.204 or 22-250?

[highmuley]

I'm in a quandary. I'm looking to purchase a new rifle for predators, rock chucks, etc. I've been leaning real hard on the .204. But I'm second guessing myself and thinking about the .22-250 instead. If anyone has some input I would appreciate it. Thank you

[elkaholic123]

There is a Very accurate.204 DPMS in the classifieds 

[highmuley]

Thank you. I'm not as worried about the platform as I am the performance. I may go with a barrel for my encore possibly.

[Eric M]

.204 is a great flat shooting round. In this state you are kind of limited by the minimum caliber laws. If you plan to hunt anything besides sage rats in this state, get the 22-250. It's also a great caliber. If you want a fun bench gun and sage rat killer, get the .204. 

[b23]

I have a CZ 527 204 and it's a great little gun and extremely accurate.  I currently do not have a 22-250, but having said that, if I had to choose between the two for the purpose you describe, I'd get the 22-250.  IMO, the 22-250 is one of the best do all varmint guns ever made.

Also, if I were looking to purchase a new 22-250 I'd get one of the models that has a faster than 1-14 twist barrel.  I'm not a real big fan of Savage rifles but they are one of the few that makes a 22-250 with a faster than 1-14tw barrel.

[Threewolves]

you can shoot cougars with .22 center fire but not the 204. I shot and like the 250 and just incase a cougar pops up you are legal.

[jdb]

.243

[zwickeyman]

As some have said. 22-250 because you can hunt Cougar with it. Also you can hunt Yotes and Cougar during Elk and Deer season with out rifle tags and you cant do that with a 243

[CAMPMEAT]

I've got a Remington 700 barreled action in 22-250 24 inch bull barrel for sale. $450 plus shipping.

[highmuley]

I've got a Remington 700 barreled action in 22-250 24 inch bull barrel for sale. $450 plus shipping.

Hmmmm...Does it have optics on it? PM me pix when you have time please. Thank you

[Matth]

Just finished up a 220 swift that i'm in love with.

[W_Ellison2011]

22-250 for sure. As stated previously its legal to shoot cougars with. So when you are on a set looking for yotes and a cougar walks in. Bang and you got a cougar. My savage 11 was a 22-250 but it became a 6 br because I'm doing some 200 yard benchrest comps. The factory savage shot 1/4-1/2 moa 5 round groups at 200 yards with 55 gr noslers. I can swap it back to 22-250 whenever I want. Flat shooting and tons of fun. A buddy of mine built a custom one.. I think his barrel is 1:8 twist. He shoots steel at 1,000 yards with I want to say 80 gr either sierras or bergers. I really want to see one of those bad boys thump a yote!

[lord grizzly]

Sounds like your looking for a rifle that’s going to be high round count. Go with the 204, you’ll shoot the barrel out of a 22-250 with a third of the rounds it takes in a 204. If you want a rifle for something bigger , buy 2 rifles

[cdriver]

I have a Howa 22-250, haven't tried a .204. Sure have been happy hunting coyotes with it. I am curious, what kind of shooting/round count do you think it takes to shoot out the barrel on a 22-250. Does staying away from the 40 grain, super fast rounds help to keep the barrel? Thanks.

[JWEBB]

My grandfather in-law swears by his 22 250

[W_Ellison2011]

I have a Howa 22-250, haven't tried a .204. Sure have been happy hunting coyotes with it. I am curious, what kind of shooting/round count do you think it takes to shoot out the barrel on a 22-250. Does staying away from the 40 grain, super fast rounds help to keep the barrel? Thanks.

I don't know what your barrel twist is but my 22-250 loved 55-60 gr bullets. Pushed them out around 3200-300 fps if I remember correctly. With those rounds I would guess 1500 rounds or so before throat starts to degrade. Personally.. I'll chop an inch or 2 off and rechamber for 22-250 again and rework the load.

[cdriver]

1-12 twist rate is what the Howa website says for standard barrel 22-250. I normally run 50 or 55 grain, have used 40 grain on days with no wind. The 40 grain bullets are so fast. Makes a hard to find hole in coyotes.

