204 or 22-250

John Marshall

John Marshall

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A freind of mine is planning on buying the new savage line of varmint hunter.
What do you guys think, 204 or 22-250. His primary use will be for coyotes.
 
I use a 204, good for at least 200 yds , easy to load for, no recoil, usually no exit holes, accurate, nothing but good to say for it. No experience with the 22-250?
 
I have both calibers. The ballistics are very similar. pdg300 is right on with his comments about the 204 Ruger, but I would add that you can rely on it well past 200 yd. Do a search on the Predator Masters forum, and you will find reliable accounts of kills on coyotes out to nearly 400 yd. The 22-250 is an equally good performer, and comes with many more suitable factory ammunition offerings at the cost of more noise, recoil and a shorter barrel life. If your friend is not a reloader, go with the 22-250. Otherwise, he can't really go wrong with either caliber, and I have to say a 204 is lotsa fun.
 
Being in southern ontario and a predator hunter I will assume your friend wouldnt turn down a shot at a red fox if the opportunity arose. Assuming that, I know that the 22-250 will pretty much ruin any fox hide it encounters but will Bang-flop coyotes.
As for the .204???? I havent had any experience with it or heard much about the damage it does to fox pelts but I have read it is a good coyote killer.
 
I don't have any experience with the 204 but I do have a .22-250 and love it. I use it on everything from gophers to coyotes. I currently use the cheapest winchester white box ammo and shoot 1/2" to 3/4" at 100 yards with my Rem 700 VS.
 
Both would be good coyote rounds. Like already mentioned, the 204 has the advantage of less recoil and probably less pelt damage on most shots.

If your friend doesn't handload, the 22-250 is far more common and there would be more ammo choices. Even if he hanloads, there are a lot more 22 bullet choices than there are 204.

You would also probably notice that the 22-250 is more powerful, especially once the range gets past about 350 yards or so.
 
An interesting choice. I have heard the scope does not move with recoil and you can see your impact or misses. With that said, a heavier stock on the 22-250 should reduce the recoil as well. (think about the laser range finder and gopher shot potential)

If I did not already have a 22-250, I would purchase the .204
 
as good as the 204 may be on coyotes with the right bullet, I dont think it keeps up with the 22-250, especially past 250 yards
 
For some reason, I haven't warmed up to the 204, maybe because I keep thinking it will be just another flash in the pan, like the 19 Calhoun. bearhunter
 
I've had both and have had the opportunity to call and take yotes with both. I've had 2 yotes run-off after being hit by the 204. One was my fault as I hit too far back at about 175 yds. The other was around 250 and hit in the shoulder, the bullet splashed and he ran off. Had to track and finish him off with a second round. I've haven't had a single coyote run away from the 250, most bang-flops. But I stepped up and went with a 243 instead. Just in case little red riding hood's friend shows up.
 
They will both do the job, if you hunt near a populated area the 204 may be the better choice. I like the 243 with 87gr bullets for those windy days, all the yotes last year were a one shot slam dunk. When using the 62.5gr bullets they sometimes kept going ontil they ran out of juice. I hate to lose a hit animal?
 
Jason and Willy, I've had bullet blowups, lighter varmint types, with various 223, various 243 and some squeakers with the 257 projectiles. Quite unnerveing.

I finally settled on the 6.5x55 with 95 grn hornady bullets. No more problems, as long as I do my part. bearhunter
 
todbartell said:
as good as the 204 may be on coyotes with the right bullet, I dont think it keeps up with the 22-250, especially past 250 yards
Click to expand...
The .204 can shoot flatter but with a little less energy. I have used it out to 440 on Dirt pigs...I dont think it is ideal for coyotes at long range and the 22-250 isn't either.
Here is an interesting read... http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek047.html

Comparative Ballistics: .204 Ruger vs. .223 Remington vs. 22-250
Cartridge Bullet BC Powder Max Load Muzzle Vel 400yd Drop 400yd 10mph Wind
.204 Ruger 32gr V-Max .210 Benchmark 28.0 4047 fps 25.50" 17.88"
.204 Ruger 40gr V-Max .275 H4895 27.7 3741 fps 26.93" 14.10"
.223 Rem 40gr Nosler BT .221 Benchmark 27.3 3666 fps 30.67" 19.02"
.223 Rem 50gr Nosler BT .238 BL-C(2) 28.0 3428 fps 34.21" 19.01"
22-250 40gr Nosler BT .221 H4895 37.0 4060 fps 24.73" 16.67"
Load data from Hodgdon.com, for 24" barrel. 2.250" COAL .204s, Fed 205s. 2.210" COAL for .223 Rem, Winch
 
There are so many things to like about the 204. Hell, I'm going to sell my 22-250 as it's just so much less enjoyable to shoot for so many reasons. But they all apply to gopher hunting, I've never taken a yote with the 204. But, IMHO, if you can't do it, it's not the cartridge's fault. Given the stellar reputation the 17 rem has for predator hunters interested in preserving pelts, I can't see any reason why the 204 won't perform albeit with a smaller margin of error.
 
I did like the recoil (or lack of) that the 204 produced. It was pretty cool to see the hit through the scope. Mine was in a cz527 varmint and it was an absolute laser to shoot and very quiet.
 
bullet selection is much more important in the 204. If you dont handload, this can be a big problem as I only see one load made now by factory that would be suitable for yote hunting, the 45 grain Hornady SP.

The 22-250 is capable out past 1/4 mile, how far do we need to shoot?
 
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