22-250 or 223 for foxes.

[gr cz527]

personally i love my 22-250 compared to the 223. however my 22-250 is for roe aswell as Nv use and i felt was a better equipped all rounder. i dont regret swapping to it. 50 or 55gr for both and its consistent as hell out to 250/300 yards.

 

[Bramble]

I have both a 204 and 22.250, love shooting the 204 but have to say the 22.250 hits a lot harder.

 

[richard griffith]

Most of the more mature 22-250 owners on here will have owned an XR3I back in the day

Toodle pip

No class.I had a 22.250 with a mark 1 R/s Turbo to match.

 

[Trigger260]

No class.I had a 22.250 with a mark 1 R/s Turbo to match.

Posh tw-t ! I bet your rifle had a flutted barrel

 

[JTO]

Which would you have more confidence in buying secondhand?

 

[jthyttin]

If you want to play the trajectory game, you cannot take any shortcuts. Especially velocities over 1000m/s you just have to choose a bullet with high BC. In this case (factory only) the choice is even more limited, and you should have several candidates in case your rifle doesn't like the load that's best on the paper. Also the 22-250 will start to shine only when you move to fast twist barrels and bullets somewhere at 75 grain mark.

Here's an example, Hornady 223 Superformance (3465fps and G1 BC .290) will match regular 55gr SP 22-250 (G1 BC .207 from Sellier&Bellot and 3680fps from Hornady since S&B claimed only 3090fps that's probly a mistake). Criteria used is zero distance with 2" theoretical killzone (previously mentioned in this thread) and for both it's 190y giving MPBR of 215y. Sea level and standard conditions, including the usual 1.5" sight height.

And even the 22-250 Superformance (4000fps 50gr, G1 BC .242) has only 215 yard zero and 245 MPBR, when you stop guessing and punch the numbers in proper calculator.

 

[sako]

hi l have 2 ( 22.250 ) and shot them for years a good fox rifle

 

[Foxyboy43]

Hmmm.
There are no degrees of dead. A 55gns bullet fired from a .223 carries enough energy to kill a fox at distances well beyond the abilities or needs of any fox-shooter I know, with the blessed .222 snapping at it‘s heels. At 300 yds and firing the same 55 gns bullet the .243 retains twice the amount of energy. It is worth noting that all three, like any bullet have the ability to wound at any distance causing at worst a long slow, painful death - something we all should strive to avoid. Trajectory in some ways is a much less important aspect if you know your rifle and where it hits at given distances especially at sub-300m.
Sooo more than enough poke and inherently accurate so the call is really yours to make - there are other variables but the two biggies for you are how far you are likely to be shooting and how confident are you of a clean kill shooting at that distance?

 

[jthyttin]

A 55gns bullet fired from a .223 ... At 300 yds and firing the same 55 gns bullet the .243 retains twice the amount of energy.

No it doesn't. Since you might refer to 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip with 243, I took the bullets from their offerings. Sadly Nosler doesn't list ready-made ammunition for 243 using that bullet.

So taking the velocity figures from Hornady and bullet data from Nosler (that's way more flattering to 243) we get 53% more energy at 300y than 55gr BT. But that was the best case for 243, matching regular 223 data against SuperFormance 243 data. If we match SuperFormance against SuperFormance (that means changing 223 bullet to modern design i.e. 53gr Varmageddon) the difference is only 29%.

 

[Foxyboy43]

No it doesn't. Since you might refer to 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip with 243, I took the bullets from their offerings. Sadly Nosler doesn't list ready-made ammunition for 243 using that bullet.

So taking the velocity figures from Hornady and bullet data from Nosler (that's way more flattering to 243) we get 53% more energy at 300y than 55gr BT. But that was the best case for 243, matching regular 223 data against SuperFormance 243 data. If we match SuperFormance against SuperFormance (that means changing 223 bullet to modern design i.e. 53gr Varmageddon) the difference is only 29%.

Sako was my source with the same 55 grainer bullet in both chambers so they clearly disagree with you (541 against 1058 joules) which when I went to school and using my chalk and slate plus all, and I do mean all, my fingers would have concluded pretty much “twice’ the energy but either way both are more than enough for the bushy-tailed ones at 300 and far beyond. If you can hit them…..

 

[ashray]

factory winchester 58gr 243 or if you are able to reload 55gr/70gr fox wont know the difference and i dought that you would.

 

[jthyttin]

Same 55gr bullet? Sako uses in-house SP for 55gr 223 load and Sierra Blitzking for 55gr 243 load. They're both crappy BC wise, especially the SP. Furthermore, 223 is somewhat toned down since it's marketed primarily as small game not varmint load. Like I said previously, there's no shortcuts and you shouldn't use crappy bullets (if you want to maximize longer range results).

From Sako line-up, dropping to 50gr Blitzking in 223 you get flatter trajectory and, if the energy is relevant to you, 46% more energy at 300 meters. And even in 243 you get about same trajectory, markedly less wind drift, and 32% more energy if you go up to 70gr Blitzking. Not that you need the energy, but less drift is always nice. For a reloader, switching to 55gr bullet with better BC (Nosler Ballistic Tip) is also an option, giving flatter trajectory still.

 

[Polar Lynx]

I'd say (using both) 22-250 best for longer shots but much louder than the 223. If shooting is about where people live then 223 with mod is much more acceptable.
Also, if 22-250 to be choosen because of long shots then is required a more advanced (expensive) scope then with short shots and 223.
For night foxing 223, definitly. Closer shots and don't want to disturb sleeping villages nearby, as said.