223 vs 22-250 vs 204

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Originally Posted By: EDPI still like the 204 just a little shy we are going to be working on some loads and bullets soon so hopefully I can get a better combo? This was with a 39gr blitz king

I shoot BKs on PDs and they are explosive as [beeep]. I also believe they have the thinnest jackets of the .20 cal bullets. I've shot the 40 gr Noslers well out of mine and they seem to be a little more robust.

That is amazing though with the head shot. You would figure that would be an anchor for sure. What's your velocity on that load?
 
Since you sound like you are price sensitive, I would suggest the .223. It will get the job done, and will provide some fun / cheaper target practice too.

All three calibers will perform admirably and I think you would enjoy each in their respective realms. In order of personal preference though, 22-250, .204, and .223.

The .22-250 is a really neat cartridge with some great performance. It hits hard and is pretty flat shooting. But it isnt a caliber I would want to spend the day at the range with either.

The .204 is flat shooting and fast. But in my experience it doesnt carry much energy past 300 yards (just my personal experience). And it is somewhat pricey to shoot.

The .223 has more bullet options than any other caliber I can think of off hand. People shoot 40gr bullets up to 70gr bullets, all of which are associated with twist rates and will most often be found in 1-9" twists. Although it has the same diameter of projectile as the 22-250, it shoots a bit slower and that is why lots of guys like the 22-250. But the nice part of the .223 in my eyes is that there is so much ammo out there for it, that you can always find a deal.

Just my $.02 here
 
Great Videos EDP.
I have seen close shots with a 22-250 where a coyote still runs aways sometimes to far. This is coming from a guy who has killed two coyotes with a 22 lr (first a head shot at 45 yds the second vital/lung shot at 70 yards and it required two follow up shots to finish her. I use a 22 lr only because of location, i would have perfered my 22-250). A Coyote is a tough animal. 22-250 no questions and this is giving credit to those who make good clean shots.
Steve
 
The second video looks like the shot was way too far back. Classic spinning and nipping at the wound. Probably clipped the rear lungs and got the liver. Fatal, but not very quickly. Shot placement is the likely culprit here, not the caliber.
 
Originally Posted By: catwhackerFun read! Worthless but fun!!

All 3 will kill coyotes. Pick one and go hunting!!


^^^This^^^

A little more useless info,, but I too prefer the 17Rem.
 
Originally Posted By: getfoxy350 yards on called critter in field conditions is is along way out there. 223 will get it done.

The problem is you, not the rifle.
My vote goes for .223

+ 1
 
I sell the pelts. Under 200 yards, I shoot my AR-15 with m855 5.56mm over 200 yards I load barnes solids in my 243 win / Remington 700 heavy barrel. One hole in / one hole out.
 
Originally Posted By: hunter97Well im probaly going to buy a new rifle and was wondering what caliber I should get? The shots are going to be 350 yards or less for mainly coyotes but I dont want to have to sew up the occassilnal bobcat or fox.

It sounds to me like a 17 Rem. with a 25gr. bullet would work better for you. Like a lot of folks on here, I have a 223 and a 204, while I really like the 204, the 17 Rem is still a better pelt caliber when encountering Fox and Bobcat. Its a toss up when only considering Coyotes, but the 17 is still the better of those 2 when dealing with pelt saving, or should I say pelt non-sewing. A 30gr. bullet leaving the bore of a 17 will impress you out to 350yds. But all of this is just my opinion, although it is based on shooting and owning the calibers I mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: odawgpprobably not going to make it in a 204 at that price

223 or 22-250 in savages stevens/edge/axis or whatever they call them now will fit your budget well.

