Optimum weight for prairie dog rifle ?

[Hammer]

.

Assume all prairie dog shooting is done from a well constructed bench overlooking the virgin prairie dog town.

Assume that all the moving and placing of equipment will be done by healthy 21 year olds eager to please.

Assume the best shooting rifle rest ever imagined.

So your only concern is shooting the rifle and killing prairie dogs.


What is the optimum weight for a good prairie dog rifle ?

.

[bootsmcguire]

What round are you shooting? I mean a 10lb 204 would be very comfortable for all day shooting, but if you are like Dean may be and show up with a 300 RUM loaded with 110 V-Max's then even a 10lb'er would beat you up pretty quick. ;)

[yobuck]

Where i hunt moving and placing is done by very old guys who (have permission) to drive and follow the tracks over the prairie to the locations.
Leaving any gates as you found them, open or closed. We shoot from portable benches but some choose to shoot prone.
When they get as old as us they will shoot from a bench also. The savage varmit weight rifles make an excellant rig but lighter barrel guns will work.
If your goal is to kill at long distances beyond say 600 yds, the 6mms and 6.5s would be the better choice.
A bipod works very well the vast majority of the time, but other type of a rest or even just sandbags will work from a bench.
Hand held binnocs of 7 to 10 power is all thats needed unless distances are extreme. Then more power on a tripod would be better.
No law that says you cant shoot a 338 lapua if you want, and if your goal is a 1500 yd kill it would be a good idea.

[Luke45]

Where i hunt moving and placing is done by very old guys who (have permission) to drive and follow the tracks over the prairie to the locations.
Leaving any gates as you found them, open or closed. We shoot from portable benches but some choose to shoot prone.
When they get as old as us they will shoot from a bench also. The savage varmit weight rifles make an excellant rig but lighter barrel guns will work.
If your goal is to kill at long distances beyond say 600 yds, the 6mms and 6.5s would be the better choice.
A bipod works very well the vast majority of the time, but other type of a rest or even just sandbags will work from a bench.
Hand held binnocs of 7 to 10 power is all thats needed unless distances are extreme. Then more power on a tripod would be better.
No law that says you cant shoot a 338 lapua if you want, and if your goal is a 1500 yd kill it would be a good idea.

Didn't he ask about rifle weight?? ;)
Optimum is where the recoil won't take your eye off the prairie dog and you can see the impact. Like boots said 10 pounds and up depending on caliber

[dcloco]

Really depends on how much recoil the caliber your "eager 21 year olds" are lugging.

20 Vartarg = 8 pound rifle. 204/222 Mag/223/223 AI - 10 lb. My 22/6mm AI - needs to be in the 14 lb category.....BUT...because 75 gr Amax's at 4K fps, you see mist/dust and then recoil....at 400 yards.

[yobuck]

Didn't he ask about rifle weight?? ;)
Optimum is where the recoil won't take your eye off the prairie dog and you can see the impact. Like boots said 10 pounds and up depending on caliber

Well did i at least get the part about lugging the guns right Luke? lol

[basshawg42]

A model 12 LRP in 6.5 creedmore weighs 13.5 rigged out

[Winchester59]

Let me make a slight thread diversion here and ask...What's the best way to add weight/recoil reduction to a prairie dog rifle? Most of my rifles have H&S stocks with glued on butt pads. I use preformed lead in AR A2 stocks, have used mercury recoil reducers in trap guns & know they are available fore and aft for rifles, thought of using sheet lead with color co-odinated duct tape to butt stock & fore end. Familiar with diver's ankle weights around butt stock. Can someone enlighten me on this?

[yobuck]

A muzzel brake will help recoil but wont do much by way of adding weight.
Sections of copper tubing filled with lead can be installed in wood stocks, but fiberglass could be another story.
I think id be removing the butt pad and look at putting some lead in there. Then re glue or screw the pads on.
I have 2 model 12 Savage varmit guns. One in 223, the other in 22/250ai. Neither pose any problem with seeing hits.
Although bipods work well, they do tend to move and especially when shooting from a bench although less visable with a brake.
With heavy recoiling guns there would be better choices than a bipod when shooting from a bench.

[Armed in Utah]

My p/dog table guns usually end up 17-18#

from a 20 Vartarg up to 6.5x55...barrels are usually 28" long w/no taper screwed into Savage Target action

[Jamie]

My .223 Rem is right at 11 lbs ready to go. My .243 Win is 16.5 lbs.

[JCalhoun]

Hammer,

What happened to the armored train idea for shooting those ragging p-d's?

[Ranger3]

Ihave a heavy barrel Savage 22-250, sporter 22-250 varmint remington 220 swift and several other light and varmint barrels. It depends on the caliber, but if you are shooting from a bench with sandbags, I like enough weight to consistently see my hit. So for just a few rounds, light is ok, but really like the minimum varmint barrel and especially like the 1" contours. The heavier are also easier to hold steady. If you are carrying at all, I like the model 12's.