Thread: .308 or 7mm08 varmint gun?

Rebarrelling a perfectly good rifle to change calibres is not what I would suggest unless you were rebarrelling anyway. For a similar value you could buy a pretty decent varmint rifle brand new, and if you were happy to set up a second hand one that is cheaper still. It will leave you more change for optics and with Varminting you will need decent optics.

If you will be using factory ammo then go for 223 (slow twist like 1:12 will let you use smaller projectiles well) but if you like to handload there are a myriad of options. 204 ruger, 223, 22/250, 243 to name a few. Not that these are not availible in factory loads, but the can get dear quick using larger volumes of ammo. (in fact all of them can)Howa make a heavy barrel varmint action in 204, 223 and 308. I know someone who was toying with selling their 223 heavy barrel but not sure if he has decided to keep it. There are others out there worth looking at too.

The reason a lot of people use the smaller calibres for Varminting is there tends to be many varmint game animals like rabbits nd once you start you can shoot (at) a lot of animals in a session. This gets expensive if using large ammo that is $2 a poke making stains on the landscape. Also accumulated recoil from 30 or 40 rounds in a couple hours can hurt more with the larger calibres.