Ok I am in the market for a new varmit rifle mostly chucks & if lucky a coyote. I have it narrowed down to two 223 or 22-250 if this was your only choise which would you chouse?

If the sad day came where I could have only one varmint rifle it would be the 22/250. It will do everything the 223 can and much more. Those chucks are thick skinned and from experience the 22/250 will put a good hole in one.

22-250, Like the man said, it will do everything the .223 will do and more.

I would have to go with .223 unless I did a lot of chuck shooting. Cheaper shells, and I would assume under heavy shooting conditions longer barrel life. Even if presented the opportunity for chucks, I would still get a .223 and then I might carry the 06 if needed for the extra range. The .223 you can find excellent varmint rounds cheaply over the counter. Of the .22-250s I know of they are light contour barrels and get hot quick and they shoot the heaviest bullets best, and those get higher priced pretty quick.

Have you thought about the .243 or 6mm Rem? You can load 55 gn Nosler BT or 58 gn V-MAX for the speed and lighter recoil or load the heavier bullets for longer range and better wind bucking.

I think if I could only pick between the .223 or .22-250 for general varminting it would be the .17 Rem. with 30 gr. bullets.

If only one...22-250 w/55 grain bullets like Ballistic Tip or Sierra Spitzer flat base.

I do have more than one and I really like the 223 Ackley Improved w/50 grain Sierra BlitzKing for small varmints and a bit harder bullet for coyote...like the 55 grain flat base bullets from Sierra, Speer, Hornaday from a couple of decades ago.

I have recently obtained an AR15 type rifle w/floated barrel for coyote, 1in9 twist and a batch of 64 grain Power Point Winchester factory ammo to test drive.

I like to have two types of bullet performance, highly frangable for small varmints and a harder bullet for coyote size critters.

I'd take the .243 Winchester, in a sporter barreled rifle, 22 to 24 inches... And a 3 to 9 scope, or maybe a 4 to 12, but no higher...

Dan

The .22-250 is a fine 'chuck & coyote cartridge, but the .243 beats it by a fair margin, plus it's legal for whitetails.

George

All good points above. Another factor is the noise of the guns report. I have done most of my woodchuck hunting in NY in fact as it's only an hours drive from here. You will be on farms where people live and the boom of a 243 is quite loud.

Depending on your present battery and plans for it I would pick a 22-250 and load it light for shots under 200 yards. If you get on a back lot then you can shoot away with the full charge 55 gr loads.

Now if you don't have a decent deer rifle now there is no question but to buy a sporter in 243 and make it do.

Either way these are not wrong answers. If you favor one over the other you can always sell it.

I started with a .222Rem and got a lot of chucks with it by hunting them up. Later when I started hunting with "buddies" it got competative and when it was my turn to shoot I was offered the 22-250 as it was kind of far! You don't want to hear that and there are not many chucks left any way therefore the 223 is not necessary for it's cheap ammo.

I really like my Colt CAR-15. Accurate and no reloading. Ultra quick follow ups too!!

It would be a .223 for me because I shoot a lot and the 223 is very affordable to reload or buy ammo for and it is a pretty decent round as well,accurate,decent performance and no recoil.w/regards

Why only one? Life has too many stresses otherwise to have to deal with problems like that. I have a sporter weight 22-250 and a heavy barreled 22-250; I have a .223 in Rem classic and a .223 in an old model 788 that spends a lot of time bounceing around behind the seat of my truck. I buy bulk bullets of Rem or Horn by the 1000s.

Gosh, only one varmint rifle? How awfull would that be?

Having shot lots of varmints with such things as the 17 Remington, .223 Remington, 22-250 Remington, 6mm Remington, 25-06 Remington, and a host of wildcats; the standout cartridge just has to be the 22-250! Hands down! Easy to find good loads for, plenty of reach for long shots, plenty of power for coyotes, etc. etc.

I must like them pretty well, there are three sitting here in my safe. Matter of fact, my dad and I took a couple of 22-250's out just yesterday and killed over a 100 ground squirrels.
As much as I hate living in CA, there are some good things about it, where else in the country can you get that kind of varmint shooting in Jan??