[Blacklab]

I'm a big fan of little bullets going really really fast    22-250 or 204 either or would be fun and work 

[b23]

If anyone is looking for an inexpensive 22-250 Cabelas has the Remington 700 ADL Varmint model on sale and with the $100 mail in rebate they're only $325 which is pretty cheap for a gun like this even if it comes with a plastic ADL stock.

[Cougartail]

Keeping fur and calling, 204, 22mag, 22Hornet 17 centerfires, etc. Walk n stalk road hunting.. keeping fur 223, 222, 22-250 and the like. Just eliminating them, any deer cartridge 7mm or less.

I personally wouldn't burn out or pay for magnum cartridges on a coyote and yes in treeless areas "walk and stalk" works.

[davef]

I've never had a 204 and was always curious about them. Was watching the foxpro guys on tv one day and saw them shoot I think 3 coyotes with the 204 and it didn't perform very well at all. I'm kinda surprised they even aired those shots. Could be been the ammo but who knows. I think they're sponsored by hornady but the bullets blew up as soon as they hit the fur. Didn't look like they got any penetration.
I've got a 22 250 savage and it shoots great. Haven't taken an animal with it yet but the cartridge was designed for varmints. Hard to go wrong there.

[W_Ellison2011]

I've never had a 204 and was always curious about them. Was watching the foxpro guys on tv one day and saw them shoot I think 3 coyotes with the 204 and it didn't perform very well at all. I'm kinda surprised they even aired those shots. Could be been the ammo but who knows. I think they're sponsored by hornady but the bullets blew up as soon as they hit the fur. Didn't look like they got any penetration.
I've got a 22 250 savage and it shoots great. Haven't taken an animal with it yet but the cartridge was designed for varmints. Hard to go wrong there.

Watched a show last night called The Dog Soldiers, or something to that effect. The guy shot a coyote solid behind the shoulder and it booked out of there. I want to say they were using a .243 win. They never did find it. The guy said that front on shots with coyotes are the BEST! Due to the bullet doing more damage and putting more of its energy into the yote. He also said he has seen coyotes take a 30-06 round behind the shoulder and book it for hundreds of yards to never be found due to a mixture or bullet not hitting a solid enough target to cause expansion and coyotes fur makes blood trails scarce on them. Really either the .204 or the 22-250 will do the job. It comes down to preference and what your shooting situations are going to be. That's my thoughts on it anyways.

[highmuley]

Well thank you all for the input. I think I'm leaning towards the .204. Last year I killed yotes and bobcat with the 17. None left their tracks. Won't even talk about the mess made on ground squirrel and rock chucks. I think the 204 will be a great step up from the 17 without being a BIG step up like the 22-250 or 223 (or beyond).

[W_Ellison2011]

Well thank you all for the input. I think I'm leaning towards the .204. Last year I killed yotes and bobcat with the 17. None left their tracks. Won't even talk about the mess made on ground squirrel and rock chucks. I think the 204 will be a great step up from the 17 without being a BIG step up like the 22-250 or 223 (or beyond).

Love what my 17 does to rabbits in my back yard. Couldn't imagine hitting one with my 22-250 or .223 lol! Would there be a rabbit left? Maybe if I did head shots only! I don't know much about the 204 but I'm sure it will work just fine for you.

[highmuley]

Tell you what...I killed a couple grouse with the 17 last year. Unless its a head shot....never again. Good way to gut them at the same time as shooting them. Its not like a 22....

[W_Ellison2011]

Tell you what...I killed a couple grouse with the 17 last year. Unless its a head shot....never again. Good way to gut them at the same time as shooting them. Its not like a 22....

I did the same last year but kept mine to headshots. Had some big blue grouse that wouldn't let me get close enough for the shotgun so the 17 came out. Dropped prone and rested the 17 on the pack.. 55 yard shots. First one dropped and the rest stood there like.. what just happened? My 17 was mainly purchased for coyotes coming into the back yard to mess with our lambs. Any time the wife says I can buy a new gun... I DO IT! lol! Hit a rabbit at the base of its neck/top front of its front shoulders at about 20 ft. Won't do that again. The front quarters were a mess and I lost a inch or 2 of the backstrap.

