223 vs. 22-250

bojano

bojano

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Ok, I am not trying to start s#![ . :lol:

I am getting one out of the two and can't make up my mind. It would be my plinking and coyote rifle. Now dilema is 1 in 9 or 1 in 12 twist (respectively) , I don't want to much pelt damage, but there is usually a lots of wind around here. So would it be better to shoot heavier bullets slower, or lighter ones faster :? .
For the record I do reload.

OK so there you have it, lets hear everyones opinion.
 
for long range, the 22-250 wins hands down, especially in high winds

you'd want to shoot a heavier bullet fast to minimize wind drift, and to keep pelt damage down, try a tougher bullet, maybe a regular soft point like the Hornady or Speer 55 gr.





I got a 223 and love it, especially for plinking, but its not near as good for long pokes on coyotes as a '250
 
They each have advantages over the other. You have to decide which advantage is more important to you. I had a 22-250 (Remington 788) and got rid of it in favour of .223s (NEF Handi-Rifle and Savage 24F). For me the downside of the 22-250 was that in the long run, it will cost a bit more to feed, and the noise and recoil are a bit more. These are pretty small differences, but will affect how much I can practise with it. But it's advantage was better performance at longer ranges, and I don't expect to be able to use this (not enough time to practise, so no benefit to be missing long shots that I wouldn't even have attempted with a .223.) It may come down to which calibre shows up first in a rifle that you like.
 
.22-250 ...
* louder
* more recoil
* better performer: higher velocity, flatter shooting and longer ranged
* ammunition is generally more expensive
* hotter caliber is harder on barrels

.223 ...
* not as loud
* less recoil
* not as impressive a performer, especially at longer ranges
* ammunition is pretty cheap (makes plinking more viable)
* easy on barrels
 
in similar weight rifles, the 22-250 will kick about 2.5 times as much as a 223


might matter if you're doing alot of shooting


barrel life is another consideration!, as CV32 pointed out
 
Well thanks to all for replays, but I still cant make up my mind :evil: .
Yes I did look into 243 but saving pelts is nonexistent.
####, decisions .. decisions. :roll:
 
bojano said:
...
Yes I did look into 243 but saving pelts is nonexistent.
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Ah, yes, good point. Go with the .223. It's plenty enough gun even out to long ranges. Even better, how about a .223 WSSM? Now that will out-perform the 22-250!
 
There's the other route to go as far as bullets weights. A fast expanding lightweight bullet may only leave an entrance hole.

I'd go for the 22-250 in a hunting weight barrelled rifle if hunting open range for coyotes. If I was also planning on doing some ground squirrel culling with lots of shooting the 223 in a heavy varmit would be better. The 223 barrel wouldn't heat up quite so fast.
 
Want the ultimate? Try a .22-243 Middlestead...5000+fps, baby :twisted: I use a .223 Rem M700 cause it's fun and saves pelts 8) I also call 'em in and even if the buggers hang up at 350 yards, I can still whack 'em :wink: ...KF
 
Hm, what if I was to load 22-250 down to 223 levels ? :? Good ? Bad?
Yet have a horsepower for longer ranges. :twisted: Kinda like car industry, displacement on demand almost.

Yes I was thinking about really light bullets at high speeds .... any first hand expiriences ? Or theories at least......

And what is real barrel life diference between the two ?
 
".22-243 Middlestead...5000+fps" i'm familiar with it(as in i saw one once) 5000fps?
seriously?
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Yup...actually the fastest load on Reloadersnest for the .22-243 is 5278fps :shock:
Or you can slow it down for example...Vihtavuori N540 - 51.0gr w/ 30gr Berger HP clocks a touch over 5200fps. I don't think the light bullets would be much good for anything larger than a gopher except at close range but if you want fast... :roll:
 
Yes I was thinking about really light bullets at high speeds .... any first hand expiriences
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Yup... you will do more pelt damage... as you can tell I am not a fan of .22 cals for coyotes.
For a 30 pound coyote a .223 will work fine out to 250 if you can hit the baseball size vitals every time :roll: . You miss the vitals and it is going to run away :shock: . A 22-250 is going to be a better choice at longer ranges but up close you are going to chop them up with light fast bullets :oops: .
Todd gave good advice...
you'd want to shoot a heavier bullet fast to minimize wind drift, and to keep pelt damage down, try a tougher bullet, maybe a regular soft point like the Hornady or Speer 55 gr.
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I kill coyotes for work and for fun and my advice to you is to get a .243 .257 .260 or .270 and load mid-wieght controlled expansion "hunting" bullets... and be a coyote killer :idea:
 
Bigredd, what do you think of this.......243 loaded with 100 grain Hornady Interlocks? I am not overly concerned with saving the pelt, but it would be nice to able to recover the pelts for wall hangings or for sale. What I am most concerned about is making the coyote as dead as possible on the spot with one shot. 8)
 
Terrence said:
Even better, how about a .223 WSSM? Now that will out-perform the 22-250!
Click to expand...

The .223 WSSM is mean looking, for sure, but I've heard nasty things about barrel wear. Like throat erosion after just 200 rounds. :shock:
 
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