22-250 vrs 243???

H

highpeakmt

New member
Greetings from a first time poster! Alright heres the deal. I'm a southern boy from Georgia that is presently stuck in Yuma AZ. One thing that I can say for AZ is that you can shoot a long way at a lot of little critters. Recently I've really gotten interested in this type of shooting. The only "varmint" rifle I have is a custom 22 Hornet, which was great in GA. but is not what you want in the desert. 22-250 seems to be the iron choice out here, but the more I look at ballistics the .243 seems more like the gun to have. Would like to hear from people who have shot both. Also when sending your thoughts, keep in mind that I reload my own. Thanks for all replies.
 
There are several discussions about this topic and it's exact intent; 22-250 vs. 243. In fact, I asked the same question. Just do a search. Anyhow, as they will tell you, it depends on what you want to do with the hides and such. 22-250 is fur friendly but 243 can buck the wind better and you can also use it for deer if ever need be. Personally, in your location with wind and such, I would choose the .243 and suffer the consequences of pelt damage; although still fairly minimal.
 
I've used both.

I have been using a .243 for the past 8 or 9 years for coyote hunting. I reload Nosler 55 grain Ballistic Tips with 43 grains of Varget. My rifle likes the light bullets and performance is excellent. Coyotes drop in their tracks, but there is a bit of pelt damage. With this load, the .243 shoots as flat as the 22-250, but I feel performs better.

My 2 cents....Tony
 
I shoot them both, and if I could only use one, it would be the 243. I think it is the perfect all around gun. It can be used for yotes and deer!
 
I agree with yote poker... it would be a great all around rifle. A friend of mine took 2 elk with his .243. Go w/ a .243. It can be loaded for varmints with ballistics almost equal to the 22-250 and same size bullets, but the 243 can also be loaded heavy to take deer. I hunt mule deer with the 100 gr 243 and it does the trick. It's really hard to load those heavy 22-250's and make them work for deer.
 
I use both a .22-250 and .243 for coyote hunting here in Indiana. As you know coyotes are tough, and I've found that if you score a marginal hit with a .22-250 shooting 55 gr. bullets, or lighter, you may be spending your time tracking wounded coyotes. I think the heavier bullets available for the .243 make it a better rifle for coyote size animals. They don't seem to get up and run off as much when hit with the .243. I think the .22-250 is better suited to groundhogs and such.

Hunt safe..Coyote 6974
 
It sounds like you don't own a 243 yet. If that's the case look around a bit more.

If you varmit hunting a 22-250 is hard to beat.

A better dual purpose round is the 25-06. It's flat hooting and with 75 to 100 grain slugs it will stay right with other varmit rounds but what makes the difference is the long 115-117-120 grains slugs that make it a great deer and antelope round. People even take Elk with it but I'd rather not, besides a guy always needs another good reason for another gun.
 
I own both a .22-250Rem. and a .243Win. They both shoot to about the same distance, possibly a little farther with the .243Win. but not much. The .243Win. is probably a beter dual purpose rifle since it can be used for deer. Some people in the east use it for bear although I personally don't reccomend it. For animals such as woodchuck you can't beat a .22-250. Really I think it's more a matter of personal choice. Best wishes.

Cal - Monreal
 
I too just went through the same decision making process. In the end I went with a .243. The reason is versatility.

So far all I have shot it in is 100gr. Federal Factory Ammo (both the Power Shok Pointed Soft Points and Premium Vital Shok with the Sierra Spitzer Boat Tail). To date it has taken every Whitetail I have shot with it, both one shot kills.

I also have a supply of Federal Premium V-Shok with the 70gr. Nosler Ballistic TIp Bullets to use on Coyotes as soon as Deer Season concludes here in South Dakota. The reason I have been buying Factory Ammo is for the brass, since I didn't have any .243 brass on hand.

Next spring I plan on loading 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips in a light load (to a muzzle velocity of from 3200 FPS to 3400 FPS) for general purpose varminting.

I feel with these 3 bullet weights I can hunt about everything I ever want to hunt around here.

Larry
 
Hey,

Welcome, I spent some time in Yuma, AZ great...a...well I spent some time in Yuma. I own a .243 for the same reason as these others do. I killed 2 deer with it here in MO this year and then went to the range sighted it in with 55 grain and will hunt coyote with it all winter. When you get back to GA or anywhere eles in the country you will be able to still use that .243.
Also, if you still get the 22-250 I would sell it before you came back east...Better maket out there for that gun.
 
Buy the Savage 22-250 with a 1-9 twist, then take it to a smith and have him rechamber it for 22-243. You will have everything you want in one gun, 224 caliber using 70+ grain bullets and a 243 case that will send them down the tube in a big hurry. Just a thought and since you reload this is a piece o' cake.
 
Go to the firearms forum and check out the long thread running on the .204 Ruger. Personally, I think it has the .22 centerfires and 6mm's beat. It's easier to shoot and the ballistics are incredible! Of course, if one wants a deer/coyote gun, that's a different story but for one all-around coyote cartridge for taking them well past 300 yards (this is a 500 yard cartridge when used with the 40gr. Hornady V-Max), the .204 Ruger can't be beat!
 
I've owned both, and own both now. The .243 is probably the best all around rifle cartridge ever devised--it's versatile as all get out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

That said...

The 22-250 is a more accurate cartridge. It is very forgiving, and a joy to load and shoot. Actually, there was a period in the 60's before Remington "canonized" the 22-250 when it was a relatively successful benchrest cartridge--a claim the .243 could never have made.

