22-250 too much at short range?

jackjacker

New member
Up until this past weekend, all my kills have been with .223 rounds, mostly 40g vmax. This weekend I shot a coyote at about 60 yards using hornady 22-250 varmint express in 50g vmax in my savage m10 predator (love that rifle). Had to shoot twice and it blew two 8 inch holes in the pelt, ruining it. Most of my shots are 60-70 yards. Should I try a different bullet or just give up completely on using 22-250 at this range.
 
Have you ever considered a scatter gun?
Your right in that perfect kill zone and you won't ruin the pelt. Option "B" would be Barnes Varmint grenade in a 30 or 36gr depending on your rate of twist. Its a little light, but it wont wreck pelts.

If it were me! i would run the shotgun with some 00 buck shot and on appropriate choke.

My .2 cents
 
I have had good luck with 50 & 55 grain Noslers... unless you clip the shoulder bone then it is time to break out the needle and thread.
 
There are alot of posts like this on here. So my question is are you gonna carry a gun for evey range a stand offers. Most guys aren't gonna carry a shotgun for the 5-60yrd shots and a .223 for the 60-250yrd shots and a .243 for the 250-500 yrds shots. I guess I'm a believer of shooting a certain rifle or rifles enough to get really confident with it and then stick with it so we make good kills.
 
I carry a shotgun and 243 to all my stands. In fact most guys I hunt with do the same. Anything past 50 yards gets the rifle.
 
Did you blow the holes on the entry (splashes) or exits? Did you hit heavy bone like a shoulder which caused you to have to fire a second shot? Those are questions that determine a whole lot, and one coyote is just that, 1 coyote and not enough to draw real conclusions IMHO.
 
Originally Posted By: jackjacker Should I try a different bullet or just give up completely on using 22-250 at this range.

Try the Sierra 55 gr SBT or Nosler 55gr BT. I believe Savage uses a 1-12 twist so either of those or even a 60 gr VMax would be my choice.

You don't have to load it hot. You already have this rifle, so you can load it closer to 223 levels if you like. Unless you just want to buy another rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpDid you blow the holes on the entry (splashes) or exits? Did you hit heavy bone like a shoulder which caused you to have to fire a second shot? Those are questions that determine a whole lot, and one coyote is just that, 1 coyote and not enough to draw real conclusions IMHO.

You make an excellent point. They were entry holes. They did hit the hip and shoulder/spine. And yes is was only one coyote. I'll see what happens with the next one, after which I may try the noslers, or the 36 grain frangibles. I've done okay with my AR and 40gn vmaxs, but I really enjoy shooting the savage. Also, I think I'll start packing the shotgun as well. A ton of great advice in a short morning. Thanks, guys!
 
Originally Posted By: jackjackerUp until this past weekend, all my kills have been with .223 rounds, mostly 40g vmax. This weekend I shot a coyote at about 60 yards using hornady 22-250 varmint express in 50g vmax in my savage m10 predator (love that rifle). Had to shoot twice and it blew two 8 inch holes in the pelt, ruining it. Most of my shots are 60-70 yards. Should I try a different bullet or just give up completely on using 22-250 at this range.
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My best guess is that it is the bullet rather than your choice of caliber. Were those large holes on entrance side, or upon exit? I don't use varmint bullets for coyotes. Try a 55 grain Sierra GameKing. Some hunters are having good luck with 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips also. Forget about the shotgun with 00 BUCK for 60 yard shots also. Shotguns for coyotes can be good, but is a whole nuther ball game requiring various chokes and loads, time at the patterning board and etc.
 
I shoot a 22-250 55 grain v max the only time I have that problem is if I hit bone and it splashes back. I have also done the samething with a 40g vmax out ofI my 223.
 
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Give the Nosler 55gr BT a try. I shoot it in my 220 SWIFT pretty much for everything, and have found it to not only be more fur friendly than the others I have loaded,but it is also deadly accurate. Now I'm not saying it will leave every pelt flawless. But the bullet rarely exits on coyotes, and it most generally treats my bobcat pelts pretty fair. I have noticed when I shoot coyotes in the neck as they are facing me, if the bullet penetrates to the spine it tends to blow a violent hole out the side of the neck 'which is pretty cool to watch but not very fur friendly". So shot placement is key. I shot this cat at just over "10ft" in the bridge of the nose and the bullet did not exit. It fragmented as it was designed. It did crumble the skull a little but did not leave a giant hole in the back of the head. Give them a try and don't put the 22-250 away!!!


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one coyote isn't a very large example. Seems like anything larger than the hmr will blow a hole eventually, weather it be an entry hole or exit. Once you get more kills with the bullet/caliber combination, then you would be able to see if there is a definate pattern, or if it was an anomoly.
With that said, you've gotten some good info. from others who have killed enough coyotes to know what does and doesn't work in that caliber.
 
I was havin the same problem so I tried different bullets. The best one that I found and have been shootin it for 3 yrs now with outstanding results is a Hornady 60gr SP. It wilts yotes and doesn't splash. I stay away from the super fast rounds and balistic tipped bullets. They were just doin a lot more damage than I wanted.
 
I've shot quite a few coyotes over the years with my 22-250, using the 55gr V Max bullet. They have ranged from 10 yards to way out there. I can honestly say I never had one blow up. I was probably lucky to never hit bone, that is the key.

I can remember a small female trotting past me at 10 feet looking for the caller (my friend Barry). When she stopped quartering away at 15 yards I shot her right through the ribs. I expected a hole somewhere on her but had trouble finding the entry let alone an exit.

As others have said, don't give up on that bullet just yet. Just don't hit bone.
 
As far as a shotgun goes... If I wasn't gonna shoot Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote then I would use #4 buck instead of 00. I shoot HSDC and #4 buck through my extra full choke tubes and it works great out to 60yds.
 
I not big on using factory rounds, i will always shoot my reloads when i can. that being said i had just got my
22-250 and had not yet worked up any rounds, i took it out with 50 gr hornady superformance and shot one a little over 120 yds and it did great. no pass through but it thumped him pretty good. i have not had any problems since then with my 250 messing up the pelts. try some lighter loads and see what works for you.
 
A tried & true favorite amongst us 22-250 men, is 38 grains of H 380, WLR Primer & a 50 Gr. Nossler B Tip. Good velocity, plenty of knock down power & very, very accurate.

Shot placement is key with any frangible bullet, so if you find that you are getting more quartering shots as opposed to broadside or center mass shots then you might try a Soft Point bullet that will not splash if it hits bone.

Best of luck, Lee
 
All the Gerdades I have used out of my TC 22/250 seam to blow up on the out side of a woolly northern coyote and not kill them,that said. I use a match king 52 gr going around 2300 fps and never have a problem. I also have an over under, 22/250 over a 12 gauge shot gun and I'm set. The bad part is I can only shoot out to about 150 yards the red dot I have to use for the shot gun will cover most of the coyote ...
 
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