Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints .22-250 or .223 ?

I'm sure this been hashed out before.... but, What say you and why? Thanks.

22-250. It can do what the 223 can do, but the opposite isn't true. A custom barrel to fast twist the 22-250 is even better!

An idea of what you plan to use it for would get more relevant answers.

drover

Yep, more info on the use intended.

For...? I like the 22-250 because I like speed and the ability to "Hold in the hair" out to 350 yards but a 223 would get to 300 about as easy and take care of 90% of my hunting with less powder and more quiet. Hits are easy to see with the 223's low recoil, not so with either of my 22-250's or any other 250 I have had or shot.

Hide hunter or just kill em? A lot of variables to choose from.

Prairie dogs = .223. Coyotes = .243. I don't see the need for a .22-250.

^ this to a degree. A fast twist 22-250 would be very hard to beat. But it entirely depends on what your intended use will be.

Occasional short range varmints; I think they are 6's but I'd favor the 250 for the explosive impacts.
High volume short range varmints; I'd go 223, unless you wanna rebarrel often, then go 250 for reasons stated above.
The same can be said for medium or long range, but you will need the faster twist in either. Most 223's will come with a faster twist, but a 250 would spank them twist being equal.
Bullet weight is a big player for the longer shots, a 55gr out of a standard 22-250 might barely poke into and stay on a wooden fence post at 800yds, while a 75 fired from a 223 will splatter on steel. The only reason I mention it is to make sure your bullet weight/twist matches the ranges you intend to shoot.

I choose 223 just because of the volume I shoot, I'd love a 22-250, but I'd of burned several of them up by now. But I never feel undergunned with it.

The 223 can do everything most people need a varmint rifle to do and for less cost and with a longer barrel life.

Unless you are regularly shooting 'chucks a very long ranged, like my Father did in the Susquehanna River valley of New York back in the 1950's and 1960's, I can't see any meaningful advantage of the 22-250 over the 223.

That said, I currently have 11 223s and 9 22-250s, but shoot a lot more 223 than 22-250, probably a ratio of 40:1.

+1

I wouldn't stand in front of either bullet at 800 yards, but that analogy is a bit slanted in favor of the 223. Balistic charts show that although the 223 has maintained it's velocity better, it is still only about 200 FPS faster at that range, enough to know that the 55 grain will more than poke into a wooden post and I just wondered what steel or bullet you used to get that splatter with a 75 grain from the 223...

You'd be wise not to stand infront of either. Neither would I, I am simply recounting actual events as I witnessed them. Shooting 800yds at a steel plate hung from a wooden fence post, my brother shooting his 22-250 with 55hp's, and my 223 shooting 75 Amax's. The Amaxes would hit the plate leaving a visual and audible report, leaving only traces of copper near the base of the post. The shots from the 22-250 were never called, hit or miss. But we did find one of them poking out of the front of the fence post, it was plucked out and recovered. The velocity at impact must have been very slow, explaining why we likely saw not hit or misses. I wish I had taken a picture, as it was very interesting. But this was back before the age of the iphone.

As others said .223 for volume, .22-250 for others..
As for the .243, I rebarreled my last one to .300 Sav. To me the .243 is neither fish nor fowl.. If I want to shoot a heavy bullet at coyotes, I step up to my .25-06 or .270..

What about a 75-90 from a tight twisted 22-250? Compare bullet weight to bullet weight the 250 will out-do the 223 at 800 by a fair amount.

It sure would, twists being equal.

.223 rem...

I have a .223 with a 1/7 twist so I could shoot 600 yds with an 80 gr. SIERRA.
But I don't shoot competition any more.
Old eyes and iron sights are not a good combination.
For varmints I have a few heavy barrel bolt action dedicated prairie dog rifles.
I used to use 25-06 and .220 Swift but the 25-06 has been given a new life as a .270.
The .220 Swift gets used a lot less than the .223 rifles because the barrel heat in a prairie dog town is not ideal because of mirage.
So the .223 with light bullets does not require a quick twist barrel. 40 gr. V MAX or Ballistic Tips work equally well in a dog town.
So I would suggest you could get the .223 for prairie dogs but if you don't do that buy whatever floats your boat.
whelennut