22-250 good for Coyotes??

[Litehiker]

I'm thinking of getting a new Ruger American in 22-250 for coyotes here in southern Nevada. The very good reports on Ruger American accuracy are encouraging, as is the price.

That is a good 800 meter round but will it do the job with the correct hunting bullets?

Anyone use this cartridge?


(BTW, I also have a Steyr AUG in 5.56 and a Ruger 96/22 lever gun in .22 WMR., neither are ideal 'yote guns.)

 

[xdeano]

The 22-250 is good on coyotes but i wouldn't give it an 880yd round. Maybe 400yds. The reason why I'd only give it only a 400yd rating is because of barrel twist rate and bullet weight. Most factory barrels are a pretty slow twist. Now if you were to get a decent twist rate, 7.5 and stick an 80grn berger in it, you'll give it a little more room to move. The increased bc on the heavy bullet is where it's at.

I'm only shooting a 50grn nosler BT at 3500fps in a 12 twist. 26" barrel. It does great on fur if that's what your asking, but i definitely wouldn't push it to far. If you want to push it, move up to a 243 and a bigger bullet.

xdeano

 

[bigngreen]

It's the wind that'll get ya with the 22-250, on calm days we've shot them out to 800 yards and minute of coyote but it does not take much wind and your SOL, a 243 shines a bit more for long range coyotes.

 

[calling4life]

Or run the 90berger at 3100 in a 1/7 22-250. 24.4 moa drop, 6.6 moa windage, 10mph, 1,000yd numbers.

The 115 @ 3100 in a 1/7.5 243. 24.6 & 6.7 @ 1,000.

503 vs 633ft/lbs of energy, I wouldn't want to catch either.

243 certainly is a good round, but the 250 is promising when loaded correctly.

 

[Litehiker]

Thanks gents,

Perhaps I should look closer at the 243 Win.

Currently I have coyote-worthy rifles chambered 5.56, .308 and even .300 Win mag (using match ammo only, to lower damage to pelts).

243 may be what I am looking for. I'll check my ballistics tables again.

As for heavier Berger bullets with a higher BC I hear ya. I now have .30 caliber Berger Hybrid Match bullets in 230 gr. for the .30 win mag for long range competition.

 

[GTOHunter]

I think the 22-250 Caliber would do just fine and it's going to reach out further than the smaller Caliber Rifles plus if You go with a 55-60 or heavier bullet it would do fine in moderate wind,Your not going to call or see many Coyotes if the winds a constant 25+ MPH any way!

I was thinking about getting a Ruger American in the .22-250 also and going with a 55 grain Hornady V-max bullet or heavier?I'm currently using 2 different Rifles and they do just fine at putting down the Coyotes and other Predators with light fur/hide damage.I'm using a CZ model 527 "Varmint" in a .204 using 39 grain Sierra Blitz Kings and a Savage Axis XP Camo .223 with Hornady 55 grain V-max bullets.

 

[Litehiker]

Thanks GTO,

I realize the 22-250 has a lot more "OOMPH" than my .223/5.56 and it would mean getting another set of reloading dies but that's no big expense.

After considering it I feel that the .243 Win. is just too close to my .308 to make it worth while. So 22-250 seems a perfect round for what I have in mind plus some gopher hunting.

If I want to shoot 'yotes at REALLY long distances or in winds above 10 mph. I can always use Berger 230 gr. Hybrid Match bullets in my .300 Win mag HS Precision competition rifle. That bullet will not expand but will kill them with the shock.

 

[window licker]

If your running a 105 hybrid out of your .243 @ 3150 your .308 is nowhere near the .243 ballistically, run the numbers.

 

[Litehiker]

That's true about the high BC .243 pills, they have better trajectory than a .308. But as I posted, a 22-250 will do me for out to 400 meters/yards. If I can't call them any closer I better quit for the day.

I even have a little PS90 carbine with Five Seven ammo (40 gr. A-Max bulletsthat would work out to 200 meters. But with thered dot sight I have on it I wouldn't try that at over 100 meters.

And that 230 gr. Berger Tac. Hybrid in my .300 Win mag would pass right thru. Need to make that a head shot for a good pelt. The Bushnell ERS 3.5 - 21 scope W/H 59 reticle on that rifle is great for fast follow-up on misses - IF the 'yote hangs around. No need for turret cranking with that reticle.

 

[window licker]

yeah.

 

[zcrackshot]

I run 53 gr vmaxs at 3850 with a stiff charge of cfe 223 in my 12 twist 22-250. It does great on dogs out to 700 yards. At 500 yards it's only drifting 18 inches in a 10mph wind and drops 24" from a 100 yard zero. The 0.29 BC makes this bullet a great choice IMO. Pelt damage is minimal as they come apart on entry. I've shot dogs at 70 yards with this same load and it never exits.

 

[Catahoula]

I think the 22-250 is the ultimate coyote rifle. My custom 22-250 sports a 28 " Shilen and with CFE223 powder that long barrel will push a 52 Amax at 4200 fps. Longest coyote kill so far is a little over 600 yards. Great fur bullet as well. For 22-24" barrels load the Speer 52 HP (not the match bullet, the one with the big HP) and use 34 grains of H4895. 99% of your coyotes will look like they died of old age.For that bullet to work well you have to keep velocities around 3400-3500 fps. If you want bigger go to the 25-06 or even better the 25-06 Ackley Improved and shoot the Sierra 100 MK.
I will probably have some hunters disagree with these remarks but this comes from about 800 coyotes killed with a mouth call.
I just got my latest custom rifle back from my gunsmith. It is a 240 Weatherby with a 27" Brux. Shoots the 90 Accubond at 3450 fps and they make a ragged hole at 100 yards. I put a Viper 6x24 first focal plane scope on it. I am leaving for Montana in a few hours to hunt whitetails with my daughter in the Bozeman area.
Good luck on your coyote rifle.
Kirk

 

[window licker]

4200 with a 52 grain bullet out of a 22-250??? That is more than i could get out of my 22-243 middlestead with a 27" barrel, whats the trick?

 

[zcrackshot]

The only thing I can think right now is that not all chronographs are created equal? I've blown a few primers clean out of the back of 22-250 brass and left the primer pocket big enough that I could insert my pinky finger in them and have never before witnessed any speeds near what some claim with their 22-250's. I've pushed 36 grain Barnes bullets to the 4400 fps mark before but I only have a 26" tube. Maybe a couple extra inches will get me that extra 300+ fps that I'm looking for?