22-250 distance

E

Ernest II

New member
Curious as to how far realistically a 22-250 will put enough energy into a coyote to down them pretty good.The one I just got has a Nikon Coyote special scope which goes up to 14 power.Im thinking 8 or so will be as much as I would need. Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.
 
It should do it farther than most people can normally shoot. I killed one at 340 and that was way far for me. I would think that 500 yards would be realistic.
 
Originally Posted By: Ernest II Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.

"if" 300 is going to be your primary POA, with 400 your goal... you will find, it's going to be simple... I'm running a lighter bullet (50gr vmax) and it shoots well out to 400 with not only accuracy but precision. Of course you need to take into consideration your weapon platform and the quality of your optic and reticle.
 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: Ernest II Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.

".......and it shoots well out to 400 with not only accuracy but precision.

Just had to ask what precision does that accuracy doesn't cover?
grin.gif
I was thinking if a rifle is accurate you can make precise shots.

I think I know what you are talking about, I used to shoot ground squirrels on levees out to 450yds with a Sako heavy barrel .22-250, they were a bit breeze sensitive out there, when the breeze started pushing shots more than a few inches I'd switch to a Sako Varminter in .243.
 
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Originally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: Ernest II Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.

".......and it shoots well out to 400 with not only accuracy but precision.

Just had to ask what precision does that accuracy doesn't cover?
grin.gif
I was thinking if a rifle is accurate you can make precise shots.



that's 100% factually incorrect, example... an accurate rifle may or may not be capable of precise shots! lets say you shoot @ 100yd target, the target is the size of a prairie dog, 12" high x 5" wide... all your shots fall within the "kill zone" (1" to 5" group) that is considered accurate... now you take that same prairie dog target, and place a fly between his eyes, and make every round of your 5 shot string one ragged .5" hole covering the area of or near the fly, THAT's precision... now take that distance 10 fold, your accurate rifle will not hang with an accurate PRECISION rifle... Don't get me wrong, both are a good thing, but at longer distances, you can NOT beat accuracy paired with precision, especially on smaller targets... do you get my gist?
 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: Ernest II Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.

".......and it shoots well out to 400 with not only accuracy but precision.

Just had to ask what precision does that accuracy doesn't cover?
grin.gif
I was thinking if a rifle is accurate you can make precise shots.



that's 100% factually incorrect, example... an accurate rifle may or may not be capable of precise shots! lets say you shoot @ 100yd target, the target is the size of a prairie dog, 12" high x 5" wide... all your shots fall within the "kill zone" (1" to 5" group) that is considered accurate... now you take that same prairie dog target, and place a fly between his eyes, and make every round of your 5 shot string one ragged .5" hole covering the area of or near the fly, THAT's precision... now take that distance 10 fold, your accurate rifle will not hang with an accurate PRECISION rifle... Don't get me wrong, both are a good thing, but at longer distances, you can NOT beat accuracy paired with precision, especially on smaller targets... do you get my gist?

I gotchya, I never considered a rifle that wouldn't shoot a cloverleaf to be that accurate, so when I say a rifle is accurate it is precise. But I did know what you were talking about, I was just messin with you.

To me if a rifle won't do ragged holes it won't reliably and consistently hit ground squirrels at 400 yards, so it wouldn't be that accurate.

I have never been very happy with a rifle that won't show me half an inch on the bench.

Getting back to killing coyotes a rifle that will hit ground squirrels at 400 yards will allow precise shots that drop em where they are standing.
 
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With the 22-250 you better be able to drop a coyote at 500yds w/no problem if you know your gun & scope.
I have done 487 yds w/my .223 on a few coyotes, nothing to it for me. I do practice at the local range to 700 yards w/all my varmint rigs & have my dial ups noted on all my scopes.
My farthest on a hang up coyote was 591 yds w/my little 6x45 and I had no problem putting it down on that spot.
All I can tell you is to practice everytime you can until you are comfortable w/shooting at any given distance to your max range.
 
Originally Posted By: woodguru

Getting back to killing coyotes a rifle that will hit ground squirrels at 400 yards will allow precise shots that drop em where they are standing.

