Well, here are a couple of more thoughts on it.
I think you would like the Cooper very much, they are my favorite varmint rifles, if you can trade into it for a decent price then jump on it.
The nice thing about a Cooper is that they shoot very well out of the box, they spoiled me for my other varminters.
They also generally appreciate in value rather than dropping like a lot of other firearms.
caution - take a good look at the throad before making the trade, 204's are a little harder on barrels than 223's, the 204 is burning the same amount of powder as the 223 but down a smaller diameter hole.
Your comment on using 50 gr bullets in the 22/250 caught my eye, that is the same reason I used 50's in my 22/250.
drover
