.223 or .243 and what gun

weeman6669

weeman6669

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Hey everyone, After many nights of reading forums and trips to gun stores, im still having trouble picking out a cal. and a gun.

I would like to shoot up to about 500yds.. (for now) The gun will be used mainly for coyote and maybe deer if I hunt in a different WMU.

Already own a 30-30 for the short range.

Ive mainly been looking at tikkas, remingtons and savages. As for a price no more than around $2000, will go alittle more if its worth it.

Im not interested in reloading as of yet.

Thanks
 
As far as the caliber goes it depends on what exactly you are planning to do, if the extent of your coyote hunting is strictly predator control and you are not interested in the fur and there is a good possabilty of hunting deer your option is largely limited to the 243. 223 is too light overall for deer and illegal in some areas. Which rifle is more difficult as all three you listed are good. Remingtons and Savages are easier to upgrade and swap parts due to their more common nature than the Tika.
 
You won't go wrong with any of the makes you suggested, and in terms of calibers, both will work, but I would lean towards .223 for selection and price of ammo. FWIW, I would tend to change my priorities and shop for a high-end scope and then find a rifle to stick underneath it with whatever money you have left over.
 
I was just at the gun store and they had a used savage in 25-06. He was saying its far superior. But at the downfall of cost of ammo. Maybe I should scrap the deer idea, and just make this gun for varmint.
 
Weeman, 500 yards is quite a distance to shoot at a coyote, or anything for that matter. 25-06 is a great round and quite capable of long range activities with the right bullet. For just shooting for enjoyment at Vermin you might want to look at a Stevens 200 in 223 or 22-250. Winchester sells an ammo bulk pack for both of these calibers that is fairly reasonably priced, about $.60 cents a shot. FS
 
the one guy said go with the 22-250 over the .223..... and he was also showing me a .204 ruger which he was saying is a hot new round that i should look at.
 
buy both

get one of each in a stevens 200, with scopes both rifles will fit into what your budgeting for one. All the aftermarket goodies and you can customize if you want to for for price and out of the box accuracy i don't think you can go wrong.
 
One of each??? if you're talking about the 204 and 223 then you're ok but if you're talking about either of those and another calibre then it wont fly, the 204 and 223 have a smaller bolt face than the 22-250, 243, and 25-06 not to mention that the 25-06 is a long action and the 22-250 and 243 are a short action. I think you could get away with a long action in 25-06 and then buy a couple of barrels, one in 22-250 and another in 243 or any calibre you want for that matter depending on how well the short action shells feed in the long action. Just my 2 cents.
 
Remember, most gun store employees are only trying to make a sale. How well the rifle suits your needs or your abilities is of little concern to most behind the counter. Any salesman worth his salt will LISTEN to what you the customer wants then build off the CUSTOMERS requirements and/or desires.

By the sounds of it. You're looking for an economical varmint round with the ability to harvest deer as well. .243win is your best bet from what you offered for choices. A dedicated varmint rig might be the better route to take. If you choose this route, I would suggest .223 for the reasons stated above.

22-250 isn't something you'll likely find at your local Canadian Tire. The cost is quite high and selection is limited. 22-250 is a hot round and does perform well, but it will cost you one way or another. The 204 Ruger is new and is definitely not a common round. Personally I'd steer clear of new rounds until their popularity increases.

I think yodave has it right. Shop around and see if your budget will accommodate two rifles. The Stevens line is getting good reviews and is available in common calibres.

A dedicated hunting rig and a dedicated varmint rig will ease the pressure of finding the "perfect" all in one rifle. You could also go with something suitable for hunting, as in large calibre(.30cal) and use it to varmint as well.

TDC
 
Despite being legal in some places(Alberta, for example does not allow .22 CF's for deer hunting.), .22 CF's are not suitable for deer hunting. Especially with factory ammo. And certainly not at 500 yards. None of them have anywhere near enough energy left at 500 yards for a clean kill. Under 500 ft-lbs at 500 with any bullet.
The .243 isn't a 500 yard deer cartridge either. Far better than any .22 CF, 763 ft-lbs with a 95 grain factory bullet.
Mind you, unless you can hit a 9" pie plate, every time at that distance, you shouldn't even think about taking a hunting shot at any game at 500. Including varmints. Either cartridge will do for varmints, but you must know how much the bullet will drop. A 95 grain .243 drops 40.2" at 500. A 69 grain .223 bullet drops 45.4" at that distance.
 
weeman6669 said:
Hey everyone, After many nights of reading forums and trips to gun stores, im still having trouble picking out a cal. and a gun.

I would like to shoot up to about 500yds.. (for now) The gun will be used mainly for coyote and maybe deer if I hunt in a different WMU.

Already own a 30-30 for the short range.

Ive mainly been looking at tikkas, remingtons and savages. As for a price no more than around $2000, will go alittle more if its worth it.

Im not interested in reloading as of yet.

Thanks
Click to expand...

223 absolutely NOT for hunting deer at 500 meters and it will most likely only wound a coyote at that range. Go look at the ballistics charts. The 243 is also light at that range for coyote and again not really suitable for deer that far out.

Your 30-30 will take care of 100 meter deer hunting as you correctly pointed out.

Anybody who would sell you a 223 letting you think you can hunt deer at long range with it needs to have their head read... And not far off with the 243 as well.

See this video for a long range hunting shot: hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssh8Vsbvn2A (change the 'xx's to `tt`s)
They used a Weatherby 30-378 (180 grain bullets at 3370 FPS) which is a cannon compared to the peashooter 5 and 6 mm rounds you are contemplating.

Do some more research and pick a better caliber.

N_R
 
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Or just say the Heck with it and buy a different gun for every occasion. You'll be happier in the long run. You might end up broke but you wont go hungry... :runaway: :50cal:
 
sunray said:
Mind you, unless you can hit a 9" pie plate, every time at that distance, you shouldn't even think about taking a hunting shot at any game at 500. Including varmints. Either cartridge will do for varmints, but you must know how much the bullet will drop. A 95 grain .243 drops 40.2" at 500. A 69 grain .223 bullet drops 45.4" at that distance.
Click to expand...

Great advice. This kind of progressive thinking is suitable for big bore hunters as well. Too bad many of them haven't a clue what an ethical shot or ethical kill is.

TDC
 
500 is a long shot for any common hunting calibre to make a clean kill IMHO.

But if its for coyotes and gophers... with the occasional deer in closer, I would go with the .243. For one, you can find it at almost any ammo store.

I purchased a Savage 12fv this summer for 500, and then put on a Bushnel Elite 3200 10x scope for 350, bi-pod for 90, and then invested the rest in my reloading gear.

I now have a rig and an ammo bag that I can rely in when I pull the trigger.

While the stock on the 12fv is not my cup of tea, the accutrigger more than makes up for that along with the out of the box accuracy I experianced. And after all, I can always find an aftermarket stock.

Just another shout out from the peanut gallery.
 
.243 all the way

I have owned a remington 700 in .243 and have hunted chucks, coyotes and deer. If you handload and pick the bullet and powder combinations, you can hunt all three. I have also shot in sniper competions withthe .243. The .223 in just too light of a bullet to engage anything bigger then chucks and it doesn't buck the wind too well. Pick a Remy 700 in .243 and have a great time it has served me well and doesn't let anything walk away.
 
Yea I decided this is gun is only going to be used for varmint. I like the idea that the .243 wont be as affected by the wind.
 
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