I just saw a used CZ in .204 Ruger on the classifieds here a week ago for $450 a heck of a deal on an outstanding rifle!
Save your paper route money and spend just a little more for a top quality rifle maybe a used Savage ? take your time and find a good scope / rifle combo that you can shoot well. it's all about shot placement.
Good luck

 
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I know this is going to start a firestorm... LOL... but if you really dig in to the ballistics charts, you will find that the .204 does everything better than the 22-250 and the .223. I know there are going to be many disagreements, but I had an argument with a guy once about this long ago, (an argument I ended up winning by the way.. haha), and I literally spent hours going through ballistics charts on all 3 of these calibers to prove my point, and the end result was that the .204 was faster, shot flatter, and bucked wind the best. But don't take my word, hit the ballistics charts and see for yourself. And make sure you are comparing apples to apples (i.e. factory to factory, handloads to handloads). I have personally flattened many-a-coyote with my .204. And 9 times out of 10, they flop and drop, dead as a hammer. VERY few run. I shoot hand loads, with the 32gr Sierra. In comparison, I owned a Ruger M77 .223 for years before I got my .204, and it was not nearly as effective as a yote killer. This is my personal experience.. your mileage may vary. Another bonus is that with the .204 there is virtually no recoil or muzzle flip. Great for super-precision shooting.
 
If you stay within your original parameters, the .204 with a 35gr Berger bullet will do everything that you desire with as many kills as the other two, with less recoil, and if you're competent as a shooter, you shouldn't have much fur damage on a percentage basis...
 
.223 is the way to go.

Roll your own lower velocity loads for bobcat if it tears em up. It can go all the way down to .22lr and anything in between.

Cheaper to shoot. Mine will shoot the 26$ per 50 hornaday 55gr SP Moa from shooting sticks.

I sold all my other rifles and just have a .223 tikka now. What the heck else could a predator/rabbit hunter need?

If you want more bang skip the 22-250 you might aswell go up to .243.

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Idk about the 204 beefing the 250 what I do know is I shot steel at 400 yards with my 204 and it would not nock the steel turkey over and not even mock the paint off no dent what so ever and my 250 puts a good dent and has no prob nocking them over. I was shooting the 32 gr hornady at the steel I don't see how that load could kill a rabbit at that range
 
The 250 will out shoot both all day long every day of the week.
I hunt coyotes with a .243 Ackley improved and have hunted with all you are askin about.
 
I love this debate, keep it coming for more than just the OP's sake!!!

"The .204 isn't enough."

"Go with the .17."

Too funny. I hunt coyotes mostly and use a family hand-me-down .222 Rem Mag due to sentimental reasons. Never found any limitations but hunt in the east and don't have to shoot much over 200 yards.

I am planning to get a T/C Venture Predator for some new properties I have access to. I'm leaning toward the .204 based on ballistics charts but am interested in reading more "real world" results from the folks here.
 
Bozdogkiller I would have to humbly disagree. For example lets say we use the same grain bullet, a 40grn V-Max and a 26" barrel out of both rifles. Both rifles will shoot both bullets at a velocity of 4100fps. However, the 204 40grn bullet has a BC of .275 and the 22-250 .22 cal 40grn bullet has a BC of .200. I think it's pretty obvious which rifle will shoot flatter, it's the 204 hands down. Even if the 22-250 moves up to a 50grn V-Max, that bullet has a BC of .242, so even the heavier .22 cal 50grn bullet still has less BC than the 204 20 cal 40grn Bullet.

The bottom line, the 204, using the 40grn V-max will out shoot and shoot flatter than the 22-250 using either the 40grn, 50 or 55grn .22 cal bullets.

Now it gets more complicated when you start comparing the endless combinations of handloads, powders, primers, seating depths, barrel twist, etc etc.... but my above comparison was a simple "apples to apples" comparison.

For the 22-250 to even approach the performance of the .204, it has to be loaded HOT!!! And even then, you will just be burning out your barrels trying to keep up. The .204 doesn't have to be loaded hot to achieve this performance, thus longer barrel life, etc. I know that this is all just ballistics.... i.e. paper information as opposed to actually shooting out in the field.. but I have dropped enough yotes dead in their tracks with the .204 that I know firsthand what it can do. By the way, im not trying to be argumentative, I don't want to come across as a know-it-all that believes that the .204 is the only caliber to own. I just like constructive argument. If you have an argument against mine, I am all ears.. I learn something new every day!
 
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