Joe,

I have 4 Savage 223, with factory barrels. I use them for shooting Prairie Dogs and I really like them. I have a couple 22-250s that I don't even take any more. I load the 223's with 40 grain VMax bullets and I load all of them the same. I drive them hard because I want as much speed as I can get out of them. (I push mine at 3750 fps)

Just a few reasons I like the 223?
1) Soft recoil - I can see my own hits. I don't need someone else telling me where to aim for the long shots. Plus I get to see the drama on the pdog.
2) Cheap brass and plenty of it.
3) Cheap to reload and it isn't picky about powder.
4) Doesn't heat up anywhere near as fast as a 22-250.
5) Barrels last forever. As least it seems that way.

Just a couple ideas.... how about a 223AI or a 22BR? Both are fantastic rounds. The 22BR does have quite a bit more recoil than the 223 and I am not able to see my own shots well enough to take it with me into the PDog fields. I hope a muzzle brake will solve this. Anyway, I can get 10 shots out of the 22BR before I need to put it back to cool down. I can get 20 to 25 rounds out of the 223AI before it needs a cool down period.

Adrian