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What kind of a gun ?

ray12

Junior Member
Most of you guys are from ohio ! What kind of a rifle do you think would suit a ohio coyote and fox hunter the best?? I will be buying a new rifle sometime this spring or summer! as soon as the work picks back up and my pockets are full :) ! I will be groundhog hunting with this gun to. Just for practice ! I was thinking about the 204 ruger, 223 or the 22-250 I know these are not the best rounds for fox but I dont really want something smaller then the 204! But what would you guys think ? is it neccasary to have a 22-250 in ohio? I will hunt some down on AEP land and that has some wide open terrain! but for the majority of my hunting a 250 yrd shot will be far! but theres always the chance of having that 400-500 yrd shot ! Plus I like the Idea of having a flat shooting gun that will shoot accurately at 50 yrds and 200 yrds! Just give me some Ideas on what you all would choose for ohio hunting! And if you guys shoot one of these rounds and dont have problems messing up the fur I would love to hear what kind of bullets that your shooting ! anything to help me reduce the fur damage will be appreciated ! Thanks in advance guys !
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
223 or 243 IMHO.

223 will shoot a 45gr to 78gr bullet very accurately out to 300 yards pending barrel twist. I recommend it for most and it is cheap to shoot comparatively speaking.

243 is another good one especially for reloaders. Much bigger than that then the hide takes more abuse.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I don't know shit about ballistics and all that jazz. Just a simple redneck with a Remington cheapy from Dicks that shoots 22-250. Never shot a yote with it, but it'll blow the hell out of a watermelon at 200 yards! lmao
 

yotehunter

Member
1,527
36
spencerville oh
I own a 223 a 22 250 and a 243. All of which has killed coyotes for me. I prefer the 250 . My only downfall is my 250 is a bull barrel. And its heavy lugging it around. Any 50 to 62 grain bullet is plenty for a coyote. As far as the 204 I'm sure it would do the trick also but seems a little lite for severe wind conditions. If you think you will use it as a deer rifle I would go with the 243. The only difference between the 223 and 250 is about 150 yards and around 400 to 600 fps which means less hold over. If your planning on going out west and shooting prairie dogs the bull barrel is great but if you walking several miles a day with it on your shoulder you will want to go with a sporter barrel. Good luck with your choice.
 
I use 2 differnt 223's

A Savage Varmit rifle and a AR 15

The Savage is a old 110V that Savage blocked the mag well to hold the 223
I have killed Yotes to 300 yds , never shot at one past that
The 50 Gr Nosler BT bullets kill quick and some times leave little to no exit hole on a large Yote

The AR is a Colt HBar
I use the Hornady 60 gr V Max bullets in it

A great Yote , ground hog and fox round
Longest shot on a Yote was 250 yds , just never had a shot longer
But I have used this combo on groundhogs to 400 yds


If I was to use a bigger cart.
It would be a 243 or 6 MM Remington , not a 22/250

As IMO as it has 2 problems when looking at the 223 and 22/250
#1 is the price of ammo
#2 is the twist rate of the barrels
Most 22/250's are designed to shoot the light bullets ....FAST
Great for ground hogs
But on longer shots on Yotes , IMO the light fast bullet looses energy and soon fails to give you the quick kills ( or at all )

John
 

GoetsTalon

Senior Member
Supporting Member
4,294
128
Walbridge oh
Used a 22-250 a lot and some 223 and 25.06 then i bought a reminton 700 BDL in .17 remington caliber. WOW talk about a nice fur friendly round!!!! Over 4000fps. Zero ricochet with the small 20 grain bullets. People will say its no good in the wind but for 300 yards and a little farther it isn't in the air long enough for the wind to mess with it.
 

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,145
178
Mohicanish
It all depends on what you want it to do. What type of rifle do you want to shoot? AR style semi auto? Bolt action?

204 - Lightweight bullet moving super fast. A friend has one and says its the centerfire version of the 17hmr, in other words, fast and a laser for accuracy. He hates shooting much past 200 yards b/c the wind blows it around too much.

223 - Depending on the twist of the barrel you can shoot from 40-80 grain bullets. In an AR15 style rifle you can only go up to around 77 grains due to the magazine length. You can hand (one at a time) load heavier bullets or go to a bolt action where you are not limited by the AR15 magazine. Lots of options from manufacturers and more if you reload. Easily can do the distances you mentioned if you know your gun, your holdovers and are a good shot.

243 - Very versatile gun. I personally have taken groundhogs out to 478 yards with mine shooting 80 grain winchesters. Can go lighter or heavier with bullets depending on what you are shooting. Can be loaded for groundhogs up through deer sized animals and can go pretty well for distance also.

22-250 - Shoots light bullets 40-50ish grains really fast and flat. Holdovers are minimal b/c its so flat shooting. Pretty much only a varmint cartridge so minimal versatility.
 

ray12

Junior Member
Ok well thanks for all the positive suggestions guys !! I'm not 100% sure yet but I do believe I will be going with a 22-250 I like the idea of how flat they shoot!! I don't like to sit there and aim 3 foot high and hope it's hitting !! But like I said I am not sure yet!! But I would really like to have a 223 it's a cool round ! I know I won't want to shoot allot of fox with the 22-250 but that gives me an excuse to go and buy another gun ;) I highly doubt I will ever get a shot much more then 200 yrds at a coyote ! I guess I have to try it out and if I don't like what the gun does I can always sell it and try another caliber ! And I never gave the 17 Remington much thought! I have heard allot of good things about that little round though!
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
For groundhogs (and I am certain it would do great on fox) the 17hmr would be an excellent choice. In my opinion it would be light for coyote unless you were shooting them standing still and going for head shots only. If you have never hunted them, let me assure you, this isn't a shot they offer very often. Better go for something which can take out the vitals and I really don't think the 17hmr would do so consistently.

