Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 222-223-204

Very nice, what stock is that?

HS precision. since discontinued...

Other than the obvious “all three,” if you want a 250yd truck gun for yotes, a vanilla .223 is available in a numbing variety of rifles so finding one that trips your switch should be easy. If you reload, you can shoot 40gr to 75gr bullets depending on twist. If you don’t reload, ammo is still available everywhere.

The other cartridges mentioned might give you stronger gun loony feelings, but won’t clobber coyotes any easier. Sometimes the struggle is the allure, and the .223 would probably be least satisfying in that case.

As we learn from the far North, "It's the boolit, not the headstamp"....

DF

Since I switched to the 40 grain Bergers, I've had better results with the 204 than either the 222 or 223.but they all work pretty good if you stay off the ball joint in the shoulder.

Be sure you know the regs. A Louisiana hunter killed a really nice buck with his .204. It was written up in a local rag. Only problem for him, 22 cal is the min legal. The possum cops charged him, took his trophy.

Bottom line, if you shoot a nice buck with a .204 in Louisiana, don’t write it up. If you do, say it was a .223. Possum cops read, too. Well most of them.

DF

Rifle selection would be first choice....

223 easiest choice.....no flies on a good 222

Something from Tikka....CZ perhaps in the 222

204 ? faster & flatter !

The OP said he was looking for a coyote rifle, and of the 3 cartridges he asked about, the 223 wins hands down. It is more versatile, and is available in more rifles and ammo choices than the other two combined.

I think I would go with .204. If you're trying to make dead coyotes, the 39 and 40 grain bullets are great. The 40 grain VMAX has a better BC than anything a 1-14" twist .22 cal will launch. It acts like a scaled down, but not slowed down, .22-250. If you are trying to save hides, I would look at the 32 grain VMAX or Blitzking .. no promises. The Varmint Grenade would be another consideration.

I haven't had good luck with any of the .22 cal bullets not tearing things up. (Of course, I am TRYING to tear things up.) I would give the 35 grain VMAX a try up close. It might blow up on the entry, not exit. I had a .22-250 that shot those very well .. and nothing else. It was a tweety bird hammer.

It might be interesting to try some of the light lead-free bullets in either diameter. They get some crazy velocity .. might come apart inside better than a lead core bullet. Wild guess ..

Well the 204 knocked the crap out of these coyotes...

And it does pretty good on cats too

I’ve had 2 222’s and they work, more than a dozen 223’s, a few 22-250’s, 243’s too and the 204 really comes alive with a 40 grain bullet but I’ve said that already. Truth is they all work and have their own benefits.

.222-I like it with 40 grainers. I put them over AA2015 BR in Dad’s old Savage 340. Gun doesn’t see a lot of use these days as I live 400 miles away and dad uses the .22-250 now. Not super picky to load for and works for its intended purpose. Much Quieter than a .22-250 or any 6mm. No recoil so can see shots. I personally think it’s quieter than the .223, but that could be just perception.

The .223 is pretty vanilla. Does not use a lot of powder. No recoil, so like .222, can usually see shots. My current .223 is a 9 twist. So I have used bullets 50gr and up to 60gr. Up to 300 FPS more than a triple deuce with these bullet weights. Can go even heavier but I have not. Decidedly more than a .222, decidedly less than a .22-250, but flat works. Not much could beat the .223 for a utilitarian varmint gun.

I have not used the .204, but from my reading it has all the good attributes of a .223 (less powder, report, recoil) with the speed of a .22-250. Only negative I see is not as many bullet choices in .20 cal. Not much of a negative IMO.

I agree TWR. I use 37gr. bullets in mine.

K22, which 37 grain bullets? I know you have the other Montana I want, a re-barreled 17 Remington. I'm sure it's a gem too especially with the 30 grain Golds being available again.

I have a Montana that I rebarreled to 22-250ai and had a 223 re-chambered to 223ai but I sold it to a good friend. If I'd went 17 Remington, I'd probably still have it but at the time good 17 caliber bullets were unavailable.

Which brings up a good question, which bullets do you prefer in your favorite caliber for coyotes?

222, I used 50 grain NBT's
223, I like 55 grain NBT's
204, I like 40 grain Bergers, Hornady and NBT's

A bad bullet, or the wrong bullet can turn any caliber into a bad choice. As Sick says, bullets matter more than head stamps.

And you are correct, the 17 Rem. rebarreled Montana is a gem. It actually exceeded my expectations. It's nice when that happens.
The bullet I use is the 37gr. CRT (Custom Reloading Tools) and I should add, they no longer offer it. I have enough to last me, but sure hated when they quit offering them. The Cat in the photo was shot at a little over 225yds., no exit. Not a good bullet proof I know, but I have shot plenty of Coyotes with the same bullet and never had an exit nor a runner.
As a side note, the Cat flipped over backwards and never moved.
Blaine Leisy owner of Blackhole Bullets designed a 37gr. bullet close to the CRT. We corresponded while he was developing it and although I haven't tried it on game yet, he says that others have with good results. (pelt saving)
And speaking of Blackhole bullets, I have a 17 Rem load with Chan Nagel's 30gr. bullet that shoots really well. I bought some Blackhole Bullets in 30gr. and reloaded them with the exact load I used for Chan's bullets. It produced the same group size at the same impact point. That was a shock, a pleasant shock.
So I guess what I'm implying is to try the 37gr. Blackhole Bullet that Blaine makes.

I would give you velocities but the Lab Radar we use will not register 20 or 17 cal. loads. Guess I'll have to break down and buy a Chrony.

The one regret I have was rebarreling a Kimber Montana in 204 to the 17 Rem. I wish I would kept the other Montana in 204 and used a 223 Montana to rebarrel. Hind sight.

IA fog: Based on nearly 60 years of chasin Coyotes - go with the 204 Ruger and don't look back!
I've tried'em ALL!
More later.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

my 222s, are chambered in 223, with a case full of powder , from some 222 load data....

pretty much with the same MV as a 222....

does that count?

Counts for me. I'll probably load a few or more for mine like that.

In the 204, I've had good luck with the Winchester 36 ? grain loads on coyotes.
I use 32 gr V-Max on prairie dogs (pretty good red mist factor and no ricochets)
Those sometimes "splash" on coyotes, so I went to the 40 gr Nosler. Exits every time about the size of a penny.

Just recently sold my Ruger M77VT .204 Ruger- just don't do enough prairie dog shooting any more to justify keeping it.

I do, however, have two bolt-action .223's, one a CZ 527 M1, the other a Savage Axis II. Not sure why I have both, but I do.
Anyway- I recently started shooting some factory ammo, Fiocchi 40 grain V-Max, in both. Both of these rifles shoot little, .3-.5 inch groups with this ammo, and accuracy between them is so close that I have to say they are equally accurate, at least with this ammo. Both of these will make great, light coyote guns, and the 40 grain V-Max is a great bullet for this purpose, IMO. Advertised MV for this ammo is 3650 fps.
I lean toward liking the CZ a bit more- Mauser-style small action, great metal finish, and it has a set trigger if needed. The Savage is, well, a Savage, but a very workmanlike piece of work- nothing fancy or spectacular, it just simply works.
Both of these rifles also shoot very well with Barnes 62 gr. TSX bullets, so if the opportunity to ever take a deer with .223 (not here in Colorado), this bullet would be a good choice.

Mark Shubert: Thanks for that first hand info on the 40 grain Nosler bullets - I may pick some of those up as well and give them a try.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy