Post by: Straight Shooter on December 17, 2009, 08:56:28 AM
Thanks,
SS
Post by: boneaddict on December 17, 2009, 08:59:11 AM
Post by: jdb on December 17, 2009, 10:51:39 AM
Post by: Shootmoore on December 17, 2009, 10:56:25 AM
Shootmoore
Post by: Hillbilly270 on December 17, 2009, 10:57:53 AM
Post by: Hillbilly270 on December 17, 2009, 10:58:51 AM
Post by: jdb on December 17, 2009, 11:02:41 AM
Post by: demontang on December 17, 2009, 11:42:04 AM
If your looking at the 243wssm Id go with an AR15
Post by: ing on December 17, 2009, 11:48:12 AM
Post by: Bofire on December 17, 2009, 11:50:18 AM
I also use a 223, I will never feel under gunned for yotes with a 22-250. 243 doubles as a small deer gun.
Here in washington a 243 is nice in the fall cause you might call a bear, cougar or coyote, depending on where and time of year, you could take any of the 3 with a 243, of course you would need a perfect shot on a bear.
my 2.
Carl
Post by: wastickslinger on December 17, 2009, 01:57:47 PM
Post by: Straight Shooter on December 17, 2009, 05:29:52 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on December 17, 2009, 05:33:46 PM
Post by: PolarBear on December 17, 2009, 05:35:57 PM
Post by: high country on December 17, 2009, 06:41:27 PM
Post by: Straight Shooter on December 17, 2009, 06:48:18 PM
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.
Post by: bow-n-head on December 17, 2009, 06:58:39 PM
Post by: Straight Shooter on December 17, 2009, 07:12:48 PM
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.
Post by: FALFire on December 17, 2009, 07:30:12 PM
Post by: Big10gauge on December 17, 2009, 07:46:45 PM
Post by: Gutpile on December 17, 2009, 07:54:33 PM
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!!!
Post by: MHWASH on December 18, 2009, 06:31:50 AM
Considering you already have some .223s, I also say .243.
Post by: bearpaw on December 18, 2009, 06:43:11 AM
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.
Post by: Hillbilly270 on December 18, 2009, 08:08:41 AM
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?
Post by: Straight Shooter on December 18, 2009, 08:27:58 AM
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!
Post by: jjhunter on December 18, 2009, 08:35:38 AM
-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!
Post by: bearpaw on December 18, 2009, 09:07:00 AM
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.... :twocents:
Post by: jjhunter on December 18, 2009, 10:00:55 AM
I guess I don't understand how recoil is an issue until you get up to .284 or larger..... :dunno:
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.... :twocents:
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.
Post by: Red Dawg on December 18, 2009, 01:41:26 PM
Post by: C-Money on December 18, 2009, 02:13:35 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 18, 2009, 02:25:23 PM
I guess I don't understand how recoil is an issue until you get up to .284 or larger..... :dunno:
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.... :twocents:
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.
I totally agree that recoil can be a factor, but I have not really witnessed recoil being a factor on calibers smaller than .284. I have shot my .257 WTBY at varmints round after round. There's very little recoil as compared to larger bore diameters. I know guys who shoot .270's at varmints, they also have little recoil. Now noise is a different story, if noise bothers you, better opt for a smaller catridge case... :chuckle:
I mostly notice recoil being a factor when hunters are shooting the 7mm and 300 mags or larger guns. Some hunters are not comfortable with that kind of recoil. But I will agree, if a 25 caliber is uncomfortable for you to shoot, you would be better off with a smaller caliber. :twocents:
Post by: jjhunter on December 18, 2009, 03:10:03 PM
This is mostly important for running shots, which some don't take, but for me, account for a majority of my coyotes.
Maybe I'll buy some time from you one of these days and we can test our hypotheses in the field :chuckle: Montana 'yote hunt? :chuckle:
Post by: Special T on December 18, 2009, 03:15:06 PM
Post by: Bofire on December 18, 2009, 03:46:09 PM
Carl
Post by: FALFire on December 18, 2009, 04:31:39 PM
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?
Hillbilly,
My 243WSSM is on the AR15 platform and it shoots awesome, as a matter of fact I just shot my 300 yard target tonight and it's printing one on top of the other, makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :tup:
Post by: denali on December 18, 2009, 04:36:23 PM
too many opinions, You gotta get BOTH!!
Carl
kinda like tools ... do you have enough tools? no of coarse not? buy both
Post by: 257 Wby Mag on December 18, 2009, 08:19:45 PM
Post by: mossback91 on December 18, 2009, 08:26:08 PM
Perhaps a mod can make a sticky thread, labeled, "243, king of coyote killers when loaded with a 55 grain nosler BT" so we don't have to go through this every month?
cause thatd be a lie!! :chuckle:
Post by: Red Dawg on December 18, 2009, 08:36:08 PM
Post by: Jamieb on December 19, 2009, 10:24:41 AM
Post by: Bigbuckhunter_1996 on December 19, 2009, 05:50:10 PM
Post by: calib on December 19, 2009, 07:16:18 PM
Post by: norsepeak on December 19, 2009, 07:17:35 PM
Post by: Straight Shooter on December 19, 2009, 08:42:59 PM
why does it have to one or the other? just get both! :chuckle:
:chuckle: :tup:
Post by: Kent Hunter on December 20, 2009, 11:45:37 AM
Post by: bearpaw on December 20, 2009, 02:31:53 PM
Post by: demontang on December 21, 2009, 08:35:25 AM
I heck get both :chuckle:
Post by: addicted on December 21, 2009, 10:08:14 AM
most any gun purchase is a good purchase... :chuckle:
Post by: 257 Wby Mag on December 22, 2009, 11:27:37 PM
Buy a 243 and don't look back for coyotes. You want a rat gun, buy a 204.