Hunting with varmint barreled rifle?

[2scars]

How many of you folks hunt deer with heavy barrel rifles. I picked up a varmint contour 243 8T to replace the factory sporter of the same caliber. Would it be worth it?

[foxx]

Personally, I don't think so. The added weight just seems totally unnecessary. The recoil of the .243 is very light to begin with, and it's not like you will be shooting more than 1 or 2 shots at a time, so the barrel won't heat up on you and change your POI. I am thinking the heavy barrel would make for a nice target or varmint rifle, but not deer.

There's gotta be others out there that like 'em for deer hunting, though, I am sure.

[DanSavage]

I use varmint or bull contour's for deer hunting. Using a sling is nice with a heavy rifle. I use the heavy barrel's because I have had much better accuracy and a much better cold bore shot with them.

[yobuck]

If you enjoy hunting groundhogs or other varmits, you might also enjoy hunting deer using the same methods.
If not id be using a lighter rifle for deer.

[deadeye_dan]

I've used a heavy barreled 7mm (total weight 12.5lbs) to shoot an absolute pile of deer - but much of that wasn't hunting per se, just shooting to fill crop damage and disease control permits.

Not a lot of fun to hump around on a walk, but lots of fun to set on bags or a bipod and start laying them down.

[Smokey262]

Not a lot of fun to hump around on a walk, but lots of fun to set on bags or a bipod and start laying them down.

^^^^^
This

Carried a 7mm Rem Mag BVSS one afternoon a few years ago. That sucker got heavy after awhile

[scope eye]

I have some sporter barrels for hunting, problem is I am to lazy to swap them over.:o

Dean

[big honkin jeep]

It's not too bad hunting with a varmint barrel if you don't mind sweating on the walk in, and carrying a few extra pounds along with your gear, and having a barrel that extends 3 feet over your head catching every branch and limb in the woods, and a rifle you cant swing or point without making contact with limbs, trees etc., and turns your four wheeler into a "wide load", and bangs on the door when trying to enter a box blind, and is too long to get out the window of a box blind, and is so heavy it put's your legs to sleep if rested across your lap, and well on second thought... Yes... Yes it is that bad. Just too much hassle. About the only thing I have tried that was a worse idea was trying to deer hunt with a 24" bull barreled .308 AR.
After hunting with "long range" and varmint/ tactical style rifles for a couple of years My latest hunting rig is a .308 and has a 16" cut down sporter barrel. It's a pleasure to hunt with and gets the job done very efficiently. Heck it just seems to to everything I need a rifle to do efficiently, and has changed my way of thinking about general purpose and hunting rifles.

[2scars]

Well here's the thing, we only walk a little bit, usually we are on atvs. We walk in sometimes, but it is let than a 1/2 mile. I have a second stock that is semi inlet and will go ahead and try it. I just need to one something other than 105 Amaxs to run through it.

[yobuck]

The question your asking dosent have the all round answer your apt to get from most people you might ask.
You havent specificly, or at least clearly stated your intended reason for considering a heavier gun to begin with either.
Certainly most hunters would reccomend a lighter gun if carrying it around all day was the intended purpose.
The key to me i think, was in your last post when you said (we). I picked up on that as meaning you hunt with others
in a group. Of coarse there could be various reasons for doing so and thats not clear either.
But all that aside, carrying a heavy gun considerable distances in order to hunt is not at all uncommon.
20# guns and even heavier are often carried a mile or more. And i mean carried, as in on your back carried and not on the back of a 4 wheeler.
#1 a good pack with a built in scabbard like an Eberlestock for example is pretty much a must.
And with that a 30" barrel isnt a problem. One gun for the group is enough. Carrying a 20# portable bench by another person is also done quite frequently.
Assuming one isnt already stashed at the location your headed to. Each person needs their own backpack in/on which is their own binnoculars and tripod
plus clothing, lunch etc. 1 pack of hotdogs and 1 bag of rolls will feed the whole bunch.
Does that come closer to answering your question?

[schnyd112]

We hunted for several years with a Remington sendero. the guy that carried the rifle didn't have to carry a spotting scope or tripod.

The rest of our kit is pretty light, but even after water food extra clothes binos can weigh 17-20 lbs. add the rifle, 12ish lbs loaded (scope bipod sling ammo) you're talking 30+ pounds to get up the mountain. That means a lot of preparation before the season starts both to get into shape, and to know where we wanted to be as to not waste miles. Our go to deer rifle is now just over 9 lbs loaded. Big difference? Not really. But it is sure nicer to carry the 9lb 25-06 instead of the 12lb 7 RUM.

[foxx]

I guess my first question for anyone who says they prefer deer hunting with a heavy barrel rifle similar to a varmint rifle is this: Why? What do you like about it. How is it better than the same quality of rifle but with a sporter barrel and stock? i.e. describe the ideal deer rifle and explain why it works well in your situation.

Personally, I hunted heavy brush and swamp land. I prefer short, lightweight rifles with traditional stocks so i can carry it while stalking to and from my stand. I never sling my rifle during legal hunting hours. I want/need to be able to make quick offhand shots at running deer like others might hunt rabbits or pheasants. It would be almost rediculous to try such a thing with a heavy barrel rifle designed for varmint hunting. I also know i can shoot one or two shots with my lightweight sporter within .5 to1 moa out to 400 yards with it and have never, in 40 years of deer hunting had the opprtunity to shoot a deer at that range. Obviously, for me, whatever advantage a long range heavy barrel rifle might offer one person who hunts open spaces out west does not make up for the problems it causes when trying to hunt deer rhat flush from heavy cover at short range and, within mere seconds of revealing themselves are gone, albeit they only went 30 yards before dissappearing.

