204 or 22-250

[predhunter]

what would be beter for coyotes and tagets a 204 or 22-250 . how far can the 204 take coyotes down at and how far could the 22-250 take them down at. whic would be cheeper to by for ammo.

[WrzWaldo]

Both have a good selection of factory loads and prices are fairly comparative between the two.

The 22-250 has a minimal advantage in retained energy down range.

The 204 Ruger uses about 7 grains less powder for about the same performance with a 40 grain V-Max.

Both will consistently bring down coyotes easily out to 300 yards and depending on ones shooting ability a couple hundred yards further.

Here they are side by side. Red = 22-250 (4000 fps) / Black = 204 Ruger (3800 fps). Both using the 40 grain V-Max.


Both are more than adequate for poking holes in paper.

WW

[Odawgpw/204]

I have Encore barrels in both calibers and for me it boiled down to which was the most confortable to shoot.

I chose the 204. I can take it to the range shoot it all day and watch the bullet pass through the target every shot. Or go hunting and be confidend that I can take anything out to 300yds without a problem.

[Ryan S Albright]

What is nice about the 204 is you can watch your hit or miss because of the recoil. I was shooting at a coyote off a hill down into a flat the coyote was around 600yrds out and there was a strong cross wind I saw the bullet hit in the dirt behind the coyote I had the elevation right I just didn't have the wind deveation figured right. I have returned to the same spot a few times and taken the long shots but the wind has always been howling across my shot. But when I get one I will tell you how it worked at that yardage.

[WrzWaldo]

Addendum to my previous post.

The 204 Ruger passes the 22-250 on downrange energy at 250 yards.

Code: Select all

Load Data
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .224 Cal, Hornady #22241 V-Max, 40 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.200
Bullet Weight: 40
Velocity: 4200
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
  0 yds   -1.50 in  4200 fps  1567 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -1.50 in    0.00 in
 25 yds   -0.61 in  4047 fps  1455 fpe  0.018 sec    0.06 in  -0.58 in    0.06 in
 50 yds    0.14 in  3899 fps  1350 fpe  0.037 sec    0.26 in  -0.53 in    0.23 in
 75 yds    0.76 in  3756 fps  1253 fpe  0.057 sec    0.60 in  -0.44 in    0.54 in
100 yds    1.22 in  3618 fps  1163 fpe  0.077 sec    1.09 in  -0.31 in    0.99 in
125 yds    1.51 in  3485 fps  1078 fpe  0.098 sec    1.75 in  -0.13 in    1.56 in
150 yds    1.63 in  3355 fps  1000 fpe  0.120 sec    2.58 in   0.10 in    2.27 in
175 yds    1.54 in  3230 fps   927 fpe  0.143 sec    3.62 in   0.39 in    3.14 in
200 yds    1.26 in  3108 fps   858 fpe  0.167 sec    4.86 in   0.75 in    4.17 in
225 yds    0.75 in  2990 fps   794 fpe  0.191 sec    6.32 in   1.18 in    5.36 in
250 yds    0.00 in  2875 fps   734 fpe  0.217 sec    8.01 in   1.68 in    6.70 in
275 yds   -1.02 in  2763 fps   678 fpe  0.243 sec    9.99 in   2.28 in    8.25 in
300 yds   -2.33 in  2653 fps   625 fpe  0.271 sec   12.25 in   2.97 in   10.00 in
325 yds   -3.93 in  2547 fps   576 fpe  0.300 sec   14.80 in   3.77 in   11.93 in
350 yds   -5.87 in  2442 fps   530 fpe  0.330 sec   17.69 in   4.69 in   14.06 in
375 yds   -8.17 in  2340 fps   486 fpe  0.361 sec   20.94 in   5.74 in   16.42 in
400 yds  -10.90 in  2241 fps   446 fpe  0.394 sec   24.62 in   6.95 in   19.07 in
425 yds  -14.07 in  2144 fps   408 fpe  0.428 sec   28.74 in   8.32 in   21.97 in
450 yds  -17.69 in  2049 fps   373 fpe  0.464 sec   33.31 in   9.87 in   25.12 in
475 yds  -21.82 in  1957 fps   340 fpe  0.501 sec   38.39 in  11.62 in   28.53 in
500 yds  -26.50 in  1867 fps   310 fpe  0.540 sec   44.03 in  13.59 in   32.23 in
525 yds  -31.93 in  1781 fps   282 fpe  0.582 sec   50.41 in  15.84 in   36.37 in
550 yds  -38.12 in  1697 fps   256 fpe  0.625 sec   57.55 in  18.40 in   40.89 in
575 yds  -45.07 in  1617 fps   232 fpe  0.671 sec   65.45 in  21.26 in   45.76 in
600 yds  -52.79 in  1540 fps   210 fpe  0.718 sec   74.12 in  24.45 in   50.94 in
625 yds  -61.48 in  1465 fps   191 fpe  0.768 sec   83.76 in  28.04 in   56.53 in
650 yds  -71.33 in  1396 fps   173 fpe  0.820 sec   94.57 in  32.09 in   62.62 in
675 yds  -82.45 in  1332 fps   158 fpe  0.875 sec  106.64 in  36.64 in   69.21 in
700 yds  -94.81 in  1272 fps   144 fpe  0.933 sec  119.95 in  41.70 in   76.20 in
725 yds -108.60 in  1217 fps   131 fpe  0.993 sec  134.69 in  47.34 in   83.65 in
750 yds -124.03 in  1168 fps   121 fpe  1.056 sec  151.07 in  53.61 in   91.60 in
775 yds -141.12 in  1125 fps   112 fpe  1.122 sec  169.12 in  60.53 in   99.97 in
800 yds -160.01 in  1086 fps   105 fpe  1.189 sec  188.95 in  68.16 in  108.77 in


