Caliber recommendations

fwafwow

WKR
Joined
Apr 8, 2018
Messages
4,958
What twist does the Tikka offer in 22-250?

EDIT: 1:14.

I’ve been able to shoot 62 grain Gold Dots/Fusions in a 14 twist 220 Swift and they are very deadly on whitetail and pigs to 250’ish yards. Also 60 grain Nosler Partitions.


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Thanks. I don't see, at least on ammoseek, any Gold Dot or Fusions, or any factory offerings in 62gr. There are 60 and 64 choices.
 

Chris_in_Idaho

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 20, 2021
Messages
297
OP,

I just recently went through a similar decision process. The 223 thread has convinced me of its effectiveness with the TMK at 1800fps or above, but I would prefer a round that would keep that 1800fps to a longer range than 400-450. If Tikka offered a 6mm Creedmoor I would have bought that.

I considered the 1:8 twist 243 or 22-250, but I decided against them for two reasons. First, all factory ammo for 243 or 22-250 is intended for the traditional slower twist rifles, so no heavy long high BC bullets factory loaded. So to get any effective range improvement over the 223 I would need to handload 100%. That's not a deal breaker by itself. The other issue is I want to shoot this rifle a LOT. A 22-250 or 243 will be dead in short order when used as a training rifle.

So I ordered the 223. I plan to shoot the absolute snot out of it, including whitetails. Once I have developed the skills to make legitimate long range ethical shots, then I will purchase or assemble a dedicated hunting rifle in 6cm, 6um, 25-284, 22cm, 22um, or some whiz bang long range barrel burner. Once zeroed and verified, this rifle will be used only for shots on animals while I continue to shoot the snot out of the 223.
 
OP
BearGuy

BearGuy

FNG
Joined
Jun 12, 2019
Messages
59
Location
Montana
OP,

I just recently went through a similar decision process. The 223 thread has convinced me of its effectiveness with the TMK at 1800fps or above, but I would prefer a round that would keep that 1800fps to a longer range than 400-450. If Tikka offered a 6mm Creedmoor I would have bought that.

I considered the 1:8 twist 243 or 22-250, but I decided against them for two reasons. First, all factory ammo for 243 or 22-250 is intended for the traditional slower twist rifles, so no heavy long high BC bullets factory loaded. So to get any effective range improvement over the 223 I would need to handload 100%. That's not a deal breaker by itself. The other issue is I want to shoot this rifle a LOT. A 22-250 or 243 will be dead in short order when used as a training rifle.

So I ordered the 223. I plan to shoot the absolute snot out of it, including whitetails. Once I have developed the skills to make legitimate long range ethical shots, then I will purchase or assemble a dedicated hunting rifle in 6cm, 6um, 25-284, 22cm, 22um, or some whiz bang long range barrel burner. Once zeroed and verified, this rifle will be used only for shots on animals while I continue to shoot the snot out of the 223.
Did you order the tikka or a different rifle?
 

Old Dog

FNG
Joined
Aug 18, 2023
Messages
39
Picked up a Tikka compact in 223 today. I ended up selling my 6.5 CM as I seldom shoot it and I have a custom 6mm CM and a couple 7x57s if I suddenly feel I need a larger caliber. With the Tikka and my ARs sharing ammo I'm pretty set to do a lot of shooting and hopefully get my skills back where they used to be.
 
OP
BearGuy

BearGuy

FNG
Joined
Jun 12, 2019
Messages
59
Location
Montana
For those of you shooting the .223 out of a tikka what ammo are you shooting for practice and what ranges are you poking to?
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2015
Messages
1,006
Location
Harrisburg, Oregon
For those of you shooting the .223 out of a tikka what ammo are you shooting for practice and what ranges are you poking to?

Stainless Tikka Varmint .223 for me. Can’t help you with factory ammo because I reload but the 75 ELDM load is lethal much farther than a new hunter will shoot.

And you can practice with just about anything you can find, and save the Black Hills 77 TMK for hunting.

I wish my dad had started me on a .223. He didn’t know any better.




P
 

Felix40

WKR
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
1,879
Location
New Mexico
All the recommendations for .223 really blow my mind. A .243 or 6mm beats it ballistically in every way and is legal to hunt basically all common big game animals. The recoil is still almost nonexistent. Ammo might actually be easier to find during a political meltdown too.
 
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