OK, here is the deal.  I have been longing to get a heavy brl in .223 for a whie but needed some justification.  Today the oppurtunity arose with the invite to a 4 day p-dog hunt.  

For those of you that have had or have a hb varmint type upper what do you recomend?  18", 20", 22", 24" fluted, non fluted, etc.

What about an upper that I can swap out and put on my current lower?

Thanks

What grain bullet?

For the P-Dogs, I suggest the longest barrel that you feel comfortable with.  Mine is a 24".

Why?  One word -- VELOCITY.

For varmints, you want destructive bullets that are moving fast.  The extra velocity will also give you a little advantage on getting that pdog that is sitting out on top of the hill 300+ yds away.

If you already know the dog hunting area, then you can carefully select your round.  Mostly 100yd shots and under -- go with something less than a 55gr bullet for an even greater velocity boost.

Those polymer tipped bullets (ie -- vmax, amax, ballistic tip, etc) to absolutely wonderful on critters.

I really like my J&T.  1-8 twist, SST, Fluted, 24".  Shoots well under MOA.  Great service and price too.

Id say go with an RRA varmint upper.. reasonably price and dead accurate.

bushmaster varminter

Alot of people like Varminters by Bushmaster....I've never shot one...but have seen the groups...quite impressive

RRA 24inch Varmint A4, the best accuracy for a reasonable price.

I've sold my BushMaster VMatch and I'm getting an RRA varmint 24" 1:8 twist (should be in today ).
I wasn't really impressed by my Bushy accuracy, so I decided to give the RRA a try. I hope it'll be as accurate as my DPMS Panther
It's not the grain of the bullet that matter though, but it's ratio between length and diameter. A common understanding tell that 1:9 should stabilize just fine a 68gr bullet, but my Bushy was not even close to give the Hornady 68gr SST bullet (0.987" long) a decent accuracy. Even if I didn't try, I'm pretty sure it could have worked just fine with a shorter 68gr bullet.
As soon as I'll get my RRA I'll let you know how it performs ...


- Ice