I just ordered a long range varmint control tool

[Pat]

I have been trying to decide what long range varmint control tool to buy. After lots of reading I decided on a 6.5mm semi-auto, "AR" style implement. The 6.5 mm projectiles are available in high sectional density and with high ballistic coefficient so they retain a good percentage of their initial energy out to 1000 yards (over half a mile.) They are not blown off course as much as a .308 or a .223 or lots of other more common sizes and have a flatter trajectory beyond 3-500 yds than many other choices.

I selected a 24 inch "bull" barrel in stainless steel. It is button rifled in 1:7.5 twist. It is guaranteed to perform to less than one minute of angle so I have not given up much, if any, precision compared to a bolt action.

Recoil is moderate, well under a .308 and barrel life is much better than such cousins as the 6.5x284 or the 22-250.

Now I have to select optics and tool up for hand feeding it. It consumes less materials DIY than many competitive units and good store bought ready to use rounds are available.

Officially it is chambered for 6.5mm Creedmoor. Similar to the 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Swede, .260 Winchester and so forth.

Lacking a sufficient supply of cooperative varmints, I can also perforate paper with it.

Pat

[jimbrown]

Boy that was a new one on me had to look it up. Those things sure are mean looking with the red tips.

[egon]

By the time the Pat decides on which proper varmint control device should be used from his device cabinet the varmint will long be gone! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I'd have though one of the .41 or .50 control devises would have been at the top of the list. The range should be quite a bit greater and recoil supposedly is not bad. It would also give a great opportunity to tinker with the standard loads available to the public. It could be interesting to see what could be done to the projectile to aid in a varmint misting program. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[jimbrown]

Hmmmm wonder what a gopher hit with a 45-70 looks like. I may try to get a picture.

[Pat]

Egon, I could have bought a Barret .416 which has better terminal ballistics than the 50 cal BMG round. Both are overkill for my intended use (long range target shooting and varmint control when needed.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is not the fastest 6.5 but has gentle recoil, uses less powder, is gentle on the brass, and has good barrel life. Hornady is producing factory ammo for it in two weights, one just above 3000 and one just below 3000 FPS.

The only other rifle I have that could be considered a varmint rifle is a 22-250 which is pretty good at 200 yds, so so at 300 and that is about it. It is a high velocity flat shooting son of a gun. When zeroed at 200 yds it is 3/4 inch high at 100 yds and about 4 3/4 inches low at 300 yds.

So, out at 500-800 yds the 6.5 will still be very supersonic and deliver the energy required to make a clean kill on anything you can hit up to deer sized.

As semi-autos go it is pretty accurate, not state of the art bleeding edge high dollar super accurate like super sub MOA but it should shoot within a MOA. One Minute of Angle (MOA) would let you put 5 rounds within a max diameter of 5 inches at 500 yds. That will git 'er done on a coyote, beaver, puma, or whatever.

This is essentially a reformed .308 Winchester case necked to a specific set of specs for throat angle etc to fit a 6.5mm bullet and not exceed the overall length that will feed from a .308 size magazine.

I wasn't sure I understood the "RED TIP" comment for sure. Some of the bullets are essentially hollow points but with a polymer (plastic) insert to give the nose better aerodynamics. None of these rounds are armor piercing, tracer, or any "special" performance as is denoted by various color markings on military ammo like .223, .308, .50BMG and such.

It will be a while before I get to try it out. According to the UPS tracking site it was scanned in at Oklahoma City as of 0811 this AM. It is due to be delivered to a shop with FFL on the 16th but is likely to be early as tomorrow. Until I get rings and a scope on it and get ammunition it is just a lump of metal in the general shape of a rifle. Then I have to sight it in and get a feel for the ballistics. Luckily I have a LASER range finder that is good to 1200 meters or yds plus or minus 1 meter or one yard over 600 and 1/2 a unit out to 600. That will save a lot of ammo and a lot of measuring ranges.

I'll post my results when I have some. Don't expect miracles as my vision is not nearly as good as when I earned my expert marksman medal in the service. Funny how things change in 40 years.

Oh, I can describe the effect of a 22-250 hand load on a California ground squirrel at 200 yds. I was loading 52 grain gilding metal jacketed hollow points and pushing them up to 4000 FPS. The hydrostatic shock of the impact ruptures all the soft tissue essentially instantaneously leaving the squirrel as if it had been in a blender and then spread out over about 100 sq ft. There were only a few small chunks that were identifiable. Mostly things like a small strip of hide with some toes and claws attached or the odd skull fragment.

