Too many guns to lug around. Want to consolidate and I'd love your opinions!?

Question

Greetings all! I spend a lot of time with a gun in my hand at my fish farm. My farm hands and I use the .17 HMR, Ruger .204, .22 and shotguns on a daily basis. Each gun has its own special purpose, but I'd like to consolidate down a little bit. I also occassionally carry my Bushmaster AR15 .223

We shoot/scare a lot of birds, typically cormorants and other wading birds ( YES I HAVE A PERMIT), making shots betwen 75-200 yards.

The 204 NEF Handi Rifle has the best range/accuracy combination, but the single shot action prohibits muliple shots in a reasonable time frame.

The 17 HMR is one of my favorites too, but wind can really impact the accuracy of that small bullet.

The farm is a wide open 150 acre space with manicured ponds, so all the shots are not affected by brush/trees.

The hands are very rough on weapons, so any piece must be rather sturdy. Does anyone have a reccomendation on a good weapon & caliber that could consolidate the beneifts into one gun?

I like the .223 due to economy and semi-auto action, but I've never felt my Bushmaster carbine was all that acurate. It has a carry handle, not a flat top. Any reccomendations on scopes? Or should I get a new .223 setup altogether?

Answer 1

Unless you get the new target version of the Ruger mini 14 you won't be impressed with the accuracy. As boker said a decent varmint set up in an AR-15 or better yet (as those can be heavy) A Good Chrome Moly or Stainless barrel 16" or 20" from a reputable company should give you about an 1" at 100 yards shot group. With a decent scope or even a little practice with irons you should be shooting right a long. Check out the web sites as some of the manufacturers have accuracy guarantees. I love Rock River but their barrels are slightly on the heavy side as well, great trigger though!! Accuracy Systems , Les Baer, and DPMS all make AR-15 chambered in .204 Ruger!!

Answer 2

You say you already carry an AR platform firearm occasionally, why not get a fluted stainless varmint upper for it and continue to use the AR, but an accurised version. With a good quality scope you can make those long shots you want to take.

You might want to look into 22 hornet since it seems you like small bore rifles. The 22 hornet doesn't get much press now days, but at one time it was hailed as a superb varmint round. You might also look into 22-250 and 220 swift for that matter. Check on gunbroker.com for good deals on used rifles, you can save a bit of cash and still get a good rifle for the money.

Answer 3

In your situation, I would probably recommend a Ruger Mini 14 in .223. Very sturdy gun, light weight, short over all length, cheap ammo, reliable and can take lots of abuse, perfect for throwing in the back of the pickup. I know what you mean about the .17 hmr, packs a huge punch for such a tiny round, but the wind sure does ruin your shot more than most rounds.

Answer 4

I would stick to the AR platform, preferably the bushmaster line. One of your biggest benefits is that it is a component rifle. You say your hands are rough on them. With the AR you can replace stocks, actions, barrels, you can take the one you have now and add a flat top that you can scope without having to buy an addl rifle. an extremely accurate barrel would not be that much.

Answer 5

Lots of the fish farmers here in the Mississippi Delta use .22 WMR rifles to eliminate Cormorants and egrets from their pond banks.

If your laborers are rough on guns, I'd say stick with the NEF/H&R Handi-Rifles. I don't have to tell you how sturdy they are and they are modestly priced. For cheap ammo, I'd probably opt for one in .223 Win.

Doc

Answer 6

Forget new guns. Go get some Mosin-Nagant rifles. Each one is much less than $100 a piece and you can get ammo by the metric ton. Who cares if they get abused! They were meant to be taken care of by Russian peasants not soldiers. Meant to be abused and still work. You can probably still get some ammo on stripper clips.

Edited to say...for the price of one Mini-14 you could get two Mosin Nagants and at least a 1000 rounds of ammo

Answer 7

Get a 12 gauge or 20 gauge/223 or 243 Combo Gun I like those and gives you two shots.

Answer 8

well haha im a fan of remington shotguns and they can take a beating..... ruger 10/22's are very easy and take a beating and its very inexpensive to shoot and maintain. otherwise for 500 bucks a remington 700......... and they sell guns to folks like you that youll find at gun shows such as a 223. 12guage and whatever else in one combo and you just rotate the barrel...... i dont know much about them tho so id look into it.... p.s. i love rugers id reccommend them because they are 180 bucks but last much longer than other rilfes.

Answer 9

A scoped stainless steel Ruger Mini-14 should fill the bill nicely.

Answer 10

For all your small game needs, I'd say a .222 is right up that alley. I'd also look into Thompson Center Arms.