greater advantage every year


ollogger

[BigSky56]

Rusty I shoot predators year round I use a couple of rifles a 22 mag the other is my hunting rifle a 99 sav that I load up 150 FMC makes 30 caliber holes, your deer rifle will make a good varmint gun and if you are fur hunting just use a FMC bullet in it. I have used revolvers too a 22 mag and 357 up close. danny

[Mainehunter]

This winter will be my first full year that I'm trying it out pending work and such. I'm bringing my AR .223 with me. I'm trying to convince my B-I-L who's an avid coyote hunter come up to camp with me. The last time I was up there few weeks back I seen whaaaayyy to many dog tracks and I could hear them every night.

When I go calling I have a Handy rifle in 223 or I put on the 243 barrel, lots of times
I just carry a lever of some kind, but the M 77 Hawkeye in SS 243 is tempting me lately
but if I could find another 99 in 243 the Ruger would lose out
a scope in poor light for me seems a greater advantage every year


ollogger

I know of a gun shop near me who's selling a Savage 99E 243 with scope for about $550 give or take. Stock is not great since it's an economy version. Hint..Hint..Hint...

Mainehunter

[FWiedner]

I used to kill bushels of coyotes out by the county dump, or over gut-piles from a days hunt. Bait always seemed to work on the howlers.

Back then my selection of firearms was a bit more limited and I used my Mini-14 for pretty much everything.

Had an old A303 that I refurbed to go deer hunting. Man, I loved that gun. Gave it to my brother because he didn't have a gun and that was a good one.

Anyway, seems like this thread turned out to be lot more about predator (varmint?) hunting than about practicing with the same gun off-season, which is what I thought it was about.

My outlook for small to medium predator / varmint type animals is that .223 works for everything if you've got a gun that shoots straight and the ability to make it work.