Anyone like the .22-.250?

C

cmatera

Active member
This is a kind of keep it or sell it question. I have a Ruger M77 MKII SS/Synthetic (not boat paddle) that I bought in 2003. I had a trigger job on it (Rifle Basix I think). I shot my first coyote out my spare bedroom window at night, so I guess it has some sentimental value. I fired it maybe 15 times with factory ammo (Winchester CXP1, 50 gr Silver Ballistic Tips), so it has not been hot rodded. After that, I put it away, and have not used it since, so in 14 years. It is in like new condition and I have the original box and it has SS Ruger rings that came with it. I'm pretty sure the .22-.250 is not the most fur friendly round. It's too much for varmint hunting. About the only use I can think of for it would be shooting a groundhog at longer ranges, but I have a number of other guns for that (.17 Fireball-6.5 Grendel). Does anyone use this caliber much or should I just go ahead and sell it?
 
Originally Posted By: cmatera It's too much for varmint hunting. Anyone use this caliber much or should I just go ahead and sell it?

Well, first off I do not think of the .22/250 as being too much for most varmint hunting. After all, that was what it was originally marketed for and still mainly used for. Good deer caliber with the right bullet too.

If you prairie dog hunt and you want a long range .22 centerfire it is wonderful. That's what I use mine for mostly. For smallish creatures like the sage rats we have around here where I live then yes- a bit overkill but goodness! A 40 grain Vmax at 4000 fps sure does make a mess of them.

If you handload or know someone that does then you can tune that baby just the way you want it. .22 Mag speeds for playing around or full tilt for hitting critters hard a long ways out.

Granted, I shoot my .17 Rem, my .204 and my .223 rifle far more than I do my .22/250 but that's because those sage rats are my main target. But my "twennytootoofiddy" aint leaving my safe any time soon I dont think. Not until squirrel season starts and for sure when I head out to Wyoming for some pasture poodle shooting in a few months.
 
I Loooooooooove the 250! I have 3 of them currently. The most "fur friendly round"? It can be very fur friendly with proper bullet selection and shot placement. It certainly is one of the most versatile centerfire cartridges out there. I will never be without at least one. My opinion is different than many others......if it's not eating anything, then why sell it? I don't sell guns.....only buy more.
 
I'd have to say I'm a fan of the .22-250. I traded into my first, a Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special, in the spring of 78, and have had one ever since. I used that varmint special to clean about every groundhog that dared to show itself off my uncle's farm there in the late 70's. When coyotes began showing up around here in the late 80's I again found good use for the .22-250. When the heavy barreled Varmint Special proved to heavy for the style of hunting necessary for coyotes, it was sold and replaced with a nice svelt Winchester Model 70 classic featherweight also in .22-250. Though not the open field gun the Varmint Special was, it proved an excellent choice as a coyote calling rifle. The .22-250 has proven itself to me to be nearly the perfect cartridge for coyotes here in west central Indiana. Our coyotes are large and require a hot centerfire .224 bullet to reliably put them in the dirt. A .223 AR is a great shooter, but leaves to many coyotes spinning and needing an anchor shot while a .22-250 has the velocity to inflict enough internal damage to put them down quickly. It'll also punch through their shoulders and get into their vitals, where a .223 will sometimes not get through the shoulder. I retired my pretty polished blue steel and walnut Winchester when I picked up a Remington 700 SPS stainless in .22-250. With its stainless steel action, and its synthetic stock it is a great all weather coyote killing machine.
Two cartridges I think I'd never want to do without are the .22-250 Remington, and the .243 Winchester. If you have places where you get shots at coyotes out to 500 yards, you'll also want to keep at least one of each in your safe.
 
loved my 250. It shot like a lazer beam and IMO it bucked the wind better than my 223 ever could.

I was at a PD shoot with 10 other shooters and all day long in a direct crossing wind, was able to shoot and hit PDs before anyone else at ranges they struggled with. (yes we purposely shot with a cross wind just to get the practice)
 
Before Remington made it a factory round, the wildcat version was called the 22 Varminter. In addition, one of the best written magazine article on the 22-250 written in the 1970's (by the late Bob Milek, IIRC) was titled "The 22-250.....Varmint Duster Supreme". The 22-250 was indeed designed to be a long range varmint round.

Its a varmint cartridge first and foremost, in spite of those who tout it's effectiveness as a big game round.
 
Trust me, if you sell it, I promise you will be kicking yourself in the a$$ down the road. Unlike others, I don't buy a gun if I remotely think I'm not going to like it. With that being said, I probably have to many, but who's counting?

I've sold 2 guns in 40 years, one had feeding issues, the other I wish I had back.


Here Kitty Kitty
 
if it aint costing you anything keep it but if you decide to sell it let me know im always a sucker for a ruger with the shiney stainless
 
I don't believe that you can fully and truly appreciate the .22-250 until that first time, without ever really thinking about it, you take aim at a varmint and splatter him. And then you pace off the distance and are shocked to find it was over 400. THEN you appreciate the freaky flat goodness that IS the .22-250.

I repeat it every year, several times on varmint trips. "Just THINK about what you would have had to do to make that same shot with any other cartridge." For those who have any experience with a variety of rifles, the ease at which one can hit at distances with the 250 is pretty amazing.

But then again, as Rusty rightly points out, it's a varmint round. If that's not you...

Grouse
 
I think I'll keep it. I'll try to work on a pd load. I have never gone pd hunting, but would like to try it before I croak. I haven't shot it in 14 years. I guess my wife can always sell it, as we have no kids, no heirs and she does not care about guns.
 
Originally Posted By: cmateraI think I'll keep it. I'll try to work on a pd load. I have never gone pd hunting, but would like to try it before I croak.

Take that gun of yours prairie dog hunting even once and you will be mighty pleased with yourself that you did not get rid of it.

And take more than one gun too. If you find a good spot then your rifle will heat up quick. Take at least one extra varmint rifle and plenty of ammo if you go. Nothing like having those critters running up your pant legs and you are out of ammunition. Gads.
 
Love mine. I shoot everything I legally can with it. It's insanely flat shooting. I find any of my misses with it have been high. I shot a 223 for awhile and will likely never go back. The 250 is so much more fun. I'll shoot my barrel out and rebarrel with a little faster twist.
 
I have 2 and a couple barrels on the shelf the few coyotes I've shot with them have had little damage, 52gr Speer Varmint bullet mild but accurate load.
 
I have a Stevens 200 in 22-250 that I put a Boyds laminate stock on and rifle basix trigger. With 55/50grn Vmax and Varget the rifle will hold 1/2 MOA and I am not exactly a rifleman. It will flat out put coyotes in the dirt. Here in So Cal a 223 will do the job just fine and my Ruger Ranch in 223 bang flopped a coyote last December. I will say this though, on the other side of 200 yards and in wind the 22-250 will shine............it carries major energy at distance for predator hunting. The advantage (in my opinion) is with longer range shots the 250 seals the deal.
 
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What's not to like. I'm not trying to talk down the 223 but the 22-250 will do everything better in my opinion, and I own a 223. I've always had more of a liking for the 22-250 than most other calibers.
 


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