Gentlemen,
I will be going on a prairie dog hunt in May (first time) and I find myself in need of a new rifle. I have narrowed the options to two choices: a .223 or a 22-250. I reload, so I'm not too concerned about the price difference in ammo. I do have a couple of questions:
1) Do you run the risk of "shooting out the barrel" more quickly (ie. with fewer shoots) with the 22-250 than the .223? On average, if you don't shoot until the barrel is burning hot, how many shots can you get out of a 22-250 or a .223 before accuracy starts to fade?
2) Is one caliber more accurate than the other? I've read that some calibers, like the .222 are just inherently accurate rounds. Is there a significant difference between the .223 and the 22-250?
3) Here's the tough one: I plan to use this rifle for varmints (prairie dogs) and predators (fox, coyote, etc.). If you could only buy one bolt action rifle, which caliber would you pick and why?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. I can always count on practical input from this site. Lawdog helped me out with my last three firearm purchases. I sure do miss his sage advice.
Dave from MN
