Looking for recommendations on factory cartridge 22-250 that wont destroy coyote pelt.
Switching from 223 to 22-250 after a miss on coyote killing my lamb at 400yd.
Going from 223 to 22-250 isn't going to help at all. What will help you is using a bullet designed for longer range, knowing your distance to target, bullet drop for that distance and of course knowing your wind drift.
I better chime in on this one - first learn to shoot at the distance your shooting coyotes at - place a cheap paper plate at 400 yards and try to put a round into the center of it - set your magnification between 4-6x while practicing and hunting (and) leave it at that magnification. Also a 40g projectile (204 Ruger) with a bc of .275 travels at 2,435 fps at 400 yards - a 22-250 with a 55g projectile (bc .255) travels at 2,185 fps). The 204 shines at longer distances.
The reason, I injected the 204 is because I had a 22-250 sold it bought a 223 and now have a 204 for coyotes - the 223 action is going for a build.
I hope this helps - however regardless of cartridge or platform you decide on - practice at those distances. In any hunting situation its the first cold bore shot that counts. Take a shot and wait for the barrel to cool down (wait 10 minutes) run a boresnake through it. Assuming that you did this at home prior to going out. You want to create the same conditions in the barrel that you would normally have - since some firearms shoot amazing groups after 5-6 rounds.
best of luck
Exaclty why you should practice, your external ballistics should be the last thing you need to think about. The 22-250 isn’t that much flatter. Using 55gr bullets with a 200 yard zero the difference at 400 is only 5 inches. Wind drift in a 10mph 90 degree crosswind is only a difference of 3 inches.Never considered 204. Will compare performance vs 22-250.
Just to comment on posts that recommended practice and calculating drop and wind drift... grab your rifle run down a flight of stairs, load, drop to prone, calculate drop and wind to probably approximately 400-450 yards, trigger. All in matter of 1min 30s before that coyote puts its jaws on livestock.
223 in Ontario hunts were mostly whithin 200 yard fields and never really exercised out to 400yds. performance of 22-250 compared to my 22inch barreled 223 is much flatter.