.22-250 For Deer

[Kachok]

I have a 100% recovery rate with my 7mm Rem mag, 270 win, 270WSM and 6.5x55 over the last 24 years my grandfather had a 100% with his 30-06, 280rem, and 243 with 50+ years experence. Any reliably expanding bullet will do massive tissue damage with those calibers (SSTs, BTs SGKs). I have read about people using .223s with very poor recovery rates, bad enough to scare me off of using such calibers. No reason to go into the woods underguned IMHO. I am sure there are a few .22cal hunters that can honestly claim a perfect record as well, but they are few and far between.

 

[35 Whelen]

I still maintain the the biggest critics of .22 centerfires for deer are those who have never used them.
35W

 

[Kachok]

I just don't understand the reson, I have no doubt it can work, but why use a .223, 22-250, 38Special, 45ACP on a deer when you have a perfectly suitable 30-30 or 243 in the gun safe? I don't think any rational person would argue that the more conventional hunting calibers are much more effective in a wider varity of situations then the others. You can strike a deer in the heart with a .22LR and still kill it in a matter of seconds, but why take the extra risk of wounding the anamal? You would have to be in really bad shape for the recoil of a 243/257R/6.5x55 to be uncomfortable and all of those have an exellent track record with quality bullets. Nobody can seem to explain this to me.

 

[ghostwriter]

I'd like to think it depends on the SIZE of your intended target. Out here in the valley we get the local deer that stay during the winter and eat off the fields and orchards and if you shot them with a 7mm or equiv... well, you might as well go hunt for jackrabbits. If you go up in elevation into Modoc county up near the Oregon border, you better take a bigger gun! I'm good with using the .270, 30-06, 300 win mag, 7mm and if you only have a saddle gun (Model 94) then so be it, but you won't be shootin it out at 600 yards either.
It all pretty well boils down to what size and what time of the year you're huntin'. A big buck in the rut will be so swelled up in the neck, it'll take a good size chunk of lead to bring them down. Just my experience over the past 40 years.

Also, as a side note... having a 100% kill and recovery rate using whatever rifle you like best has to be weighed against how much meat you loose to the wound. A smaller buck dropped with a .22 cal like the .22-250 or .220swift with a neck or head shot will have more recoverable meat to cut and wrap than one of the same size getting hit in the front shoulder with that magnum. LOL Ask me how I know...

 

[BoilerUP]

I know a guy who shot a deer with a 7mmRM and completely obliterated the deer's shoulder...but with poor placement and a piss-poor bullet choice (Matchking) the poor deer ran OVER A MILE before it collapsed and had to be put down by another shot.

Deer aren't hard to kill cleanly...know your weapon, know its limitations, place the shot and it won't make a difference if you're using a 22 centerfire or a 375 RUM.

 

[gatorjames85]

Gator, I would callenge you to name ANY cartridge that is a 100% guarantee kill regardless of where the critter is hit.

My point is, no matter the cartridge, there have been deer lost using it, and I would suggest that the majority of time its due to poor placement, with poor bullet selection a far distant second place.

I completely agree. My point was to see if anyone could actually attest first hand to having all these deer run off unscathed from .22 cal shots. My first hand experience (me and immediate family) has been an excellent recovery rate (100%) with .22-250 and .223 shots and some of those shots were way less than perfect.

 

[Kachok]

Sure you could use a poor bullet in any caliber and end up tracking for a mile, that is why knowing your bullet is just as important as knowing your gun/optics/caliber I don't try to blaze any new trails with my choice in bullets, I only load premuim VERY proven consistant game getters like Nosler Ballistic Tips, Horandy SSTs, Accubonds and Serria Game Kings. I am currently planning to try Barnes TSX bullets this year since they seem to be doing so well.
I would consider the 22-250 more of a deer rifle if they came with a 1:9 twist so I could shoot the heavier higher BC and SD 60-70gr bullets insted of the 40-55gr class. I just perfer heavy for caliber bullets, especaly in sub .277 caliber.

 

[HarcyPervin]

I have a 100% recovery rate with a .22-250 on deer (as in I'm 1 for 1), dropped a small 7 pointer last year. As I said earlier, wouldn't be my first choice. I hit him solidly at close range, took him right off of his feet, got up ran 10 yards, hit a tree and died. Does it work, yes. Are there a lot of shots I'd comfortably take with a 30-06 that I'd pass up or at least think twice about with the .22-250, yes. I used it to prove to my old man that it was plenty to take down a deer, but to be honest, I questioned that rifle at every turn because I knew my margin of error was tiny with it. My thinking on the subject is, if you're going to be out hunting, there are a million things that can go wrong to ruin the one shot you may have at your chosen target - if you're second guessing yourself because of caliber inadequacy (either real or perceived) you're in the wrong. You owe it to whatever you're shooting to make sure it dies and dies now. If you can honestly say that when you line up on a deer that you're 100% sure that the caliber you're using is cabable of making the clean kill, then go nuts. If its marginal, then you need to work on your shooting skills and/or rethink your equipment

 

[22-rimfire]

If it is legal to use in your state and I believe it is in TX, go for it. But personally I think even a 243 is light except with well placed shots. My first deer rifle was a 243 and I had a deer with a chest hit get away from me.... never used that rifle again for deer even though I killed deer with it prior to that particular season. I spent a whole day tracking and eventually when the blood ran out, walking in circles looking for what I believed should have been a dead deer. I want them to drop pretty fast with a good hit and I want to know I hit them. Plop.

 

[deacon8]

In Idaho, .22 caliber bullets are illegal to hunt with. However, even if they were, I would not use a 22-250 on deer. And I love the 22-250. I simply don't think it is a good choice for deer. Yes, it will kill a deer, it's just not my style. With that being said, I should point out that my main deer rifles are a 7x57 and 6.5x55, with a 30-06 being my third choice.

The military seems to think that the .223 is adequate for people and there are plenty of one-shot kills. Therefore, a 22-250 should work for deer in that way of thinking. However, I think the military should be using a 30-06, and at the minimum a .308, but what do I know right?

 

[Kachok]

Where did you get your 7x57, these are a hard to find rifle nowadays. I was so thrilled with my 6.5 mauser that I wanted to get a 7mm to go with it, alas they are as rare as frog fangs. All of those old Mauser rifles were designed to shoot very heavy for caliber bullets that would penetrate anything they hit, that is what made them such amazing hunting rifles, even with expanding bullets you could shoot completly through very large game anamals. The original load for the 7mm Mauser was a 188gr bullet!!

 

[Art Eatman]

Enuf fer now. This is the umpteenth iteration of the use of a .22 centerfire, and I have no doubt the subject will show up again.