Which calibre for hunting wild dogs?

[RoginaJack]

Nah, I'll still stay with the 243w and 70gr Speer HP....Been using a 22LR with HV,HP over the traps but, Cut the cost and noise down a bit..

[Oldbloke]

Tom passed away in 2014. He was a pro who specialised in wild dogs. Did a few dvds. Suposidly knew his stuff.

Here is a preview. There are a few more if you search. https://youtu.be/6oQbKqH62vs

I intend to load up some 130 gainers in my spare 3006 for if I specifically go after dogs. It will duplicate 270. Otherwise use the 223 most of the time.

[Chris]

Thanks oldboy the 30-06 is all ways a good stand by for sure
If you are going use the 130 gr s you may like to try the speer hp Will pull them up fast to It can cut them in two
I do like making the long shots nothing under 300 meters and I have found my HB 25-06 is the best for me on small game
I had a 270-308 ackly imp made up for me a few years back a grate medium game gun
not quit as accurate pass the 300 meters as the 25-06

[Bang-sticks]

I've shot dogs using both 243 and 30-06. No dog has argued. Loads were 80gr nosler BT in 243 and 150gr hornady interlocks in 30-06.
But if I had to choose one it would be the 243. lower recoil and I can shoot it more accurately out past 250-300m for the older cagey buggers

[Dazzthebrickie]

My young fella uses a 257 roberts .
Bit of a dead calibre but it gets the job done

[WayneO]

.243 with Barnes X grenades. They turn rabbits inside out and I dont think there is a dog out there that can stand up to them.

[Die Judicii]

I think the perfect answer to this question is simply,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Whatever calibre you happen to have in your hands at the time you see one....

[Member-Deleted]

I have been shooting wild dogs for many years used several calibers such as 222,22 mag, 303-25,303,30-30 and so on but for me
I have found that the 243 was good but a little over guned, 223 that my son uses,some times if the shot was not good at distance you never
found the dog ,the 22-250 which I have used for the past 10 years to be the best for me todate.

I use 55 gr amax which I found stops them in their tracks out to my capable distances providing wind is not a problem

For windy days I use a 25-06 with 100 gr accubonds this works well for me
I have not lost a dog since using these two calibers providing they were hit
I hope this bit of info can help you but at the end of the day it's what suits you
other people use different calibers and it suits them fine

best of luck

[Oldbloke]

Soo, grandadbushy. 223 using 55g projectiles out to what? 200 yards?

[Member-Deleted]

Oldbloke
I forgot to mention projectile weight for the 223 my apologies .So it was a 50gr hornady sp flat base and shots were between 100 and 250 yards thereabouts
not sure of the reason the dogs didn't stop but they were definatly hit , dropped then got up and ran, most likely died elsewhere but thats no good when
you need to collect scalps

It may have been bullet type or not hit in a vital spot i'm not sure because I didn't look into it too much because I had the 22-250 at that time
So the 22-250 with 55gr amax does it for me it knocks them pretty much wherever their hit (but within reason)
And it is nothing new that the 223 is quiet a capable caliber with good bullet selection as a few roo shooters I know use them

Sorry I put you on a bum stear Ihope this clarifies things

[Oldbloke]

grandadbushy, that's great that u took the trouble to clarify. I use 223 with 55g. It's starting to sound like about 100 yards is about the reliable limit. I've heard that the 223 is good out to 200 but was suspicious as dogs can be a lot heavier than foxes. Head shots sure but I generally stick to chest shots. Mainly because in field conditions it's simply more difficult to shoot very accurately unless spotlighting.

[Member-Deleted]

Yeh oldbloke
Sorry about the confusion I'm only a new member and at 63 yrs old computers are a bit out of my comfort zone
I shoot wild dogs for the farmers in my area which covers aprox 50klm each way
The average count is about 38-50 dogs for 4 months of the cane crush season
The local council used to test the gut contents and scats i collected for them to see how if any were pure breed ,
but no pure ones as yet over 10 or so years

Your not wrong about field shots so thats where i found the 22-250 come into play with its knock down power
I don't know much about the 223 i have never owned one i only know of my sons
Could i ask you what breed of bullet you use it may help my son with his search for a good bullet without spending too much on unneeded bullets
you know what forums are like everybody has a favorite and rightly so it works for them

You say you prefer chest shots and yes i prefer them to it seems the best area to stop them quick ( heart-lung area)
Yes wild dogs are tough,real tough a lot of shooters under estimate them and sometimes use too smaller caliber
Only wounding the animal ,i have actually shot dogs that have been shot before and found 22 cal projectiles under their hide

How do you find the 223 as far as knockdown power with 55gr bullets?

