"truck gun", single shot H&R or TC. Shooting the occasional coyote and doe. Max shot 300 yards. What caliber between the two and why? Gracias amigos.

I would think the heavier bullet of the .243 plus the larger cross section would provide superior terminal ballistics compared to .22-250 on deer.

But on coyotes I'm sure the .22-250 would be fine. I used to load up some 22-250 50 gr HP screamers for use on prairie dogs out west and they never failed to produce the proverbial "pink mist" a' la Zapruder film.

If its single shot for a truck, I'd get the .243 and keep a box of different weight ammo available, or multiple boxes. If you already have a good deer gun, then I might go with the 22.

I like Lawyer's logic. If you already have a good deer gun, I would go with the 22-250. Plus Black Hills has loadings for 60 grain v-max and 60 grain Nosler Partition that are very accurate if you don't reload. The Partition(and the v-max imo) will work fine on a doe plus both loadings have very similar ballistics. 22-250 is very accurate and will easily shoot 300 yards. It's all a matter preference from one person to the next though. The .243 is a very good multi - use caliber.

For a truck gun, I'd recommend a 30-30 or something with open sights, and possibly a semi-auto over a lever action or bolt gun. It can be difficult to work the action seated in a vehicle. For caliber, go .243 or bigger. They will kill a 'yote just as good as the 22-250 and aren't affected by wind as much.

I have a Remington 22.250

It is the only rifle I have ever had. I have killed every deer, hog, varmint, aoudad, etc...that I have ever shot with it.

and because of that gun, there are no aoudad left on our ranch..... i'd go with the .243 though. i shot one for 10 years and it is great for varmits. coons, pigs, and coyotes stand no chance against it and it is a pretty good deer gun. in 10 years, only one ran after being shot and it only went 20 yards

22-250

I have never been a fan of the .22 calibers for deer. I know that thousands maybe millions have been killed with them but I also personally know of instances where they just werent enough gun. Why limit yourself if deer is on your list of things to shoot? Even if you reload a 22-250 is only going to have 500-600 ft lbs of energy left at 300yds. Get a .243 Winny. You will be glad you did.

22-250 would be my choice. We shoot does with them and they will even do the job on a hog fairly handily.

I would go with the .243. The 22-250 is a good gun, and fine for coyotes, but I wouldn't use it on deer. You won't be saving much on recoil with the smaller caliber, so go with the bigger option. Also, since you're probably not worried about destroying hide or meat, the larger cartridge will be fine on the smaller coyote.

why would you not use a 22-250 on a deer?

Can you not shoot or what? I have killed tons of deer including large South TX bucks with my 22-250 and it drops them in their tracks.

If you can't shoot and you need something larger than I guess that is a different story.

.243

either one is fine....very comparable to each other......it's a matter of personal preference

Haha, It's seems divided down the middle. I think I'm gonna go with the TC encore in the .243. Hell, with that gun I can always just buy the 22-250 barrel and slap it on.
I'll shoot those 85 GR. DPX Corbon's and it'll devastate anything I can hit.

T/C's are overpriced.

22-250 is a fantastic, flat-shooting round but it doesn't have the larger grain rounds you can get with a .243? But if you're mainly going to be taking the random ranch-critter.....you may not need the larger .243's loads?

quote:

---

aggzwin
posted 6:07p, 08/20/06



why would you not use a 22-250 on a deer?

Can you not shoot or what? I have killed tons of deer including large South TX bucks with my 22-250 and it drops them in their tracks.

If you can't shoot and you need something larger than I guess that is a different story.
Can you not shoot or what? I have killed tons of deer including large South TX bucks with my 22-250 and it drops them in their tracks.

If you can't shoot and you need something larger than I guess that is a different story.

---

Ya know, growing up as a precision shooter, I am probably a better marksman than at least 95% of the hunters out there. I still wouldn't use a 22-250.

In an ideal situation, yes, it'll be fine when you get a nice broadside or quartering away shot, but on an animal that is moving at even a decent speed, you can't guarantee shot placement. If the animal slows a bit or speeds up or even stops, you aren't going to hit quite where you thought you would be hitting.

Along with this, I don't know how far you are shooting, but if you're shooting out past 200 yards, you're going to be below the 800 ft/lbs threshold that is generally regarded as the minimum for taking game.

And yes, I stated earlier, in an ideal situation, yes, it would be okay, but how many times have you found yourself in a less than ideal situation when you're afield? A little too much wind, a light rain, light brush in the way, etc would all make a shot with a 22-250 much more difficult than with a larger caliber, such as a 270 or any other respected hunting rifle.

So, my question, why risk the chance at only wounding an animal when you don't have to?

.223 - Great Varmit Rifle, Cheap Ammo, Low Recoil, Quieter, Fine for deer!

