Help... .22-250 or .243 for Yotes?

[Straight Shooter]

I have both. I like the 243 for bein able to hunt deer should I ever want to. the 250 is a bit chaper to load for but is also a bit tougher on barrels.......both are hard on coyote. if you really want to reach out and smack em' give the 257 roy a peek.

I was also considering the .25-06 with 85/87 gr loads, but the .243 work better for my needs.

[bow-n-head]

My advice is just pick one and get good with it. 250,243... doesn't matter much. the dog isn't gona know the difference. If you already have a 243 shoot it. I think you are just looking for an excuse to buy another gun, in which case just buy it.

[Straight Shooter]

My advice is just pick one and get good with it. 250,243... doesn't matter much. the dog isn't gona know the difference. If you already have a 243 shoot it. I think you are just looking for an excuse to buy another gun, in which case just buy it.

There are no excuses, I do want to buy another gun... not because I need one, but because I have the money and I want one... either a .22-250 or .243.  I do appreciate those that took a few minutes to chime in to provide useful information.

[FALFire]

I shoot 223, 22-250, 243WSSM and 25-06, when I don't want to take chances of losing a wounded coyote, I take the 243WSSM or the 25-06. My 25 is a Tikka T3 and it simply an outstanding carry rig.

[Big10gauge]

The .243 is a great coyote gun, Between the .204 .223, 22-250 or the .243 that I use they all will put a coyote down humanely, but the .243 does it with authority.

[Gutpile]

Oh man! I loved my 22-250. It was like a laser beam. I sold it and bought a 220 swift which I also love but haven't brought it out yet this year. That said my next yote gun is going to be the lightest .243 I can find.

I don't have experience with a .243, I do with a 22-250 and if you get one you'd love it, except you already have a bunch of .223's so to me it's .243 all the way. WooHoo!!!

[MHWASH]

 The 22-250 is a heck of a fun gun and a good yote rifle. It's all I used for years. TO me the .243 has just enough more recoil to make it not as fun.

 Considering you already have some .223s, I also say .243.

[bearpaw]

I highly recommend a 257 Weatherby. It is one of the flattest shooting production calibers available. I shoot 100 gr bullets loaded lightly out to 300 yards, anything over 300 yards I like using 75 gr bullets loaded at 4000 fps. They shoot ultra flat out to 500 yds.

Basically imagine a 25:06 that shoots faster and flatter..... Same caliber will also work great on antelope, deer, and we have even taken bear and moose.

The one caveat is that if you shoot a lot you need to be a handloader, the factory rounds are pricey. If you shoot factory ammo then I would recommend the 25:06. Either .25 caliber offers superiority over the 243/6mm which I also have shot a lot and enjoy but feel the 24's are not as good of caliber.

[Hillbilly270]

I shoot 223, 22-250, 243WSSM and 25-06, when I don't want to take chances of losing a wounded coyote, I take the 243WSSM or the 25-06. My 25 is a Tikka T3 and it simply an outstanding carry rig.

How does your .243wssm shoot?  Do you handload?

[Straight Shooter]

I picked up Winchester 70 Coyote in .25 WSSM for my dad a few years ago from a guy going through a divorce and bankruptcy... $350.00 for the brand new rifle, Sightron 3-12x42 scope, gun case, and 100 rds of Win Ballistic Silver Tips... 

He really likes the rifle/caliber, but it seems that the WSSM cartridges are dying a slow death.  That being said, I'd love to have one in .223 WSSM!

[jjhunter]

You knew the answer before you even asked......243, hands down!  

-The 22-250 is a great caliber - I have always had one, but for a 0-400 yard rifle, the .204 does it faster, flatter, and with less recoil.
-The same would go for the Swift - although comparable in speed to the .204, brass selection is crappy, case design is crappy, recoil, etc.....
-The 25's listed are great caliber's, but we are talking 'yote rifles and neither cartridge I would call efficient.  I have owned both and they were okay, but too much recoil for what you got.
-The 243 really shines because of 4 factors:  1) inherent accuracy  2) quality brass (Lapua/Norma/Nosler)  3) GREAT selection of varmint weight bullets  4) Versalility.

Let's take the last one - versatility.....with a .243 you can shoot 55 grn BT's at over 4K!  Put that in your ballistics program and it appears you may have found the best 0-500 yard cartidge/bullet combo on the planet for song dogs!   Let's say you want to step up the hitting power while still maintaining 3600+ fps - the 65 grain V-max and 70 grain BT will do this with remarkable accuracy and low recoil.  Now, maybe you want to push a bullet at 3300-3500 fps but want a bullet with a relatively high b.c. in a varmint bullet for long range shots - this can be done with the 75 and 87 grain V-max bullets.

I have owned two .243's.  A Remington VLS and a custom 12 twist built on a 700 action.  Both rifles were insanely accurate.  The first was 1/2" gun with 70 grain BT's.  The second was a 1/4" gun with 75 V-max's.  Both dispatched many, many coyotes.

Go with a .243 and you will not be disappointed!

[bearpaw]

I guess I don't understand how recoil is an issue until you get up to .284 or larger.....

Actually most any of the calibers discussed here will kill the dickens out of any coyote, just depends how well you hit them. Coyotes are tough and unless you hit them well, it don't matter what you are shooting..... I actually think the scope and lots of practice shooting is a bigger consideration when coyote hunting....

[jjhunter]

I guess I don't understand how recoil is an issue until you get up to .284 or larger.....

Actually most any of the calibers discussed here will kill the dickens out of any coyote, just depends how well you hit them. Coyotes are tough and unless you hit them well, it don't matter what you are shooting..... I actually think the scope and lots of practice shooting is a bigger consideration when coyote hunting....

Come on, Bearpaw.....you are a professional outfitter.  Recoil is always a factor.  Recoil greatly impacts the ability to watch bullet impact, follow through, shot recovery, etc.  Not to mention that violent cartridges are much harder to shoot accurately when compared to less violent catridges, regardless of ability.    In a game (Varmint Hunting) that involves high volume, faced paced action when compared to big game hunting, recoil would rank as my #1 variable to mitigate.  

I'd put my little Cooper .204 against any rifle in the field.......not cause it kills any better or is anymore accurate.  It's because I get all the high performace and flat trajectory of a "big banger"  will virtually zero recoil.  I can watch bullet impact, recover quickly for follow-up shots(mulitiple dogs), and shoot from ANY position without worrying about "clutching" my rifle to escape the dreaded "cresent moon" above my eye at extreme shooting angles.  This leads to increases confidence, concentration, accuracy, and ultimately, success.

While the .243 has more recoil than the .204, for the versalility and extra hitting power, the extra recoil is worth performance "gains".  Most serious 'yote hunters will agree that   the .24 calibers are the breaking point in reasonable recoil for strictly varmint hunting situations.

[Red Dawg]

The 204 is a great caliber but I think that it is an extra from my point of view, the 223 is the same with a 40 grain bullet and I am guessing that if you loaded a 35 grain in it, it would also get the same performance as a 32gr 20cal. Although the 204 does burn a bit less powder. That is the only advantage that I see. However if you put a 40 grain in a 22-250 you are well over 4000k and in at least my experience is it very accurate. With the 243 or 6mm rem you have two very good guns that will shoot the lights out of anything. I dont think I would shoot a 55 gr all the time out of it but with a 80 grain or higher with those great BC that is what I would shoot and shoot a lot. That is in fact why we have gunsmiths.

[C-Money]

Eather way, you are in good shape!