.223 or 22-250 or AR308?

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BeefmasterB

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I'm looking for a calibre for shooting coyotes mainly and possibly hogs. I've heard good things about the .223, the 22-250 and the 308. Anyone have a favorite for these purposes? The .223 would be too light for hogs I would think.
 
Personally, I'd go with the .308, 30-06, 30-30, .243, .270

The "22" series is just a high speed light weight projectile...hit the heart or brain dead center...probably a kill.

With a wild hog, I'd want something with enough punch to stop it momentarily while the bullet killed it...lol. Maybe a 10 second blast from an AR-15, or ??

;-)
 
I have a 223 and a 22-250 I shoot coyotes with the 22-250 I like it better leaves a bigger hole :lol:
if shooting hogs I would go for 270 the 243 doesn't have enough weight IMO skinned a deer last week and was shot thru the side and barely nicked the spine I found the bullet in the ribcage it was a 243 so I am not much on them for large game
I have seen deer shot with a 270 at 150yd and they were hit in a large bone and it shattered it and dropped the animal
I carry a 223 in the tractor for coyotes and dillos but that is about all it gets used for
Thats JMO
 
Not a topic I usually get into, but I have some time this morning.

I own a 22-250 and a 220 Swift - the 22-250 is not to be sneered at - but the Swift is a better rifle if you go the 22 cal route - but is really only optimized if you hand load with a premium bullet - deadly on deer (also illegal in most of Canada - I am now more law-a-biding) and I am sure used properly it would do a fine job on hogs - but it would not be ideal.

25-06 would do a reasonable job on hogs - especially with a fairly solid cored bullet - but is a deadly coyote and deer calibre - just do not plan on using the hides of any dog you shoot. I have taken the largest Alberta deer at long range with 110 grain ballistic tip bullets traveling at around 3600 FPS - and they do not go far when you tag them. :)

My absolute favourite - for all North Amrican animals was once a wildcat round but can now be bought off the shelf - so no re-loading is required. 338-06

Hand loading allows me to take bullet performance way up - or bring it down for smaller game.

That is a 338 cal round placed on the front of a 30-06 cartridge. There is nothing in North America that can stand up to it - shoots soft - my 105 pound wife uses it herself - and it is cheap to shoot if you reload.

For a straight "buyer of guns and ammo" - in other words no reloading - the 308 has done the world a pile of good service and I personally have taken many large bears and moose with it in northern Canada. You can find everything you need in almost any hardware store if you are out in "small town" country and no where near home.

Despite all the discussion of firearms, the all time and probably one of the best all round long gun and cartridge combinations is the venerable old 30-06. You can never go anywhere and not find a gunsmith who cannot fix it, a store that does not carry the ammo and so on. It too has taken everything North America has to offer and done it with ease. I believe people ignore it because it is an old rifle and has lost the mystique of something fancy - it is no longer marketed as a sexy rifle. And it is not a boom stick cannon - it is simply a good working rifle. Always look here when you consider a good all round rifle.

In the end I could go on for a long time - the following are the two most important items for anyone using a long gun.

1. Put some decent glass on top - spend as much or more on the sights as you do on the rifle - especially if you plan to do any long range shooting. You will not regret it - even as you grit your teeth paying for the glass! :D

2. Shoot it lots - learn how to clean it properly - build up of copper does not come out with an oil swipe - and tune the rifle and the trigger. Store bought equipment is usually only fair. A good smith with help you if you do not know how to do this yourself. It will cost, but in the end you will be very, very happy you did it.

Heck - buy two rifles! One for dogs and one for hogs. And some re-loading gear. Two rifles allows you twice the fun and the re-loading equipment allows you to build a tack driving round. You have no idea how accurate a Swift can be at 400 yards plus when rounds leave at nearly 4000 FPS.

For almost all of the above systems I have mentioned - with my reloads - for hunting in the field - not target shooting - I sight in 3 inches high at 100 yards - allowing me to "hold on fur" out to about 300 yards - knowing full well that my round - all things being equal - will hit slightly above, on, or slightly below the aim point - depending on the range - making my shooting easier as I do not have to guesstimate the bullet drop for longer ranges. Especially when I am in a situation with no rest and no time to think about the shot.

Finally - if you are in the desert and making some long open area shots - buy a Harris Bi-Pod - get the one with the short legs - you will use it every day.

Have fun

Bez+
 
I like the .308 for the all around gun. I have a couple of .223 rifles and they are good, but just don't pack enough lead to send out to greet something.

While there are many more highpowered rifles, ie 30.06 and such, my shoulders just can't take them.
 
The 223 is fine for yotes but ammo and even components are hard to come by and expensive right now. The 22-250 for factory ammo selection is also fine for yotes and will rwach out there further then the 223. But for hogs of those 3, the 308 is the choice. Not my first choice although I've used it on them and it does the job with authority.
 
I have shot alot of hogs with my .243. When there isn't corn in the fields you can go out there and snipe them suckers. Big Boars, 250yds+ and that .243 will sit them down in their tracks. :)

Probably go with the .308 out of the ones you listed, but think there are better calibers for what you are wanting to do.
 
Great comments! Thanks!! I see more coyotes than hogs but it would be nice to have a rifle that would perfomr on either. A lightweight rifle would be a plus and I agree that the glass is just as important.
 
I would have to say that the 308 is best for the hogs; a coyote can be killed with a 22, but you gotta hit em in the heart or head, otherwise you are just going to wound em. Use a hollow point bullet also.
 
.223 Mini-14 with a hollow point bullet works well for coyotes -- extremely well. Dun is correct - ammo is getting harder to get.
 
