Need Help - Best Varmint Caliber 243 vs 22-250

DMS1 said:
In Southern Ontario, check your regs. It is illegal to hunt with any rifle over .270 in 94 where I am, and the municipal bylaw is .243 or smaller. It is also against the regs to use FMJ for hunting.

In a rural setting, any solid bullet out of a .30 cal (or otherwise) is not a good decision. It's pretty flat where I hunt and around the concessions, the next road is never far away.
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The OP said he was hunting in Northern Ontario, but yup he's hooped in the southern part of the province, which is pretty silly really, and I'm glad I don't live there. As to the use of FMJs, the prohibition should only pertain to game animals, not fur-bearers taken by trappers.
 
DMS1 said:
In Southern Ontario, check your regs. It is illegal to hunt with any rifle over .270 in 94 where I am, and the municipal bylaw is .243 or smaller. It is also against the regs to use FMJ for hunting.

In a rural setting, any solid bullet out of a .30 cal (or otherwise) is not a good decision. It's pretty flat where I hunt and around the concessions, the next road is never far away.
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I believe you are mistaken. I don't think the ontario regs specify that FMJ cannot be used.
 
I wouldn't recommend a FMJ bullet for hunting. Too much worry of ricochet with FMJ 's, personally I like to stick to light frangible bullets that come apart after contact. Might wreck a few hides but rather that then bullets zinging off to who know's where? jMO
 
kodiakjack said:
I believe you are mistaken. I don't think the ontario regs specify that FMJ cannot be used.
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I googled my ass off, couldn't find anything concrete saying it was illegal to hunt with FMJ (IN ONTARIO). There were a ton of references to it being illegal/unethical etc. My local gun shop has said on a few occasions that it is illegal, but they are not always correct. It does appear to be stated as illegal in the regs for BC. If anyone has any concrete info on the subject, I would be happy for the clarification. Closest thing I found is that you cannot hunt with prohibited rounds (incendiary, armor piercing) FMJ are NOT armor piercing and I don't think tracers are considered incendiary...

To ad to the confusion, I found this in the FAQ for newbies:

Q: Now that I have my PAL, and know how to buy guns and ammo, what is and is not allowed?
A: The never ending question. “Is ______ allowed?” We could start a big list of similar questions.

1) Q: Are “Bullpup” rifles prohibited?
A: NO, they are perfectly legal. However, any STOCK that converts a standard rifle to bullpup design is a prohibited DEVICE.
(Several bullpups were banned by NAME a while back, such as the Steyr AUG and the French FAMAS. It must be understood
that the bullpup design was not banned as a class, only those named guns)

2) EDIT (Need more info)

3) Q: Is Incendiary ammo prohibited?
A: Yes. As it ignites on impact, it is prohibited, as noted in Question 2, above

4) Q: Is FMJ (full metal jacket) ammo prohibited?
A: NO! It is not prohibited to OWN, but it is illegal to use for HUNTING big game. For some reason, a few PAL instructors seem to think that the world of shooting begins and ends with hunting. This is where a lot of the mis-information gets started.

link to full page here:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/99609-START-HERE-Newbie-Frequently-Asked-Questions
 
Cartridges don't kill bullets do. Put a ttsx in a 22-250 and you have a reliable deer round if you can put the bullet where it counts, as with any cartridge. Shoot a deer with a cheap cup and core or worse yet varmint bullet and that's what the horror stories are made of.
 
Get a 223 load it with 45gr VMax over 27gr Varget for all your coyote hunting - then load 53gr TSX bullet over 25 gr of Varget and shoot all the deer you want to - done it for years never lost a Yote or a deer!

Btw - nosler 65 gr performance bonded bullets are awesome on whitetails and mulies - never had one more than 10 yards!
 
Since you already have a 30-06 I say use that for deer hunting and buy the 22-250 for varmints and then maybe buy the 243 just because. :)
 
IMO, you are asking for too much out of one caliber. On the trap line a simple utility rimfire, for predator or deer a 243. Your needs could almost be three calibers....pelt friendly on trapline, predator, and deer. Might be able to pick a couple that do two....like a 22/17 hornet for the two lower end, or a 243 for the two upper end.
 
Just finished putting my coyote rifle together, using a cross breed. 22-250 + 243 = 6XC.
Put a bunch of test loads together, head to the range tomorrow to try it out.
 
My problem with 243 for varmint shooting is they burn barrels fairly fast.
so you can shoot out the gun alot quicker then a 223 will.
243 will shoot great out even to long ranges but it will likely destroy any pelts it hits if your into collecting hide.

243 can how ever like said above double for deer - both whitetail and mule - and can if needed take even a blackbear , cougar , potentially a moose or a elk although i recomend against those uses.

243 in general can just use a whole wack more bullet types and likely be found in more availability but if your just going to plink with it and shoot gophers id go with a 223 or something like that as it will last you longer.
 
A high quality and accurate 22-250 rifle like Tikka, Sako or CZ will knock down any Deer with no problem. I have taken 245 LB Buck with 22-250 with 55Gr bullet at 150m away. It's so fast that when you pull the trigger, Deer is down.
 
243 burns bbl's out? How hot are you running the ammo?
I thought 22-250 was the bbl burner...hmm.
Could be I suppose.
Friend of the family shoots " An cheap POS canoe paddle 243 Savage bolt action"
Loads it down a ways and flops 'em over. Says he " doesn't shoot more than 200-250 yds anyhow"
Watches the heroes with the bigger, hotter loads miss; lines up and bang-flops 'em
Minimal pelt damage.
I'm a fan of backing off on the loads; most times it's as accurate or more when you rein in the fps.
 
compared to a 223 yes it is a barrel burner.
you can run a 55,60,65,70 grn blitzkings from sierra for example.
with a semi hot load you can be easily looking at anywhere from 3500-4100 fps depending on grain.
barrels usually go poof with stuff like that.
 
leonard said:
compared to a 223 yes it is a barrel burner.
you can run a 55,60,65,70 grn blitzkings from sierra for example.
with a semi hot load you can be easily looking at anywhere from 3500-4100 fps depending on grain.
barrels usually go poof with stuff like that.
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Gun's generally burn out when you run them too hot, no?
It's like I say to the customer when they want to run at max, " Do you drive your truck at Redline? No, why not? Oh, because it would blow up? Really...but you expect to run my equipment at max til it blows...then I'm in Dutch?"
I could be wrong but I've seen 22-250's with scorched bbl's...just not any 243's. But not that it couldn't happen.
Could it be you just run things a trifle warm?
 
223 is a good choice for yotes especially if you went with 1/9 twist or tighter so you can increase bullet gr and thus distance.

I use both 223 and 243 with no complaints. Just pick the non varmint bullets for the one's you wish to sell.
 
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