223 is fun with good bullet options and great on an AR platform. 243 is nice if you want to deer hunt with it as well. If you ever want to introduce your wife or kids to deer hunting with a rifle it is forgiving. 22-250? Fast, loud, and effective. Fur friendly? I really don't know.
 

GoetsTalon

Senior Member
Supporting Member
4,294
128
Walbridge oh
Of all the .17's on the market today other than the wildcat rounds the .17 remington is the big boy on the block. .223 case necked down to .17 caliber. Its a awesome round that is FLAT shooting. Unless the fox or yote is right on top of you there is going to be very very little fur damage. In a urban area there is zero worrys about a ricochet because when that 25 grain bullet hits the ground or grass or whatever at 4000fps its history. For the distances your talking you wont have to worry about hold over. Sited in at a inch high at 100 yards you can hold dead on out to a little past 300.
 
ray12,
There's no such thing as "too much rifle"...dead is dead. :smiley_armscrossed: Especially, when it comes to eliminating varmints. :smiley_bril: If saving the fur is a concern, shoot 'em in the head.

Savage is my recommendation for accuracy. :smiley_blink:

As far as a caliber, if you go too small the wind is going to be a concern. You mentioned shooting some distances of 400+, so purchasing a rifle with good ballistics would be a wise choice. Since you're in hill country, ricochets won't be a concern, so that opens up the choices for a lot of larger calibers...unless you're recoil sensitive.

I don't recommend anything with less power than a .22-250. From there, you get into a .243, 6mm, 6.5 Grendel, .25-06, 220 Swift (same ballistics as a .22-250 Ackley Improved) and then there's the .224 Weatherby.

If you really want to get off of the porch and run with the big dogs, there are some larger and meaner possibilities.
.30-06, .257 Weatherby (a "hot rod" .25-06), 300 Weatherby (same ballistics as a .22-250, but hits harder), Weatherby .30-338 is a little faster, flatter shooting and hits harder down range than the 300.

Bullet availability isn't the best with .25 calibers and I'm not sure why. It could be popularity or the lack there of, as I've had a heck of a time finding .75gr. V-Max bullets for my .25-06. 30 caliber bullet selection is the best and next to that would be .22 caliber and then .24 caliber.

If you're going to be shooting past 200 yards, don't get a sporter barrel. I hear people bitch all the time about having to lug around a varmint barrel, but when it comes down to taking the shot, I've never had a heavy barreled rifle let me down. Especially, if you're going to reload for this rifle...and I highly recommend it.

Good luck with your choices!
Bowhunter57
 

yotehunter

Member
1,527
36
spencerville oh
Ok well thanks for all the positive suggestions guys !! I'm not 100% sure yet but I do believe I will be going with a 22-250 I like the idea of how flat they shoot!! I don't like to sit there and aim 3 foot high and hope it's hitting !! But like I said I am not sure yet!! But I would really like to have a 223 it's a cool round ! I know I won't want to shoot allot of fox with the 22-250 but that gives me an excuse to go and buy another gun ;) I highly doubt I will ever get a shot much more then 200 yrds at a coyote ! I guess I have to try it out and if I don't like what the gun does I can always sell it and try another caliber ! And I never gave the 17 Remington much thought! I have heard allot of good things about that little round though!
If you load the right bullet pelt damage is minimal with the 250 the v max or sierra blitz kings or sxsp are hard to beat very few exit holes if loaded hot enough, and very very minimal ricochets .
 

yotehunter

Member
1,527
36
spencerville oh
I use 2 differnt 223's

A Savage Varmit rifle and a AR 15

The Savage is a old 110V that Savage blocked the mag well to hold the 223
I have killed Yotes to 300 yds , never shot at one past that
The 50 Gr Nosler BT bullets kill quick and some times leave little to no exit hole on a large Yote

The AR is a Colt HBar
I use the Hornady 60 gr V Max bullets in it

A great Yote , ground hog and fox round
Longest shot on a Yote was 250 yds , just never had a shot longer
But I have used this combo on groundhogs to 400 yds


If I was to use a bigger cart.
It would be a 243 or 6 MM Remington , not a 22/250

As IMO as it has 2 problems when looking at the 223 and 22/250
#1 is the price of ammo
#2 is the twist rate of the barrels
Most 22/250's are designed to shoot the light bullets ....FAST
Great for ground hogs
But on longer shots on Yotes , IMO the light fast bullet looses energy and soon fails to give you the quick kills ( or at all )

John

I agree for a brush gun that is accurate as all get out the savage is hard to beat. They are a very accurate out of the box they are not the prettiest but the shoot great my 223 and 250 are both savage 110s wouldn't trade them for the world. I do have another 250 in a 788 Remington that is more cantackorus to load the savage shot just about anything I fed it.
 

GoetsTalon

Senior Member
Supporting Member
4,294
128
Walbridge oh
My 22-250 is a Savage 112 heavy barrel that is a great shooter. Bought it in the early 90's so its pre accu-trigger but had a trigger job done on it. Not the fastest load but the one it loves is the old standard of 38 grains of H-380 with a 50 grain hornady spire point. Love my .17 and its my go to gun but a 22-250 with a great load is hard to beat!!!!