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.22-250 vs .222 vs .223 vs .243 pro's, cons and recommendations


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What are everyone's thoughts of pros cons and costings on the above calibres

Maximum rifle price £300 and topped with a Nikko diamond grade 4-12x56 scope

Would be purchasing factory ammo and largest quarry would be foxes and also used for occasional target shooting, both maximum 300yards

What gives best around value for money and performance

 

Cheers

 

MHS

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there all good pal in the right hands, just a personal thing i think, 22.250 for fox yet 222 for accuacy,every one to there own realy,but think you mite have to spend a bit more for something that is half decent, cheers simon...

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Answer of sorts is a 6mm 55 grn Nosler from a .243 win beats the same bullet from a 22-250 But its marginal, the .243 can also use a heavier higher BC varmint bullet or be used as an "all deer legal" rifle. Neither are required for shooting fox at 300 yds max and both have shorter barrel life also a larger report and greater recoil than the .222 or .223.

For a smaller budget such as mentioned I should buy a .222 personally as its a good round and tends to fetch less than an equivalent quality .223 on the second hand market because more people have a .223 slot good to go and most buyers( IMO mistakenly) feel they need the extra power of the .223

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It may be "boring" but bang-for-your-buck, the .223 can't be beaten.

 

It will suffer in strong winds at 300yds compared to the .243 but that's its only weakness in this context

 

Chris-NZ

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unless you get the 22/250 bore scoped i would be very careful when buying one for £300. unless you trust the seller that is and take his word on it for shot count etc.

and accuracy.

 

222 you will find cheaper i had one a couple of years back very accurate indeed. was a tikka m595 wood blued. cost me £300 but i had it cut down to 18 inches as i wanted a light compact rifle.

 

if you can find a 223 the same sort of price then go for that. imo it offers abit more over the 222. performance but also will let you shoot heavier bullets. for instance the 12 twist 223 will let you shoot 40's upto 63 grain flat based bullets.

 

the 222 being a 14 twist is limited to 55 grain bullets. and to be fair even those didnt shoot that well in mine. 40's and 50's where the best in it. so think the 223 offers that little bit more.

 

shame you haven't got a little more budget a lad i know well just got a 220 swift with next to nothing round count at a bargain price.so is selling his 22/250 vssf..

 

its seen 700 rounds,. but shoots spot on. sub half inch with 55 grain vmax. he has 100 homeloads with it. lee dies. leupold rings. atec moderator. he has also put a cheap scope on it just so any buyer could use the rifle right away. it also has a new h&s stock on it off the swift because he kept his old accuracy stock off his 22/250 to put on his swift. it shoots spot on and you would be more then welcome to go view and shoot if you went the 22/250 route.

 

he only wants £575 for it !

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Hi MHS,

Lots of us have started this way.Here's the 'ballistic' comparisons first:all factory ammo:

 

222 (50g) mv 3140 fps energy 1094 ft lb zero 200y drop/drift at 300 y 8/12 inch

223(55g) 3240 1280 7/11

22/250 " 3670 1645 5/9

243 " 3850 1810 5/8

 

These are all fine for your stated uses,fox up to 300yards,occasionally,and likewise informal targets at 300y,though 300y is starting to stretch the 222-it's a 250 cartridge.The 223 can reach out quite a bit farther with a fast twist barrel-and heavier bullets.And the 243 can handle heavier bullets,and be fully UK deer legal.Noise and recoil will be greater,as MV increases.A good moderator will tame that,and you should see bullet strike,even in the 243.But you probably won't get a mod in your budget.Factory ammo costs are quite comparable-using PPS just as a guide-they may well be fine in whatever you buy-222 and 223 run about £50/100,match quality £65. 22/250 and 243 are about £63/100.Reloading essentially saves the cost of the brass,(say £30 100) though you might be able to sell your once fired brass (£10-15/100)Not much in it for cost,then.

You do not need the extra performance of the 22/250 or 243 for your stated uses.Most of the advice already given centres on 223,and indeed that looks optimal.£300 is a tight budget for a rifle,and means second hand,but there are some about-try Guntrader.You won't get the latest spec,and maybe not a tighter twist,which started to come in later ,and really never on the 222.but you don't really need that. A basic rifle may well be fine-especially if it's a 'carry rifle'.If at all possible ,try to test fire any purchase-don't expect anything better than 1/2 moa,but good news is ,you don't need it.I would hesitate though to buy anything above 1moa for 3 shots.40+ years ago I bought a 222 sako carbine,and a 243 varminter.I never felt disadvantaged for field shooting at least to 250 with the little 222,nor informal range shooting 3-500 with the 243,which was less flexible then.I think I'd feel much the same now if I had just one 223 and was shooting field/target to 300yards,but I am keeping the other two! Hope this helps.

Gbal

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223,,,,,,,,,,make sure its a 1 in 9 twist to shoot decent BC heads to 300 yards,,,Suggest you look to some loaded ammo from HPS. The 1/9 will also shoot most factory offerings for varminting too! I think most 22-250 and 243 factory or laoded ammo would be more expensive and the 222 brilliant as it is readily available ammo would tend to be light weight stuff and possibly limited in choice as not the most popular round now generally speaking for varminting target shooting {at 300}

Yep,,,,,,,,223 given your need for value for money performance,,,

PS,,,,Have someone "in the know" look over a rifle if you don,t know what to look for,,,for £300 expect some wear and tear,,,take care!!

