Varmint rifle is an

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

term for a small-caliber precision firearm or high-powered

airgun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chem ...

primarily used for both

varmint hunting Varmint hunting or varminting is the practice of hunting vermin — generally small/medium-sized wild mammals or birds — as a means of pest control, rather than as games for food or trophy. The targeted animals are culled because they are c ...

(the elimination of outdoor animals which harass properties) and

pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...

(the eradication of indoor infestation by destructive species). These tasks include killing three types of pests or

nuisance animal Nuisance wildlife management is the selective removal of problem individuals or populations of specific species of wildlife. Other terms for the field include wildlife damage management, wildlife control, and animal damage control. Some wild ani ...

s that spread diseases or destroy crops or

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

: * Small/medium-sized non- game animals such as

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

ground squirrel Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents ( Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...

jackrabbit Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of ...

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, ...

groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

s, porcupines, opossums, skunks and

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

s; * Non-native

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

/ invasive species such as

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s and donkeys; * Animals considered to be nuisance

vermin Vermin ( colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterp ...

destructive to man-made properties and vegetation, crops and domestic livestocks, such as rats, house sparrows, gophers, and small predators such as coyotes and

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

s.Craige, John Houston, Captain ''The Practical Book of American Guns'' (1950) Bramhall House pp.211–222 Varmint guns fill a design gap between the more powerful big game rifles and the less powerful rimfire firearms. Big game rifles are more suitable for stalking and taking down individual large-sized animals such as

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

and buffalo at medium ranges, but not adequate for frequent repeated firing. Rimfire firearms (such as the highly popular

.22 LR The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...

caliber) are best used to shoot small vermin such as squirrels and rats at close distances, and are somewhat underpowered for many outdoor rodents (which are often alert enough to spot hunters from a long distance away and flee or hide underground), small predators such as coyotes and larger feral animals such as goats and pigs. The varmint rifles are very suitable for repeated medium/long-range shots from a fixed firing position, thus fulfilling and overlapping the functional demands with both in terms of hunting applications.

Common design elements

While any rifle of sufficient power can be used to dispatch targets of opportunity (the venerable

.30-30 Winchester The .30-30 Winchester/.30 Winchester Center Fire cartridge was first marketed in 1895 for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle.Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Pr ...

Mini-14 The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. It is made in a number of variants, inc ...

are common ''truck guns'' or ''ranch guns'' kept handy for this) the deliberate taking of varmints requires special characteristics more common to target rifles than "normal" hunting rifles.

General characteristics

Varmint ''rifles'' can typically be distinguished from other light-caliber hunting or

plinking Plinking refers to informal target shooting done for pleasure, typically at non-standard targets such as tin cans, logs, bottles, or any other homemade or naturally occurring target. Practice In contrast to shooting done at established targe ...

rifles in the use of heavier barrels and (often) omission of open sights. Use of magnifying

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...

allows for more accurate fire (often on very small, distant targets). Barrels will generally be free-floated, and other

accurizing Accurizing is the process of improving the accuracy and precision of a gun (firearm or airgun). For firearms, accuracy is the ability to hit exactly what one is aiming at, and precision is the ability to hit the same place over and over again i ...

techniques will be performed, either by the manufacturer or the owner. The stocks will generally have wider forends, designed for use on stable sandbag rests, and high combs for easy use with optics. Since part of the definition of a "varmint" is that it is a nuisance, varmints are not stalked, but rather they are hunted from a fixed position. This makes weight of little consideration in a varmint rifle, so heavy barrels are common. Varmints are also not subject to the same bag limits as game animals are, so far more shots may be fired. The heavier barrel is, in general, more accurate than a light barrel, plus the extra mass helps reduce the felt recoil and absorb the heat from more shots before expanding and potentially reducing accuracy. Folding shooting benches and sandbag rests help provide a stable base for the shooter, allowing the maximum accuracy to be extracted from the rifle.

Calibers

Since varmints are generally smaller animals, large, heavy bullets are not needed. A light, fast bullet gives a flat trajectory, making range estimation less vital for accurate shot placement. Velocities for modern varmint rounds are usually in excess of such as the

.223 Remington The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...

and some like the

.220 Swift The .220 Swift (5.56×56mmSR) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 for small game and varmint hunting. It was the first factory-loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over , just under ...

can exceed . This allows long range shots with a short time of flight, and little change in trajectory at different ranges (see external ballistics). A bullet drop of only a couple of inches (about 5 cm) is enough to cause a miss on smaller varmint animals; so flat trajectories increase hit probability at long ranges. Fast, lightly constructed bullets have additional advantages of rapidly disintegrating upon initial contact. Disintegration minimizes the range of ricochet particles; and energy release of disintegration kills small animals more quickly than a penetrating wound. Rifles firing .22 caliber bullets became popular varmint guns after World War I. Calibers up to 6 mm caliber, .264 caliber (6.5 mm), including .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington and .25-06 Remington, became popular for ranges over as the ballistic advantages of heavier bullets were recognized.Hornady, J.W. ''Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading'' (1967) Hornady Manufacturing Company Varmint shooting is one of the few areas where calibers smaller than .22 (5.56 mm) are found; the .17 Remington and various other 4mm caliber, .17 caliber (4.5 mm) wildcat cartridge, wildcats have a vocal following, and the new .204 Ruger is well suited to varminting, and may be the first in a new line of .20 caliber (5mm) rounds. For shorter ranges (less than about ) Rimfire ammunition, rimfire cartridges such as .22 Magnum and .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire are popular. The .22 Long Rifle will also do, but the low muzzle velocities result in a supersonic to Speed of sound, subsonic transition on the way to the target, which can negatively affect accuracy.

