I saw some videoes on dogbegone.com of people shooting prarie dogs. Looks like lots of fun. In this part of the country we have groundhogs, whose burrows are liable to snap a farmer's axel while plowing the fields, so the woodchuck is the main varmint around here.
I have a couple aquaintences who go groundhog hunting every now and then. I try to get them to take me, but they have kids, they're buying houses, or whatever else prevents them from setting aside an afternoon to do some groundhog hunting.
I built an AR15 from a J&T distributing kit. It's a 16" CAR15 with a free floated dissipator barrel and an A3 upper.
As far as my marksmanship, with the irons, I can hit a propane tank sized target (like the tank you cook your steaks on) from about 150 yards with iron sights pretty consistently (offhand shooting). I'm not sure if that's really good or average or what.
I was thinking of getting a cheap scope to hold me over until I can get a dedicated bolt-action varmint rifle. Realistically speaking, how far out will I be able to hit groundhogs with my rifle and mil-spec .223 ammo? What scopes should I look for?
I was thinking a 4X scope of some type. I know people say, "Never go cheap on a scope." But in this case, the scope won't have to put up with lots of abuse. I just want to get varmint hunting out of my blood for a little while. Once I get a varmint gun, my AR will be my dedicated battle rifle and I can sell the scope or whatever. Suggestions? Am I barking up the wrong tree? I am much less experienced with firearms than most on this board.
-Nick Viejo.