The Best Caliber for Hunting Medium Varmints with an AR-15 Platform
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GchxUIABfAgdG-SeoJs-RQ_Uxor97sIqiLwcDPVURZxofW8-DHnNGU6KST61byRWL3wu5bnhiA6zAnMaRzf57z6L3IVjcjOjbMnvrAxubJ5kRYgfSpu4PUJQh4VcoyospbQb0_D5hZ0/s320/11.jpg)
It’s a rare hunter that doesn’t feel the itch to get out there between the big game seasons. The solution to this dilemma for thousands of hunters is varmint hunting. As fun and absorbing as varmint hunting can be, it can also serve an environmentally and ecologically important function by culling invasive, destructive, and financially burdensome species that eat crops, destroy property, kill native species, spread disease, and can otherwise run amok in places they shouldn’t be. While caliber is certainly important when hunting smaller varmints such as prairie dogs, rats, starlings, squirrels, and the like, if you score a hit on one above the legs with 22 LR ammo or up, a clean kill is pretty much assured. That is not the case with medium-to-larger varmints. To avoid the unnecessary suffering of a varmint (annoying as they may be, they’re just doing what they do instinctually), be sure to choose an appropriate caliber. The following three varmints can be use...