Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 22 hotrods vs a plain old 243?

I have never owned either.
A proper heavy boolit 22 250 requires a custom build with a fast twist barrel.
Maybe I just need a pedestrian 243? Factory twist rates seem to be forgiving in either direction of boolit choice.

Hi. Either will serve you well. Someone will be around shortly to ask what you want to use it for, the distance and more.

I own several of each, but will let you fill us in on what your plans are.

Hard to beat a plain-jane 1-10" 243, unless you want to shoot the heavy lvd-type bullets (I don't).

Would add, the 1-14" 22-250 works well with up to 62+ gr bullets, despite the clamoring of some here.

All the cool kids use fast twist .224's. You don't need to get a custom. For some reason I've never had much interest in .243 beyond loading for others. If you shoot a lot, they are said to be rough on chamber throats.

If you were to use Nosler's load data on their website to compare the 243 and 22-250 and their 55 gr ballistic tip varmint bullet, the 243 will have almost 200 fps over the 22-250 with same length barrel AND a higher BC bullet. ( .224 55 gr G1 BC is 267, .234 55 gr G1 BC is .276 ) Nosler fastest data says 3803 fps for 22-250 and 243 3993 fps.

^^^This^^^

Those 62 gr bullets & 60 gr Partitions also work quite well in a .223

And I’ve killed a ton of game with a plain old 243 with 95 gr & 100 gr bullets. And they also make a hell of a great coyote rifle loaded with 55 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips.

You can buy a cheap ole Ruger American or one of those Remington Model 7 Predators for under $400 on closeout and own a very accurate gun right out of the box too in either caliber.

Ive killed literal tons of game with both...its whatever you prefer...

My 1:8 22-250 loaded w/75gn A-max's sits next to me more than any other rifle I own.

There are more makers that now chamber for 6mm Creedmoor, and those rifles will have twists of 1-7, 1-7.7, or 1-8, which will handle most of the long bullets if you're interested in them. Some feel barrel life may be a bit better than a .243 too.

OTOH, everyone makes a .243, and cheap ammo is abundant for those who don't load their own.

I have both, and like both rifles pretty well.

A .22/250 is less attractive for me since bears are a possibility during deer season, and while I think the .22s are okay for deer, I'm not so sure about bears.

Started using the .243 in the early 70s with various 95-105's at around 2800-3000. Started using the .220 Swift with 60-grain Nosler Solid Bases at 3650 fps in the mid-80s, and have since used a lot of different bullets in both and the .22-250. My latest is a 1-8 twist Ruger American one of a special run from Whittaker Guns a couple years ago, which I used with the 70-grain Hornady GMX to take a very good pronghorn buck at around 350 yards a couple years ago.

Have yet to see any difference in how a .22-250, .220 Swift or .243 kills big game.

I have been pondering what you have said about 62 grainers in the 1 to 14 twist
A 1-8 twist is minimum for 75 to 77 grains as I understand it.
Driving the lighter bullets to 4000 fps requires the 1to 14 twist? Right? Or they spin apart.

No. A 30gr Blitzking? Maybe. A 50+ grain hunting billet will work just fine out of a 1-8” twist.

I guess I look at this a lot differently than some of you do, but I like a 22-250 because it will shoot a 40-50 grain bullet at 3750-4000 fps, like a laser out to the ranges I normally shoot at, and give a coyote a dirt nap before he knows what hit him.

I like a 243 because I can also give that same coyote a dirt nap, just as well as I can with a 22-250, and then load up some 90-100 grain bullets and slay a whitetail.

If I had to make a choice it would be the 243 hands down.

I'm somewhat old school, in that I'll probably always look at the 22 centerfires as varmint cartridges, despite the modern day choices in bullets and barrels.

As the world turns merrily upon its axis, forget not that people were slaying all manner of game with slow twist .22-250's and cup and core bullets, ditto .243's. Close your eyes and pick one.

I shoot the 243 cuz the gubermint won’t let me shoot anything smaller for deer. I am allowed to shoot em with a 25-20, but not a 22-250.