What caliber?
 

what caliber for cyotes a 204,223, or a 243 looking to get a howa thumbhole but dont know which one to get any information would be greatly appreciated.

RE: What caliber?
 

How much will you practice? 223 will be the cheapest to shoot

Will you ever want to deer or antelope hunt? 243 would be better

What is the longest shot you will take?

Do you reload? I do, and prefer the .243 with 55-70 gr pills for yotes and prairie dogs.

Some will disagree with me, but I feel like the .204 ruger is a specialty gun that may be a fad. They are more expensive to shoot and ammo availability and choices are somewhat limited.

RE: What caliber?
 

well the most versital would be the .243

RE: What caliber?
 

for ranges out to 300 yards I use my 223 on anything up to coyote size animals this caliber has enough power to kill them quickly and is accurate in every rifle that I have ever owned.For a multi-purpose rifle for big game up to deer size animals and smaller the 243 is great,you can kill a coyote at 5 to 600 yards(if you can hit it,they look pretty small that far away)and take a whitetail up to 350 or so with good shot pacement(368 is my longest shot,nikon rangefinder,rem.700 sps 243 cal.,whitetail doe) and not worry about long tracking jobs.I have no guns chambered in 204,but ballists show it to be flat shooting and powerful enough for coyote sized animals,the cartridge is based on a 223 that is necked down to .2045 if I am right,the smaller bullit gets greater velocities than the other two but as a downfall it losses energy quicker,you decide which is best for your type of hunting for extreme long range varmints and predators the 243 would be at the top of the list for me,you might also look at the 22-250 it is about the same as the 204 but its been around a lot longer,the 223 is the cheapest to shoot ammo is about half as much as the others and for target shooting you can easily find full metal jacket ammo. for it cheap.Hope this helps.CALL'EM IN CLOSE AND KILL'EM ALL

RE: What caliber?
 

Actually the .204 is a necked down .222 case!
My .204 is a "specialty" gun for sure, e"specially" when it comes to killin' coyotes. Don't tell all the guys on the .204 forum that they've bought into a fad, might hurt someones feelings!;)

InYourOpinion, what "specialty" purpose was the .204 meant for?

RE: What caliber?
 

howler I think we are both correct the 223 was also made from the 222 and originally called the 222special before it became the 223rem that we know today.anyway all these small calibers are great performers in accurate rifles,and the coyote cant tell any difference from a 14caliber wildcat to a 243,when you pick his dead carcass up he is still dead.CALL'EM IN CLOSE AND KILL'EM ALL

RE: What caliber?
 

Howler--I was referring to the.204 as a speciality becauseit is truly a varmint round. Where as the .223 is an affordable plinker and a .243 is a commonvarmint/deer round. I don't have any problem with withrare, fads, or specialityrounds. I load for my 6mm-06and 25-308.Those arewildcats that aren't any better or as practical as a .243, 25-06, 260, but their mine and I like them.

I was just making a suggestion. Without knowing whatSolo already has, it is hard to suggest. If a person aready has a 25-06 or 260, then I would say go with the .204, but if this is a 1st rifle, probably a .223.

My varmint guns include a 17 hmr, 218 bee, .243, 6mm-06, and 25-308. I just traded my .223 for a donor action and traded a .222 for a .308. Hopefully will add an AR to the collection in the next year.

RE: What caliber?
 

RE: What caliber?
 

The.204 rug. is the best long range round I ever shot at a dog. Out past 400 yds. I dont think anything compairs ,so if thats a fad I spose thats one the coyotes dont like a bunch.

RE: What caliber?
 

Nothing compares to a .204 !! What the hell does that mean?? What about .22-250-.220 swift, .243,6mm,6mmx284,6.5x284, none of those count??????It is all comparitive.

RE: What caliber?
 

hey Danthehunter, I"m not trying to BORE you, but unless your 22-250 has a muzzel vol. of 4250 f.p.s. I don"t think it"s as good as the 204. Sure you may buck the wind a little better, but bullet speed, not to say accuracy is on the side of the 204. If
i"m gonna shoot deer I"d shoot my 22-250, or the 35 cal. For coyotes the 204 is king.

RE: What caliber?
 

hey Danthehunter, how fast is your 22-250 unless its 4250 f.p.s. its not as fast as the 204. The best coyote center fire round of date.
if you want to shoot deer or elk I'll let you use my 35cal , but for dogs, get yourself a 204 by rugar.

