223 or 22/250 For Wolves

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Coolhand_Luke

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Hi guys

Reading over wolves in BC thread in hunting forum, plus some other things Ive heard "over the counter". It sounds like wolves are getting pretty thick in some areas of BC. I think I'd like to help out this year and thin some out. Ive never purposely gone after wolves so I have a couple of questions.

1. Would 223 or 22/250 have enough power to reliably drop wolves out further, say to 300 yards? 400 yards?

2. What would you use for a load to keep the pelts intact? regular 55 gr sp?

3. If I am using my regular deer/moose gun a 30-06, what would be a good load for wolves? I dont really want to blow a big fist sized hole in the pelt if I can help it.

Thanks
Luke
 
I would use you 30-06 with what ever your deer bullet is. It won't blow up or put a big hole in the hide. Also if you have a less than ideal shot the 06 can dig deeper.

If you buying new a 243 or 257wby would be a top choice with good 85-100 gr pills.
 
what he said.. at those ranges and on big wolves i would look to a bigger caliber. 243 would be the ticket but then again there are about 50 options :)

if you like the ought 6 and she is accurate, then the wolves will live in fear this winter the hungery buggers.. : [
 
Hmmm, replies are to keep using my old 06, well there goes my carefully thought out plan to get a new rifle :)

So sounds like while my 30-06 will work just fine, 243 would be ideal wolf rifle then :D ? I haven't hunted wolf ever, but I would guess with them being wary long shots are pretty common.

Luke
 
The two wolves I have witnessed get dusted one was from a 30-06 with a 168 gr ttsx at 120 ish yards and the other was with a 300 win with 180 corelocts. Both just died but they are way bigger than any coyote.

If I was looking to get the ultimate wuff rifle it would be a 257wby with a 100gr ttsx. It will shoot length wise through them and be easy on pelts.
 
A 22-250 or 223 may be a tad small wolves are tough a 25 cal is perfect medication my 257 wby with a 100 accubond is what I use. As for shots they very I've taken shots out to 700 meters and had shots as close as 50 feet so its where ever they show up.
 
Go bigger. Wolves are way bigger than coyotes. I shot a big coyote last winter right behind its front shoulder with a 22-250. It dropped and then ran. Took two more 50g Vmaxes to kill it. Not enough penatration. I would go with something more suited for deer. If you use your deer/moose rifle your getting practice with the same gun.
 
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your 22-250 dident kill the yote? im surprised. i hit one last year behind the shoulder and it exited the neck, ill admit not my best shot. the exit wound was big enough i could of put my fist into the hole. it was about a 35 pound yote. on a wolf id use a deer rifle. 243 or larger. at the wolfs den archery near angus ont they have a wolf mounted that was 107 pounds. thats a huge dog!
 
I drop coyotes routinely with my .223, the farthest at about 350 yards with no problems using factory 45gr HP's. I work in a remote northern area and pack a Model Seven .243 stoked with 70gr handloads during the winter for wolves.
 
The .22-250 would be better than the .223. Either could do if it's what you have when you encounter a wolf. But like most others commenting here, if I set out to encounter a wolf, I'd take something in a bigger cartridge.
 
I would think that since the 223 is a civilian 5.56 Nato which is used for killing enemy soldiers it would certainly be adequate for killing wolves. A 308 with a 125gr bullet would certainly be up to the task. That said there is probably a long list that would do the job but why use such a big cartridge when it is not really necessary? Are wolves that tough really?
 
Frankly I doubt there is anything you could do with a .22-250 that you couldn't do with a .223, but in the case of a .22 wolf gun I would use the heaviest TSX/TTSX that the twist would handle. If a fast twist barrel was chosen, the .223 has the edge as their are few fast twist .22-250s, and a 1:14 .22-250 won't stabilize a 53 gr TSX, not at sea level on a cool day anyway. That said, a .243 is really in its element when used as a wolf gun. If using a .30/06 I would try a 130 gr TTSX and slow it down to 2600 or so.
 
bogie said:
I would think that since the 223 is a civilian 5.56 Nato which is used for killing enemy soldiers it would certainly be adequate for killing wolves. A 308 with a 125gr bullet would certainly be up to the task. That said there is probably a long list that would do the job but why use such a big cartridge when it is not really necessary? Are wolves that tough really?
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Almost all wolves are tougher than almost all people. Hit in the vitals, they'll die fairly soon, and since they don't have a medical system, if hit at all it will likely kill them slowly, but they are much less likely to stop and die where shot than a person is. And a wounded wolf will probably travel much further and faster than most people would with a similarly serious wound.
 
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