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Mention varmint hunting, and likely the first tools that come to
mind are heavy-barreled, scope-sighted rifles, chambered in some fast-stepping
.22 centerfire. These thoughts are probably followed by images of sunburned
prairie-dog towns shimmering in dusty mirage, or frost-breathing coyotes
crunching through a late-winter snow. Some of you may be thinking of
long-barreled shotguns, loaded with heavy charges of #4s, and the explosion of
glossy black feathers as an incoming crow meets and ounce and half, airmailed
special delivery. Others will think of their pet AR-15s, tracking the long
floppy ears of a black-tailed jack rabbit as he shifts into overdrive, cutting a
jagged path through the sage. Varmint hunting has many faces, and they are all
enjoyable.
One of my favorite kinds of varmint hunting revolves around
iron-sighted sixguns. The limitations of the sixgun and iron sights force me to
still-hunt quietly and deliberately, in that special state of a hunter's
heightened awareness, then to plan my stalk carefully to get within revolver
range of yon sharp-eyed rodent. The revolver puts the adrenaline back into
varmint hunting for me.
Much of my varmint hunting is done in the mountains of the
Pacific Northwest, in pursuit of the Columbian ground squirrel (aka "greydigger").
These rotund little sun-worshippers move in behind the clear-cutting logging
operations, and take over the stump fields, digging holes virtually everywhere
there's soft dirt and green grass. They stand about 10" tall, and are easily
identified due to their rusty orange feet and tail. They have a characteristic
high-pitched bark (it's really more of a chirp), and after you've hunted them
for a while, you get to where you get some feel for their mood just by the
volume, pitch and frequency of their bark. They breed like, well, rodents; and
within a couple of years even the largest stump fields will literally be covered
with mounds, burrows and freshly excavated dirt.
Cartridges suitable for hunting greydiggers include virtually
anything that goes "Bang!". While the timeless .22 Long Rifle has certainly
claimed its fair share of these rodents, I don't generally use a .22 for the
simple reason that at the distances greydiggers are typically taken (50-100
yards) the typical .22 revolver doesn't have a whole lot of "pop" left, and I've
had too many wounded rodents have disappear down their holes. If the hunter is
willing to stick with hyper-velocity HP's and restrict his shots to inside of
35-40 yards, then the .22 can make a decent showing for itself. The King of the
Hill is for varmint hunting is the .357 Magnum -- velocity, accuracy, expansion,
the .357 has it all. Other personal favorite include the .30 Carbine, .32 H&R,
.38 Special, and of course the .44's and .45's.
Which sixguns work best for varmint hunting? Believe it or not,
I've had some of my most fun varmint hunting with various 3" belly guns (this is
a great way to develop real confidence with your carry gun), but not
surprisingly longer barrels are a more effective hunting strategy. While the
longer barrels do give higher velocity, they're still just revolvers (a long,
long way behind the .22-250s and .220 Swifts); the real advantage of longer
barreled sixguns is their longer sight radius relative to the shorter guns.
Rodents are small targets, and precision sight alignment is critical if your
shot is to find the mark (or should I say "find the bark"?). What follows is a
short list of a few favorite varmint revolvers.
If there was ever a revolver that was made explicitly for the
pursuit and perforation of rodents, it has to be the S&W Model 16. In 1989 S&W
re-introduced their K-32, this time chambered for the .32 H&R Magnum cartridge
instead of the .32 S&W Long, complete with a full-lug barrel and a Partridge
front sight. The 6" and 8 3/8" version had target trigger and target hammer,
while the 4" model had the semi-target hammer and the smooth combat trigger.
Unfortunately, poor sales led the Model 16 to be dropped from the S&W line in
1992 (people just didn't realize how much fun these guns are!). I found a 6"
Model 16 on the used market right after they were dropped from the S&W catalog
and I've been absolutely tickled with it. It was very, very easy to name it
"Sweet 16". Federal's factory ammo isn't terribly inspiring in terms of either
accuracy or velocity, but boy does this gun ever take to handloads, especially
cast bullet handloads! Any number of combinations provide very good results in
this gun with jacketed, commercial hard-cast and homegrown cast bullets, but my
favorite load is easily the Ideal 31133 HP (102 grain HP version of the classic
3118) over 6.5 grains of AA #7 for 1100 fps. This bullet expands nicely at this
velocity is surprisingly flat-shooting and hit's a rodent like a baseball bat.
Yes, the .32 H&R can be hot-rodded to more impressive ballistics, but in the end
you've still got a pip-squeak rodent round, so why bother?
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Ruger Old
Model Blackhawk, 30 Carbine. |
The Ruger .30 Carbine Blackhawk is another sixgun ideally suited
to reach out and touch rodents. Ruger originally came out with this gun back in
the late 1960s so the plinkers of the world could burn cheap GI surplus ammo in
their dogged pursuit of the wily tin can. But what they really made was a
near-perfect varmint revolver. Accurate, and flat-shooting in the extreme, with
HP ammo in the 1500-1600 fps range this gun will flip rodents at surprising
distances. Once again, my pet load for these guns involves a cast HP, this time
the 313316 GC-SWC-HP (109 grains checked and lubed) over 13.0 grains of AA #9
for 1570 fps. This load is challenging the .357 for its title of King of the
Hill, and performance-wise it is nothing short of incredible. The limiting
factor in terms of range with this gun is the shooter's eyes and how well he can
align the sights on a distant rodent; if you can get a good, clean sight
picture, that rodent is toast!