Varmint cartridges

*.22 Savage Hi-Power was introduced by Savage Arms in 1912 by necking down the .25-35 Winchester case to fire a bullet. The .22 Marcianti Blue Streak was a wildcat cartridge, wildcat modification; but the following cartridges fired more popular bullets. *.22 Hornet became the first commercially successful varmint cartridge in the Winchester Model 54 of 1930. It remains a popular cartridge because of the relatively low noise created by its small powder volume. *.22 Lindahl Chuckers were ballistically similar wildcats developed by Leslie Lindahl from the rimmed .219 Zipper and the rimless .25 Remington. *.218 Bee is a necked-down .25-20 Winchester introduced in the Winchester Repeating Arms Model 65 of 1938. This lever-action rifle was not well received by varmint hunters, and the cartridge has remained relatively unpopular. *.219 Zipper is a necked-down .25-35 Winchester introduced in the Winchester Model 64 of 1937. This lever-action rifle was not well received by varmint hunters, but the cartridge and wildcat modifications (like the .219 Donaldson Wasp) became popular in other actions. *

was introduced in the Winchester Model 54 in 1935 as the first commercial cartridge with bullet velocity exceeding per second. The .220 Arrow is a wildcat modification of the .220 Swift. *.221 Remington Fireball is a shortened version of the .222 Remington introduced in the Remington XP-100 bolt-action handgun (sometimes called a hand rifle) in 1962. The cartridge has attained some popularity in conventional rifles where low noise level is a consideration. *.222 Remington was a new cartridge (resembling a 3/4 scale version of the .30-06 Springfield) introduced commercially in 1950. It enjoyed great popularity until eclipsed by its military derivative, the .223 Remington. *.222 Remington Magnum was a lengthened version of the .222 Remington introduced in 1958. It was never as popular as the .222 Remington, and has subsequently been replaced by the very similar .223 Remington. *

became available in 1964 as the civilian version of the 5.56×45mm NATO, and has become one of the most popular cartridges in use today. It is currently used in a wide range of semi-automatic and manual action rifles and even handguns; such as the Colt AR-15, Ruger Mini-14, Remington Model 700, and Remington XP-100. Popularity of the .223 Remington virtually eliminated production of rifles chambered for the similar .222 Remington and .222 Remington Magnum. Larger cartridges like the .22-250 provide flatter trajectories with less wind drift at ranges over ; and handloading remains an option for shooters using older or custom-built rifles for cartridges with limited commercial availability. *.224 Weatherby Magnum was introduced in 1963 as a replacement for Weatherby's .220 Swift wildcat .220 Weatherby Rocket. Only Weatherby rifles have been commercially chambered for this cartridge. *.225 Winchester was a commercial modification of the .219 Zipper offered in the Winchester Model 70 from 1964 to 1971. The cartridge was unsuccessful in replacing the ballistically similar .220 Swift in the Winchester product line. *.22-250 was a wildcat developed in 1937 by J.E. Gebby from the .250-3000 Savage and commercially loaded by Remington Arms in 1964. *.22/3000 Lovell was a wildcat developed by Hervey Lovell from the old .25-20 single shot case (different from .25-20 Winchester). Popularity of Lovell's cartridges declined when manufacture of .25-20 single-shot cartridges ceased. *.22-4000 Schnerring-Sedgley was a wildcat developed by Frankford Arsenal Proof House Foreman George Schnerring by necking down a 7mm Mauser. *.303/22 was a wildcat developed from the .303 British in Canada and Australia during the 1930s.Landis, Charles S. ''Twenty-Two Caliber Varmint Rifles'' (1947) Telegraph Press p.242

Action types

Bolt-action rifles dominate the class, with a few specialized AR-15 style rifle, AR-15 variants (often referred to as "modern sporting rifles") and single-shot rifles making up the rest. Most bolt-action rifles, if accurized, can be successfully used for varmint hunting. While nearly all varmint guns are rifles, there are a few pistols, generally single shot and bolt-action pistols in rifle calibers such as those developed for metallic silhouette shooting, that have sufficient accuracy, range, and trajectory to allow them to be used for varmint shooting. The Remington XP-100 bolt-action pistol and its aptly named .221 Fireball cartridge, introduced in 1963, were developed for varmint hunting; the full name is the "Model XP-100 Varmint Special". For varmint and pest control in urban areas, air guns make suitable choices. While the limited power of an air rifle (generally far less than a .22 Long Rifle) limits its usefulness to small rodents at very short range, the limited penetration and low noise allows them to be used in areas where use of firearms is impractical. The popular air gun sport of Field Target, field target is based on small game and varmint shooting, with targets often shaped like rabbits, squirrels, and other suitable small varmints. The low velocities of air gun pellets makes accurate range estimation paramount, so high magnification telescopic sights are used, with calibrated focus knobs that serve to estimate the range.

References

External links

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia

The Modern Varmint Rifle by Craig Boddington

Petersen's Hunting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varmint Rifle Rifles Hunting in the United States