[Dale 1]

You’re right, I don’t the difference between a 223 and a 22 caliber – actually, I’ve never hear of a 223.

My comment was meant to make a distinction between “hunting” and general firepower. When I hunt I always select what I consider to be appropriate – I’ve never hunted ground hogs, but I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that.

The original reason for this discussion was that a renowned sportsman didn’t think using assault weapons to hunt prairie dogs was appropriate. I agree with him.

[Bob Mc]

No one really "hunts" prairie dogs. They are not even good eating. We shoot them because they are rodent pests (like rats), damaging to property, prolific like rabbits, and are excellent target practice. So it is not unusual at all, that they are killed with a very large range of calibers and types of firearms. Who knows, maybe even dynamite.

[WVNight]

Educate yourself. These other fine people have given you hints about the truth. Or do you wish to be blind to the truth.

[labette]

"I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that."

What you don't seem to know is that what you are referring to as "assault weapons" typically use much LOWER POWERED cartridges that commonly used in hunting rifles.

I'll see if I can find some relative pics.

[Oztrich Boy]

I’ve never hunted ground hogs, but I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that.

"high-powered assault weapon"

No such animal "assault weapons" come in at the lower power end of the centre-fire rifle scale. Almost all hunting rifles are more powerful

[flashbunny]

You've never heard of a .223, but you don't think hunting groundhogs with them would be appropriate?

And congrats on using the gun grabber term 'assault weapon'.

[flashbunny]

"I’ve never hunted ground hogs, but I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that. "

Sigh.

The ar isn't high powered. It falls under SCHV - small caliber, high velocity. General hunting rifles like the 30-06 are much more powerful than them.

But if you want to call them 'assault weapons' like the brady bunch does, I'll take to calling your deer rifles "sniper rifles" in order to make them sound more dangerous. Maybe then the brady bunch will try to ban those, too!

[therut]

One more time. The .223 is not HIGH POWERED. It is mid range at most. Is is appropriate for small animals. Very few people use it for deer for that reason. Alot of states will not let you take a deer with .223 cause it is too low powered. Me I would use my 22-250 to shot the little varmits. Hot and fast and accurate with a custom barrell. But it has a too pretty wood stock so it is a look at gun and use with care not to scratch. Now the AR-15 is O:K to try and scratch. The AK-47 even better with the dirt and grime. See everyone has their choice in the FREE country.

[supercat]

You’re right, I don’t the difference between a 223 and a 22 caliber – actually, I’ve never hear of a 223.

A .223 rifle fires a bullet that's essentially the same diameter as a .22 rimfire, but is a fair bit heavier. The powder stack behind the bullet in a .223 cartridge, however, is much larger than that in any .22 rimfire (even a .22 magnum rimfire doesn't come close). Not large compared with hunting rifles (e.g. the 30-30 or 30-06) but large relative to the size of the bullet.

[dbehsman]

My comment was meant to make a distinction between “hunting” and general firepower. When I hunt I always select what I consider to be appropriate – I’ve never hunted ground hogs, but I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that.

Dale, I hate to be rude but you are way off base on your assessment. The .223 cartridge is one of the smallest center fire rifle cartridges out there. In fact I can only think of two other cartridges (this is not including wildcat cartridges of course) that are smaller. The .17 Remington and the .22 Hornet. The .223 is really small, there is no way that it can be classified as "high power". It is not legal to use the .223 for deer hunting in many states (in fact it might even be all states). The reason is that the legislatures think the the cartridge would mostly wound a deer as opposed to killing it outright. Therefore, the legislatures decided that the humane answer was to demand more powerful cartridges should be used. All of this of course is not to say that a .223 cannot work at all for deer hunting. My Grandmother used to use a .222 for deer hunting. For five years, she got five consecutive one shot kills when she hunted deer with her .222. She was bummed when the state banned the use of the .222 for deer hunting. I remember her saying that if idiots just learned how to shoot, they wouldn't wound deer, they would be able to kill them outright. All of that aside (I only posted it for the sake of clarity), never did I ever hear my Grandmother describe the .222 as "high powered". The reason why she like the .222 was because it was very low recoil and comfortable to shoot.

In an earlier post, you said that prairie dogs a large and slow moving. I sure don't think they're "slow", and they are very quick to duck into one of their burrows. As far as size goes, they are not really big. I would say they are about three times the size of a squirrel. They are tiny when you are looking at them from 500 yards out.

The original reason for this discussion was that a renowned sportsman didn’t think using assault weapons to hunt prairie dogs was appropriate. I agree with him.

If you agree with him, then you would also have to say that you don't think any semiautomatics should be used for hunting. There is absolutely no functional difference between a "sporter" semiautomatic and a "assault" semiautomatic. They both work the same, and no amount of horsesh*t from Sarah Brady can change that. The only difference is the color and the pistol grip. Have you ever shot a rifle with a pistol grip? They are much more comfortable to shoot than a typical semi pistol gripped "sporter" rifle.

[Wonder Warthog]

"The original reason for this discussion was that a renowned sportsman didn’t think using assault weapons to hunt prairie dogs was appropriate. I agree with him."

He (and you) are ignorant. There is no such thing as an "assault weapon". The correct term is "assault rifle", which has full-auto capability. The SEMI-AUTO rifles differ from other SEMI-AUTO rifles in similar calibers ONLY in cosmetic details.

And yes, .223 "is" a preferred caliber for hunting prairie dogs, coyotes, and other vermin.

[Terriergal]

the .223 is what the AR15 fires

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.223_Remington

Somewhere between a .22 and .243 (in some states if I'm not mistaken .243 is the lowest caliber allowed for deer, and I think others allow the .223 ... perhaps because the deer are smaller bodied in southern states...? but I'm not 100 percent on that)

[School of Rational Thought]

"You’re right, I don’t the difference between a 223 and a 22 caliber – actually, I’ve never hear of a 223.

My comment was meant to make a distinction between “hunting” and general firepower. When I hunt I always select what I consider to be appropriate – I’ve never hunted ground hogs, but I doubt that I select a high-powered assault weapon for that.

The original reason for this discussion was that a renowned sportsman didn’t think using assault weapons to hunt prairie dogs was appropriate. I agree with him."


It appears your agreement stems from ignorance of the subject matter. You will change your mind when you are better informed.