RE: What caliber?
 

Not that I don't like my .204 yodeldog3, BUT the 22-250 and the .220 swift among many other calibers will kill a coyote as well or better than the .204. Using the word "best"when comparing calibers is risky business. It takes more than speed to be the best. Accuracy, IMO, is more important, and the ability of the shooter to shoot accuartely rates right up the scale as well. A good bullet is important too.
Besides, if you're using the little 32 gr. ballistic tip bullets in your .204 to reach "4250 fps", than you are setting yourself up for dissapointing results with the .204.
Dan has on occasion killed coyotes with a .22 lr, so I'm quite sure he knows what it takes to kill a coyote, and I'm tellin' ya, it takes more than a speedy bullet.

RE: What caliber?
 

danthehunter, Yea the 204 is the best coyote round, nothing else compairs. the speed the accuracy and not tearing up prime hides

RE: What caliber?
 

Hey howler, yea I know other rounds will take them out I just think the 204 is better by way 40 grn. 4250 fps.

RE: What caliber?
 

4250 with 40 gr. bullets! What's the recipe and the rifle that is achieving those numbers?
I've yet to see any published numbers with a 40 gr. bullet even come close to that.
A very compressed load? No other way! Is there?

RE: What caliber?
 

Wow I havent been on here for couple of days and all this info came across.My friend you really need to look at afew more chatrs and not factory ammo reloads.I can and have pushed a 40 grain hornaday vmax at 4500fps.That does not mean its better or worse then any other cartridge.I push my .220 swift at 4200 all the time,thats where my rifle likes it at.You might get that out of your .204 but I havent looked at to much loading data.
I am just referring to the nothing compares statement----- there are plenty of cartridges that compare to that one and IMO are better suited for long range hunting.ie: 6mmX.284,6.5X.284,.and my new quickly becoming my favorite .270wsm. Be just alittle more open minded ,there are alot of great cartrigdes out there, there isno one best for everything.
There are alot of knowledgeable people on here use them to your advantage.

RE: What caliber?
 

hey guys you can kill a coyote with any thing from a 22 short to a bazooka and we all have favorites,but as howler stated ,velocity is not the only important thing for long range shooting,if this was the deciding factor the millitary wouldn't use the 308 and 223 as much as they do.CALL'EM IN CLOSE AND KILL'EM ALL, EVEN IF IT'S WITH A SLING SHOT AND A 3/8 INCH BALL BEARING.Just have fun!!!And if you really want some fast bullets build yourself a 22-243 capable of around 5300fps(this is not a missprint)but who cares,a dead coyote cant chose what you shoot,can he???

RE: What caliber?
 

wow, 5300 f.p.s., that must be military. I know I sound real anal about the 204, but you know I fell in love with it. You guys can look at charts or a box of honady 40 grn., muzzel vol. 4250 f.p.s., and the amazing thing is you can watch the bullet hit, it does"nt kick you out of the scope. you guys are right speed is"nt everything, you stil have to hittem good, and my 204 shoots better than the 223 that I have so I"d be a fool to use that for dogs. Anybody who has hunted coyotes knows how fun it is, but it"s alot more fun walking from a call dragging a dead dog or two.

RE: What caliber?
 

hey yodeldog3 the 22-243 is a wildcat cartridge that someone invented,I was looking at some of the websites on this subject and came across this and many 14,17,and 22caliber wildcats that were way over the 4000fps mark and the 22-243 being the fastest at over 5300fps I bet those barrels dont last long.But it wasn't a millitary cart.

RE: What caliber?
 

the cartridge is the 22-243 middlestead at 5278fps THAT'S FASTER THAN JESSIE OWENS!!!

RE: What caliber?
 

Yea I bet that tears up a barrel fast. Like I said I"m sure that would kick you out of the scope if not brake your forehead. Man 5300 f.p.s. is the only way to get out past 1,000 yds. I think I"ll do some howeling in yhe morning,the breading season is almost peek. good luck!

RE: What caliber?
 

Hornady must be making some special loads for you then. The factory 40gr. hornadyi shootis no where close to 4225.Im pretty sureyour talking about the 32 grv-max. They stateit runs about 4225 fps

RE: What caliber?
 

hey 4buck, yea I"m sure it"s 4250 f.p.s. I bought about six boxes when I first got the 204. The guy gave me a box of the 32grn. winchesters, but I never even opened the box. thats hornady in rugar, I don"t know what you got rem. or savage may not go so high, I don"t know.

RE: What caliber?
 

InOK you had better pick a calm day to go dog hunting with a 204, wind plays such a factor!

RE: What caliber?
 

Are you looking for an all around gun? if so a .270 will kill a coon, possum, coyote, prairie dogs, gofers, bobcats, deer, fox,ect.. but it might be a little overkill for a squirrel or rabbit.Im not saying the .204 is a bad gun, its just i have never heard anyone talk about it. If your a real good shot, you could go cheap and get a .17 caliber, just make sure you remember these words LOCATION!!,LOCATION!!,LOCATION!!

RE: What caliber?
 

Umm...NO its not...:eek:

RE: What caliber?
 

Hey ridgerunner, man your right, it"s 3900f.p.s. I"m a bone head. It is the 32grn. that runs 4250 or 4225. I have 5 or six boxes of them In the gun safe, I"m sorry. I guess it realy does"nt matter much at that speed, a hit is a hit and a miss is still a miss.

RE: What caliber?
 

Everyone but the .243 for yotes. I hunt foe fur so the .204 and the .223 is two of my top choices. Just a little advice...If you get the .223 make sure to get it ackley imp. Mine is and the way I role mine its shooting only 200-275 feet per second slower than a .22-250.

RE: What caliber?
 

Yea man like I got a shoot a coyote man yea thats right!!!!!
WOW!! I will still say why get a 204 when there is .220 swift, 22-250or a .223(I would take the swift) It just does not make sence to me.I do like the .223 ,its a great round but my swift is just the $hit for coytes and the likes.

RE: What caliber?
 

cause with less powder, cheaper reloading, I can do everything I need to do with the .204! That's why!;)I call coyotes TO ME, so my shots are expected to be 200 yards and less 95% of the time, I don't NEED a gun that is capable of killing a coyote at 400 yards.

RE: What caliber?
 

The 220 swift is great coyote round but if you do not reload ammo is not cheap, even if you reload powder capacity is higher than 22-250 with not much more speed, and shorter barrel life. Thats why I think the 22-250 is one of the best coyote cals out there. If you shoot bobcats to might want to stick with 223. My 2 cents!

RE: What caliber?
 

No that isnt right I dont use anymore powder then a 22-250 unless I want to.Yea the swift has more case capacity,but that not that you have to use it all the time.And barrel life is no diffrent then it.I have both and I shoot about 500 rounds a year from each I see no difference.All I am saying about the .204 I want a cartridge that will do it all from 0-500 yards without thinking about it.

RE: What caliber?
 

Yeah, and I want the ablility to shoot out to 500 yards, but having a rifle that can do it doesn't mean that I can do it, as well as most shooters in field conditions!

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Of course you do not have to load to case capacity but then whats the point in the 220 if you are loading down to 22-250 velocities

RE: What caliber?
 

Hey, that"s the cool thing about it ,if you prefer the 220 swift, that"s what you should shoot. As long as you kill coyotes or whatever you shoot at more power to ya. Like howeler said,( the dogs don"t know what your shootin at them.

RE: What caliber?
 

The point is I can load it hotter if I want.We all have our favorite rounds ,this arguement could go on forever and has in some forums.I like my swift cause it is the original varmint round.Its still is the one to beat.

RE: What caliber?
 

I agree with you 100%, the 220 is a true orignal when it comes to varmint hunting ! What about a 12 guage for when your calling and they run right on top of you.. Ive almost had dogs run me over coming to a call, I belive savage makes an over under rifle shotgun combo maybe that would be the way to go.

RE: What caliber?
 

Yea I call too and like you I preferr the 12 guage over any rifle when doing that.I am just saying I was in the 75 rangers I shot alot of different cartridges Alot of .223,7.62,and 50bmg I have owned a .223,22-250,.243,6.5X284,.220 swift,.270win,270wsm,.308,30-06,300winmag,50bmg,45/70 and 44mag.I am speaking from 30 years of shooting experince and many coyotes a year I have shot them with everything from a 22lr to 50bmg.I still havent found any cartridge that I like better for them then my swift.I just think it gets a bad rap, from being a barrel burner to the lack of factory rounds.Its like a john deere or a caterpillar dozer how is that saying its as good as __________.

RE: What caliber?
 

I'll second that. My .223 has a 1:9" twist, and it has yet to disappoint me.