R F

223Ackley............

I would buy 220 swift. I have a ruger varmiter (1976) and it still shoots 1/4 min at100. use 50gr. v-max at 4000 fps. Keep shooting

.22-250 or the .243.

If I were to use the rifle as my "fur gun",one I'd use to shoot coyotes for there hides I'd pick the .223.You get smaller holes that are easier to stitch up.Lots of experts will argue "ballistic table charts"about the 22/250 being superior at long range.See if they've shot 400 or 500 coyotes for fur.In Montana the wind almost always blows and the coyotes were coming through sagebrush or greasewood.It makes it hard to get a 400 yd shot.I tried to kill them when they got to 200 yds.The .223 shines at this.I have never shot chucks so I don't know about them.Sorry to get so preachy.

definitely a .243- everything from 55grn to 100grn. bullets- as many choices as there are for the .30cal. If it's windy at all the 70grn. will blow away any .224 bullet any day.

22-250- a nice savage in a heavy barrel. spend $$ saved on gun for better glass.

40X 220 Swift with the 8.5-25 LRT Leupold.

If any of you guys are getting Todd Kindler's magazine, "Small Caliber News", you may remember some of Blaine Eddy's articles on coyote hunting. He kills over 100 dogs a season now, and still uses the .17 caliber in various configuratiions. Kindler just presented the shooting public with a new heavy .17 caliber bullet with a "high" B.C.-- the 30 gr Gold. Just spoke to Blaine a couple days ago and he's using a wildcatted 17 PPC, and is getting 4000 f.p.s. out of a 24" barrel with this 30 Gold, and made several kills beyond 500 yds. with his rig (with the help of a LRF, of course). In fact he took one at 640 some yds., and he told me the dog dropped in his tracks!!?? Just some food for thought. Another article in the latest SCN detailed the building of a .17 Predator (Improved .17 Rem.), in which the author detailed velocities >4000 f.p.s.

I could never have just one varmint gun. I have killed hundred's of chucks with a 17 hornet 20gr V-Max from ranges of 100 to 320 yards. Only one chuck made it back into his hole and I hooked him out with a garden hose and a hook, dead he was. Killed many with 22-250AI more than a handfull got away, so for ranges out to 300yrds the 17 hornet kills better for me. The 22-250AI kills better at longer ranges. Chucks die faster with light fast bullets. The farmers never complain when I shoot the hornet near the barns. Matter of fact he will only let me shoot behind his milking cow barn cause the cows don't panic with the mild report of the 17 hornet. This year shot a new 223 TIKKA 40grn V-Max 52 chucks killed, no chuck escaped.

The 243 shooting the 65 grain FBHP bullet is hard to beat on any varmint you care to take. I also like the 22-250 with the 60 grain FBHP bullet but the 243 holds the edge on killing power and range. Sometimes I take em both when varmint hunting.

Beware of the man who only shoots one rifle.... He probably knows how to shoot it!!

Wish I was the first to say that

I see everyone talking about the 22-250 like it was sent by God, for the sole perpose of being the only coyote/predator cartridge to consider. Well now that I've made the 22-250 lovers mad lets talk about another option that the died in the wool old timers don't want to talk about.

Yes, I'm talking about a fairly new cartridge, when I say new I mean new to the masses, the often overlooked 20's and there are several new ones out that I have only read about.
However I do own 2 of the 20's and have had great success with both. The first is my 20t-n-t,
its a 17rem necked up to 20 cal. and will push a 36grn Berger bullet over 4100fps. My pet load is 24.0 grns of H4198/rem 7 1/2 primer, IMI brass and the Berger 36grn molly coated bullet. this combo out of my gun(Sako 1957 made slicked and SS XX Douglas 26" #6 taper 1/12 twist barrel) will spit a pill out at 4054fps and is as accurate as the shooter, it will put them through the same hole if you can hold it there.
The seccond and my best coyote gun ever, is the Tact20, that cartridge is based on the .223 case necked down to 20 cal. I had J. Scott McCracken build it from a rem 700 slicked up w/ss XX douglas 26" #7 taper 1/12 twist barrel and a Shalen single set trigger, the stock was cut with a panagraph fron a Howa varmeter1500 in .308. I just liked the fit and feel of that stock.
This is what I'm talking about, FACT, my Tact20 will out perform the 22-250, its flatter shooting, Has greater long range capabilitys, has greater barrel life and, this is the trick part, my Tact20 does it with 1/2 the powder and none of the recoil. The pet load that I'm shooting is 25.5 grains of H4198, rem 7 1/2 primer, IMI case spitting the 33 grain v-max out at 4300fps. Thats 1" high at 100 and 7/8" inch low at 300.