Any good to have a talk mate.

[Member-Deleted]

HI sungazer

That bit on ballistic profiles is interesting it curtinly says a lot for the small 223 bullet
What sort of twist rate would you require to stabilise a 80gr bullet in 223 ?

I have a 22-250, 26" s/s barrel with 1-8 twist rate I was told it should stabilise 80gr bullets but i've tried for a couple years and been unable
to do so,60 to 69gr perfect with ar 2209,37.6gr

Had a look on the net but so many different opinions

[PoorShot300]

granddadbushy... i have read on US forums where as low as 1:6 but mostly they recommend either 1:7 or 1:7.7

Conversely, many also say they cope well with 1:8...it all comes back to the individual rifle/harmonics etc.
Some also say they effectively use 50gn in 1:8 no worries...

[Oldbloke]

"How do you find the 223 as far as knockdown power with 55gr bullets?" So far have only chest shot foxes out to about 110 meters using a
Hornady 55 gn SP - BC .235 #2265. (Whistling only)

Hornady Sellier Bellot Sierra 55g.JPG (330.07 KiB) Viewed 9212 times

Left to right: Hornady 55 g SP 55 g S&B Sierra 55 g Super roo (will load these up when the Hornady are all gone)

[Member-Deleted]

Hi Sungazer
Yeah info is interesting and the weights of 80gr bullets is right up there with such a small caliber
How would the match bullets go for hunting feral dogs I was told they are mainly for target shooting
The reason i ask is i use sierra matchking 100gr in my 25-06 and have had no problems so far with good knock downs and penetration

The matchkings were the only ones i could get decent accuracy with in 25-06 5 holes into a clover leaf shape to me thats exceptional
anything above 110gr shot1" to 5"groups and even then they would never shoot the same twice
I even got to thinking it could be my scope but that was proven wrong, I then was told by a gunsmith some 25-06 cal's would not handle
the heaver bullets and some would (hence different guns different harmonics)as you and poor shot 300 have said

I'm not a comp shooter only a feral pest shooter so i learn from good info like you people have given me and trial and error
so thanks for your info

[Member-Deleted]

Yeah sungazer
Speed is a big thing as well as accuracy, for me accuracy is a big thing because some times i have to shoot close to farm houses
and i do need to know where my bullets are going
Bullet type is another aspect of this and hearing about tried and tested ones is helpful
Shot placement is another one you hear about, but hit with the right caliber most any where will spoil their day if not kill them outright
The trick is killing them humanely one of the major asks todate
All practical thinkers and shooters know that nearly all center fire rifles will kill a wild dog but there are ones that shine at this task
Namely 223 ,22-250, 243, 308 and so on right up to your big thumpers

Then its personal choice and maybe cost comes into it
Most opinions would be the four above for distance,cost to reload and effectiveness also they kill humanely in the majority of cases
As i said i use a 25-06 as well, personal choice also its very little dearer to reload than my 22-250 because of the extra powder
Projectiles and cases pretty much of a muchness.

Just a bit of a chin wag Good shootin

[Member-Deleted]

PoorShot300

thanks for that info on 1-8 twist
I checked the tag i have from the gunsmith and it confirms 1-8 twist
The original cal of the rifle was 30-06 the person who had it before me rebarreled it to 22-250 then after i bough it
found out the barrel was shot out so i rebarreled it to Ackley 22-250 with 26" s/s barrel and have had all sorts of
trouble trying to stablise bullets over 69gr

Thanks again

[PoorShot300]

PoorShot300

thanks for that info on 1-8 twist
I checked the tag i have from the gunsmith and it confirms 1-8 twist
The original cal of the rifle was 30-06 the person who had it before me rebarreled it to 22-250 then after i bough it
found out the barrel was shot out so i rebarreled it to Ackley 22-250 with 26" s/s barrel and have had all sorts of
trouble trying to stablise bullets over 69gr

Thanks again

No worries,....sounds like there's more than just ammo at play in your circumstance. (Tags have been wrong before, perhaps you could check with the cleaning rod trick to confirm for yourself?)

