22-250...What Rifle?

[50CalJim]

Question for dbllunger, You say try to  find a Model 788 22-250. I'm curious what you know about this gun because I'm in the process of ordering mounts & rings for this gun but don't really know much about it. Thanks

[GEARHEAD]

as stated, i say keep the .243. you say its a model seven, so if accuracy is also a dilema for you, sell it, get a rifle with a longer barrel. tons of guys with kids that would want your .243 
i have shot alot of yotes with my 243.  i shoot harnady 58 gr vmax's they are very accurrate and travel 3,750 fps! is that fast enough for you

[atomicjoe23]

as stated, i say keep the .243. you say its a model seven, so if accuracy is also a dilema for you, sell it, get a rifle with a longer barrel. tons of guys with kids that would want your .243 
i have shot alot of yotes with my 243.  i shoot harnady 58 gr vmax's they are very accurrate and travel 3,750 fps! is that fast enough for you

the trend now is going towards shorter barrels. . .if you are into the super precision, ultra long range shooting thing (especially tactical) you will see that some of the companies automatically cut barrels down to 20". . .the length of the barrel does very little to affect accuracy than to maybe give the gasses some more time to expand behind the bullet and give you some extra speed, but that extra speed is marginal. . .what IS going to affect your accuracy is your headspace, what you have done to your action/bolt, the quality of the barrel, the quality of the barrel crown, the bedding of the barrel/action, and how well you take care of it. . .

I'm with you on the .243 over the the .240 Mag. . .I used to be all about the mag's but a friend of my Dad's who has been a gunsmith for 30+ years took the time to talk me out of it logically. . .he has sold me on the two rifle idea. . .all you should ever need in North America is a .243 and a .308. . .the Mag's aren't necessary. . .not to say they aren't cool, that I don't like them, or that I won't every own one, but I will get a .243 and a .308 first and those should keep me happy and busy for quite some time. . .just my $.02. . .

[atomicjoe23]

Get a 22-250.  If you are looking for a great gun/value then a Savage.  Try to find a Rem 788 in 22-250.  Super fast 22's are not going to shoot out a barrel any faster then any other round that is jacked up.  It is shooting the barrel hot that erodes throats more then anything.  A .243 shooting 55's will go 4K out of a 22" barrel, and you can get a 22/55 out around 3800 from a 26".  That .243 will erode a barrel just as fast as the 22-250.  Heck I shoot them with a 7mm STW 120BT's at 3600.  When I erode that barrel then I will just screw another one on it.  I have close to 1K rounds through it and it still holds .5/3 all day long.  

I agree. . .shooting a barrel out has very little to do with caliber and a LOT to do with speed and pressure. . .regardless of caliber you are shooting. . .some calibers are just loaded faster than others. . .with a .243 you don't need the extra speed to have the same downrange ballistics as a smaller .22 centerfire because you can shoot a heavier bullet at a lower speed and end up with less drop, less windage, more impact energy, and retain a higher percentage of your initial velocity because the larger bullet will have a higher BC (ballistic coefficient). . .just check out some of the loads that the 1000 yd. BR shooters are shooting. . .relatively low speed, but relatively heavy bullets with high BC's equals minimal drop, windage, etc.

[Hacksaw]

Emptyhanded, if you have the money, then by all means by a new gun and have some fun. Hell, I wish I could have one of every gun made. But, if money truly is an issue and you just want a varmint gun, then I'd just spend some money accurizing that .243 and working up some varmint loads or maybe put the money towards a quality scope.

With that said, I was kind of in the same boat as you a few years ago. I had nice Sako .243, but I wanted a smaller caliber varmint/bench gun. I had a very limited budget and did quite a bit of research and ended up buying Savage Model 12BV .22-250. The gun is a nice bench gun, but a little heavy to comfortably pack very far chasing coyotes. I picked this gun up for $385 new (I think it was 3 summers ago). I got a good deal through someone with an FFL who wasn't trying to make a big profit. At the time, I think I could have gotten the same gun through WalMart for around $450.

I would look at the Savage Model 12 as well as the Tikka T3 as Bofire suggested, depending on what you want to use it for. The Tikka's are nice and light and just feel great when you throw 'em up to your shoulder.

P.S. Dbllunger is right, if you could find a used model 788 in .22-250, that would be a great little setup. I shot several deer and first got serious about varmints with a Rem Model 788 in .243 and my old man has a 788 in .22-250 that has been abused and has had the hell shot out of it for decades and that little gun still shoots tight.

[MHWASH]

Although the .243 will kill a coyote deader than a 22-250, There's nothing wrong with getting another rifle. Personally I like to have each gun suited for different purposes. Keep your .243 loaded for deer, and get to know how that particular load shoots. Get a 22-250, I personally shoot a Ruger, find a load for it, and get to know that load's trajectory. I can almost guaranty you will enjoy shooting a 22-250 more than you will a .243

[Bofire]

The rem 788's were/are good economical rifles. Make sure you get a good magazine, they are getting hard to find.
Carl

[Emptyhanded]

Hey guys thanks a lot for the help. I'll have to wait and see what happens and i will let you guys know what i end up doing. Thanks again!

Jesse

[mossback91]

I was looking at one in the ruger No.1 the other day.....that would be a nice rifle it was spendy though....