.223 or .22-250?

[Fish Hawg]

[img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] I am going to purchase a new varmint riffle a Remington 700 LV SF but cant chose between a .223 and a 22-250. I am leaning towards the 22-250; it will be used mostly on coyote's and maybe cougars. Is their any reason why I should choose the .223? I am not worried about the coyote’s hide that much.

[elkaholic]

22-250, 52 grain hollowpoint boattail "match". Deadly and no hide damage usually.

[CAPT KUJO]

I would only consider .223 if you want ammo that is cheap and readily available everywhere if you want to shoot alot

[shawn2010]

I am getting the same rilfe as you stated in 22-250 for my father for X-mas. He told me he wanted a range finder for X-mas, so when he got a 22-250, he would have it to use I am just going to get the rifle for him insted. He reloads a lot so thats why I think he wants the 22-250.

[Gun Rod Bow]

For pure performnace on varmints, What Elkaholic said. He knows.

[DAB]

Quick Fisher.
The 22/250 is faster than the .223,and it will handle the heavier bullets better such as the Sierra 63 gr. semi point( might work on those big cats). The ammo is not as cheap to buy as the .223 is. BUT if you reload your own I would get the 22/250. I have a Rugar 77 varmit rifle and I do have the action glassed and the barrel freefloated it shoots the 52 gr. sierra hpbt match real well (5 shots in a dime or less)and the round that shoots the best is the 63 gr sierra semi point ( one ragged hole of 3/8 of an inch or less ). I don't use the 22/250 for coyotes because of the weight of the rifle, it doesn't handle real fast. I use a Win. MDL 70 Youth ranger in .243 with a Sierra 100gr. spitzer. It shoots less than 1 min. of angle at 200yds, and this rifle is short and light which makes it handle (swing) very fast. I also have been known to use a scatter gun on coyotes. Enough about what I Have. I am not up on the modle #'s and what they mean,But go with a synthetic stock no mater which one you choose. Either round will put the hurts on those coyotes as for cougar I don't have a clue if either round is or isn't powerfull enough for them cougars . Good Hunting and saftey first.
DAB

[ 11-28-2003, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: DAB ]

[StickFish]

Either one will work well for your intended targets at respectful "hunting" distances. If you buy the 22-250, I would personally have the chamber re-bored to 22-250 improved cause more is better :grin:

Other things to consider is that the 22-250 will make more noise than the 223. 223 once fired brass is plentful and very cheap. Reloading the 22-250 is more expensive in the long run due to the larger powder capacity, but powder isn't really that expensive. 22-250 ammo is bulkier and heavier so if your traveling on a plane to and from hunting locations you will not be able to cart as many 22-250's with you (new weight limit on checked ammunition). Neither cartridge is any more accurate than the other, and neither of them are big in the hard core bench rest circuit.

When your hunting varmints do you encounter wind? If so heavier bullets are going to help more than lighter ones, the 22-250 will drive the heavier bullets faster and flatter, but than there is the barrel twist to consider with those combinations.

Other obvious choices are .243 and 6mm as well as the .25-06 in windy environments. More obtuse choices are 22BR, 6mmBR, from the bench rest side of the fence (22BR is closer to 22-250 performance than 223). From the newest thing on the block category the 223 WSSM (or whatever they call that short fat thing)will get lots of looks as they become readily available in the next couple of months. Its performance fits between the 22-250 and the 220 Swift.

All in all you will not find to many dead varmints that will tell you the difference.

[Fish Hawg]

DAB, hope this helps a little remington lv sf

[Tanner]

If anyone is interested I have a .223 for sale on the classifieds page here on ifish. It is really nice.

[DAB]

Quick Fisher;
Thanks for the link looks like you ARE on the right track.
DAB

[Killertraylor]

.22-250 hands down.

[Uglygreen]

I have a Remington model 700 in 22-250 with a free floating bull barrel, composite stock, bipod, Leopold 4X14 match glass scope, etc... I love it. used it on everything from SE Alaska Goats to Wyoming Praire dogs. You wont be unhappy. If you want to go shoot it sometime send me an email.

UG

[Grip It-N-Rip It]

I actually have them both.I like them both. The 22-250 is a bull barrel Rem 700 and it drives tacks. If you can hold the gun still enough a whole in a whole is no problem I just love it.
The .223 is a sporter for packing around. It is a Ruger LSS and shoots like a champ also but I broke it in slow and easy like they say to. It would depend on the intended use.If you are going to be cat hunting are you going to want to pack around a bull barrel all day? The sporter is much lighter.
They are both great calibers no matter how you look at them. In my 22-250 I use Nosler 50gr ballistic tips but I hand load. In my .223 I use factory ammo because I just haven't reloaded it yet. But if it shoots that good on factory ammo I bet I can do better with my own loads.
Another thing to consider is they came out with a .223 super short mag not long ago also and the reviews on them are good so far. Although I would bet ammo would be a bit costly unless you reload it. That is my thoughts.