While I won't advocate the use of a .22 centerfire as ideal for hogs I won't pass up a shot because I wish I had brought something bigger along. This one was taken after I stayed on stand in the moonlight after it was too dark to hope a cullable doe would show up. Something had been rooting around in my oat patch and this was the culprit. Do your own guessing on the weight. I didn't get a chance to weigh this one but comparable boars have gone in the neighborhood of maybe 300 or so on the grain scales. The rifle is a CZ 527 using Winchester 64 gr. power point factory loads. The bullet did not exit and I was unable to recover it.

If you stick a properly constructed bullet in the right place you can't kill them any deader.

PC210310.jpg
 
I like my 22-250 for yotes. Fortunately we don't have hogs around here so I've no experience with using one on them. What you really need is to buy a different rifle for each need rather than try to find one gun to do it all. More guns is always better. :D
 
I keep a 22-250 under the seat of the truck year round. I change its partner depending on the season. I've killed a good many yotes with it and haven't had a hog get away yet - nor a buzzard for that matter. I like it cause it just fits me for some reason.
 
Bez+":1a4c985m said:
Not a topic I usually get into, but I have some time this morning.

I own a 22-250 and a 220 Swift - the 22-250 is not to be sneered at - but the Swift is a better rifle if you go the 22 cal route - but is really only optimized if you hand load with a premium bullet - deadly on deer (also illegal in most of Canada - I am now more law-a-biding) and I am sure used properly it would do a fine job on hogs - but it would not be ideal.

25-06 would do a reasonable job on hogs - especially with a fairly solid cored bullet - but is a deadly coyote and deer calibre - just do not plan on using the hides of any dog you shoot. I have taken the largest Alberta deer at long range with 110 grain ballistic tip bullets traveling at around 3600 FPS - and they do not go far when you tag them. :)

My absolute favourite - for all North Amrican animals was once a wildcat round but can now be bought off the shelf - so no re-loading is required. 338-06

Hand loading allows me to take bullet performance way up - or bring it down for smaller game.

That is a 338 cal round placed on the front of a 30-06 cartridge. There is nothing in North America that can stand up to it - shoots soft - my 105 pound wife uses it herself - and it is cheap to shoot if you reload.

For a straight "buyer of guns and ammo" - in other words no reloading - the 308 has done the world a pile of good service and I personally have taken many large bears and moose with it in northern Canada. You can find everything you need in almost any hardware store if you are out in "small town" country and no where near home.

Despite all the discussion of firearms, the all time and probably one of the best all round long gun and cartridge combinations is the venerable old 30-06. You can never go anywhere and not find a gunsmith who cannot fix it, a store that does not carry the ammo and so on. It too has taken everything North America has to offer and done it with ease. I believe people ignore it because it is an old rifle and has lost the mystique of something fancy - it is no longer marketed as a sexy rifle. And it is not a boom stick cannon - it is simply a good working rifle. Always look here when you consider a good all round rifle.

In the end I could go on for a long time - the following are the two most important items for anyone using a long gun.

1. Put some decent glass on top - spend as much or more on the sights as you do on the rifle - especially if you plan to do any long range shooting. You will not regret it - even as you grit your teeth paying for the glass! :D

2. Shoot it lots - learn how to clean it properly - build up of copper does not come out with an oil swipe - and tune the rifle and the trigger. Store bought equipment is usually only fair. A good smith with help you if you do not know how to do this yourself. It will cost, but in the end you will be very, very happy you did it.

Heck - buy two rifles! One for dogs and one for hogs. And some re-loading gear. Two rifles allows you twice the fun and the re-loading equipment allows you to build a tack driving round. You have no idea how accurate a Swift can be at 400 yards plus when rounds leave at nearly 4000 FPS.

For almost all of the above systems I have mentioned - with my reloads - for hunting in the field - not target shooting - I sight in 3 inches high at 100 yards - allowing me to "hold on fur" out to about 300 yards - knowing full well that my round - all things being equal - will hit slightly above, on, or slightly below the aim point - depending on the range - making my shooting easier as I do not have to guesstimate the bullet drop for longer ranges. Especially when I am in a situation with no rest and no time to think about the shot.

Finally - if you are in the desert and making some long open area shots - buy a Harris Bi-Pod - get the one with the short legs - you will use it every day.

Have fun

Bez+

Bez+,

I could not have said it better :tiphat: . Great post. Most folks miss the part about copper fouling. Back in my bench rest days we used allot of the sweets 69 copper fouling remover. Works great for "lapping" in a new barrel. If that is done right it sure reduces the amount of copper fouling.

For a pretty good yote / hog combo gun I would not feel inadequate with a .243 or 6mm Remington stoked with 100 gr. Nosler Partitions. I have taken lots of yotes, deer and even 300 pound black bears with it and all fell like lightning struck them. Keeping the yardage under 250 yards I would think that they would be death on your average hog.
 
Bez I am with Hoss on this one, I think you said it very well.

If it were me and just shootin hogs I'd go with the 338-06.
My gunsmith and I were talking today about one of his clients who he built one for. He says the guy in the last year has killed Antelope, Elk, Deer, hogs and coyotes and also uses it for a turkey gun believe it or not.

Also don't discount the 6mm Remington. I have one in the Improved version that shoots 95gr bullets at over 3250fps and believe not much walks away from that. For hogs you would probably want to use the barnes solid bullets for better penetration.
 
I keep an SKS in the truck, it does a decent job at the ranges that are normal around here. It never gets any attention, and it really doesnt hurt my feelings that it gets scratched. Cost 150 bucks, but out of the calibers that you mentioned, Id go with the 308.
 

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