.22-250 vs .223

[LOlson45]

I am in the market for buying a gun for varmits as well as coyotes. I am torn between the .22-250 and .223. Does anyone have experience or advice for this question? I would like pros and cons between the two such as accuracy, price of ammo, long range capability, and so on. Thanks in advance!

[huntnphool]

 What type of rifle?

[grousetracker]

go 22-250 and never look back yes a little more expensive to shoot but faster, flatter shooting, powerful, more knockdown power and much better range. 223 cheaper to shoot not better in any other way.

[huntnphool]

 If going with a bolt gun, I’d go .204.

[Dirty Mike]

I had a 22-250 and loved it. A real tack driver. But changed this up to a 243.

[BigGoonTuna]

.223 vs .22-250, is like comparing a .308 and a .300 win mag. You’ll get 400-500fps over the .223 with the .22-250, but you’ll also get more noise and a shorter barrel life.  .22-250 ammo is more expensive obviously, but pretty affordable as rifle ammo goes.

Not sure if it matters to you, but the .22-250 needs a standard rifle action, you can get the .223 in a micro action like a cz 527 or howa mini.

If most of your shooting is at shorter ranges or you want cheap ammo, go with the .223. The .22-250 will definitely out perform it at long range, and sending a 40 grain bullet well north of 4000fps should put a smile on your face.

[LOlson45]

So from what I gather from this post and some research the .22-250 is a faster round and better for long range. Will the .223 do decent out to 400 or 500 yards? How is the accuracy of the .223?

[huntingfool7]

Coyotes at 4-500 yards is 22-250 territory...or 243.  The 223 shouldn't be in the running.

[zwickeyman]

I have both and have killed Yotes with both. Both getter done but as others have said there is no comparison in range between the two.

This is just me so take it with grain of salt. I have no problem killing yotes out to 400 yards with the 22-250 but I dont shoot them past 200 yards
with the 223. They both will kill them farther but I like for sure drop deads

[ELKBURGER]

I have both calibers and have killed coyotes with both. I have had more runners with the 223 over 200 yards. It has bang flopped everything under 200. The 22-250 has bang flopped everything Ive shot at up to 425 yards.
I reload for both so share bullets and powder. Only 10ish grains of powder difference per round.

[bearhunter99]

It has been covered pretty well above but terrain and expected shot distance play a huge role.  I have more varmint calibers than anything else (creates a dilemma every time I go out to pick which one!) as I have .17 WSM, .204 Ruger, .222, .223, 22-250 and .220 Swift.  The 22-250 and Swift are my favorites as they are good for any range I want to shoot but they are both heavy.  I have poked coyotes at close to 300 yards with the .204, .222 and .223 but they very rarely drop dead right there.

If you were going to have just one I would go with the 22-250 or Swift.  .243 with lighter bullets is also good and is actually a more all-around rifle as you can hunt deer with it with heavier bullets.

[Matth]

It has been covered pretty well above but terrain and expected shot distance play a huge role.  I have more varmint calibers than anything else (creates a dilemma every time I go out to pick which one!) as I have .17 WSM, .204 Ruger, .222, .223, 22-250 and .220 Swift.  The 22-250 and Swift are my favorites as they are good for any range I want to shoot but they are both heavy.  I have poked coyotes at close to 300 yards with the .204, .222 and .223 but they very rarely drop dead right there.

If you were going to have just one I would go with the 22-250 or Swift.  .243 with lighter bullets is also good and is actually a more all-around rifle as you can hunt deer with it with heavier bullets.

This x2
I love my 220 swift.

[huntandjeep]

The only right answer is get both  .  I have both and the .223 gets used more now but still love my 22-250 . If I was to have just one it would be the 22-250 .

[jrebel]

Been covered pretty well.   I sold my 22-250 and went to a .223 to consolidate ammo and calibers.  The .223 will get it done consistently to 300 yards which is plenty.  The rifle is literally half the weight of the 22-250 I sold to which is awesome. 

[theleo]

As far as performance goes the 22-250 is the better round to go with especially if the rifle has 1:9-1:8 twist barrel. Where the 223 will beat it out is if you're doing some high volume shooting like shooting rock chucks or ground squirrels. The 223 doesn't heat barrels up nearly as fast as the 22-250, so you can get more splats (less impressive splats) with the 223 before you need to set it aside to let it cool off.