The S&W K-38 Masterpiece is one of the classic revolvers of all
time. Production of the K-38 started in 1899 with the .38 Long Colt, and the .38
Special round came along in 1902, giving the most reloaded cartridge in the
United States over a century of service. In 1957 S&W re-named this gun the Model
14 (but I like the Masterpiece name better!). Virtually every permutation of
this revolver has been built at one time or another, with various sight
packages, barrel lengths ranging from 2" to 12", different grip styles, hammers,
triggers, etc. I have done an awful lot of varmint and small game hunting with
various 6" K-38's (and they remain my favorite all-round field plinking guns),
but an 8 3/8" Model 14 followed me home from a gun-show one day, and has been
given the specific job of ventilating vermin. Not surprisingly, this K-38 is
quite accurate with most every reasonable load it gets fed (typical for the K-38
clan), and I've settled on the Lyman 358477 HP (140 grain HP) over 4.6 grains of
Bullseye for a little over 1000 fps. To get good expansion from this bullet at
this velocity, it needs to be cast from 20-1 alloy, but it makes a dandy rodent
load, and is surprisingly flat-shooting for the "lowly" .38 Special.
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Smith & Wesson Model 14. |
The Top Gun in my assorted varmint revolvers is an 8 3/8" S&W
586 that was worked over by some mysterious gunsmith (but I think I know who it
was Dave…). This gun is almost spooky in terms of its ability to acquire and hit rodential targets. This 586 gets fed several different pet loads while we're out
in the varmint fields (and handles them all quite nicely) but my personal
favorite is the Ideal 358439 (Elmer's first hollow point) over 14.0 grains of
2400 for 1350 fps. This load is exceptionally accurate and expansion of Elmer's
HP is explosive to say the least! Varmint hunting with the .357 doesn't really
require bullet expansion (an expanding bullet just adds spectacle) and the .357
does a dandy job even without it. Any good hardcast 150-160 grain bullet at
1300+ fps will peel a rodent off of his stump with alacrity. In this category,
an excellent load is the 150 grain Lyman 358477 SWC over 14.5 grains of 2400,
for just over 1500 fps. Remote rodent removal, reduced to a fine art!
Friend John Taffin likes to call the .44 Special a connoisseur's
cartridge and I have to agree (even if I do have to look up how to spell it each
time I quote him). I have had a fondness for The Special for many years now, and
in large part this is due to the countless sunny afternoons that I've spent
varmint hunting with one or another .44 Special in my hands. Over the years
there have been several, and I've enjoyed shooting them all, but there is one
that is particularly special to me; it was made for me by my good friend Dave
Ewer; a stainless New Model Blackhawk, fitted with 7 ˝" barrel, .430" throats,
oversized front sight and a honey-suckle sweet action job. Dave has built
several guns for me, but this was the one that really cemented our friendship.
Oh, and by the way, did I mention that this ruggedly handsome .44 Special really
shoots? I gave up doing any load development for this gun, because pretty much
everything shoots well. For varmint hunting my favorite load is the 429421 HP
(cast of 20:1 alloy) over 10.5 grains HS-6 for 1050 fps. When cast this soft
(BHN about 8), expansion is positive at this velocity, and there's enough bullet
mass to shoot through branches, roots, etc. to get to that wily rodent who
thought he was hiding safely behind them. Another .44 Special load that I've
been having fun with lately is the Saeco 200 grain truncated cone, loaded over
8.0 grains of Unique, for about 1000 fps from the long-barreled guns. This is
one of my favorite field loads for the little S&W 696 3" .44 Special (about 925
fps). The .357 Magnum may be King of the Hill when it comes to varmint hunting,
but the .44 Special owns the Hill.
The Granddaddy of the revolver rounds is, of course, the .45
Colt. The .45 Colt was swatting rodents in 1875 when my great-grandfather took
the boat from Sweden to come to the United States, and it has been doing it ever
since. In the velocity-crazed world of the modern shooting sports, the paper
ballistics of the .45 Colt don't look to be all that impressive at first glance,
but the Keith SWC at 1000 fps is perhaps the single most useful handgun round in
existence. It combines adequate velocity with adequate bullet weight, and a
whole bunch of meplat, and the end result is deadly all out of proportion with
the neat little rows of tabulated energy figures. Performance in the varmint
fields is exceptional. While the lead round nose bullets, or even the
traditional round-nose flat-point bullet aren't the best killers in the world,
the .45 caliber Keith SWC is one of the best varmint hunting bullets, period. I
came across an 8 3/8" S&W Model 25-3 that I picked up specifically for summer
varmint hunting. This gun also gets fed a wide variety of loads out in the
field, but the one it shoots most is the H&G #501 (the re-creation of the
original Keith SWC) over 8.5 grains of HP-38 for 990 fps and very satisfying
accuracy. This is simply as good as varmint hunting gets with a non-expanding
bullet.
Varmint hunting with a revolver is a challenging and most
enjoyable way to spend a sunny, summer afternoon. Pretty much any caliber of
sixgun can be put to work in the varmint fields, but the hunter is generally
best served with the center fires and velocities of 1000 fps or better. The
"well-dressed" varmint revolver usually has a long-barrel, providing additional
velocity, but more importantly it gives the hunter a longer sight radius. In
terms of cartridges, the .357 Magnum is a landmark against which all others are
judged, but many other cartridges serve well in this capacity, most notably the
.30 Carbine and the .32 H&R Magnum. If you get into an active rodent town,
varmint hunting can entail LOTS of shooting, so cast bullets are an excellent
way to go since they are both cheaper and gentler on barrel steel, and better
yet, cast HP's are virtually perfect. The varmint revolver puts the adrenaline
back in varmint hunting!
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