Load Data
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .204 Cal, Hornady #22006 V-Max, 40 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.275
Bullet Weight: 40
Velocity: 3800
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
  0 yds   -1.50 in  3800 fps  1282 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -1.50 in    0.00 in
 25 yds   -0.52 in  3698 fps  1215 fpe  0.020 sec    0.08 in  -0.58 in    0.06 in
 50 yds    0.31 in  3599 fps  1150 fpe  0.041 sec    0.31 in  -0.52 in    0.20 in
 75 yds    0.96 in  3501 fps  1089 fpe  0.062 sec    0.71 in  -0.42 in    0.44 in
100 yds    1.44 in  3407 fps  1031 fpe  0.083 sec    1.29 in  -0.26 in    0.78 in
125 yds    1.74 in  3314 fps   975 fpe  0.106 sec    2.06 in  -0.06 in    1.24 in
150 yds    1.83 in  3223 fps   923 fpe  0.129 sec    3.03 in   0.21 in    1.81 in
175 yds    1.71 in  3135 fps   873 fpe  0.152 sec    4.21 in   0.53 in    2.50 in
200 yds    1.37 in  3048 fps   825 fpe  0.177 sec    5.60 in   0.92 in    3.29 in
225 yds    0.81 in  2963 fps   779 fpe  0.201 sec    7.22 in   1.37 in    4.20 in
250 yds    0.00 in  2879 fps   736 fpe  0.227 sec    9.09 in   1.91 in    5.23 in
275 yds   -1.08 in  2797 fps   695 fpe  0.254 sec   11.23 in   2.52 in    6.42 in
300 yds   -2.44 in  2717 fps   655 fpe  0.281 sec   13.66 in   3.23 in    7.75 in
325 yds   -4.10 in  2638 fps   618 fpe  0.309 sec   16.37 in   4.04 in    9.22 in
350 yds   -6.06 in  2560 fps   582 fpe  0.338 sec   19.39 in   4.95 in   10.82 in
375 yds   -8.35 in  2484 fps   548 fpe  0.368 sec   22.74 in   5.96 in   12.58 in
400 yds  -10.96 in  2409 fps   515 fpe  0.398 sec   26.41 in   7.10 in   14.46 in
425 yds  -13.98 in  2335 fps   484 fpe  0.430 sec   30.49 in   8.37 in   16.55 in
450 yds  -17.42 in  2263 fps   455 fpe  0.462 sec   34.99 in   9.79 in   18.84 in
475 yds  -21.29 in  2192 fps   427 fpe  0.496 sec   39.92 in  11.36 in   21.33 in
500 yds  -25.61 in  2122 fps   400 fpe  0.531 sec   45.30 in  13.11 in   23.99 in
525 yds  -30.39 in  2053 fps   374 fpe  0.567 sec   51.13 in  15.02 in   26.82 in
550 yds  -35.72 in  1986 fps   350 fpe  0.604 sec   57.53 in  17.14 in   29.90 in
575 yds  -41.45 in  1919 fps   327 fpe  0.642 sec   64.32 in  19.42 in   33.07 in
600 yds  -47.90 in  1854 fps   305 fpe  0.681 sec   71.82 in  21.97 in   36.57 in
625 yds  -55.08 in  1791 fps   285 fpe  0.723 sec   80.06 in  24.80 in   40.39 in
650 yds  -63.00 in  1730 fps   266 fpe  0.766 sec   89.05 in  27.91 in   44.48 in
675 yds  -71.68 in  1671 fps   248 fpe  0.810 sec   98.78 in  31.32 in   48.84 in
700 yds  -81.12 in  1613 fps   231 fpe  0.856 sec  109.28 in  35.03 in   53.44 in
725 yds  -91.33 in  1556 fps   215 fpe  0.903 sec  120.55 in  39.06 in   58.26 in
750 yds -102.31 in  1501 fps   200 fpe  0.952 sec  132.59 in  43.42 in   63.29 in
775 yds -114.56 in  1449 fps   186 fpe  1.003 sec  145.90 in  48.26 in   68.78 in
800 yds -127.92 in  1399 fps   174 fpe  1.055 sec  160.32 in  53.54 in   74.60 in

