SmallCaliberCentral

hi i'm wondering wat your opinion is on the 204 vs 22-250 for varmint hunting, gophers to coyotes, out to 500 maybe 600 yards. wat are the pros and cons of each?
and whats the farthest you have shot a coyote and had it dead within 20 seconds(thats acceptible for me) I've shot 2 past 500 yards, the first was hit too far back and ran 400 yards, the last one took one step and fell over. i shoot the 39 gr sierra bk at 3790fps
i get a kick out of guys who insist the 204 cant cut it for coyotes, cause thats almost all i use.

Snipersam,
First of all welcome to the forum! Now to your quest, I own both the .204 and the .22-250 and here's my opinion on the two. The .204 Ruger is a laser out to 500 yards in light/moderate winds (up to 15mph).When the wind is higher I break out the .22-250 but the down-side is that she bucks harder so I don't always get to see the show thru my scope like I do on every shot with the .204. The .22-250 will heat the barrel faster than the .204 so you have a slower rate of fire if you want to keep your barrel cool. The .204 will do just fine on yotes with 39's or 40's dispite what the "experts" say. Gary

I love this subject! Thanks for bringing it up again.
If you compare off the shelf factory rifles(no custom barrels with different twist rates shooting special bullets) and shoot the typical bullet weights, the 204 outshines the 22-250 in every way but energy and that difference isn't very much.
Go to the Hornady website and run a balistic chart for 204 at 3800 fps w/39 sbk's and compare to 22-250 at 3650 w/55 grain btip's.
The 204 will have a flatter trajectory and less wind drift than the 22-250. It will be as good or better than a 220 Swift at 3800 fps w/55's.
Further more, by practical experience, the 39 grain 20 cal bullet is very stable(good groups) beyond 600 yards. 55 grain 22 cal bullets start to lose stability(poor groups) between 500 and 600 yards for the above examples.

For the record. I have fired far in excess of 100,000 rounds at prairie dogs in 40 some years. I have loved 22-250's and 220 Swifts. I still shoot a pre 64 Win 220 Swift on occasion, and I will never sell it. I would never knock the cartridges in any way. I just like the 204 better!

If more 50 grain bullets were available than just Berger, I'd build a 20-250, 20-220 Swift, or 20 BR with 1:9 twist and use that extra powder capacity to create relatively flat trajectory and good bullet stability to 800 or more yards. I just can't get myself to build an expensive rifle for only one bullet.

hotshot thats what i find when i look at the ballistics. a 204 with 39 gr sierras will beat out a 22-250 with 55 gr plastic tipped bulleds cause the bc is slightly higher. If u would want to be better in the wind u need a bullet with a better bc. and that is simply not flat shooting anymore.
But on days when its not windy its amaizing how far u cau reach out and explode a milk jug filled with water. 500 yards and u can see it pop in your scope! my 243 with 105 gr a-max will pop the same jug at 500,but 600 u need a perfect center jug hit or u dont see it hit, u think u missed. at 700 i put 9 bullet holes in a jug before i went to check jug was empty and full of holes i thought i was missing

Can't wait until one of our forum members looks at this thread.

Him and I got into a rather heated discussion on Predator Masters.....needless to say, I have not posted over there since.

snipersam,
You know something about shooting if you're hitting targets at 700-900 yards. Keep playing with the amazing 204 and you'll be very surprised and happy.


Tom,
That's why I say--go to the charts and look it up yourself. Then just go out to the field and try it. You'll prove it to yourself. This is just plain, clear facts. I'm not BSing anybody. I'm an opiniated, thick headed Norwegian. So I heard it, then saw it, tried it and proved it to myself. Anybody can argue with me, but few can shoot with me. I will always listen to an experienced arguement based on fact, then give it a try, but it's hard to sell me any hot air.

I think hotshot nailed this one. I don't have first hand experience with the 22-250, but ran the ballistics between the two calibers before i purchased my 204. I was amazed with how flat the 204 shoots! Like hotshot and probably most of us, I have to see the "proof in the pudding" before I can be 100% convinced about something - best advice - test it yourself and compare. Great advice hotshot

I don't shoot coyotes, but I have spent enough time on prairie dog fields with both the .204 and the .22-250 to form personal opinions. My shots ranged from less than a hundred yards to out beyond 700 yards and I always felt like the .204 was the superior caliber. The .204 seemed to shoot flatter, recoil less and hit every bit as hard as the .22-250 while offering better wind resistance. I can't come up with a single compelling reason to choose the .22-250 for my intended purposes.

I read a article in my VH magazine and there was a pretty good article backing the .204 for better ballistic and the wind drift in the .204 manly cause of bc. I have owned both i bought my son a 22-250 and this will tell you my thoughts i sold it and bought him a .204. The barrels get so hot and i had problems w/ accuracy 3 different powders 5 different bullets later and it was see ya 22-250 hello king .204. And one powder checked one bullet later we had a tack driver. So in short story long i believe the .204 is MUCH a better cartridge.

You can see the hits (red mist) in the scope on a 204 vs the higher recoiling 22-250. My brother does not take his 22-250s or 223WSSM when we go after sage rats or prairie dogs. He is having a 204 built for the 50 grain Berger bullets.

Sidewinderwa wrote:He is having a 204 built for the 50 grain Berger bullets.

Interesting choice for sage rats and prairie dogs. What led him in that direction?

The data listed here would seem to lean heavily to the 22 calibers.

http://www.nosler.com/customammunitionlistings.htm

sidewinder: Your brother may not be happy shooting rats with a 204 amd 50 grainers. All the explosive action, great launches and terminal effects that we associate with the 204 won't be there shooting 50's, and he may not be able to see his hits in the scope any more either. It will be like shooting a 223 with 55's, as the recoil will knock him out of the scope picture with the heavier bullets most of the time.

He's be happier just shooting rats with 32's or 40's in a standard twist 204 me thinks, unless he just want to lob those heavier bullets at them at extended range.....

Well said rick it would be like shooting a 220 grain bullet in a .30-06

So....I used to own four .22-250's. I now own five .204's and the last .22-250 just came back reincarnated as a .243AI. You might say I'm sold on the .204. I purchased my first so I could call my own shots then I found the 35 grain Berger for coyotes and I haven't looked back. That said, I agree with the other posters concerning the ballistics and other benefits of the .204 in the varmint fields. Sage rats, pd's and rockchucks beware!

I kill quite a few coyotes each year. The vast majority are called in and at calling ranges the .204 with 35 gr Bergers is perfect but there is a point on coyotes that the smaller bullet in the .204 runs out of steam. Ballistically, energy still matters and if you really want to kill coyotes at extended ranges (over 300 to 350 yards) go bigger. I have killed coyotes beyond 400 yards with my .204's but if that were my goal, I'd personally still skip the hot .22's and go to a 6mm bullet. No harm intended. And, if it was a rethorical question, ignore the post. But, you asked.... For every other situation you referred to use the .204. You'll never look back either!