Originally Posted By: getfoxyOriginally Posted By: joedAt 350 yards you've already eliminated my least favorite cartridge the .223. It's a 200 yard cartridge, 225 at best.
Howd you arrive at the figure???
Why do I feel that the .223 is a 200 yard cartridge? These are strictly my feelings from varmint hunting for over 30 years and what I’ve experienced.
I own a Savage 10fp in .223, it is a nice accurate rifle. Any trip to the range you can bet the Savage goes along. When it comes to varmint hunting that rifle doesn’t see much use however.
One thing I’ve noticed about varmint hunting is the flatter the trajectory of the cartridge used the more hits you’ll get. With that in mind, the MPBR (+/- 1.5 inches) of the .223, is about 210 yards. The MPBR of the .22-250 (+/- 1.5 inches) is 275 yards. That’s roughly 65 yards further that the .22-250 will shoot flatter.
The .22-250 also fires a 55 gr bullet about 300 fps faster then a .223. That speed advantage means less time in the air to be effected by wind.
Also consider how big a fox is, they aren’t large. That is my reasoning for using a MPBR +/- 1.5 inches. I have no doubt some can hit a fox at 300 yards with a .223. But can they do it reliably every time? I'd bet no.
I have the luxury of owning a few varmint rifles in a couple of different calibers. For me I’d rather grab the .22-250 that just shoots flatter then have to try and allow for bullet drop and wind deflection with the .223.