I'm looking to buy a .223 or 22-250 for some coyote hunting. What are your opinions on both calibers and which would you suggest? I have fond memories of the .223, or as I knew it, the 5.56 from my Marine Corps days, but am not sure if it is worth sticking to that caliber to hunt dogs or cats. Thanks in advance!

You might also want to consider adding the .204 to your list, as it is growing in popularity very fast. But, on your list, between the .223 and the .22-250, a personal choice is the 22-250. It is a faster round with good distance energy!

Go to the Hornady website (www.hornady.com) and check out the ballistics!

I have to agree with jdickey and go with the 22-250. It has substantially more power and reach even if you don't always need it!! There is no such thing as too dead!!! The main thing that makes me choose it over the new Ruger .204, is that there is an unlimited supply of used 22-250's available.

i have a been shooting a .22-250 for alittle over 10 years, i think its one of the greatest rounds avalible. lot more umph than a .223.

its a great varmint gun, but i use mine for deer hunting quite a bit

Yep, 22-250 would be my choice. You can successfully shoot any game in TX with it(although I would not shoot a Muley with it). I know many people who only hunt with it, but I would buy a .204 first seeing that I already have a great deer rifle. You might even consider a .17hmr. They are a bit cheaper and you can shoot yotes and cats with it. I shot a fox with mine in Sept and I dont even want to tell you what it did to her!

Here in Texas i shoot a 22-250 with barnes tsx 53 grain bullets for deer and hogs, 40 grain ballistic tips for all varmints. both traveling anywhere from 3700 f.p.s to 3900 f.p.s. I have put my 270 and 257 weatherbys away!

my friend on here, Deuce12, has a 22-250 that he uses for EVERYTHING. He has shot some great deer, including a nice buck that's posted deep in the photo forum archives. the round is very versatile... not too small and not too big, accurate, and fast... really fast. go with the 22-250. JMHO.

22-250...you will be able to pull off more doubles...distance is an issue with the .223 ....if they made the new r-15 in 22-250...wow...

I'd go against the grain myself. I'd get the 223. And IF I found it wasn't fast enough, I'd get it ackley improved. Ammo availability/cost would be the main reason. 223 ammo is dirt cheap, and can be bought anywhere. 22-250 is not as cheap, and not available in as wide a selection in most places.

Besides, elevation is easy. It's the windage that'll get you every time. So I personally don't see the advantage of a few hundred FPS, and then there's the shortened barrel life of the 22-250. But each to their own. The 250 is a fine round also. Nothing wrong with that choice.

Jay

I love my .223..............

22/250- You couldnt give me a truckload of em

i can't see why people keep bringing up price as a factor between the .223 and the .22-250.

unless you have a AR style rifle and love to pop off hundreds of rounds, then the cost of decent ammo between the two is virtually nil.

and i've yet to find a store that carries .223 ammo but dosent' have .22-250.

and to boot, again unless its a AR style rifle, i see very few bolt guns chambered in .223, but a whole bunch in .22-250

Actually Academy Waco has no quailty .223 at this time but has plenty of .22-250. Point is buy what you want. 223 is a little cheaper, .22-250 is a little faster. Both are accurate, so buy the one you want most. You'll be happy either way.

Don't count out the 223wssm. That is a great round! I whacked javs, yotes, and a 13pt whitetail with mine this year. It's a smoker!

whats this talk about 22-250 barrels with a shortened life span cause this is a desicion ive been having problems with also and i was leaning toward the 22-250 pretty firmly

Trust me they will all kill just about anything. explaining the difference in a 22-250 and a 223 is like spliting hairs. The cretters we shoot dont know how to reed balistics reports, so they will never know which one goes a fraction faster or hits an ounce harder. I see lots of bolt guns chambered in 223 I have one and I have shot lots of things with it including deer and good size hogs, that said it aint anything a 22-250 wont do and vice versa. Get the first one you find for a good deal and be done with it.

matt

the shortened barrel life is not really a big issue with the 22-250! if you clean the barrel like you should with every rifle you should have no problem. it is when you keep shooting the rifle and get the barrel too hot without letting it cool off is when you have problems, and that is with any rifle. me and a couple of friends have done alot! of r&d with the 22-250 this past year. and have shot several hundreds of rounds in each rifles. so far not even one barrel has been shot out or having problems! actually they keep shooting better!

appreciate it gentlemen

I have both and love both. As to the 223 being cheap you better go look again. Because of the war the 223 ammo is getting harder to find and the price has gone up $8 a box this year.
If most of your shots are inside of 200yrds go with the 223
If most of your shots are over that distance go 22-250 or 204. Two of my partners shoot 204s and I've seen some awesome shots made out to 300 yrds with them.
If money is not an option get an AR with a 204 upper and 223 that's what I'm working on

22-250