The first time I hunted ground squirrels, they were eating pearl onions I had helped a buddy plant to sell to a local wholesale grocery. I got in position 200 yds away and took aim and shot. There is enough recoil to take the scope off target so you don't see the actual impact. When the scope settled back on target I saw no squirrel. I thought I must have missed or it fell dead in its hole or whatever. I was extra careful on the second shot but still saw no dead squirrel. I tried a third time with similar results and thought I better go down there and take a look. I did. There was "Osterized" squirrel spread all over the field. I was not missing. I hit all three and they were literally turned to puree and scattered over a fair area. By the time I got near the impact zone I could smell the squirrels and see gazillions of flies in a feeding frenzy. I didn't have to "confirm" any further results at close range.

The 6.5 is a bigger and about 2 1/2 times heavier bullet. For equal weight bullets going 3000 and 4000 FPS respectively there is a 9:16 ratio of kinetic energy with the faster round nearly having double the KE. The 6.5 bullet is abot 2 1/2 times heavier (KE is linear in weight) so you will have a final result of about 2.5 times 9 versus 16. 0r 22.5/16 which is 1.4 so you get 40% more KE (at the muzzle) with the 6.5. The 6.5 holds its energy better as it has higher sectional density and better ballistic coefficient (better aerodynamics) so you will have about 45-50% more energy delivered to the target by the 6.5 than the 22-250.

Whether or not that results in as spectacular results as the 22-250 depends on the terminal ballistic characteristics of the bullet on whatever target. It is likely that a lot of energy would be wasted on a ground squirrel with the 6.5 as it is likely the bullet will go through the target and not dissipate all its energy. Not that is would make much difference to the squirrel as it would still be disintegrated in a tiny fraction of a second. It might matter to me as I need to ensure the bullet doesn't cause collateral damage. I will be looking for bullets that will break up on impact for smaller targets and for safety reasons. The 52 grain hollow points I used in the 22-250 would not ricochet. They would totally break up into fine fragments which were very unaerodynamic and would decelerate quickly due to air friction to non injurious speeds. A cow grazing laterally to the target could not be harmed by a shot impacting the ground or a rock over 10 feet or so away. A round fired point blank into a corrugated cardboard box would put a .22 hole in the front and a thousand or more tiny holes in the back of the box. The bullet would totally break up on impact with the front side. I shot into aluminum soda cans end wise with similar results. A .22 hole in the one end and a thousand tiny holes in the end of the can. It did not blow the back end of the can out, just made a lot of really small holes. I like bullets that can't ricochet. I will be looking into similar bullets for the 6.5 as well.

Pat

[jimbrown]

red tips

[Pat]

It made the rounds look effeminate to me, like fingernail polish on the ends of fingernails.

I guess different strokes for different folks.

Just kidding.

I guess the marketing people got to pick the color. Men like red.

Pat

[jimbrown]

Pat what brand of AR did you buy? Bushmaster, SW, Colt ?

[QRTRHRS]

I use a Ruger 77 22-250 with the heavy barrel on a bidpod. I also use the Hornady Varmit Specials with the red tip.

They do have a nasty look about them don't they?

Only problem is, I don't get much action at the new place. At my old farm, I would average 60 hogs a year! The "locals" have told me that the coyotes have taken over ground hog control. Guess I need to get some night vision on the scope, heh, heh, heh.

[Pat]

It is a DPMS/Panther arms chambered for 6.5mm Creedmoor. It is sitting in the UPS operation in Oklahoma City waiting for Monday to happen so they can deliver it to a local dealer. Yeah local... 60 mile round trip.

I found Midsouth Shooters Supply on the net and their Hornady factory loads were the lowest prices I could find so I got some of both bullet weights Hornady offers, 120 and 140 grain.

I will set up to roll my own.

I am converging on an optics decision but can use scopes I already have while I await delivery of whatever I decide on. If you choose carefully you can get a scope for a lot less $ than the equivalent performance will cost you in WELL RECOGNIZED brands.

One example is Tasco, a name that instantly brings to mind super cheap plastic crap I would never want to use. However they have had a military contract for designated marksman scopes so the engineering and toolling and all was essentially paid for by a Government contract. Some of the local National Guard Snipers have used it and it is the real deal.

Pat

Pat