what is the best varmint round and why?

Welcome to the site

I'd say a .243 as coyotes are called varmits as well so I'd say a bullet to handle the big stuff as well has its advantages

Never went varmit hunting myself though.

Dimitri

I like my 25-06 AI, but its down to personal opinion.

cheers

It's probably a personal preference but I like my 22-250 for varmints........

peepsight: welcome to the forum.

The subject of varmints can include everything from little mice to really big dogs (coyotes). Most will find that one cartridge won't do everything as well as having two or three. OK, maybe, three or four.

Still, if I were choosing just one cartridge, it would be the versatile 223 Remington. It is adequate for coyotes and bobcats and good on the small stuff. It is marginal on mountain lion (past experience). Ammo availability is unversal and priced reasonably, however, handloading will extend usefulness considerably.

The 223 comes in every conceivable format --- bolt, pump, auto, single shot, light barrel, heavy barrel, etc. Match one with your preference and get out there and call a bit!!

For better or worse, there is no such thing as “the best varmint round”. Different people will have different ideas depending on their circumstances.

I’ve always considered my .22LR to be a good varmint round and my Browning .22LR BAR has dispatched many critters. When I go prairie dogging it goes too, to handle the short range stuff (up to 200 yards). Really cheap to shoot and doesn’t scare the dogs into their holes like the centerfires do. But the .22LR is not really the best choice for p-dogs and its decidedly too light for coyotes.

A .223 is an exceptional choice for the person shooting factory ammo, but before I could get my hands on one Dad gave me a Savage 110E in .22-250 with nearly 2,000 empty cases. The rifle is long gone, replaced by a heavy-barrel Ruger, but I couldn’t let that brass go to waste. The obvious choice for me was to stay with the .22-250. For the handloader who wants more than the .223 can give it really doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you choose the .22-250, .220 Swift or the WSSM. The nice thing about these is the powder space allows you to load below maximums yet still get very good velocities – which greatly enhances barrel life.

Stepping up a bit you have the .243’s and .25’s. These burn a bit more powder but throw a heavier projectile. Don’t own a .243 and my only .25 is a .257 Roberts. The Roberts has become my favorite rifle for varmints, partly because is small and light (22” barrel), extremely accurate, and partly because the 75g V-MAX bullets are absolutely lethal to anything they touch. And I can touch them waaaay out there. That said, if I get on a p-dog village for any length of time the Roberts takes a back seat to the .22-250.

Although I’ve shot varmints with cartridges like my 7mm Mag, .375Win and .44 Mag, none of them are good varminters. One problem I have is that anything heavier than the 75g V-MAX bullets seem to ricochet too easily.

It would seem that this question is about as easy to answer as asking "What is the best Deer caliber?".

First you have to determine what varmints you will be going after, the ranges that you will be shooting, the landscape, prevailing wind, locality to a populated area, are you after hides, will the varmint bite back and a host of others.

Also will you be using factory or handloaded ammunition?

I use anything from a .177 pellet rifle to a 12 ga with buckshot (usually #1). I use my .22 a lot along with a .223 and various cartridges in my Contender. I enjoy using the Contender in .35 Remington with 110 & 125gr JHPs and also a .308 Bellm using 125gr TNTs. Up on the high end I have also used a .50 BMG one time on a Nutria just to see what would happen. That was a bit messy as you can gather, just a bit overkill.

What ever you decide to use just be carefull and ensure that you know where your bullet goes, use the most frangible bullet you can so it doesn't go skipping into the next county.

I'm with everyone else. Depends on varmint. My 243 could do most. It'll put the Nosler 55gr. out right at 4000fps for long range...anything. But I love my little Hornet. With it's consistent accuracy I can take squirrels out to 150yd easily. Then in town I us my son's Henry lever 22 scoped. Great for chipmunks around the house out to 50yds.......noone knows I'm shooting when using CCI CB caps.

I gotta say my 25-06. Handles them all. If I could have only 1 varmit rifle (God forbid), that would be It!

thanks guys for your input,i'm currently using a browning eclispe 22-250 with 50 gr bullets,they just don't seem to have enough punch to the after about 300 yrds,most of my shots have been 300 plus yards.

i guess i better say i'm after coyotes lol

For coyotes I use the 50 and 55 gr Hornady Vmax and 55 gr SP Hornady, they seem to work alright. Another bullet that works good is the 52 gr Nosler.

The best, well that's still a personal decision and taking into account what your hunting conditions are like. 223, 22-250, 243 are all good choices from close to far out for coyote. Notice the position of the 22-250 in the lineupand you would be set from close to far.

I'll prolly get a lot of flack about this answer, but I bet I get a lot of supporters too. For the best ALL AROUND varmint round, the .223 can't be beat.

You can load it slow or fast, the readily availability of brass and bullets, cheap to shoot, not a lot of recoil which won't pull you off the scope so you can see the hit, almost every rifle maker sells them, etc.

If your shooting for fur, the choice of bullet weights and type are lengthy, and with well placed shots the damage can be very well controlled. If you're shooting prairie dogs, marmots, ground hogs, rock chucks, squirrels,or ground squirrels, the bullet weights & choices again are many, from 30 grains to 72 grains. And from ballistic tip to hollowpoint, to soft point, to FMJ.

And most everyone who reads this question and reply post prolly already has one.

Why would you think of anything else?

Tusero wrote:

:party: I'll probably get a lot of flack about this answer, but I bet I get a lot of supporters too. For the best ALL AROUND varmint round, the .223 can't be beat.

Can I disagree with you? I happen to like the 22-250 better.
Really there are many good calibers for varmint hunting it's a matter of preference I think. Go for it...... hit me......