Buddy Is Looking For A Varmint Rifle

[2ndtimer]

Maybe FMJ...but if you compare .22-250 varmint ammo to .223 varmint ammo, they are about the same price....at least if you want decently accurate ammo.

I beg to differ. Over the past several years, I was able to order the Fiocchi Extrema .223 ammo with 40 gr V-Max bullets for between $16.49 and $18.99 per box of 50 rounds.
Of course, that was well before the current craziness in the marketplace. But these rounds have proven very accurate out of both bolt action rifles as well as AR-15's. Even at the "new" retail price listing of $36.95 per 50 rounds, it is cheaper than 22-250 ammo, and I would be surprised if the 22-250 ammo would be significantly more accurate than the Fiocchi V-Max .223 ammo.
The other reason for choosing the .223 over the 22-250, .220 Swift or .243 Win. is that the .223 in a heavy barrel varminter doesn't recoil enough to lose your sight picture. You can see where your bullet impacts. Very handy, if you don't have a spotter with you.

 

[newglockguy]

Wow guys thanks for all the input! My friend just let me know that it's for his dad in Maine. It's going to be a dedicated coyote gun, low light shooting, from a hut, in maine with a most likely absolute max range of 300 yards

 

[TwoEyedJack]

Wow guys thanks for all the input! My friend just let me know that it's for his dad in Maine. It's going to be a dedicated coyote gun, low light shooting, from a hut, in maine with a most likely absolute max range of 300 yards

I have a Tikka T3 Lite in .223 that would be perfect for that kind of hunting. Light, accurate, smooth.

 

[Chief 101]

Good thread, lots of choices that are correct for the job, here in Idaho where I hunt the ranges vary from close range to well over 500yds. If I am only hunting the Coyote at under 300yds I am using a 204 Ruger with 40gr noslers as its the best shooter I have. Second choice to extended ranges would be the 22-250, and thirdly if I am big bad Wolf hunting I will take along the 6mm Rem for any real long shots...I didnt read every reply here but of the ones I did read all good choices.
Chief aka Maxx Load

 

[Cee Zee]

The thing about hunting from a single spot is you don't need a light rifle. That's what makes a varmint rifle most of the time. Heavy barrels for more shooting without heat issues are the norm for varmint rifles.

Tikka makes a fine rifle but the rifle described above is a hunting rifle. I'd put my Savage 12 LRPV up against anything on the market. And .223 is certainly cheaper than .22-250 any way you look at it. I got good accuracy out of Federal ammo as well as Remington. Both are very inexpensive for the regular ammo stuff. I actually get better accuracy out of that than I do their match grade ammo. And shooting out to 300 yards is a snap with that ammo. It won't do the 1" groups that Black Hills ammo will do in my rifle at that distance but how accurate is accurate enough for coyotes? If you can hit a 5" group you'll kill a whole bunch of those varmints. And if you move up to Hornady you'll get even better accuracy and with Black Hills stuff you can shoot competitions.

BTW I looked at several places online and found exactly one type of .22-250 ammo for sale. It was Hornady varmint ammo. I just happened to buy some .223 Hornady varmint ammo about a week ago. It was the same price they're charging for the .22-250 and that's with the inflated prices on .223 going now.

 

[Geno]

I have three varmint rifles:

Weatherby, Vanguard Varmint Special .223 Rem**

Winchester, Model 70 Stealth .22-250 Rem

Winchester, Model 70 Stealth .308 Win**

**Ammunition is difficult (at best) to find for the .223 Rem and .308 Win. The .22-250 Rem ammo does cost more, but at least you can still locate it. When it comes to shooting flat, say within 300 yards, you'll look long and hard to outstrip a .22-250 Rem especially with 35 to 40 grain projectiles loaded to 4,400 FPS. But, I still have a soft spot for that .223 Rem. The .308 doubles for me as a deer rifle.

Geno

 

[Cee Zee]

Just for the record a person might choose a .220 Swift if they want a laser beam flat shooter. They developed a reputation as a barrel burner but that seems to have been addressed by barrel makers. Most people who own them say they don't have problems with this. If you want to do 4000 fps this is one of a very few ways to go. It was the fastest bullet going until the .223 WSSM was developed. That's another choice. So is the .22 Hornet. They may be a little bit light for large varmints but they are screamers. Even with a 55 gr. bullet they still push > 2600 fps. I'd say that's enough for coyotes but maybe some might not think so. I have one in my safe right now and that thing is a laser beam shooter too. And ammo is available for them. I just bought some not long ago. I went into Dicks and they had two types of ammo and .22 Hornet was one of them. It's a caliber that has fallen out of favor in the face of cheap .223 shooting but it is still very capable. The one I have is a collectors item and a whale of a gun but the price reflects that too. But there are companies still making rifles for that cartridge.

Personally I'll wait for .223 to drop back to reality prices. It might take a while but I have enough ammo stocked up to last quite a while. Plus I still see some .223 at times. I bought some not too long ago and there's some indication that it is showing up on shelves again. The ammo for that .22 Hornet I have is around $1 a round. That's pretty dang expensive IMO. I could buy .223 for half that price not too long ago and I'm not talking steel case stuff made to burn up in a AR. I'm talking fairly accurate ammo good enough for varmint work.

 

[Picher]

I enjoyed two .22-250s over the years, shooting lots of woodchucks and crows, even a couple of deer, but never shot an Eastern Coyote with it.

The thing I wished for most was a faster twist, so it would stabilize bullets 60 grain or heavier (longer). With the advent of stronger 55 grain bullets, that's not a problem.

Another thing that bothered me was wind deflection on longer shots during spring chuck hunting. I switched to a 6mm Rem and it proved to be a better round, using 85-90 grain bullets.

The last thing I disliked with the .22-250 doesn't apply to factory shooters. When loading relatively soft, but nice Norma cases, I found the need to trim cases after every firing. The body taper apparently caused it. I probably should have reamed out the chamber to Ackley Improved, but the rifles shot so accurately, I didn't want to mess with it.

My .22-250s shot handloads under 1/2 MOA and won many turkey (target) shoots over lots of years. The Remington 700/caliber combination were incredible! I've since converted my last .22-250 to .243 Win, to make it a better combination deer/coyote rifle. Love it, but it's not quite as accurate.

 

[capcyclone]

I have a Rem 700 VTR in 223 that I love for varmints. Smooth, nice action and more accurate than myself.