Any of these would work great for a lighter weight rifle: -Savage 18886 Model 10 Predator Hunter Realtree Max1 223 W/ACU Stock -Savage 18453 10 Predator BA Rifle 223 Rem 22 BBL Camo Detach Mag They also make a new one called a "Walking Varminter" but I don't know much about that one but it does have an Accutrigger and a lower price point. -Savage 19155 25 Walking Varminter 223 Rem 22 BBL Syn/Blue I work for a major shooting sports distributor and haven't seen or heard anything about poor build quality with the new Savage rifles (or rust?)......... and I sell all of the major brands to a couple hundred dealers across the country. The Accustocks and Accutriggers are terrific on a stock rifle and they just shoot great.
.22-250 has always exploded my animals....I suppose if you went with a fully jacketed round you would be OK?
Rust, never any on my guns, both my Predator and Deer rifles are made by Savage, never had a speck of rust on either! I guess if you don't take care of your guns you will get rust on them, no matter who the manufacturer is!
Jason - The Savage 16 FCSS is really popular over on predatormastersforums.com. The thing with predator hunting is that the guns are going to get beat up and scratched, and you tend to cover a lot of ground and walk long distances. While the "Predator" models with heavier barrels look nice, a lighter synthetic gun will take the beating your going to dish out and still be a pleasure to carry and they are plenty accurate enough for out to 300-400 yards, that Savage will shoot under an inch at 100 yards if you feed it quality ammo and do your part. The FCSS is also stainless so your never going to have a rust problem with it. Luckily I'm able to hunt up here with an AR, but if I wasn't able to use a semi auto I'd likely have one of these for a carry gun. Tony - I'd be really hesitant to use a .22 mag on any predators at any distance. My main predator hunting partner used one for the first few years we hunted together and was losing almost half the dogs he shot with it. He's now shooting a .222 and is batting 100% with it. I just don't think they have enough thump. If I was only hunting gray foxes or cats they might be a good option but yotes will absorb a LOT of lead and keep going.
Close up gun for sure ... 100% agree .... .223 is a perfect mix of killing power at a distance, minimal pelt damage, and cheap to practice with ... #1 choice in my book.
I'm surprised noone has mentioned the 222.... depends on the range you're going in the end, but 222 was big in my family for this instance.
.222 is a great round and very fur friendly. There just aren't a lot of guns made in it anymore, and ammo isn't readily available. My main partner got ahold of a vintage Sako bolt action in .222 and it's an absolute tack driver and puts a hurting on yotes.
I talked to an Ol'timer the other day that has been hunting and trapping for years. He said he just started shooting the .221 Fireball for coyotes, and he liked it so much he was going to use it for Whitetail. To me the round looks like it would do more damage to the hide than the .223 but I think that is because it is short and fat lol, it just looks like a beast.
If it was a dedicated predator rig I'd say.223. A good combo gun is a. 243. Versatile and lots of load options.
I favor the 152mm. It's got a heck of spread and anything in it's path with the beehive round is dead. And in a pinch.. the 50 Cal. or the M16 will do just fine. LOL
I have a Tikka T3 chambered in .22-250. I absolutely love mine. I shoot 55g hornady ammunition through it and Im dead on at 200. Here where Im at I do have a few stretches where I can touch out past 350 yards. .223 should be a great round for what your looking to do.
