Thinking of getting a designated coyote rifle and can't decide between 22-250 Remington or 243. Win. Which would you choose and why?
ts, I have had both.. I no longer own a .243.. I am a .22-250 man or Swift guy all the way. I also use my .25-06 o .270 on windy days.. But I am hunting the plains, and that is very open country as you know.. I will say, the 25-06 anchors coyotes better with a marginal hit.. Truly I have had .243's since the early 70's.. But they have never stayed with me that long..
How far do you plan to shoot? 243 for longer shooting, 22-250 handles easily up to 400 yards.
Yep. .22-250...especially if you plan on saving any fur. That notwithstanding, Ive always liked it better on coyotes regardless.
neither. 204, all the way......phuoc sewing.
If your objective is to simply smote coyotes then the 243 would be the logical choice. If fur hunting is the goal I'd be more inclined to go with the 22-250 of the two choices you suggest.
I'm with Huntsman on the sewing and would be choosing a 17 Remington or 204 for coyotes over either the 22-250 or 243.
Between those two, 22-250 for coyotes, especially if your putting up fur. However I hunted with a 250 for years and now am using the 222 and 223 more again. Less powder, less noise, less damage.
neither. 204, all the way......phuoc sewing.
This
I absolutely flattened one today at about 325 when deer hunting w/my sons 260. Used a hot loaded 125 Partition. My dedicated Coyote/house cat gun is an old tang safety Ruger 77V Swift. Fast loaded 50 gr NBT's + 2" @200y). You better KNOW that the dog is 400+ before you old off of fur. Muddy
At this point I use a .243 95% of the time. Anything will work, but I really like the .243 over any .22 when the wind is blowing and the ranges get stretched. But, I don't generally save too many hides anymore and the .243 is admittedly hard on fur at times.
If your objective is to simply smote coyotes then the 243 would be the logical choice. If fur hunting is the goal I'd be more inclined to go with the 22-250 of the two choices you suggest.
I'm with Huntsman on the sewing and would be choosing a 17 Remington or 204 for coyotes over either the 22-250 or 243.
My thoughts too.
I've shot em with numerous calibers. The 22-250 is hard to beat but I like the swift better, partly cause mine is super accurate.
The 204R is a god one also.
If hides and money are not a big concern, the 240 WBY really lets the air out of them at about any range.
Nothing against either but of the 2 I would go 22-250 I use 223 loaded with 52 gr tax...rem 700 tactica. With 9 twist. Really lik that set up..
Of the two, .22-250 at 8".
Is .17 Remington out of the question?
What powder do you load in that?
If your objective is to simply smote coyotes then the 243 would be the logical choice. If fur hunting is the goal I'd be more inclined to go with the 22-250 of the two choices you suggest.
I'm with Huntsman on the sewing and would be choosing a 17 Remington or 204 for coyotes over either the 22-250 or 243.
My thoughts too.
Me too.
Me three but only the bacon flavored ones.
My .220 Swift flattened this male at about 300 yards.. Not badly torn up, and dead on the spot.. Had I known I could put a Swift barrel on a 700 action 40 years ago, the Swift would have been my main coyote rifle rather than the .22-250..
Im a 204 guy but of your two choices they are alot the same. If Im not worring about fur I like the 243 better.
17 Rem is mentioned quite a bit. I have one and love it. That said, it was really windy so far this fall. I grab the wife's 243 when it's blowing. Come to think of it, it's windy here a lot Sept-Jan/Feb.
If you're in a windy region, opt for the 243.
P.S. It's been said before that the 17 Rem and 223 with comparable bullet weights (.224 40 gr?) drift pretty similarly out to 300 yards. Something to think on.
Here's my 17 Rem:
243 all the way.
You can run a higher BC 55gr at 4,000fps+, vs 3,700 in 22-250, and, when conditions call for it, a heavier bullet for longer ranges or bucking winds.
I use a 22 Hornet, 222Rem Mag or the 243, depending on conditions.
A guy I know is a retired Govt damage control officer or what ever they called it. He hunted feral dogs, cats and coyotes for a living for about 10 years. He uses a suppressed 243 shooting 55 grain Ballistic tips at 4100 fps +. He says that they don't exit which is important as he shot a lot of critters in town! I just picked up a box of 250 and to try them out.
Depends on what you want the gun to do. In my experience with a 243 if you shoot the heavy bullets like 100 grain sierra gamekings and 105 bergers the damage is minimal and is only an in and out with no significant exit damage. I built a 204 a couple years ago that i had throated and twisted to shoot the 55 grain bergers and its great in the wind and will shoot those at about 3250 out of a 24" barrel. This setup shoots well and and does minimal damage.
22-250 and 220 swift work extremely well and knock coyotes dead with authority but if you want to save the pelt bullet selection is critical.
22-250 all day long. Twisted appropriately, however.