[GAJoe]

Wrz Waldo,
That info shows where the 40gr .204 shines with that great BC. The 32gr at muzzle of 4250fps runs out of steam fast. That's what most people think of when you say .204. Great info! I shoot 40gr Noslers at 3850fps.
GAJoe

[Hotshot]

What does run out of steam in a hurry mean. I see very little difference out to 400 yards between 32 and 40 grain bullets in my 204.

[Silverfox]

Hotshot-- I concur on your observation about the trajectory of those two bullets. I only use the 39 gr. Sierra and have used the 32 gr. V-Max. Those two bullets, if sighted in at the same point of impact at 100 yards (1.1" high and the center of my scope is 1.6" above the center of the bore) and assuming the 32 gr. V-Max is going at about 4,172 fps at the muzzle and a 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing is going 3,920 fps at the muzzle (these are actual loads I have used in my Savage 12VLP), then there is very little difference in drop all the way out to 500 yards. (Five hundred yards is as far as I calculate my drop and deflection charts.)

However, there is a difference in ft/lbs of energy in favor of the heavier bullet and the amount wind deflection is less for the heavier bullet. Wind deflection is 1/2" more for the 32 gr. pill at 150 yards, +.9" at 200 yards, +1.3" at 250 yards, +1.9" at 300 yards, +2.6" at 350 yards, and +3.4" at 400 yards. If you know your rifle by doing a lot of shooting in variable wind conditions, then these wind deflection differences should not pose a great problem. I still prefer the heavier bullet though. JMHO and it is worth what you paid for it.

[GAJoe]

steam= downrange energy
The 40 grainers with B.C.'s like .239 & .275 have 500+ ftlbs past 350 yds still shooting very flat trajectory.
The 32gr with a B.C. of .185 movin' 4250fps at muzzle has 505 ftlbs at 275 yds.
(The 500 is my cutoff # on coyotes. I've killed 40 and 45lb coyotes here in GA)
GAJoe