The .243 is a bit cantankerous when it comes to loading. It seems more sensitive to neck tension consistency, is harder on brass cases (Paul Box of Sierra will tell you that he has never gotten good case life from his .243's). So unless you're a seasoned, well experienced handloader, your hair will thank you for choosing the 22-250 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif .

If you do go with the .243, stay with 70 grain and heavier bullets. The 55's will shoot well to 100 yards in a .243 if you seat them deep, but the 1:10 twist of most .243's (and some are a bit faster yet) is too much for the 55's to settle in and group well at 300 yards. I was always able to get 1/2 MOA 100 yard groups from heavy barrel .243's shooting 55's @ 4000 fps, but at 300 yards those shots sprayed out to MOA or a bit beyond--this when the 22-250's 55 grain bullets (from a 1:12 twist) go to sleep and shoot 1/2 MOA at 300 yards. I've actually shot more than a couple 2 inch groups at 410 yards with my Savage 12FV 22-250--but that was in relatively calm wind. Wind affects all bullets, ya know... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

But put an 80+ grain bullet in the .243 and it'll outshoot the 250 in the wind, and hit harder at longer ranges.

If you held my feet to the fire I would choose the .243--though the 22-250 has the accuracy edge you can still get 3/4 MOA from a properly fed and fired .243 win. And that's plenty good... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Dan
 
Considering you are in the "varmint hunting forem" and you want to shoot "small little critters at long distance" the logical gun is the 22-250. Perhaps a 204 Ruger would be worth looking at also.

A 243 is a nice gun but it heavy for "varmints" and a little lite for deer. If you want a gun for deer or larger critters get a 270.
 
Dan,
You make good points but to my way of thinking, a .243 is more for the guy who wants one gun for deer and coyotes with an emphasis on deer OR for the guy who really could care less about blowing them up. Oh, I'm sure there are some reloaders who try and get (to some extent) less fur damage with the .24 calibers but really, who can deny that this is an even easier task with the smaller calibers?
If you go one Rim-fireCentral, you'll find that there are quite a few .17HMR coyote hunters who are NOW getting very consistent results on coyotes now that some new bullets have been introduced (GamePoint, XTP) whereas in the beginning of the cartridges introduction, it was sporadic at best. My point is not whether the .17HMR is a great, let alone best, coyote cartridge but a question as to just HOW MUCH is needed to cleanly bag the song dogs? I maintain that with GOOD bullet performance, less energy on impact is needed over a narrower frontal area than is often given credit. The .17 is a NARROW frontal area and doesn't have lots of excess impact energy (even in the centerfire .17's) but can when PROPERLY used deliver clean kills.
In some of these posts, a reader could easily get the idea that a .22-.250 is not enough. My thinking is that a .22-.250 is MORE than enough for coyotes to well over 400 yards. If and when it falls short, it's either a problem of poor bullets (for the job at hand) or poor shooting. Both of these things are the responsibility of the shooter. I will concede that if I didn't care about the hides, then a .243 or .25-06 (a 100gr. Ballistic Tip in this one would be hell to pay well past 500 yard) would be better. What would be even better yet though would be for me to do something about my shooting! If I can't get it done with a .22-.250, then I think the answer lies in the person I see (in the mirror).
The .17Remington is probably the very BEST calling cartridge yet devisded for easy hitting and keeping the hide on the animal in piece OUT TO 300 YARDS. Beyond that, I think the .204 Ruger with the 40gr. bullet should rate more than a few close second looks. It'll beat out a .223 Win. SSM from 300 to 500 yards when both use a 40gr. V-Max. The .204 beats it in energy, trajectory and windage. You really have to go to at least a 55gr. bullet in the .22 to get back in the race. Even when you do, the .204 still recoils alot less (you can EASILY see your shots at 300+). It's EASIER to shoot than a .22-.250, let alone a .243. It's trajectory will beat hell out of the .223SSM's or the .243Win. and let's face it, most hunters who take coyotes way out there are NOT scope clickers. Maybe for prairie dogs but not coyotes. They hold over and into the wind as necessary. The .204 Ruger with the 40gr. V-Max makes that alot easier to do than a .22-250 or .243. And it's hitting at over 2,000fps at 500 yards which means that it is actually hitting harder than a .22 Mag 40gr. bullet at the muzzle. Put one into the chest cavity of a coyote and that's enough. And if a shooter can't place a light-recoilling, super-flat, great wind-bucking bullet into a coyote's chest at a given range, then he needs to either learn how to shoot better or be much more selective of his shots because going to a heavier caliber ain't the answer!
Oh yeah, I also remember reading in some old magazine articles where even the old .243 Win. failed on coyotes. CLEARLY, in those cases, the fault lay with the shooter!
Sorry if I stepped on any toes in this thread. I really didn't mean it that way---this is just something I feel passionate about I guess.--- Mike
 
I have shot both calibers in question and currently own a .243 as well as a .204. I have yet to really sit down and see how well the .204 shoots, but so far its a sweet shooter. The 22-250 is a sweet shooting rifle as well, but like many others have said its a little less versatile than the .243. I have taken hogs, deer, and coyotes with my .243 from ranges of 25 yds to 575 yds. I have spent lots of time shooting my .243 and wouldn't trade it for the world. I have talked with several other .243 owners that reload and ALL of them have said the .243 loves 85 and 87 grain bullets. For some reason or another they shoot good. Bullet choice and bullet placement is the key to good shooting, no matter what game your after. My suggestion is to buy both and make your own choice. If give the opportunity and all you are after is a varmint rifle then by all means do some research on the .204. Just my .02 cents!
 
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