Is .223 Rem dying as a hunting round?

Steve33

Steve33

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Hey all!

I have decided to finally start hunting again. The idea of going after coyotes is too tempting a hunt to pass up. I do not have a rifle that will do the job and meet local regulations so I have done my research and decided that at .223 Rem is what I want/need. It doesn't have a really loud crack and will take game out to 300 yards.

Now to decide what rifle I want. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money as I do not know how much I will be able to get out to hunt as I have a young family. I have been looking at the Savage Edge/Axis. It is supposed to shoot well but I can't say that I like the feel of the stock and the bolt feels very sloppy.

So, I went to the Sportsman show in an effort to check out different rifles. In my search I found out two things... first, most of the reps were clueless about their competition and second.. Winchester does not offer a single rifle in .223 this year. Not one. It also kind of looks like .223 has been removed from the H&R Handi-Rifle but I cant confirm that as different pages say different things.

Has anybody else noticed this trend away from .223? It can still be found with with companies that make tactical rifles (which makes sense), but once you start looking at hunting only companies, the well looks like it is drying up.
 
I'm not sure where you are looking. There are more guys here carrying 223 for coyote than I can recall seeing over the past 10 years. At one time you would have to look hard to find one now they are everywhere.
Stevens 200, rem 7615's, 700, tikka t3 , savage, winchesters , browning you name it guys are hunting coyotes with them.
 
.223 is an awesome round, and pretty inexpensive to shoot. I'm not much of a coyote hunter. I have only killed a handful, at fairly close range. One day I hope to have the time to take up predator hunting. I'm jealous of the guys on here that do it a lot, it looks pretty damn fun! if I were going to get into it, I would use a .223, or a 22-250, in normal conditions. If it were windy, and longe range shots. I would use a .243, .260, or a 6.5x55 swede. That's just me, but I have no experience, compared to the guys on here. Just my 2 cents.

Dave.
 
3macs1 said:
I'm not sure where you are looking. There are more guys here carrying 223 for coyote than I can recall seeing over the past 10 years. At one time you would have to look hard to find one now they are everywhere.
Stevens 200, rem 7615's, tikka t3 you name it guys are hunting coyotes with them.
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Oh, I know that they are being used regularly but it seems that .243 and 22-250 seem to be the in demand cartridges this year. You can still buy rifles from the brands that you named, but they all offer tactical rifles in .223 which makes sense as police etc all use .223 these days in their patrol rifles.

It just shocked me that Winchester has completely dropped the .223 Rem cartridge from it's 2011 catalog. I just don't understand why they would do that. And like I said, it looks like H&R has dropped the option from their Handi-Rifle also. If the round is so popular and versatile, why would Winchester stop offering it?
 
Steve33 said:
Oh, I know that they are being used regularly but it seems that .243 and 22-250 seem to be the in demand cartridges this year. You can still buy rifles from the brands that you named, but they all offer tactical rifles in .223 which makes sense as police etc all use .223 these days in their patrol rifles.

It just shocked me that Winchester has completely dropped the .223 Rem cartridge from it's 2011 catalog. I just don't understand why they would do that. And like I said, it looks like H&R has dropped the option from their Handi-Rifle also. If the round is so popular and versatile, why would Winchester stop offering it?
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I wonder how much of their decision was made two years ago when 223rem was pushing 22-250 in terms of cost. For the same priced ammo, most people would probably opt for the 22-250. Now that 223 ammo can be had for more reasonable prices, people might start to lean back more towards that calibre.

Or I'm just plain wrong.
 
Steve33 said:
Oh, I know that they are being used regularly but it seems that .243 and 22-250 seem to be the in demand cartridges this year. You can still buy rifles from the brands that you named, but they all offer tactical rifles in .223 which makes sense as police etc all use .223 these days in their patrol rifles.

It just shocked me that Winchester has completely dropped the .223 Rem cartridge from it's 2011 catalog. I just don't understand why they would do that. And like I said, it looks like H&R has dropped the option from their Handi-Rifle also. If the round is so popular and versatile, why would Winchester stop offering it?
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Think about it. Winchester the same company that stopped making the best shotgun shell hull ever produed their compression formed and then wondered why their ammo sales took such a drastic drop.
They don't seem to make many good marketing decisions in the past few years.All I know is I can buy 223 ammo at canadian tire and walmart and cannot get 22-250 there. take care
 
3macs1 said:
All I know is I can buy 223 ammo at canadian tire and walmart and cannot get 22-250 there. take care
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Aye... that's one of the main reasons why I wanted .223. I figured that I'd always be able to find the ammo (supply issues aside), for as long as I own the rifle. It's common as dirt. Plus, it will be a good starter rifle for my kids once they get old enough. It's a great round.

I just wondered if the powers that be are trying to get us away from the round, or if sales of it are dropping, or....?
 
.223 is the best coyote round out there. The biggest advantage I find is able to look threw the scope while the shot is fired. I can get on the coyote again faster and I pretty much know where the bullet hits. With my .22-250 it takes me a bit longer to get on them for a second shot, but they both put them down fast if you make the shot count.
 
Steve33 said:
Oh, I know that they are being used regularly but it seems that .243 and 22-250 seem to be the in demand cartridges this year. You can still buy rifles from the brands that you named, but they all offer tactical rifles in .223 which makes sense as police etc all use .223 these days in their patrol rifles.

It just shocked me that Winchester has completely dropped the .223 Rem cartridge from it's 2011 catalog. I just don't understand why they would do that. And like I said, it looks like H&R has dropped the option from their Handi-Rifle also. If the round is so popular and versatile, why would Winchester stop offering it?
Click to expand...

Winchester dropped the .223 because they stopped making rifles with there push feed actions. They kept the .22-250 and .243 because they use the same action, bottom metal, bolt, and bolt face as .308, 7mm-08 ect. That is what they told me anyways.
 
Buy yourself a Ruger MKII M77 stainless with synthetic stock in 223 and you're rocking ... doesn't rust, lightweight and fairly accurate. My suggestion anyway ... ;) :D

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
if you can get your hands on a savage stevens 223 rem, grab it,,ya I know the stock is cheesy and it might not be the prettiest rifle out there,,but I own one and let me tell ya their light and extremely accurate especially for the price,,,and they come with a barrel nut meaning you can change out the barrel down the road if you need to..,
 
Cheap way to get into it with the Savage Edge/Axis I bought one and first trip to the range with cheap bulk ammo holes were touching at 100 yards. This was the camo package with the scope already on it in .223
 
I have a Savage in .223 and a Brno Fox in .222. Both are excellent for Coyotes. The .223 is fairly cheap to reload and if you buy ammo most places carry it.
 
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