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Got 17rem,22-250, 223, 243 and 25-06 and do you know what the foxes don't like any of them!

But seriously I could get rid of 3 of them and cover most things.

Best on paper--- 223 (for me) !

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Just got 22 250 brilliant fox round. Will Always have a 223, cheap, accurate,use it for targets.

 

Would be looking at 222 with £300 price range, seem be good rifles second hand not so popular as 223 ?

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Had an Anschutz 222 that i used for roe and fox but i found after maybe 150 yds or so i lost confidence in its killing ability, sold it and got VSSF ii in 22/250, best thing i have done. Can be messy on roe but ideal on fox.

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the info supplied in this thread is very informative thanks guys

I think the .222 is more in my price range but the .223 more suitable for my needs so may have to think about a few more £'s in the kitty

the .243 could be an option as then there is always the option for deer in the future without having to change rifles and the .243 will more than deal with our friend "Charlie" and I have been told some of the old parker hales in .243 can be picked up at a good price in decent nick.super safari models

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the info supplied in this thread is very informative thanks guys

I think the .222 is more in my price range but the .223 more suitable for my needs so may have to think about a few more £'s in the kitty

the .243 could be an option as then there is always the option for deer in the future without having to change rifles and the .243 will more than deal with our friend "Charlie" and I have been told some of the old parker hales in .243 can be picked up at a good price in decent nick.super safari models

This is so-remember though to check with your FLO about using a 243 on small vermin,if that is one intended use.

Gbal

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This is so-remember though to check with your FLO about using a 243 on small vermin,if that is one intended use.

Gbal

FEO round this way is of the opinion that a .243 is too heavy for fox and Rimmies are too light. They are 'happy' to let you have a mentored .22 CF for fox - to start with.

Might be worth a chat with yours before to fill in that form.

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Had .243,.22/250 and .222,all good rounds.If you`re going for foxes in any conditions,get a .243 and feed it 70-75gr ammo,end of !

If you want .22 cf and .222 aint enough,forget .223 and get a .22/250 or .220 Swift.

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This is so-remember though to check with your FLO about using a 243 on small vermin,if that is one intended use.

Gbal

I'm going to apply for a .22rimfire for small vermin anyways

FEO round this way is of the opinion that a .243 is too heavy for fox and Rimmies are too light. They are 'happy' to let you have a mentored .22 CF for fox - to start with.

Might be worth a chat with yours before to fill in that form.

Gonna give him a bell

Got my old man and brother who will mentor me as old man is an ex keeper and brother is a keeper

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I have a triple deuce as well as 243 and 308. If its real windy, the 308 wins, but, I've just got back in from an afternoon on rooks and bunnies with the 222, if I can take a crow at 281 yds, the 'deuce' is better than a '250 yd' gun.

I used it at 500 on langport range on Sunday, only took 5 shots with it, four v-bulls and a bull, so in the right conditions and a decent nut behind the bolt, it's fab. It's naturally accurate, only 100 fps or so less than a 223, plus a tad more economical to load (by a few grains of powder)

I've taken plenty of foxes with, .17hmr, .22 Lr and wmr, .223 .222 .243 and .308, and the only two I won't use are the Hmr and Lr. I've not had any runners with any of the centerfires and partially due to the inherent accuracy of the .222, I'm more than happy to use, it's my 'go to' rifle

Pete

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unless you get the 22/250 bore scoped i would be very careful when buying one for £300. unless you trust the seller that is and take his word on it for shot count etc.

and accuracy.

 

222 you will find cheaper i had one a couple of years back very accurate indeed. was a tikka m595 wood blued. cost me £300 but i had it cut down to 18 inches as i wanted a light compact rifle.

 

if you can find a 223 the same sort of price then go for that. imo it offers abit more over the 222. performance but also will let you shoot heavier bullets. for instance the 12 twist 223 will let you shoot 40's upto 63 grain flat based bullets.

 

the 222 being a 14 twist is limited to 55 grain bullets. and to be fair even those didnt shoot that well in mine. 40's and 50's where the best in it. so think the 223 offers that little bit more.

 

shame you haven't got a little more budget a lad i know well just got a 220 swift with next to nothing round count at a bargain price.so is selling his 22/250 vssf..

 

its seen 700 rounds,. but shoots spot on. sub half inch with 55 grain vmax. he has 100 homeloads with it. lee dies. leupold rings. atec moderator. he has also put a cheap scope on it just so any buyer could use the rifle right away. it also has a new h&s stock on it off the swift because he kept his old accuracy stock off his 22/250 to put on his swift. it shoots spot on and you would be more then welcome to go view and shoot if you went the 22/250 route.

 

he only wants £575 for it !

dont want to interupt but i have a 22.250 vssf and it shoots under half inch at 110 yard, just thought i would let you know pal, very accurate for the money,cheers simon

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