Rifle dilemma

Mark2

Mark2

New member
I have to decided between keeping my howa axiom bull barrel in 22-250 or trading up for a new r-15 22 inch barrel in 223. I want a light gun that will shoot out to 300 yards with plenty of killing power. I have my model 70 in 308 with 110 grainers for anything longer than 300. My question is will the r-15 I described fit the bill. All I want it for is predator hunting. I know my 22-250 has the power to drop em beyond 300. How does the 223 round size up


Mark2
 
I agree that 300 yds is pushing the 223 for me personally on a coyote. Not that it would not do it, I would simply prefer to have the comfort of knowing that I had a little more knockdown power at 300 yds. Some might disagree.
 
Out to 300yrds you'd be fine with a .223. Even past if you really cared to do it. If you really think you'll like the AR more than the Howa then I'd do it in a heart beat.
 
With the right bullet and powder combination, the .223 will do fine... If you try to use the ballistic tip bullets, you might have a problem with runoffs...
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleWith the right bullet and powder combination, the .223 will do fine... If you try to use the ballistic tip bullets, you might have a problem with runoffs...


I was planning on using the 55 gr vmax



Mark2
 
Originally Posted By: Jeepdude1987What?

Oh, you answered in the quote.




I don't know how i did that. Lol


Mark2
 
300 plus yard shots are quite common here in the open ground. I try to laser every kill to help future range estimation. A coyote is pretty small at that distance.
After many years of shooting it became apparent to make a 300 yard personal limit when using the .223. Although I have killed a few over that distance, it has also given me spinners and runners even at closer distances.
The .22-250 gives better kills and easier too. By shooting flatter it covers range guessing better.
I am not knocking the .223 because I love mine. Just know it's place/limits. Once had an AR too, it was heavy, bulky, awkward, loud. Went back to a bolt without regret. Wouldn't mind having a quicker second shot occasionally. The new carbon bushmaster must be 5-6 pounds.
A factory Mini-14 type rifle that shoots good would be a big seller. Sounds like the Ruger is still hit & miss.
 
I think that you might like the .243wssm if you reload it is faster than a standard .243win, and you would still keep the lighter AR15 platform. It would be rock solid out to 300yrds, and even farther if you wanted to do it. If you don't reload ammo availability and cost make it less reasonable.

Although if your limiting shooting with the new rifle to 300yrds I still think the .223win will suit you just fine. Ammo is cheap and plentiful and you would be just fine out to 300yrds. You could eventually get a .243wssm or .223wssm upper at a later date if the .223win doesn't do everything you want, but I doubt you wouldn't be happy with it especially with a 22" barrel giving the powder plenty of time to burn.
 
Originally Posted By: Mark2The r-25 comes in 243 win What is 243 wssm


Mark2
Wssm2m.jpg

A comparison of the 243 WSSM with 243 Winchester (far left) and with 22-250 and 223 Remington (far right).
 
Originally Posted By: Jeepdude1987Out to 300yrds you'd be fine with a .223. Even past if you really cared to do it. If you really think you'll like the AR more than the Howa then I'd do it in a heart beat.

+1, this. To beat a dead horse, the .223's effective range is reported to be 300yds on a man sized target so I'd guess a coyote would fold up at that distance. I'm sure some of our brethren in the Military can back this up with more accurate info.

I would think 400yds is stretching it with a .223 and would personally move to the .22-250 or .243.

How awesome would a .22-250 be in an AR platform?
 
.243wssm is a Winchester super-short magnum with a .243/6mm bullet. The advantage is that it is a bit faster than the .243win, and since it is short you can use the AR15 platform sold as the R-15 by Remington which is lighter than the AR10/R-25.

A .22-250 IIRC wouldn't feed well, but I could be wrong on that. You can do basically the same ballistics with a .223wssm I believe, so that would be the option to go with if you wanted comparable ballistics.
 
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