Not saying he's the ultimate authority, but according to Chuck Hawks "no .22 is an adequate deer rifle". Their Ballistic Coefficients and Sectional Densities are below what you'd want in a deer rifle.

Can you kill a deer with a .22-250? Sure. If everything is perfect. But you better make sure it's a perfect shot. You are going to get very little blood trail if the deer doesn't drop immediately from that little bullet. And if wind or a twig or anything else deflects your trajectory than you're screwed. Then you're left with a wounded deer, and little to no blood left to track him.

I don't see the advantage of the .22-250. The .243 is just as accurate with greater knockdown power and only marginally more recoil. Neither will destroy a lot of meat, but as I stated, that shouldn't even be a consideration when shooting coyotes.

I'm not saying it's a bad gun to have around if you're only shooting coyotes. But if deer are on the menu, forget the .22.

My grandpa was a wise man. He used to always say there's a big difference between what a fellow can do and what he should do.

quote:

---

In an ideal situation, yes, it'll be fine when you get a nice broadside or quartering away shot, but on an animal that is moving at even a decent speed, you can't guarantee shot placement. If the animal slows a bit or speeds up or even stops, you aren't going to hit quite where you thought you would be hitting.

---

You are right on with this statement, aggie0175. But if you aren't sure you're going to get a kill zone hit, you shouldn't take the shot regardless of caliber. That is unless you don't mind wounding the animal bad enough to eventually get that kill shot. I took a doe at 789 yards a couple of years ago with a 300 RUM and have had a couple of people tell me I shouldn't have attempted it. It was an ideal situation though, and I had been waiting for weeks for all the variables to be perfect. One shot and she didn't take another step. I have taken more deer with a 22-250 than any other caliber and the farthest one ever ran was about 40 yards. Anyway, that's my little rant. Know where you're putting the bullet before you pull the trigger and use a good bullet for the situation.



[This message has been edited by str8shot1000 (edited 8/21/2006 10:43a).]

"Chemist"'s Grandpa is right !!! Why run the risk of losing the animal.

" Big coons walk at night !"

quote:

---

In an ideal situation, yes, it'll be fine when you get a nice broadside or quartering away shot, but on an animal that is moving at even a decent speed, you can't guarantee shot placement. If the animal slows a bit or speeds up or even stops, you aren't going to hit quite where you thought you would be hitting.

---

Why would you take a less than ideal shot on a doe? It's not like it's a once in a lifetime shot at a trophy. You can wait for the perfect shot in that situation.

In other news a doe at almost 800 yards? Man you have bigger huevos than me or you were really hungry!

"Master" that is one way to put it!

" Big coons walk at night !"

quote:

---

In other news a doe at almost 800 yards? Man you have bigger huevos than me or you were really hungry!

---

Shooting at long distances is a passion of mine. Similar to the bowhunter's rush/exhiliration from getting close to his(or her) prey and dropping it with a single arrow. I get mine from finding my target, ranging it and calculating bullet drop for that distance and adjusting for it. A perfect hit after all the preparation is like none other.

Where do you hunt Str8?

I watched a show about a guy hunting senderos in south Texas and his favorite thing in the world was punching out doe from 500 to 800 yards. He was using a slightly customized Remington Sendero with a fluted bull barrel. I think it was a .308. Nice rig.

[This message has been edited by ConstructionAg01 (edited 8/21/2006 4:55p).]

.243 is more versatile and can kill any whitetail within 300 yards with proper engineroom or neck placement. 22-250 is just too light and fast for larger game. I have seen deer get hit solid with a 22-250, only to get up and run away because the bullet just explodes on impact if it hits hard tissue/bone.

[This message has been edited by 1989 (edited 8/21/2006 6:00p).]

I have 3 places I can get a pretty far shot. The one where I got the doe was on a hilltop that overlooks a 100+ acre field separated by a couple hundred yards of pasture. The field is usually planted in either wheat or oats in the winter. It didn't make last year due to the drought. This particular spot could get me well over a 1000 yard shot, but I'm not quite there yet. Another place that has good deer traffic will get a good 500 to 600 yard shot.

Seems if deer are the primary target for sed rig, then go with the .243, ensures a cleaner kill. All other smaller game: cats, coyotes, foxes, hogs, racoons, etc 22-250 is great! And if it's an affordable, durable "ranch rifle", there are a few rifles out there to consider:

*Charles Daly "Field" for MSRP around $459 - all calibers
*CZ 527 MSRP $599 .223 Rem
*Mossberg 100 ATR MSRP $280 -
*Remington 710 MSRP $426 - all calibers
*Savage Hunter Series MSRP $486
*Savage Weather Warrior MSRP $552 - all calibers


*TC Arms Encore MSRP $600 - Xtra barrels not included.