223 vs 22-250

what round would you pick

  • 223

    Votes: 60 67.4%

  • 22-250

    Votes: 25 28.1%

  • other, please share with the class

    Votes: 4 4.5%
  • Total voters
    89
pointandshoot

pointandshoot

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Location
richmond, bc
hey guys, i was thinking about picking up a "just for fun" rifle to punch paper and the odd 'yote. at first i assumed that i was going with the 223 hands down, but then i looked at my ammo book and looked up the calibers that the gun came in and found that the 22-250 is on average 600-800 fps faster than the 223. i am going to be getting into reloading so ammo selection at crappy tire or walmart shouldn't be a deciding issue. so is there a reason to pick on over the other? which one would you choose and why? thanks for your time.
 
I chose .223 because of the cost factor per round. Literally the same bullet but faster speed in factory loads. The .223 can be loaded much hotter if your gun is up to it. For long distance shooting, the .223 has been proven time and again to be the choice of many target shooters.And I might add many "critter" shooters too.
 
Hands down, 22-250 blows .223 away, but keep in mind that its louder, has more recoil and only gives you an advantage in wide open fields with long ranges. I also found that my 22-250 fouls with copper very quickly.
My reloads of 22-250 are getting better with each time. I can hit a tennis ball at 300 yards in any condition, and at 500 yards on a nice day (and a few practice shots)
 
I thought 22-250s have too much velocity and you'll burn through barrels faster. So if you want to shoot a lot, go with .223, as you can still get close to 4000 fps out of it if velocity really is your thing, but you really don't need to. I usually just load starting loads to keep my fps down a bit to save my barrel and I can hit just about anything with mine.
I'm sure the 250 is more accurate, but really how much more are we talking about? Not a whole lot I don't think, and taking into consideration the added cost I would go with the .223 again in a heartbeat.
 
.223 is easy on barrels, cheaper to load and just as good as the .22-250 for your purposes within 300 yards.

If you need more velocity, greater distance than the .223 and are willing to accept louder report and more recoil skip past the .22-250 and buy a .243. The .243 is a far more versatile and interesting round than the .22-250.
 
i am going to be getting into reloading so ammo selection at crappy tire or walmart shouldn't be a deciding issue
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he already said he is reloading so cost to reload between .223 and .22-250 is not going to be much.

A normal person will not burn a barrel in a .22-250 in their life time using moderate loads 3900-4000fps and only using it as a fun rifle if you are sitting at the rage sat/sun every weekend going through 200-300 rounds a day then maybe worrie about the barrel.
 
Amphibious said:
Ugh, what?

the last 400ish rounds of .223 i've bought have been from walmart. Winy white box ammo, shoots .4 all day in my VSSF-II, don;t even bother reloading with groups like that
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I belieive that he is referring to Walmarts ability to keep the shelves stocked with this popular round. The Wally world in my hometown, as well as neighboring communities hasn't had the white Winchester 223 ammo on the shelves in 8 months! Sound's like you have a gold mine there, so stock up.
 
I like the .223 for furbearing critters. It doesn't tear them up as bad as some 22-250 loads. As far as shooting over 300yards the 22-250 does have the advantage but most shooters aren't good enough to use that edge. Targets are very small over 300 yards. Light 22 cal. slugs tend to drift in even a light breeze. My choice for 300+ shooting would be between the 243 up to 270.
 
I was trying to decide this same thing last fall and I ended up buying a sporter weigh 22-250. I think if I had to do it over I would go 223 just for the reason that there's enough recoil to knock my scope off target at 12x. The 22-250 is crazy accurate and the muzzle jump is my only complaint. Also 223 is a bit cheaper to reload.
 
30 year old 700 HB and hand load 22-250 is pretty good
coyote medicine.I prefer 22-250 but nothing wrong with
223 either.Privi 22-250 is 13.50 a box here not much
difference than the 223 ammo for sale.
 
Who the hell is getting 4000fps out of their 223?? Even with 36gr bullets, you might get close, but come on. The beauty of the 22-250 is that you can push 55gr's @ 3600-3700 vs. 3100-3200 in the .223. The higher BC and velocity are significant when you want to reach past 300.

The 22-250's main disadvantage is that even in a heavy rifle (10+ lbs.) with mild loads, you are not likely to see your bullet strike; this necessitates a spotter for long range work on gophers and such. For coyotes in open country, the 22-250 is the finest of the .22's. For gophers, I believe the .223 is a better choice.

If you are reloading, the only difference is the extra powder; about 10gr difference per round = about $11 p/100 vs. $15 p/100 in powder costs. Other than that, all other costs are pretty much the same.

Ian

Ian
 
You get a few more clear shots with a 223 before the barrel heat start's doing that wavey thing obscuring the scope image.

22-250 sure get's out there though.
 
one other thing no one has touched on is bullet selection......
223......40 to 70 gr. bullet availability and the appropriate barrel to go with them
22-250 you have a limmeted choice of 40 to 55 gr. bullets as the comercial barrels are too slow a twist to stabilize the heavier bullets available.

me , I'm going to continue shooting both the 223 and the 22-250 ,and once i need a new barrel on the 250 I'll replace it with a custom 1in8 twist barrel
 
bclinehand said:
me , I'm going to continue shooting both the 223 and the 22-250 ,and once i need a new barrel on the 250 I'll replace it with a custom 1in8 twist barrel
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I had sort of the same plan. thought of getting a stevens in 223 and rebore to 22-250.

but ended up getting a 22-250 stevens. I can live with 50grn noslers over 39grn H380 :D
 
There are 80 grain bullets too for .224 caliber, but yeah you need the 1 in 7 or 8" twist to stabilize them.
I said ealier you won't get 4000 fps out of .223 but that you'd get close to it if you really wanted to (I was thinking about 3300 to 3400 which is "close" IMO).
22-250 is definitely "cooler", but .223 is nice just because you can shoot the same ammo in your AR and mini 14 too! AHA! GOTCHA! :D
 
jimpruner said:
There are 80 grain bullets too for .224 caliber, but yeah you need the 1 in 7 or 8" twist to stabilize them.
I said ealier you won't get 4000 fps out of .223 but that you'd get close to it if you really wanted to (I was thinking about 3300 to 3400 which is "close" IMO).
22-250 is definitely "cooler", but .223 is nice just because you can shoot the same ammo in your AR and mini 14 too! AHA! GOTCHA! :D
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Unfortunately the mini has too slow a twist barrel for much above 55 gr. as well (not sure about the new T model though)....as for cool factor get that 22 250 up to around 4100 fps and watch your bullet as it disapears in a cloud of grey smoke as it goes downrange is kinda cool:D
 
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