[highmuley]

Tell you what...I killed a couple grouse with the 17 last year. Unless its a head shot....never again. Good way to gut them at the same time as shooting them. Its not like a 22....

I did the same last year but kept mine to headshots. Had some big blue grouse that wouldn't let me get close enough for the shotgun so the 17 came out. Dropped prone and rested the 17 on the pack.. 55 yard shots. First one dropped and the rest stood there like.. what just happened? My 17 was mainly purchased for coyotes coming into the back yard to mess with our lambs. Any time the wife says I can buy a new gun... I DO IT! lol! Hit a rabbit at the base of its neck/top front of its front shoulders at about 20 ft. Won't do that again. The front quarters were a mess and I lost a inch or 2 of the backstrap.

And that's were the 22 comes in handy. Great for small game and grouse. But not enough pop for bigger game. Speaking of momma....I already paid my dues for getting a new rifle. Bought her a new bow a couple weeks ago. Its an investment. Now I'm free to buy whatever I want!

[W_Ellison2011]

Tell you what...I killed a couple grouse with the 17 last year. Unless its a head shot....never again. Good way to gut them at the same time as shooting them. Its not like a 22....

I did the same last year but kept mine to headshots. Had some big blue grouse that wouldn't let me get close enough for the shotgun so the 17 came out. Dropped prone and rested the 17 on the pack.. 55 yard shots. First one dropped and the rest stood there like.. what just happened? My 17 was mainly purchased for coyotes coming into the back yard to mess with our lambs. Any time the wife says I can buy a new gun... I DO IT! lol! Hit a rabbit at the base of its neck/top front of its front shoulders at about 20 ft. Won't do that again. The front quarters were a mess and I lost a inch or 2 of the backstrap.

yeah well... my next purchase firearm wise is going to make my old lady howl a bit lol. After I shoot yorks 338/408 I am probably going to end up building one lol. Action I found for it is $1650... I just used my, but we just bought you a brand new car card on her when I bought my new nightforce shv for my custom 300 win mag. Don't know if I can use it again lol!

And that's were the 22 comes in handy. Great for small game and grouse. But not enough pop for bigger game. Speaking of momma....I already paid my dues for getting a new rifle. Bought her a new bow a couple weeks ago. Its an investment. Now I'm free to buy whatever I want!

[tlbradford]

I've never had a 204 and was always curious about them. Was watching the foxpro guys on tv one day and saw them shoot I think 3 coyotes with the 204 and it didn't perform very well at all. I'm kinda surprised they even aired those shots. Could be been the ammo but who knows. I think they're sponsored by hornady but the bullets blew up as soon as they hit the fur. Didn't look like they got any penetration.
I've got a 22 250 savage and it shoots great. Haven't taken an animal with it yet but the cartridge was designed for varmints. Hard to go wrong there.

Interesting.  I shoot the Hornady 32 grain VMAX and they are deadly on coyotes.  I wonder if they were handloads and running some stupid velocities.  I experimented with a lot of .204 bullets before settling on these for my rifle.  This bullet performed the best on paper and in the field.

[davef]

This is the episode with the .204.
They have a hard time putting the dogs down in this one

[b23]

I shoot the 32gr Vmax in my 204 and they are very explosive but if I were using my 204 for the sole purpose of shooting coyotes, I'd go with the 35gr Berger instead.

[Trapper John]

Oh man ................. decisions
I have both the 22.250 and the 204.
I been shooting with my 204 for the past ten years.  What a tack driver !
I have mine in a Cooper Rifle.  Love it.
If your calling in cougar country than you have to use a 22 caliber.  Than a 22.250
I haven't pulled my 22.250 out for at least 10 years.
I've been shooting prairie dogs with the 204 and reaching way out after them. 
I say go with the Ruger 204 and use the 32 grain bullet   
Just my 
JC 

[konradcountry]

I honestly don't get the 22-250 in our state. 223 has the cheaper ammo while something like 6.5 or 25-06 lets you take deer as well.

[paultanninen]

22-250, good coyote cartridge, plus you can watch them gophers play superman. Up, up, and away!