16 replies to this topic

[grnmtnby]

i have several guns 223 22-250 243 which one is the best to use for vermont woods bullet weight and fps as to not damage to much of the hide i don't want to carry the shot gun when i go i have shot several during deer season and have destroyed the hides

[LoCountryHunter]

I'll be interested in some of the replies also. I'm shopping for a new gun myself and it'll be between the 223 and 22-250.

[bar-d]

grnmtnby said:

i have several guns 223 22-250 243 which one is the best to use for vermont woods bullet weight and fps as to not damage to much of the hide i don't want to carry the shot gun when i go i have shot several during deer season and have destroyed the hides

I have and hunt with all three calibers. All are excellent predator rifles but unless you reload your own ammo, the .223 is going to be the most economical to shoot. 50 to 60 grain bullets @ about 3000 to 3200 fps are fairly flat shooting and have ample energy to do the job. One of my .223 loads is 50 gr. hollow point @3200 fps.

[TexAgBQ81]

i second the suggestion from bar-d-on the 223. unless you reload the 223 will be less expensive

[snoman]

After shooting a .22-250 for 20 years, I switched to a .204. I got tired of sewing exit holes, sometimes the holes were huge. I now shoot a 34gr hp. At a little over 4000fps the wind doesn't seem to have any affect and there is almost no sewing. My .22-250 has collected dust the last 3 years.

Snoman

[bogwon]

I use a 223 and a 22-250 using 50 grain v-max bullets out of both, great round, never a problem , it enters but rarely exits.

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[poe]

if your range is short the .223 well prob be as good as anything. I use 40gr VMax's in my 22-250 and as long as you place your shots there dead with no exit. Just make sure you stay off the shoulder I had a couple splash when I hit the shoulder with my 250. If you are going to be shooting short range and want to keep hides you may want to look into one of the 17 centerfires.

[coyotejon]

You guys that shoot these lighter bullets-How often do you have them run off on you? And how often is a follow up shot required?

[youngdon]

I shoot 35gr bergers out of my .204 and they don't run if I shoot them where I am suposed to. Same with the 55gr BT's out of my .243. They might not drop like a rock every time but they do drop. A 55gr BT out of my 243 will separate the ears of a jack rabbit by about 4 feet if you hit them right, the .204 will cut a prairie dog in half. I do not use anything less than a 35gr out of the .204 on coyotes though. I did have a 32gr H'dy splash badly on a shoulder one time, luckily he didn't go too far before holing up waiting for the second shot. Needless to say I obliged him poste haste.

[coyotejon]

When you use the term "splash", what exactly does that mean? By the way I shoot 55 grain Hornady V max out of my .223, but I just got it right at the end of last season and haven't had a chance to drop a dog with it yet. I will be interested to see what the damage is.

[poe]

A splash is when the bullet explodes on impact causing extreme damage on the outside of the animal with very little penetration. This usually only well happen if you hit a bone like the shoulder. The Animal prob will die eventually but it can take awhile.

[youngdon]

Good description poe, splashes are never pretty but can happen with a lightly constucted bullet or even when a not so lightly constructed bullet is pushed, velocity wise to its extremes.

[coyotejon]

Hmmmm, sounds like no good to me. Hope I don't end up doing that. Guess I haven't heard too much about it.

[poe]

don't worry about it just keep your bullets off the shoulders and you shouldn't have to much problem. Like Youngdon says don't bush your bullets as fast as you can make them will also help to prevent this. You won't notice very much of a difference in how your gun shoots if its not as fast as you can possibly make it go. Just load up your loads as accurate as you can and you well be fine.

[jas41]

I shoot 50 gr bullets out of my .223 and 22-250 never had one run away yet. Just shoot them in the right spot and they'll go down and stay down. Find what the gun likes for bullet weight and stick with it.

[gonefishn]

.223 , 22-250 and .243 are all great calibers for predators. I think its mostly personal preference and ammo price/availability that determines which one people use. They all have a time and place for predators.