In the next two months, my family is going out on a prairie dog hunting trip. My uncle and cousin will be toting .223's, and my father will be using my Tikka T3 in .223. I have a Savage .17HMR with a 36x44 scope, and was wondering if i'm going to be underpowered for this hunt? Its "accu-trigger" is not nearly as good as the Tikka's is, the problem being that it slides back slightly before firing, so it requires a "pull" rather than a squeeze, which is bad for accuracy. Of course, I can get both my Tikka and Savage to do groups under an inch at 100 yards from a shooting bench.

What is the typical distance you are shooting at prairie dogs from? Once you're there, are they all at the same approximate distance, or will you have significant yardage differences between them, to have to always be compensating for with each shot? That's my big fear, that the .17HMR rounds will not shoot as long as the .223 Rem will.

Should I get another .223 instead of using my .17HMR?