.22-250 for ~100 lb. Whitetail

[Mosin-Marauder]

Thank you, sir! Will post pics when I bag one.

[reynolds357]

The .22-250 does wicked damage to deer if the proper bullet is used. A 52 grain bullet is pure he.. at 4000 fps.

[Mobuck]

"The .22-250 does wicked damage to deer if the proper bullet is used. A 52 grain bullet is pure he.. at 4000 fps."

Let me be the first to say: A 52 grain bullet @ 4000fps IS NOT THE PROPER BULLET.

[Art Eatman]

There are several bullets which are far better than the 52-grain type. Hitting a rib or shoulder on the way in can make a relatively superficial surface wound and result in a lost but later-dead deer.

Manufacturers' R&D has developed bullets of around 68 grains which are quite suitable for deer-sized critters. We've had numerous posts speaking to penetration, expansion and "good-bleed" exit wounds.

[Mosin-Marauder]

I won't be using a 52 grain. At the least a 60-62 grain.

[skizzums]

monolithic......stays in one piece. Barnes X, Nosler E-Tip, Hornady GMX

[jimbob86]

People illegally hunt deer with .22LR here, every story I've heard just about was a head or neck shot and killed the deer.

True, as far as what you've heard .... they don't brag on the ones that they hit and failed to recover, so you never heard about those.

[reynolds357]

I made a typo in my post. 53 grain, not 52. The 53 gr ttsx at 4k is a much harder hitting and much more devesdating bullet than the 60 to 65 gr bullets at the lesser velocities. The .22-250 is at its best when screaming. It is neutered at the high bullet weights.

[Art Eatman]

Aw, I dunno, Reynolds. Guys have been doing pretty well with the good bullets in .223s.

[reynolds357]

But you just have to see the beauty of the triple shok at over 4k. It makes an awful mess. In my experience it is the most devesdating pill the .22-250 can spit. In bullet size, it is right up there with the 65 grain conventional bullets.

I am actually a relatively new comer to the .22-250. I have always shot the swift. The SWIFT, with proper twist rate, is even more beautiful than the .22-250. A project on my bucket list is to neck down the ..25-06 Ackley Improved down to .22, but I have not done it yet. It is on my bucket list.

[jimbob86]

But you just have to see the beauty of the triple shok at over 4k. It makes an awful mess.

Is the goal to make a mess of the animal, or harvest it for meat?

I don't like making an "awful mess" of something I intend to feed my family .....YMMV.

[reynolds357]

The goal is to make an awful mess in the right place.

[Snyper]

My goal is to find every animal I shoot, so I don't like using anything under a 24 caliber, and prefer a 28 caliber.

I have killed a deer with a 223, but it was just luck that I found it since there was no blood trail.

[reynolds357]

I have shot a few with the .458 Win Mag over the years.

[603Country]

My cousin shot a doe with his 50 BMG caliber bolt gun. He said that it didn't run and that he found all the big pieces. So...my point being that there is a direct correlation between effectiveness and bullet diameter, SD, weight, and velocity. The 22 calibers will kill deer, as I have seen, but they just don't do it as well as larger calibers.

[jmr40]

When the military went from .58 caliber rifles to the 45-70 it was considered the original poodle shooter. Many were convinced that such a small caliber couldn't possibly work. They were wrong.

Same thing when they went to 30 caliber, and then 22 caliber. They were all wrong then too.

Deer ain't hard to kill. Virtually all of the laws prohibiting 22 caliber were aimed at the 22 Hornet and were were written long before the existence of the much more powerful 223. The fact that it works just fine has been proven over and over again. Last time I checked there were only 4-5 states that still held onto the antiquated laws prohibiting them.

The 22-250, if it will shoot the heavier bullets will work too. That is it's disadvantage.

[Art Eatman]

Remington came out with the .22-250 as a slightly changed version of Nebraskan gunsmith Jerry Gebby's "Varminter" of the 1930s. He was one of two or three wildcatters who'd necked the 250-3000 down to .22.

My uncle bought one of his barrels in the late 1940s and set it up with a K98 bring-back action, a Bishop stock and a Weaver K-10. Half-MOA.

Early .22-250s likely had 1:14 twist (or similar) barrels with the intent of using 40-grain bullets for varminting.

[reynolds357]

I would shoot anything today with a .22 Cal Barnes Bullet that I would have shot with the best .25 cal conventional bullets available 30 years ago. Bullet technology has totally changed the rules.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Sorry, been holding back, but I have to say this - it's definite truth, though some might disagree (and thus be wrong ) - listen very carefully please:

If you're the type of person, or the hunter you are instructing about "which rifle/ chambering to get" is the type of person who is non-meticulous - who is *NOT* going to listen to advice concerning "don't get and use a light varmint round; use a good hunting bullet - a soft point 55 grains or heavier" (i.e. someone who might just pick up whatever is cheapest for the rifle, even if it's a varmint load), then .223 Rem is without a doubt better for that type of person than .22-250 Rem, for deer hunting. Reason being, ceteris paribus, more speed is worse, not better, in terms of blowing up on a shoulder and wounding / losing game. .22-250 has more speed. The slower that same varmint bullet is going, the more it will penetrate (at least at .223 rem speeds), and the less likely to completely "explode".

Obviously, the corollary is, conscientious hunters who will use a good hunting bullet / load, AND test it for accuracy in their .22-250 (since most are 12 or 14 twist), then .22-250 of course wins the day here. There's been a long discussion about the Nosler 64 gr "BSB" - bonded solid base (flat base) with a flat point as well - THAT in a .22-250 will git 'er dun. Not in 14 twists, and likely hit or miss in 12 twists - my guess from reading is that 12 twists will deliver accuracy with this bullet, more often than not. It's gonna depend upon your altitude and temperature, and the particular rifle.

Of course, then there's the Federal Fusion factory load with 62s, and the Winchester 64 "power point" PSP.... The latter is longer than the Nosler, so it's going to be even more marginal in a 12 twist. But again, altitude and temp (and rifle) will make a difference. Don't think you can buy the Fusion bullet for reloading (?).

Plus, there several 55 gr PSPs, all of these should work in 12 twists; maybe even 14ers, as long as not all-copper, which leads me to...

On Barnes, no doubt they'll git 'er dun, but the 55 and 62 grainer TSX and TTSX are OUT - they need a 10 twist. The 50 grainer says it needs a 12 twist, so that should work in 12T .22-250s:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/ttsx/

[reynolds357]

You can easily shoot the 55 grain tsx in a 1 in 12 .22-250. The 55 will stabilize in a 1 in 12 barrel at .223 Remington velocity. It will easily stabilize in a 1 in 12 250.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

OK, Thanks - the tTsx says 10 needed, but you said TSX, so good to know.

[reynolds357]

http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/tsx/

[jimbob86]

..... in this case reynolds is right: stabilization is depends upon rotational velocity, so if you push the bullet faster, you could get away with a bit slower twist.

[skizzums]

the hornady 50gr GMX works fine in a 1:12 twist. it's actually pretty short and stubby considering it's an all-copper HP. i am pretty sure they even mke a factory GMX 22-250 loading. Don't qoute me on this, as i cannot pull up anything on this stupid tablet, but i am pretty sure the 50gr GMX says on the factory 22-250 loaded box, 1:14 or faster.

[reynolds357]

In fact, the 1 in 14 .22-250 will stabilize most of what you try to feed it. I have never seen a bullet the 1 in 12 would not stabilize.