Hi
I am planning to buy a Savage M12 VLP left hand in either 223 or 22-250 to replace my Browning A-bolt stainless stalker 223 as an varminter and more importantly my long range wildfowl gun!

Lots of fun to hunt geese with a rifle and my little Browning has been quite nice for the job but i have the urge to get something better..

Thing is ive already got cases and dies for 223 but 22-250 is tempting due to flatter trajectory and less wind drift (wind is a rather big issue here), only thing im worried about with the 22-250 is too much damage even with FMJ´s.

I know probably not many do hunt birds at longer ranges to eat but i know many here have lots of experience with these calibers and rifles, what would you choose?

Regards Ben
Iceland

For the really long range stuff like beyond 375 yards the 22-250 would fit the bill. I recently shot a rockchuck with a .223 using a 40 grain bullet at 414 yards without any wind and felt like I was really pushing the boundaries of that caliber.

I've used my 22-250 for my longer range shooting but find the wind the limiting factor as well as it's hard to hit small stuff that far away.

I confess I have no experience shooting geese with a rifle as it is not legal here where I hunt. At times it seemed as only a rifle would be useful due to the distances that they were flying!!!!

Problem is with those light .223 pills in strong winds any will drift a fair amount at ranges over 300 yds.Maybe a .243 would be a better choice?

If you have an "itch" for a new rifle. And the 22-250 will scratch the itch. Then buy a 22-250.
I would recommend you get the one in nine twist version. This will allow you to use heavier bullets for the longer range shooting.
Have fun with it!

muck

I second the motion for a fast twist. I have a 223 with a 1:9 twist. The ability to shoot long, heavy for caliber bullets changes everything. I would imagine with a 22-250 the rewards would be more pronounced. I also like the idea of a 243 to buck the wind. I have shot a few prairie dogs with one and Its superior in every way to the 22's for long shots in the wind. As far as meat damage goes, shoot 'em straight above the leg, in the back. They won't go anywhere and you wont ruin much meat. DW

Decided on the Savage VLP .223 as it is a 1 in 9" twist and shooting the long bullets is quite tempting plus ive got 300 new lapua cases and dies already

Now its time to search for a scope...

And just to make it clear, i dont shoot at Geese in the air with a rifle just on the ground..

This has become quite a hobby as we usually go for a wildfowl day starting at 3-4 in the morning with decoys in the fields hunting them the traditional way then in the calm of the day we take out the rifles and head out to shoot them at ranges till the evening flights start then its back to decoys..

Regards

A good example of how rules and regulations can differ between countries. It's illegal to shoot waterfowl with a rifle in the US but ranchers do use rifles to scare geese off of winter wheat fields as they pull the wheat up by the roots while feeding.

Sako maybe one of the new Redfield's would go well with the Savage.I hear nothing but good about them and the price is nice.