22-250 for deer?

[Spd522]

62 or 70 gr Barnes TSX. I use them in a 5.56 AR and the resulting damage and penetration are on par with my 308 load with a 165 gr. Just keep the distance within reason. You are shooting deer, not prairie dogs.

 

[Deleted member 112174]

I wouldn't shoot a deer with a 75 grain bullet out of a .243.

 

[Garyinmt]

The slow twist in the typical 22-250 factory rifle is a problem. Mine is a tack-holer with bullets up to 55 grains. Above that weight, accuracy falls off. As long as you use Barnes bullets of 55 gr and below, you'll be fine up to 300 yrds, but make sure you only take broadside lung or neck/head shots. Blood trails may be scant to non-existent, even with holes in both sides of the chest. Don't use lead core bullets as some have suggested. Too much chance of bullet blowing up prematurely at the velocities of a 250.

 

[Yeager]

I personally have several rifles that I would take over my 22-250, I wish I didn't have a factory barrel on it and could shoot the monos and I wouldn't be concerned at all with it, the 1:14 twist seems too slow to stableize them, but for 200yds and in that may not matter, I would like to keep the shots with in 150 to 100 if possible, but I am setting 200yds because my lane goes that far into the CRP(tree/grass) field and I know a couple very good first time bucks/deer like to travel that edge/end of the lane. But from what I already had in my mind and with yalls experience/opinions I feel confident I can get what I am looking for out of it

It could matter. I have seen bullets go through paper side ways in less than 100yds. Can't remember how many, completely, missed the paper. Too me, not a good idea to shoot non-stableized ammo at live game! Apologize, if I have wrongly interputed your phrase "for 200 yds and in that may not matter". Now for my ignorance, what is CRP?

 

[Don A Parsons]

223 and 22-250 work awesome in the far reaches of the North...

Place the shot and close the gap...

Many a critters have tumbled to the 22 rimfire,,, no reason that the either or wouldn't work...

Cheers from the North

 

[keithcandler]

ON a broadside shot with a 22/250 using Rem 55g Core locts, the deer will have it's lungs and heart liquefied if shot right behind the front leg. This is of course a 200 yard and under type of thing.

 

[gusd]

My personal experience is I have tracked more deer shot with a bigger caliber rifle than a 22-250

I agree and that is based on the fact that I have shot hundreds of whitetail deer

 

[bigngreen]

People need to realize that many of the testimonies in this thread above refer to the 223. A comparison with a 22-250 with a 14"-twist barrel is invalid.

The 223 typically came in 12" twists 'way back when' and now will often come with 8" twists, like the Tikka in 223 that I bought last year for grandkids. Yes, the 223 in 12" and especially 8" twists will shoot most of the bullets mentioned in the thread just fine. But the 22-250 with a 14" twist will not.

The 14" twist was designed for the 22-250 in order to shoot lightweight, cup-and-core VARMINT bullets as a spectacular varmint rifle. Please do not use those varmint bullets on deer. You will certainly get mixed results from body shots.

I shoot the same bullets in the 223 as the 14 twist 22-250 shooting deer, 55-60 ish grain soft points, Barnes, bonded, Bergers all have whacked deer by the truck loads mostly with shots behind the shoulder in the BIGGEST target available, some head shots, some shoulder shots all no problemo!! If I was coyote hunting and ended up deer hunting ya, a 45 gr V-max is something you have to put right in the ear hole but many of us have set them up to hunt deer with and you buy bullets that work for that application and you get excellent results!

 

[bigngreen]

[

 

[sturner]

CRP Conservation Reserve Program
USDA grassland project

 

[benchduck]

Normally I don't chime in on much but I have so much experience on this subject I'll throw my 2 cents in. Over the years my name's been on quite a few depredation permits And I've gravitated to the 22-250 exclusively I've shot them from perfect to absolutely horrible angles and I've never thought that it's not enough gun. I've started with 5 rounds in the gun and worked the bolt as fast as I could and had 5 dead deer in the field no farther then 100 yards from where they started. Now when I started I used Hornady 60gr flat base but later tried the Barnes and never looked back. It's hard for me to understand how I've been so very very lucky with the 22-250 over so many years with such a large number of deer While other people struggle to kill one with a broad side shot at a deer standing still

 

[Yeager]

CRP Conservation Reserve Program
USDA grassland project

Thank you.

 

[sturner]

Thank you.

Your welcome
Good quail habitat

 

[swe123]

Your welcome
Good quail habitat

Good rattlesnake habitat, too.