I currently have a .223 Savage Bolt barely shot I would sell ya. Being in state and working for a gun shop I could ship it to your local FFL easy. If interested shoot me a PM.
T/C Venture Predator Edition chambered in .223. I have killed 32 groundhogs with it so far this year ranging from 30 yards to 310 yards. The 310 yard shot was dead on accurate. We kept the scope that came on it and it seems like a quality scope. The bottom three are the MOA out of the box. And the three next to the bullseye are the last three sighted at 100 yards.
On our place in Southern Indiana we have ground hogs everywhere. I prefer the .220 swift but will also use a .22-250.
another vote for a used bolt-action .223/5.56mm. That round will destroy 'yotes and woodchucks; and in a bolt gun is every bit of a 350 yard tack driver; plus no felt recoil to speak of and ammo is easy to find. Unless you reload; I don't know why you would consider anything else.
If I was only to buy one it would be a .243. You can shoot everything from squirrels all the way up to deer with the right load. It is the most versatile caliber.
A squirrel with a .243?!?!? You must have some booner squirrels. Can't see how there would be much squirrel left after being hit by that. It is a great all around caliber though, think I'd save the smaller rodents for a .22 or airgun though. lol
Here is the thing about the .243. You can shoot a 55 Gr. that has better ballistics then other calibers with a similar weight bullet. And you can go all the way up to 115 gr. Yes I've killed plenty of squirrels with no damage to the meat. Headshots only! :p .243 is an exceptional yote and groundhog gun. It just not very fur friendly on either! Neither of which I care about.
I bought my wife one of these in .243 for her college graduation ten years ago, most accurate gun I have owned. they are single shot, but its a gun you very rarely need to shoot twice! lol hers is the ultra hunter good gun, for the price it can't be beat in my opinion H&R Ultra Rifles
For groundhogs and coyotes I would definitely go with a .223. Still plenty of ammo to be had at least in my area.
I have a savage axis bolt gun in 223. Love it. I think I paid around d $300 for it without a scope? Cheap to shoot and plenty of power for yotes.
I would think 22 or something slightly bigger would be good for groundhogs. 223 seems not only overkill but expensive
I heard that a combination AK-57 uzzie radar laser triple barrel double scoped heat-seakin shotgun gets the job done.
Actually compared to the other rounds mentioned .223 would be the least expensive and easiest to find route. It's a great varmint round. That said a friend in Illinois who does a lot of fur bearing hunting is extremely fond of his .204 ruger.
I believe that .223, being only 3/1000s of an inch larger, would classify as "slightly bigger" than .22 Other than .22WMR, .220, .222, and .22-250, not sure what other somewhat common cartridge would fall under that category. And try finding those, especially on the cheap.
.22 would work for short range but if you have to shoot over 100 yards it would be tough. We don't buy real expensive ammo. We keep finding the American Eagle made by Federal with a ballistic tip in 55 gr. for $9.99/20. I think we might start reloading though. Also depending on the twist of your barrel you can shoot up to a 75 gr. bullet or as low as a 40 gr. bullet. I've seen people kill hogs and even deer in the south with a 75 gr. .223 round.
