I am thinking of a new gun for shooting coyotes, rock chucks, and ground squirls. I currently have a .257 Roberts but I feel it is just a little big plus I need another gun to tinker with.

I am considering .204 Ruger, .223, or 22-250. I don't want a heavy barrel gun. A sporter weight gun with a 24" barrel is what I am searching for. Most shooting will be around 200 yards but could be from 50-350 yards. What caliber, make, and model do I go with.

Thanks

Personallu I do love to shoot chucks/yotes with the big 6's on up.

But, given your situation I would most likely go 22/250 and 2nd choice would be the 204.

Mark D

kinda depends if you handload or not. 223 ammo is a fraction of the price of the others if you don't load, but 350 is a fairly long poke for 223. 22/250, swift, or the like are much better at long range, but don't discount the 223 either. with a bit of practice that is. also if you want a light rifle it is much easier with 223 that the bigger round. (204 works the same)

I like the 223, but both the 204 and 22-250 are good picks!

I like Remington rifles too, so Id suggest the LVSF m700

The .223 is a spectacular cartridge.....far better than it appears to be on paper.....
I wish I'd have discovered it a long time ago.....

I just had a bad feed problem with my new Stevens Mod. 200 in 22-250. Two of my cohorts with the same mod. one in .243 and one in .223 gave theirs rave reviews and justly. Base price for them was $259.00 . Savage was willing to let a gun smith of my choice repair it if they agrre he was resonable. All three rifles are accurate and nice and light.FWIW. roger

I bought one of the rem sps back in the summer for the same purpose in 22/250.Found out it was light and pretty darn accurate.Below is comparing it to my savage bull barrel 223 @300 yds. shot off bench.Both have been bedded and trigger adjusted.

Those 22-250 will get out there. I've got one that reaches out and kills groundhogs. In the summertime.

I just had a 6x45 (6-.223) upper built for my AR. Still working on loads for it but so far it's accurate and very mild recoil.

tikka T3 stainless hunter 223 , shoot and shoot and shoot , and leavem were they lye , the brass that is

I'd pick up a nice 222 from any of myriad makers. It will get the job done out to 300ish yds or so...

I've yet to own none that wasn't eye-poppingly accurate. Easy to load for and just plain fun to shoot.

If you're into wildcats, the 6mm-3000 is an excellent choice...

I own a 17 Rem, 22 Hornet, 22-250 Rem, 220 Swift, 243 Win, and a 25-06 Rem. All of them are darn nice rounds but don’t overlook the 204 Ruger. I haven’t had so much fun with a cartridge as I’ve had with this one,, and I don’t even reload for it yet. The 17 Rem well knock the H_ll out of a coyote. The Hornet is a little weak at long shots but the rest of them are on the strong side. If you just want to shoot coyotes and leave them lay, than any caliber well do. If you want to skin them for pelts, than pick a caliber that makes the smallest exit wound. The 17 makes the smallest if any, the 20 shouldn’t be bad (haven’t shot a coyote yet with this rifle), if you use a 22, pick your bullets carefully.

The 22-250 is an old favorite and tough to beat. My next barrel will have a fast twist for the 69-80 grain bullets. It would be too cool to have wind-bucking power without recoil.

Go with a 6mm. You can shoot light bullets for varmints or heavier for deer.

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