For those who prefer heavy barrels, i gotta wonder what a heavy barrel rifle allows them to do that a lightweight sporter doesn't.

[yobuck]

I guess my first question for anyone who says they prefer deer hunting with a heavy barrel rifle similar to a varmint rifle is this: Why? What do you like about it. How is it better than the same quality of rifle but with a sporter barrel and stock? i.e. describe the ideal deer rifle and explain why it works well in your situation.

Personally, I hunted heavy brush and swamp land. I prefer short, lightweight rifles with traditional stocks so i can carry it while stalking to and from my stand. I never sling my rifle during legal hunting hours. I want/need to be able to make quick offhand shots at running deer like others might hunt rabbits or pheasants. It would be almost rediculous to try such a thing with a heavy barrel rifle designed for varmint hunting. I also know i can shoot one or two shots with my lightweight sporter within .5 to1 moa out to 400 yards with it and have never, in 40 years of deer hunting had the opprtunity to shoot a deer at that range. Obviously, for me, whatever advantage a long range heavy barrel rifle might offer one person who hunts open spaces out west does not make up for the problems it causes when trying to hunt deer rhat flush from heavy cover at short range and, within mere seconds of revealing themselves are gone, albeit they only went 30 yards before dissappearing.

For those who prefer heavy barrels, i gotta wonder what a heavy barrel rifle allows them to do that a lightweight sporter doesn't.

Well the thinking on heavy barrels on long range hunting guns is in fact changing. And its changing toward lighter barrels as opposed to heavier.
The legnth factor is also changing as a result of the more modern powders. For example, its possible to get the same or even better velocity with a 28"
or even shorter barrel today with say a 7mm stw than you would have gotten 30 years ago with the powder in use then with a 30" barrel.
As to the question of why heavier diameters as opposed to smaller diameter ones, the answer would be better accuracy for multible shots.
Especially with higher capacity cartridges.
That answer could bring about more questions, but on a different subject.

[foxx]

^^^^ There you go.

"...better accuracy (after) multiple shots." I believe your first 1 or 2 shots from a cold barrel should be just as accurate with a light sporter barrel as a heavy barrel. I think people often assume (wrongly) that a heavy barrel is more accurate than a lightweight barrel, and they think so because target shooters and varmint shooters prefer them. When in fact, it has nothing to do with inherent accuracy, but with the need to not let the barrel heat up and temporarily "warp" after just a couple shots. Of course, heavier rifles often shoot better at long range because they are easier to hold steady, but that depends upon the shooter and the rest and the circumstances. I really think a hunter should think these things thru when choosing their weapon.

[schnyd112]

We hunt in Nevada so lots of sagebrush and open country in the mountains. We used the ultra mag for long shots, knowing we had the ability to shoot 600+ yards if need be. We bought it because we found a hog of a buck that would come out of the aspen in the bottom of a canyon and feed through a large burned area. We could not get closer than 750 yards and he knew it. He would come out about an hour before sunset, feed up the middle of the burn, and head back into the trees as it got dark. He must have had water in there as we never saw him in the morning. In the end we never had a real chance and we ate tag soup.

The weight of the gun really helps when you are able to shoot prone from a bipod. It feels rock solid, even in the wind. The heavy barrel made the 7RUM shoot-able, without a break, to practice with enough to shoot confidently at long range. At 90+ grains of powder, a small barrel would get hot in a hurry, maybe 1 or 2 rounds. As it is, this one can hardly get through 5 rounds without getting hot. It got to the point where it is just no fun to shoot and now it hardly ever leaves the safe.

Now we have a 25-06 with a very light barrel. It heats up so fast that 5 shot groups are not really feasible. After 3 rounds nearly touching, it begins to spray shots unpredictably (1.5"+ at 100 yards). it is a hunting rifle at heart and it plays that role terrifically. it shoots very true with a cold bore, has plenty of energy to kill quickly at 500 yards and is very nice to carry. Good looking gun as well. now if we are ever lucky enough to draw an elk tag, the big boom stick will be coming out again.

[03mossy]

Not to get this off topic but I have to ask. Is there really groups of hunters or a way of hunting where you share a rifle? I just can't wrap my head around that as I only hunt thick woods when rifle hunting.

[schnyd112]

We hunt in a lottery type draw state. Usually between me and my dad we only have one tag. It is not uncommon to have 3 or more guys without a tag helping the guy with a tag. Especially for elk, sheep, and antelope. Extra eyes and extra legs for when something bites the dust. I go on several hunts every year to help out in any way I can, armed with only optics and experience.

[peterf225]

I have tried the heavy barrel thing for deer hunting and it just didn't work out. I use shorter barreled (16-18") sporter to magnum contour rifles out of my stands. My furthest shot can be 200 yds, but am very comfortable taking that shot with my 17" magnum contour creedmoor using 120 NBT.

My other main hunting rifle is an Encore with a 24" 35 whelen barrel. The encore is 1" longer overall than my creedmoor.

[2scars]

Well I am only adding barrel thickness, not length. Both of my barrels are 22", and we don't share. My Father in law hunts with the same 243 Rem 700 that he has for years. Others hunt with 25-06 and 270, still others with 6mm Remington. All on the same property. I just like to work on stuff and tinker, but I don't want to make a detrimental change. Shots range from 50-300 yards. And in the off season I have access to other farms that suffer groundhogs and coyote.

[foxx]

There is always the "cool" factor, and with that, the "fun" factor. If you want something different and like it, shoot it. Enjoy it. Hunt with it.

I have a lot of different Savages for the very same reason. One is a heavy barrel 20" "tactical". It is TOTALLY impractical for the kind of hunting I do. Nevertheless, someday I hope to shoot a deer with it. I get that.