Other's more knowledgeable may offer suggestions, i only offer what i have been able to come across in my research of the .223 for my next platform.

If the barrel you bought is of a reasonable maker, i wouldn't give up on it just yet... explore ballistics and the effects of outside forces (you may need a bedding job for eg...)

I might add,...from my readings, it does narrow the market down for projectiles the heavier you get...it just may be the brand/type your shooting that isn't right for your rifle..

Good Luck

0.02c

[Member-Deleted]

Poorshot300

Mate its funny you should say that i was only fiddling with the cleaning rod a few hours ago so i decided to get the rifle out and check because
a bloke had told me he had a 1-7 which eventually after many months of heart ache found it to be 1-14 (22-250 also)
And guess what same gunsmith same problem turns out mine is 1-12 not 1-8 unfortunatly nothing can be done for he is no longer with us
The rifle was glass bedded after rebarreling
I'l still have it checked properly by our now gunsmith
It just goes to show that a little extra chit chat on this forum can be well worth it in the long run for some people

Thanks very much

[PoorShot300]

Happy days, i saved another rifle from getting bad press...lol.

Good to hear you sorted it, now you can focus on finding it's correct load for best fun for $$$...

or if serious to run 80gn'ers your up for a rebarrel...

I only came across the wrong tag thing on the Howa forum iirc....it was when they changed from 1:12 to 1:9 for heavier pills in the Varmint range...some thought they had the new twist and for the life of them could not get the heavies to fly...it came back to wrongly tagged rifles..

[Member-Deleted]

Poorshot300

yeah mate happy days but it still remains why it sprayed the lighter bullets hopefully it was a bad batch,none left anyway
But i thought 1-12 would be too much to stabilise 69gr but she loves them,normally 1-12 will do all the lighter bullets

Now i think the problem could be solved i will stick with what she eats and leave well alone
Still to say its pretty poor when you pay $ 660 a few years ago for a 1-8 and end up with a 1-12 although its half my fault
for not checking it then and not putting all my trust in the gunsmith

Anyway cheers and thanks again

[PoorShot300]

I hear that...in the end now tho, all you can hope for is it hits what your aiming at...
More is always better, so now you have your next project laid out for you...

[Member-Deleted]

PoorShot300

Yep but it will have to wait just had 2 new hinges put in where my knees used to be both done same operation
And i will attack the project with both eyes open this time

cheers

[Member-Deleted]

Hi sungazer

Yeah mate i could understsnd that, all sorts of problems could occur from how and where you obtained the barrel
Mine was ordered by the gunsmith , he notified me when it had arrived then the rifle was taken to him barrel fitted and bedded

One would have thought it would be done properly for the price they charge
Anyway i still have a rifle it shoots straight with 60-69gr bullets not what i was after but its my spare 22-250 now, in case my
other one breaks down

cheers

[animalpest]

25/06 then .243 then 22/250 then .223. And a few with the .308
I shot 130 dogs in 20 days with all the above. 75gn V-Max out of the 25/06 was the best by far. In the .243 the 87gn was fair. The .308 and 125gn hollow points was awesome for shorter ranges (<200m) no matter where they were hit they where just in bits. Used the 55gn Sierra BTSP as this is my bulk purchase bullet for everything starting with .22 and they have never let me down. Go for the plastic tips if you like and pay more than twice as much.

The 25/06 flattened them all without a yelp out to 400+m over a spotlight. Nothing else came even close.

[Chris]

Yes Mate I totally agree with you , I use a 6x24 B&L scope ,Out to 400 yards
or more with the HB 25/06 rig .

[Lumbajak]

any if you fellas tried the vmax on the dogs? Namely the 53vmax from a 22 250. Or they no good on a heavy dog?
I’ve used the 50vmax on foxes out to about 200 from my Annie and it was bang flop.

Thanks fellas.

[Member-Deleted]

G'day Lumbajack yeah mate I only use vmax mainly 55 gr not 53 gr but I don't see why the
53gr shouldn't work
I said some where on this forum that I used amax but when I looked later they were actually vmax I was using
I have always used vmax 55gr on dogs in the 22-250 very lethal when you do your part

cheers

[Lumbajak]

Awesome mate thanks for that bushy, got some land out near leyburn to try and burn up some dogs so getting set up. Have you found the vmax at 250 velocities effective at 300-400 on solid dogs or need to bump up a caliber? Appreciate your wisdom fellas.
Cheers.