.224 FA Wildcat

Shooting Varmints with a Revolver

- Dick Williams

Perhaps the hottest ticket in today’s shooting sports is extreme long-range target shooting. While I’ve been impressed with what’s been accomplished with new guns and by individual shooters, as a lifelong passionate handgunner, I have not been swept up in the craze. In fact, I’ve been a little disappointed that there hasn’t been a corresponding surge in long-range handgun shooting. However, given the incredible increase in the sales of defensive handguns over the last two years, I’m happy to accept the extra five to 10 million pro-Second Amendment voters.

I must admit, though, that the enthusiasm of the long gunners has sparked my interest in jumping back into long-range handgun shooting. Hopefully, I’ll get up to Sundance, Wyoming, in June for a look at the relatively new annual 1,000-yard handgun match. While I don’t have the specialized equipment needed to compete, I will get some trigger time hunting varmints at SPUR Outfitters with Freedom Arms’ newest Model 97 revolver chambered in the .224 FA. No, I’m not talking about 1,000-yard shots at rodents, but I am talking about realistic 100-yard-plus opportunities at prairie dogs with a sensibly-sized wheel gun using a specially designed, hand-loaded only, high-pressure cartridge.