[KingFisher85]

I have a really nice sporter 22-250
Get the 22-250

[Timber]

I Have both I would give the nod to the .223 for several reasons and none are triing to be cheap but the .223 is a lot easier on brass,barrels don't get as hot as fast,less noise,will still drive a 55gr. at 3300fps,less fouling and powder cost are about 2/3ds that of a 250 I'm a minority but having shot both for over twenty years the extra bang wouldn't be worth it unless you are constantly shooting well in excess of 300yds

For fur harvest a medium weight barrel .223 with 62 gr bullets going slower works well. The 22-250 is a bit too fast for this.
For long range a heavier bullet helps with wind drift and I would recomend something in 6mm/.243 or.25 ca.

For shooting long range varmints a heavy barrel 22-250 works quite well, when the wind is calm.

If you reload ammunition price isn't that much different but if you plan on using factory ammo the .223 is much cheaper to shoot. Military surplus SS109 ammo with the 62gr bullet makes a good cheep coyote killer, if your guns riffling will stabilize the heavier bullet.

UG,
[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Good one but not quite true. You don't see too many 22-250's at bench rest shoots and spray and pray isn't a good hunting method.

I have a 18" heavy barrel FAL in .223 that can be shot as fast as you can get the sights (mil. peep) back on target and it always shoots where the sight was when the triger was pulled. :grin:

I've killed many bobcat and coyote with one shot from a .223. I've never even hit my barn with a 22-250 :shocked: I don't have one though :grin: My "Big" .22 is a 220 swift.

[Fish Hawg]

keta, how well do you like your 220 swift

220 Swift ammo is hard to find, brass can't be made out of anything common (6mm Lee)and it is a semi-rimed case. Mine is a pre 64 Winchester M54 (bad triger design) that my grandfather gave me and I rairly shoot it.
The 220 Swift shoots about the same as the 22-250, just a bit faster, and if I was looking for something like this I would go with the more common 22-250 or a wildcat based on the 308 Win or 7x57 Mauser cases.


#3


UG,
This is in response to your post below.
OUCH!!! Did your case of "M1 Thumb" ever heal?

I would much rather carry my 7.62x51 L1A1 if I was in the military and hunting varmints.


Timber,
UG was just pushing my chain :grin:

[ 11-29-2003, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

[Uglygreen]

If I was going to a bench rest shoot I would pull out my fathers tuned M-1 Garand match rifle. He bought is surplus from the army for like $50 bucks and then spent a couple thousand dollars and hundreds of hours getting it to shoot the way it does. That thing puts all the shots thru the same hole. Of course the damned thing is soooo heavy you need a bench rest. Amazes me that soldiers actually carried those things for weeks and months over hundreds of miles during WWII and Korea as heavy as they are. Its a bit much for varmits though. I remember when I was about 10 or so screwing around and getting my finger caught in the bolt, talk about painful.

UG

[ 11-29-2003, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[Timber]

U.G talk about stereo typing.In my opinion it's usually the guy behind the gun that's the reason for the miss not the cal.Timber

[Uglygreen]

Timber - no offense intended, just seen too many guys with mini-14's and the "A-TEAM" syndrome. They have more intrest in pulling the trigger and making noise than actually hitting the target, (which can be fun at times) I have a SKS that is for the same thing - burning a lot of ammo in a short time. But thats not varmit hunting, especially coyotes and cats. Maybe praire dogs or crows, but I've never found the coyotes or cats thick enough for barrel heat to be a problem.

I have no doubt that a .223 can be made into an accurate rifle, just never bothered to try. Think of it this way - its a compliment. Your probably a better rifle shooter than I am. With my 22-250 I just have to be a average shooter to do what requires supurb shooting on your part with a .223 rifle.

UG

[ 11-29-2003, 05:55 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[Timber]

U.G I wasn't triing to offend anyone I just never even considered a mini-14 or a ar-15 as a varmit rifle I have no use for them at all mine will shoot beter than I am capable of as will most of the higher quality bolt guns. Tim

[Hogback]

How many meters are you guys shooting? I've seen some pretty straight shooting ARs.
Randy

[Uglygreen]

Actually the 22-250 is cheaper to shoot. One shot one kill, you hit what your aiming at. Its a good thing .223 ammo is cheaper cause most of the guys I see shooting them miss a lot and burn a lot more ammo doing so. :shocked: When you go fishing, do you buy the cheapest line and hooks? I don't. Compaired to the rest of the cost of almost any hunting trip the extra couple bucks spent on ammo is well worth it IMHO.

UG

[Grip It-N-Rip It]

I was under the impression that we were talking varmit hunting and I was thinking rifles. I know of some semi's that shoot pretty darn good, SKS, Ar 15 and the such but they are nice guns and talented people behind the trigger. When I mentioned sporters above I was strictly thinking bolt action only. I was also only trying to answer the mans question objectively. He wanted to know which one we thought was best and I was giving different scenarios for his answer. Truth be told either caliber is probably right for him it just depends on wether or not he wants to pack a bull barrel or a sporter or something in between. All of the answers above help answer the question for the man we just need not overkill what he is asking.

[Fish Hawg]

I Thank you all for the great info, it was very helpful. I'm going to get the 22-250 and most likely shoot a 50 gr Nosler Ballistic tips Thanks again......Ross

[Dave's not here]

I have a Winchester Coyote 22-250,everyone who has shot it loves it!