Roger that!!! shoot straight brother.
 
Originally Posted By: Ernest IICurious as to how far realistically a 22-250 will put enough energy into a coyote to down them pretty good.The one I just got has a Nikon Coyote special scope which goes up to 14 power.Im thinking 8 or so will be as much as I would need. Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.

Make sure that when you use the holdover marks on your Coyote Special that you have your scope dialed all the way up to 14 power since the max magnification is what your hold over marks are calibrated for. If you use 8x, your marks will be calibrated for a much greater distance. Check out the Nikon Spot On software for exact impact points for each mark in your reticle. Chrony your bullets and plug the information into a ballistics calculator such as JBM Ballistics(free) and it will give you about every piece of information needed to dial your setup in at long range and give you ft lbs of energy at each range increment so you know what energy your bullet's carrying. I think that if your rifle is in decent shape you should get to 400 yards pretty easily with some practice. Good luck and happy trails!
 
The 90gr Berger vld has a BC of .551, push it at 3000 fps and it only requires 26.3'ish moa to 1,000, just under 7moa of wind @ full value 10mph.

460 ft/lbs and that should be enough.
The 90smk isn't quite as good, but still over 400 ft/lbs at 1,000 & 27.7moa of drop given that same 3,000fps.

The 22-250 has impressive ballistics for those not limiting themselves to light bullets.
 
very few 22-250 can shoot 90 gr not enough twist to stablize 55 gr drop coyote in tracks 500 yrds shoot through shoulder or chest if facing
 
See, now to me, accuracy means what the gun is capable of. Precision is the shooter being able to wring that accuracy out and therefore put the bullet where it was intended to go..................
 
My Savage Mod 12 22-250 with the 45 Gr. Winchester White box load will kill coyotes out to over 400 Yrds. Many kills between 300 and 400 Yrds and 200 Yrd shots or less are called chip shots. The Redfield with Accu-range has made it a whole lot easier than with the straight 4-12 that I was using.
 
Originally Posted By: Ernest IICurious as to how far realistically a 22-250 will put enough energy into a coyote to down them pretty good.The one I just got has a Nikon Coyote special scope which goes up to 14 power.Im thinking 8 or so will be as much as I would need. Hoping to get to where I can hit the mark at 300 posibbly 400 yards.
Thanks
Daryl P.





With most common rigs, 400yds is the realistic max yardage. A lot of factors come to play, but IMO with a basic set up, 400yds is the limit. You can go farther, but that will leave you wanting for more of everything.
smile.gif
 
A 22-250 with a fast twist and heavy bullets will drop coyotes out to ranges in which the vast majority of shooters are incapable of precise shot placement.....
 
Originally Posted By: 2muchgunA 22-250 with a fast twist and heavy bullets will drop coyotes out to ranges in which the vast majority of shooters are incapable of precise shot placement.....

+1000.
 
Ive blown woodchucks up at 400yds with my 22-250. Ive pushed my weatherby vanguard 22-250 with a bull barrel all the way to 800yds until i ran out of MOA adjustment. At 800 with a 5mph wind I shot a 4.5in group all in the kill but ive got a custom trigger also and was using handloads. So until the bullet bounces off the hide meaning moving slower than 300 fps the only limit for the caliber is your shooting ability
 
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The 22-250 is more than capable of 400+ coyote killing. It all boils down to whether rifle is accurate enough to handle it, and even more importantly, if the nut behind the butt can do it. There are more rifles out there that can make tiny little groups, then there are shooters that do the same. It never ceases to amaze me when a hunter tells me he's holding a good 2.5"-3" group at 100 yards and then thinks he's ready to make shots at 500 yds because his scope has a retical that says he can. Yeah okay, good luck with that.

When you can shoot a 1.75" center to center three shot group like this at 802 yards...
A5Troy_zps78844d04.jpg


...Then shots at 450 yards with a 22-250 at a YOY coyote become a lot easier. Remember it ain't bragging if you can do it.
TroyCoyoteAug25450Byds.jpg
 
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