i'm looking to get a varmit rifle

[pahntr760]

I don't think I want a 22 cal rifle. Good range and all but the wind like to play tricks with them. I was looking at a .243. Is this too much gun? My dad has a regular ADL in a 243 and that was my woodchuck gun for quite a while. I currently hunt with either a .308 or a 7 mm Rem Mag. Both of which areconsiderably too large for yotes. Mostly though it will be a bench rest/ prairie dog killer. What's y'all opinion? [/align][/align][/align]

[jsb57]

i dont have one but a lot of people like the 243 so i would say yes to it for coyotes

[Howler]

Mostly though it will be a bench rest/ prairie dog killer. What's y'all opinion?

Since it will mostly be used on the bench for prairie dogs/woodchucks, I think the .243 is over kill. The wind can be a factor, even with a .243. SO, unless you're shooting very long ranges, the 22 cals. would be my first choice. Even the .204 would be, IMO, a better choice with less recoil and flatter trajectory and yet have enough thump to work on coyotes!

[pahntr760]

I will be making long shots (400+) in bench rest competitions. The leader for bench rest is a 6mm round, so that"™s why I chose this caliber. I personally hate the .223 because the government thinks its enough gun for us to use in the field. Hajji can get hit several time before he goes down, not what I want. Also the 22-250 is notorious for burning up barrels. The 204 is even smaller yet and the wind does play a lot of tricks on that round. I guess I"™m pretty much decided on the 243. I will be hand loadingfor it and think I should be able towork a load that"™s good for varmint hunting and won"™t tear the hell out of a coyote, if I even decide to keep a hide. I think they are just vermin and disgust me. Not to bust any ones view of this animal, it"™s just my opinion. And of all the things 'Magnum Man' has said, I can at least agree with one;

"œThere is no over kill, just under kill."�

And to say that I should worry about the recoil, well I have this to say. The 243 doesn"™t recoil, especially compared to my normal 7 mag, 308, 300 win mag, ECT. So I"™m not worried about that stuff at all. Like I said before, these are just my thoughts and opinions. Which in this great country I am entitled to by the blood of my brother at arms.

[North Texan]

The .223 is plenty of gun. I kill hogs with mine all the time. The difference is I use bullets designed to kill, whereas the military uses bullets designed to wound.

The 22-250 is not a bad barrel burner. Few calibers are now days with the more modern steel used in barrels.

That said, nothing wrong with a .243. It will kill coyotes, but you'll have quite a bit of hide damage. Most people around here use .222's and .223's.

Have you considered using a 6mm? It has just a little more power than the .243.

[Howler]

Well, now you've gone from doing some bench rest shooting, to shooting competitions! Why not step up to the 6mm PPC then.
The reason I mentioned the "recoil" is because you said something about shooting prairie dogs. NOW, usually when someone mentions shooting prairie dogs, that means several hundred rounds fired in a day. Recoil does become a factor, mostly because guys like to be able to see the impact through the scope, and that's not usually the case when the .243 is being used!
If you look, ballistically, the .204 bucks the wind very well because of the high BC of the bullets!
Sounds like you've already made up your mind anyways!

[huntboy3181]

I think you should look into a .220 swift. My cousin has 3 or 4 varmant rifles and he uses the .220 swift over his .243 and his .223 in competition shoots as well as when he travels to the dakotas for yotes or prairie dogs. It shoots very flat and he has rounds traveling over 4100 fps..It's quite a nice set-up. I'd look into one of those.

[Legacy357]

I love my .22-250....my furthest kill was 396 yards and I am not a very good shooter....ruger V Mark II.....

[Soilarch]

If you've got any ballistics software and since you are going to handload I would give another consideration to the 22-250 with bullets up in the 60gr area. Compare the ballistics to the 243. There are tons of 'match' bullets that would be fine for paper/prairie dogs/coyotes since you're handloading. The heavier .22 have much better BC and won't ride around in the wind...much like .243. Don't push the 22-250 at the absolute high-end and you'll still have plenty of thump for coyotes without having to worry about barrel-burning. Just don't get a remington...they still barrel their 22-250s with a 1-14" twist...which just wont work with stuff above 55gr. On top of all this the 22-250 is generally regarded as a easy-to-reload cartridge.

I think howlers right though, sounds like you've made up your mind already. Just thought I'd throw that idea into the mix

[Arkansasmountainman]

look into the new super short magnum lines they are sweet especially the 243. wssm