What is your opinion on a 22-250.?

Question

I am doing a couple coyote hunts this year, 1 in montana while hunting mule, 2 where i live and 1 in texas while hunting white-tail.

My friend hunting in texas with me owns a 22-250 and he says it is an amazing calibre and i was thinking of getting one for my coyote gun. My friend in montana owns a 204. and he says he loves it. I am also hunting praire dogs so i want a gun to get both for close and long ranges out to 400-500 yards.

I kinda want to get one of them, but i dont know which one the 22-250 or the 204. ruger.

I heard the 204. is a good coyote gun and praire dog gun but the bullet is too light and out at long ranges the wind will affect the bullet.

Everyone keeps telling me to get a 223. and i dont know why. they say it is the cheapest to shoot but money isn't a problem. Which one do you think i should get? and what is so special about the 223.?

Answer 1

If ammunition costs arent a problem then use the 22-250. It is probably the most perfect cartridge you could use for varmints. It shoots fairly flat and has a longer reach than the .223..... Yes the .204 can get the job done but over long distances is is affected more by crosswind that the 22-250 or .223..... The .204 in my opinion is great when the wind is calm or over short ranges like 200 yards....... The other thing I dont like about the .204 Ruger is its what I call a "Johnny come lately" cartridge.... It seems like every firearms manufacturer invents a new caliber every so often. Some catch on and become popular and others disappear into obscurity..... Who want s a gun that might use an obsolete cartridge....

Answer 2

The .22-250 is more powerful than the .223 or .204. It has a very flat trajectory, but it's sensitive to wind. A larger caliber with heavier bullet is better for windy days, but any bullet is deflected by wind. A .243 or 6mm is less sensitive than a 5.56mm or .22 though. A .25 is also good, so consider the .25-06. It can be hard to choose a rifle and caliber for any purpose. There's nothing special about a .223 that I can see. I have used a .22-250 that my brother had, and he saw no use for a .223.

Answer 3

It really depends on whether or not you reload.

If you are a reloader, any of the calibers mentioned will do the trick.  If you don't reload, all of them can be rather pricey to shoot much, with the .223 using GI Surplus ammo being the cheapest to shoot.

IMO, the .22-250 is an outstanding varmint cartridge.  However, it will wear out a barrel faster than most cartridges.

I don't know enough about the .204 Ruger to give an opinion.

As for the .223, it is a good varmint cartridge and surplus ammo tends to be cheaper than most commercial centerfire ammo.

None of the calibers you mentioned are suitable for deer hunting.  If you want a rifle to use for both deer and varmints, you need to consider rifles chambered in .243 Win, as a minimum, and preferably something like a .250-3000 Savage, .257 Roberts, or .25-'06 Remington.  With these calibers, you can use light bullets for varmints, and heavier bullets for deer with no problem.

Doc

Answer 4

The 22-250 is the best choice.* I have one in Remington Model 700 with bull barrel, with a 20 Power Model 3200 Redfield Target scope.* Great outfit.*

Answer 5

a 22-250 is a great choice i have an older 22-250 and it does the trick on coyotes every time  i have reached been able to reach out to near three hundred and still drop them

Answer 6

Like we said in the other posts, the 223 is just plain cheap and plenty accurate out to 300.

It's the 22lr of centerfire ammo.

It sounds like you're not interested in the 223 so we'll move on...

The 204 will have more windage problems than a 22-250 due to the lighter bullet. I personally wouldn't shoot 400 yards in the windy west with it. At those distances, it could be affected a foot or two more than a 22-250.

Something else to consider is the older cartridge --- the 220 swift. Despite the false claims on the 204 ammo boxes, the 220 swift is still the fastest round out there. And if you read magazines, most gun writers (including Boddington) believe the 220 is slightly more accurate on average than a 22-250. And for shooting at long range at small targets the little accuracy advantage could be worth it.

Do some research on that round too

Answer 7

the 22-250 is my favorite varmit gun by far ive shot coyotes at 450yrds ,turkeys,fox,bobcat,oppusom,crows and if you are in the south you might even be able to dear hunt with it . the shell only cost abou 12-30$ depending on kind. a good bullet is a remington corelokt,or a little more expensive but will drop any and every thing in its tracks and what i shoot is the federl

TNT bullets. if you put a bipod ond the gun and limb saver makes a deresonator to elliminate the vibration of the shot in the barrals and it makes int deadly accurate for15$ you can put stuff on this gun to make it a killing machine!

Answer 8

22-250 is a great gun for coyote

Answer 9

For the range of 400 to 500 yards the .220 swift is a better choice. This cartridge does erode the chamber and barrel quicker than the .22-250 and .223 but should be fine for coyotes. For prairie dogs go with .223 you will burn a lot of ammo.

Answer 10

Buy a .223 and you will see why......

Answer 11

The .22-250 is a varmint caliber.  Great for varmints up to coyote-size.

H

Answer 12

If you have money to burn use the 22-250; if you want to have ammo to burn and a lot of fun get it in 223.

Answer 13

I would suggest the 22-250 or possobly look into a .220 swift. both are great for long range varmint rifles. You'd be far better off for what you intend to do than with a .223 even though the .223 is a great cartridge.

Answer 14

Yes to the 25-06. It is more wind-proof than any 22, and it is the most popular pronghorn rifle because of it's extreme long range performance, at which range it can take deer-sized animals. Ammo is easy to handload, and much cheaper, and more accurate than factory ammo as you can set headspace to nestle into the rifling lands for supurb accuracy (a benchrest competitor's trick), and just not loan out any ammo for use in other guns which might have tighter chambers! Plus, American freedom just might depend upon lots of hunters owning such rifles, sooner than you might think. Regards, Larry.

Answer 15

.223 is a good cartridge, and its popular because its used by the military. its inexpensive and available everywhere with a great bullet selection. make sure you get a rifle with a 1 in 9 twist rate for that. if you want a small caliber for long range shooting, id get .25-06.