A .22-250 is only a barrel burner if you make a habit of shooting it hot. They make new barrels everyday if your into that sort of thing. But for above average hunting and practicing there is no reason you can't pass your 250 onto your kids to hunt with.
why .223 over 22-250
- Thread starter sharp shooter
- Start date
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
The trappers I know do not carry several rifles with them when on the line, and neither did I.
One rifle, Normally a 222 is what I carried.
All the wolves shot at those distances were once shot kills, BTW.
Not ideal but they got the job done.
Of course, 98% of the critters shot on a line are far closer than 200 meters anyway.
if I were going out specifically for wolves I would also use a larger calibre rifle, likely a 6.5 .
Cat
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Yes, it would. Its the heat from the high velocities that cause extra wear to a barrel. Changing a barrel is no big deal to some people, while others see it as a gunsmith repair. Depending on the rifle, it could be several hundred to more than a thousand bucks.
The difference is, are you buying/shooting a rifle that will get 2000 rounds, or one that gets six thousand?
If you shoot a light rifle like my tikka superlite, it is not a range rifle. There are no prairie dogs where I live. For some coyotes, ground hogs, and a few rounds at targets a year, 200 rounds per year is 10+ years to shoot out a 22-250. I can live with that for the style of hunting I do. A 7 lb loaded up rifle isn't the best bench gun anyway. Specific tools for specific jobs.
40 gr varmint express at 4100fps ~5" drop at 300 yards, just hold on fur. My 223 with 75 amax had a 9" drop at same distance...
40 gr varmint express at 4100fps ~5" drop at 300 yards, just hold on fur. My 223 with 75 amax had a 9" drop at same distance...
I had to go check it out, yep you are correct, also the white gold and hunter, I never checked the rest, finialy a 22-250 of the shelf, with heavy for Cal cabablites, now for Winchester, Sako, etc to follow suit.
I have both, a rem 700 in .223, love it. and I have a stevens 200 in .22-250, I put a boyds stock on the 200 and loved it as well. I like the .223 because of the cheaper plinking ammo. when I had the 250 in SK a couple years ago I had a crap tasco scope on it and it wouldn't stay zero'd. fixed it and its now a yote gun in NL.
.223 all the way it's all about logic.
I have had .223s for over 30 years shot 40 grain to 75 grain have an AR 15 as well. Just sold my last .308 as I shoot paper and varmints and the .223 just covers it all.
I now have only 1 common centerfire round, I can get it anywhere I mean anywhere unlike 22-250. I can shoot cheap crap for plinking or move up to 75 grain Hornadys. So yeah I get the 22-50 gives you a marginal performance increase but we are talking generally 600 meters and down and up to Yote size game so factor in availaibility, gun choices, twist choice, ammo choice, and it is clear why .223 continues to climb in popularity I know I made the right choice based on this, love my new Savage Hog Hunter in .223!! Best 480.00 I ever spent.
Randy
how accurate is the hog hunter, since it only has a 20in barrel instead of a 22in
Barrel length is not directly proportional to accuracy in any way.
I have the Ruger American Compact in .223. I wanted a compact .223 that is cheap to shoot (don't reload) and something to handle the heavier ammo. I have only had chance to test fire before winter set in but it groups good with some fantastic with others. So I know I will find something
in the 62gr-75gr to work in this 1 in 8" twist.
JMHO
in the 62gr-75gr to work in this 1 in 8" twist.
JMHO
sharp shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Essex county (Ontario)
if I was in the market for a new coyote rifle thats what i would be getting.
I have an old Sako AII in 22-250. I was thinking about getting a nice barrel put on it to shoot the heavier stuff, maybe a 1:9 or 1:8. I think that would make a great coyote gun. I hand load. Many on here talk about buying a 223 for long range and being cheaper to shoot but I can't imagine the factory ammo performing that well at 400 yards and beyond….Just my opinion. This has been a good thread so far with lots of good input.
Plus,
for the guys that are worried about the 22-250 burning barrels, the barrels should last much longer shooting heavy bullets.
You say; "Specific tools for specific jobs," and then compare the amount of drop between a cartridge with far more case capacity and a much lighter bullet to one with less case capacity and a bullet almost twice as heavy... hardly a fair comparison... or were you pointing out that the drop was not as pronounced as one might think?
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
where we encounter wolves is on the trapline , not down south where we are hunting coyotes , o mentioned the trapline because that is where the wolves were shot , and we were not actively looking for them.
as I stated, if I am going after wolves specifically I have better rifles to use, but the . 223 will do it in a pinch- it is not a cartridge I would recommend in a main wolf rig however.
Cat
Yeah, I guess it was apples to oranges comparison. Just crunched a few numbers:
75amax @ 2650 (was my accuracy load) - 15" drop at 300 yards
75amax @ 3400 (decent 22-250 load) - 8" drop at 300
my point was, with the case capacity at of the 223, it arcs like a football with 75gr. If you are going to shoot coyotes at longer ranges, you better know the exact distance. Since a VERY large percentage of coyotes are shot within 300 yards, 40/50 grain 22-250 loads barely require any hold over.
When I trapped I carried a single six for dispatch and a .308 in the scabbard... for sure .223 can get it done on wolves but IMO 400 yards is pushing it... particularly if that same trapper just grabbed a box of Winchester 45 HP's... @ 400 yards they have lost a lot a lot of speed and energy, and bullet performance is a question mark.
But I see we are on the same page when hunting wolves.
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
Yup, no sweat!
Cat
You'll possibly be hamstrung right out of the gate with the length of the loading port and the magazine length when it comes to loading the heavies for it.... Might want to check that before you get to involved in the project.
