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.204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:22 pm
by rhino
I am not a gun expert when it comes to ballistics so that is why I am asking all of you guys. I am not trying to find the best coyote gun either. My question is between the 3 calibers I have listed what is the effective max range on a coyote. I am thinking about buying another gun in the future but not sure if I stick with another .223 or go a different direction. I love my .223 but just doing research on other calibers. I do not take long shots nor do I practice long shots. But I am going to start because I have let too many go because I don't want to take long shots.

Thanks

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:31 pm
by Tim Anderson
If they would make a better lite bullet for the 204 i would go with that, but at the moument they don't so the 22-250 wouldbe my choice. I heard they have come out with a VLD for the 20 cal and that mite be the bullet it needs to make it work half way decent

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:59 am
by Tbush
Rhino, I used to shoot only 223 and made some great long distant kills with it 500 + yds but with some luck, when the time came for my youngest son to get a rifle he and My wife could share they picked out the same model gun as I was shooting soo I gave them mine and moved to a 22-250 and love it, I really thought about the 204 because the bal. seemed close to the 250 BUT its not a legal caliber for big game in ND so I went with the 250 for a dual purpose cal.and now I learn the 204 has some bullet restriction's (as far as choice) good luck :D

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:45 am
by lyonch
for a .22-250 I would watch what you are going to shoot with the gun. If you plan on using heavy bullets versus lighter bullet i would watch the twist rates. Shot placement is everything on every animal with almost every caliber!! If you can't place the shot with a .22-250 they will still run, but your ballistics and down range energy would surpass both the .204 and .223. I wouldn't shy away from looking at a .243 if you plan to use it for deer hunting.

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:48 am
by LeviM
.243 :D

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:46 pm
by Tbush
Ya did consider that also...... BUT he didn't ask about a Levi gun :( :roll: and I've shot deer ,antelope,with the 223 and 22-250 Bang flop when ya hit-em right

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:50 pm
by barebackjack
I second the .22-250! Well, actually I third or fourth it by the looks of it.

Theres a reason all other "varmint" calibers are compared to it. 8)

Ive owned four or five over the years. Ive never shot a deer with it, but have let others use it, and as long as its held to 300 yards or less its more than enough for deer. I have however shot many coyotes past 400 with it. Ill say this, if I got a coyote stalled out at 400 yards, id rather have a 250 than the other two.

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:00 pm
by Dan
I have 1 223 , 3 .204s, 3 22-250s I say why choose buy all 3 and have fun lifes to short to settle on just a couple guns.

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:26 am
by Pilgrim
Rhino,

How many of the 3 can push a .287 BC (or better) bullet more than 3700 fps?


223 is most universal, most cost effective use. I'd prefer in AR since the other two are too hot as repeaters.
Big question: Why not shoot a 22-250?

22-250 has many reliable and fast long-range bullets & loadings.
Big question: Why not shoot a 220 swift?

204 highest ballistic performer of the 3. An edge on recoil (lack of), particularly in a sporter weight. Most fun!

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:02 am
by Tim Anderson
[quote]204 highest ballistic performer of the 3. An edge on recoil (lack of), particularly in a sporter weight. Most fun! Quote)


Yep its the king of B.C. performance but not reliable as far as killing and fur damage goes..
As for the 3 cartridges listed above i would go with the 22-250.
On a personnel choice i would go with a 17 Pred. or 22-250 ackley.... :mrgreen:

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:23 am
by Pilgrim
Tim,

Re: the .204 as "not reliable as far as killing..." Not sure whether you're kidding or not.

If not kidding, please explain and share examples of your (objective) standard for reliable--- BTW, I do respect your insight and often appreciate your input.

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:26 pm
by Tim Anderson
If you use the liter bullets with the 204, which really makes it shine as far as BC and vel. they are not consistant as far as killing and the amount of fur damage they do. From what i here you can go to a heavier bullet that does a better job of killing and also easey on the fur but then it looses out to the 22-250 as a better performer. A guy in my crew switched from a 223 to a 204 and the 204 has really helped him to connect on his shots but the 204 still dose'nt do any better as far as putting the coyotes down. And the fur damage is a hit and miss, sometimes one little hole and the next an awfull mess.

Sooner or later someone may come up with the right bullet for it and then i may own one..
I do have some pic's of what the 204 can do to the hides..

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:11 pm
by Pilgrim
Tim,

Thanks for the response.

Seems you & me are on the same page. One thing I'd like to add is that the superior (ballistic) 204 bullet is the 39 Sierra Blitzking. Safe loadings are just shy of 3900 FPS, runs away from the 32 grainers at max point blank range, and the Eskimo Traj calculator says it bucks the wind within an inch of anything out to 500 yards--- And considerably better than any 32 grain bullet.

After limited experience with mine I can't help but wonder about a 39 Blitzking with a little tougher jacket. I've seen what can happen on the way out of the hide. As a noob coyoter I'm still scratching my head with the only flavor being rapid fragmentation. :?


Rhino,
There's nothing wrong with any of the 3 calibers you addressed. Always subtle limitations and advantages. As Tim and I agree, the 204 just needs to wait its turn for ideally constructed bullets. One very cool aspect of the 204--- your eyeball never leaves the target upon firing. I shot coyotes last weekend where the lack of recoil enabled me to watch the impact and the response whether zap-flop or zap-twitch... Ability to determine follow up is immediate- Very useful!

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:06 pm
by Tim Anderson
An example of what i was talking about would be the 17 Rem. Shooting 25 gr. bullets at ranges of 100-200 yards it works pretty good but not always the best. Then a few bullet makers came out with the 28 gr. and 30 gr. bullets and has now made the 17 cal. a better tool for killing coyotes out to farther distances.
I think that in the 204 case it willbe another good tool once they come out with a better bullet..
There may be better choices as far as killing coyotes go, but if you also want minium fur damage then i would go with one of these..

Re: .204 vs .223 vs .22-250

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:19 am
by wizbang
Tim Anderson wrote:Sooner or later someone may come up with the right bullet for it and then i may own one..
I do have some pic's of what the 204 can do to the hides..
Hey, Tim-- could you post those pics?? I've been really interested to see a pic of what happens when the 204 "splashed" if you have one. This site was the first I heard of them splashing or doing fur damage. I can't believe you guys have pics for everything!! That's why this site is awesome.