Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why a 22-250, when a 243 does the same?

Why own a 22-250, if someone can sell me I will listen. I like the 243 better, based on bullet choice from 55- 105, varmint to deer. Seems to me the 22250 is a waste of powder. What's the fire say?

Cheaper bullets... less powder... less recoil

Possibly better barrel life

Yep nailed it. ^^^

The 22-250 is much more pleasant to shoot.
It is also easier to spot your shots with if you shoot long range.

There is no reason.
The 243 outperforms the 22-250 at long range (higher bc offerings in 6mm).
The 243 has better big game bullet selection.
The 243 shoots 55s faster than 55s from the 22-250, and has higher bcs to boot.
The 243 can easily be loaded down to 22-250 levels of recoil.

The 22-250 kicks too much for high volume varmint use.
The 22-250 makes too much noise for high volume varmint use.
The 22-250 burns barrels out too quickly for high volume varmint use.

The only thing the 22-250 does well compared to the 243 is shoot slightly cheaper and slightly higher bc 70-80 grain bullets. Big effin' deal.
The 22-250 is a 'tweener, and its day has passed.

Also, most factory 243s have fast enough twists to shoot bullets in the .5 bc range without issue (even if that means 95 grain tmks in 10 twists).
The same cannot be said for the majority of factory 22-250s, which are handicapped with slow twists.

I think they are comparably close to one another if the 22 is twisted fast. Both are good cartridges, Both have good bullets being made for them. I could flip a coin and be happy no matter how it fell...

I told my ol man this years ago.... grin

The argument for the 22-250 being more economical and easy to shoot than a 243 is really a better argument for the 223.

The 223 is enough of a step "down" from the 243 in terms of significantly reduced muzzle blast, recoil, component cost, etc. as to make the 223 truly worthwhile.

Another benefit to starting the "match" type lighter jacketed heavy 22 caliber bullets at 223 speeds is they tend to behave a bit more consistently than when started at 22-250 speeds. For example, there's more than one instance on here of shallow "splash wound" type impacts of 75 grain Amaxs and the like, when started at ~3300 fps. When slowed down to 3000 or less, they tend to behave more like standard cup and cores.

Why not have a 22-250 if you can afford to buy and keep one?

Many of us, probably most of us, who frequent this site are likely to own multiple redundant rifle/cartridge combinations. Why? Probably because we want to and because we can.

If a person feels that he/she needs to pare their collection of centerfire rifles to a minimum of three or four, the 223 is probably a more practical choice in a .224" bore cartridge than the 22-250.

I have had at least one 22-250 in the rack almost constantly since 1970 and currently have 10 of them around. When I was stationed at Fort Riley, KS, in the early 1980s I shot a Remington 700 Varmint in 22-250 and did my best to put a dent in the coyote population in Clay, Dickinson, Geary, Riley, and Wabaunsee counties.

Some years ago, Mule Deer wrote an article about the 22-250, noting that many of his neighbors in Montana used their 22-250s as their primary small and medium game cartridge.

I have a 22-250 with a 1/8 twist and have an identical set up in 243. The 22-250 is much more enjoyable to shoot. That being said if I had a mature mule deer at long range and bad angles I would prefer the 243, for everything else the 8 twist 22-250 wins

The 22-250 is a varmint round to me so I'd only compare them in that bullet weight range. I don't care about big game bullets in either of them because I'm not going to hunt big game with either. If you compare 55 gr bullets using nosler ballistic tips (that's the only 6mm 55 grainer I know of) then both the 22 and 6mm 55 gr. ballistic tips have the same BC, .267 G1. The 243 can shoot it faster but it takes 12-15 gr. more powder to do it. At comparable speeds to the 22-250 the 243 still needs about 8 gr. more powder to duplicate the 22-250.

Move up to 75 grainers and a .22 hornady ELD-M has a G1 BC of .467, a 75 gr. 6mm Vmax (no 75 gr. eldm) has a B.C. of .330. Yeah, the 243 can shoot it faster because it's a bigger case and uses more powder, which means more blast and kick.

The 243 ultimately will outperform a 22-250 at long range because of the higher B.C. bullets available and the bigger case, but the 300 win mag will outperform the 243 and the 338 Lapua will outperform it. Where do you draw the line when looking for a long range varminter?

For a varminter the 22-250 fits the bill a lot better than the 243 which needs 10 gr. more powder to accomplish the same thing while dealing with more recoil and blast.

After that talk, the ol man gave me his 22-250... grin

I’ll use it for muleys and antelope in Idaho and Montana. Stil like the 243 betta!! Haha

I see used 243s everywhere I go, but seldom if ever see a used 22-250 for sale.

Kinda like a 338, been lookin for a good bdl 338 for a spell now, caint find one

In my state there are state hunting lands where you can varmint hunt with a 22 centerfire all winter. The only time you can carry a 243 is during gun deer season.

The 3 cartridges that I coyote hunt with are the 223, 22-250, and the 243. If I'm going to hunt a spot where I think bobcats are a possibility, I usually carry a 223, as it is much easier on pelts. I actually prefer the 243, because it is the best coyote killing cartridge I've found. I see the 22-250 as something of a compromise, one that is probably not needed, but is an excuse to own one.

I think there was a time when the 22-250 was a good choice, but was bullets and rifles for the 223 and 243 have evolved, they've really put a dent in the popularity of the 22-250. One can push a 223 bullet to the 3400-3500 fps range without much of a problem, and a 55-60 grain bullet in the 243 close to 4000 fps. The 223 will use less powder and will be more pleasant to shoot, while the 243 can be used with heavier bullets for much bigger game than a varmint. I still like the 22-250, and will own one for the time being anyway.

"Why a 22/250, when a 243 does the same?-..."

Because I love a good 22/250.