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hunter-4-life

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Ok, i want to pick up a little varmint rifle. Its either going to be a .223 or a .22-250. Used for shootin coyotes under 300 yards probably. Pelt damage is kind of a issue. which caliber/bullet do you guys recommend and why?
 
22-250. Because I've used it on a number of coyotes in real life with no pelt damage and a quick death. Also it's a pretty flat round that's a little more forgiving. Mine is pretty accurate out to 500y.

.223 I've never shot a coyote with 1 but manny have with good success.
Some times at Canadian tire its hard to find 22-250 ammo but .223 always has selection.
 
Ok, i want to pick up a little varmint rifle. Its either going to be a .223 or a .22-250. Used for shootin coyotes under 300 yards probably. Pelt damage is kind of a issue. which caliber/bullet do you guys recommend and why?

With those goals in mind I'd say .223.
 
.223 is your only option for cheap FMJ, so if you want to shoot a bunch of rounds at the range that can be an important factor. It was for me anyway.
 
.22/250 is a hot rod .224";). You however are not shooting gophers at 400yards. You stated Coyote at or less than 300yards. At this range,........ here's the real world numbers for your target type chosen .

Its a windy January morning and you are set up 300 yards from your foxpro call. Its -8C give or take a degree, and you got 15mph on your beam, heres what it's going to look like when you squeeze of on that Coyote. I've used Winchester ammo with the exact same bullet as a bench mark comparison, apples to apples shall we say. Enjoy.


200yd zero, gives a 300yard drop of 7.1 and 5.2 energy remaining at 300yds wind drift, 15mph @ 300yds

.223Rem 55gr Winchester BallisticTip 55grs MV 3240fps 7.1" 559ftlbs 17.1"

.22/250 Rem Winchester BallisticTip 55grs MV 3680fps 5.2" 746ftlbs 14.5"


You can see the 22/250 is superior. But will the coyote really know the difference in terms of drop and drift, or will it depend on the zero of your rifle, its inherent accuracy, and your marksmanship this day?

The .223 is way cheaper to shoot. Way more ammo types available. Less muzzle blast. Longer barrel life and on and on and on. If your target was very short like a prarie dog or crow at 350 yards, the 22/250s laser beam trajectory is superior and help ensures a hit with a little range estimation error. The 22/250 is a sweetheart if for nothing more than the look of the case. The .223 is boring. It looks like a miniature .30-06.

To compare two larger calibers likewise in an age old debate you would ask is a .30-06 good enough for Whitetail @ 300yards, or do you need a 300WSM? No you don't, not inside those parameters. So.....

For an animal the size of a coyote,...well..... you be the judge of what you really need. Both energies remaining are sufficient to dispatch a coyote humanely.

Sorry for the numbers a little confusing to extract, it didn't look like that when I typed them.
 
I shot many, many coyotes with a .17 Remington. Bullets did not exit and sometimes you could not find the entrance hole... 250 - 300 yards broadside...
 
I use 55gr Hornady SXSP bullets in the 22-250. Shoulder shots only one hole. Have had the odd bullet come apart in flight (designed for lower velocities) If you are looking to save pelts DO NOT shoot them in the head. It makes them hard to stretch.
 
I use 55gr Hornady SXSP bullets in the 22-250. Shoulder shots only one hole. Have had the odd bullet come apart in flight (designed for lower velocities) If you are looking to save pelts DO NOT shoot them in the head. It makes them hard to stretch.

I was thinking the same thing. They slide right off the board every time.
 
i use a .223 and like it...i had a 22-250 and just wanted a lighter (sporter) rather than a 10lbs tank....barrel life on .223 will be better as well....and much cheaper ammo..i shoot hornady 55gr steel match as i dont reload and they are very accurate!
 
IMHO, it takes a very talented rifleman to exploit the difference between a .223 and a .22-250 in similar rifles. Either cartridge is fine for coyotes out to 300, but you might want to down load the .22-250 if you go that route. Solids are good for pelt shooting, whereas soft points might take some experimenting to see what velocity produces acceptable performance. The biggest problem with them is the FMJ bulk bullets don't shoot in any rifle I've tried them in. The Barnes and Lapua are another matter. A pal of mine loaded his .22-250 slow with the cheapest 55 gr soft points he could find, and he collected lots of dogs.
 
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