So to sum it up in a nutshell, my choice is a 20 caliber.

Smote the Yote
Slydog

Seriously consider the versatility of the 243. Besides, there are a lot of excellent used 243's out on the market at good bargins.

The 222 Remington cartridge.

Slydog, heard and read a lot about those 20's especially the Tactical 20 (Todd Kindlers brainchild if I remember correctly). Gunsmith Greg Tannel (Gre'-Tan Rifles) was getting 4300+/_ from the V-Max, and was the closest thing to a lightning bolt on coyotes he ever used. Lee Mosher (Insight Shooting Systems--www.insightshootingsystems.com--I think)has been customizing AR uppers for years, and is now chambering the Tact 20 in his AR's and is getting velocities around 4300 f.p.s. as well. Love to try one one of these days. Should be the ultimate fur rig.

sscoyote, my father lives in brighton co. and I go there often if you would like to hook up and burn some powder let me know. I grew up in colorado and miss the country not the people(to damn many) I think that many of the hunters that use the 22-250 and 220 swift would jump over to the tact20 once they give it a try cause I'm doin the same or better with 1/2 the powder and thats big. any one who wants to hook up and see what this tact20 will do just gimmi a call or an e-mail and we'll put it to the test. seein is belivein

smote the yote
slydog

sscoyote has the right train of thought, Go out and spend one full seasion with the 17 rem and the 20gr vmax.You will look at predator calling in a new light.The coyotes i have shot with this combo melt in their tracks they just go to sleep, and with this set up there is almost no recoil. You get to see the whole show.

An accurate one would be the best one. Calibre doesn't matter as long as you can hit what you want.

If I had a vote I would cast it for 22-250(700vssf)

My first one would be (and was) a 243, especially with the 55-60 grain bullets that are made now. Right now, for ground squirrels I bring the 243, a 223 and my 22rf. The next varmint gun will be a 22-250 to be built on a left handed Montana Rifle Co. action.

All those posts and only one person in church today! JoeZerinda! GHD (See ya'll in church) PS Only one....second choice...22-250!!!

This question is a lot like asking what's the right choice in a 31 Flavor's?-- First I'd find why I only got one gun, I suspect a woman at the bottom of this (God bless em )--send her to the store for a loaf of bread , then move! just think how many toy's you can buy for 1/2 a house. ---Shoot Safe---montdoug

Out of your choices I would pick the .223 because of barrel life.But I would much rather have a 17 Rem or even a 222 Rem.

I have three .223s in my safe - but if I had to choose it would be my heavy barreled 22-250 varmiter. After all Varmiter is the name for the 22-250 cartridge and there is a reason for that. Yes, you can buy cheap .223 stuff from Russia but you get what you pay for. I load a potent 22-250 using 55 grain Sierra Blitzking bullets and 4320 for about 20 cents a round. That's $200 per 1000 rounds compared to Lake City Armory.223 FMJ at $180 per 1000. I prarie dog hunt in Montana and coyote hunt wherever I can. Here in Northern Idaho the dogs are getting spooky-so some have to be taken at 300+ yards. I do that with a Sierra 110 GR HP in a 300 Win mag. I know some out there will complain about the exit hole size-yes, it is large but it is predator control not hides we are after here. We use AR-15's or mini 14's with aimpoints for close up work. Just bought a new Ruger M-77 heavy barreled varmit rifle in .223 and I will get to try it out this spring.

The .223 due to the affordability of ammunition.