22-250 for whitetail?
- Thread starter Kwaynem
- Start date
I know a guy that’s taken a few whitetails with a … is it a 70 gr or 68?(memory isn’t remembering) Hornady GMX. He had a 1:9 twist I believe. Ive run the parent case, 250 savage, and taken a deer or two with it. Met a kid and his dad at the deer check station on opener last year; he had just taken his first deer with the good ol 22-250. It’ll do the job.
troy fairweather
Member
I've killed a bunch, one of only 2 cartridges I've used where they were always drt, shot a bunch with 50 grain vmax loaded warm from 26" barrels. Clearly there are better bullets to use but they worked great, high shoulder or neck shots. Neck shots on does would nearly cut the head off. a 50-60 grain sp if slow twist would work well.
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Ranger99
Member
When I used to get to hunt several
ranches some years back, the ranchers
used 22/250's and 222's for their deer
hunting, and the assorted 30/30
Put the bullet in the right place and
don't try those mile-long shots that
are so popular these days
A relative used a 223 for a lot of years
with success shooting at 15 feet down
from a tree.
If you can hunt, you should be ok
Practice practice practice practice
again and again and again and again
and again and again and again and again
ranches some years back, the ranchers
used 22/250's and 222's for their deer
hunting, and the assorted 30/30
Put the bullet in the right place and
don't try those mile-long shots that
are so popular these days
A relative used a 223 for a lot of years
with success shooting at 15 feet down
from a tree.
If you can hunt, you should be ok
Practice practice practice practice
again and again and again and again
and again and again and again and again
One of the most prolific hunters I've ever known used one exclusively in the 1980's and 90's. This was the type of guy who worked 2-3 jobs during winter, spring and summer. He could do anything. He did construction work, drove trucks, you name it. He lived in a trailer and drove a 20-year-old 4X4 pickup but bought the most accurate rifle with the best scope he could find. And when deer season started, he stopped working and hunted every day. He used the 22-250 here in GA and anywhere else it was legal. He did some western hunts, but I don't know what rifle he carried to Colorado where it wouldn't have been legal.
This was when most people considered 30-06 to be a middle of the road cartridge and I just couldn't bring myself to use anything that small. At that time, I thought of 243 as the minimum. But he made it work with a slow twist rifle and 1980's bullet technology. I'm pretty confident that with modern fast twist barrels and modern bullets it is even better.
If you don't already own a 22-250 I'd lean toward a 223 if buying a new rifle. The 22-250 is faster, but most of them have barrels twisted for lighter varmint bullets. You give up a little speed with 223, but there are a lot more options for barrels that will handle heavier bullet designed for deer.
This was when most people considered 30-06 to be a middle of the road cartridge and I just couldn't bring myself to use anything that small. At that time, I thought of 243 as the minimum. But he made it work with a slow twist rifle and 1980's bullet technology. I'm pretty confident that with modern fast twist barrels and modern bullets it is even better.
If you don't already own a 22-250 I'd lean toward a 223 if buying a new rifle. The 22-250 is faster, but most of them have barrels twisted for lighter varmint bullets. You give up a little speed with 223, but there are a lot more options for barrels that will handle heavier bullet designed for deer.
Ranger99
Member
Lots of deer in this state been killed
dead dead dead with 55gr sp non
frangible projectiles
Used a few 62gr black box Winchester
myself. IIRC, it has a deer's head on
the box as suitable game. I probably
have some here somewhere
dead dead dead with 55gr sp non
frangible projectiles
Used a few 62gr black box Winchester
myself. IIRC, it has a deer's head on
the box as suitable game. I probably
have some here somewhere
CoalCrackerAl
Member
Here in Pa we have a minimum of .25 caliber for deer.
Hugger-4641
Member
I'll agree with a statement already made: I'd pick 223 over 22-250 unless I was getting a custom barrel with a fast twist. I have tried to load 69gr bthp in 22-250 in a Savage Axis and they keyhole at 100yds. 1/12 twist that is standard in most 22-250 rifles just will not stabilize much over 62gr.
Honestly though, if I were in your shoes, looking for low recoil, and going to have to buy a new gun for deer anyway, I would look a 6prc or 6.5cm.
Honestly though, if I were in your shoes, looking for low recoil, and going to have to buy a new gun for deer anyway, I would look a 6prc or 6.5cm.
Wow. That’s changed since I lived there. I believe 26 cal is minimum for their elk. That deer one must be new. That eliminates the classic 243 and 6mm rem.
For years I used a 1:12 twist 22-250 with 55gr SGKs and never had a whitetail run on me. It's all about shot placement. That all changed the day I hit a huge Axis Buck 3 times to take it down with shots I thought should take it. Darn deer must have been on drugs but it happens. Back to the 7-08 and 140s these days. I had a buddy who swore by the 220 Swift all day.
CoalCrackerAl
Member
Maybe they changed the calber's. Page 27. https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Law/Documents/2022-23 Digest.pdf
2022-23 PA Hunting & Trapping Digest25
Tips for a safe and successful big-game drive
Deer Hunting RegulationsDeer Hunting Regulations
Arms & Ammunition
Fluorescent Orange RequirementsFluorescent Orange Requirements
• Manually operated centerfire rifles, handguns and
shotguns with all-lead bullet or ball, or a bullet designed
to expand on impact.
• Semiautomatic centerfire shotguns that propel single-
projectile ammunition.
• Muzzleloading long guns of any type, 44 caliber or larger,
or a muzzleloading handgun 50 caliber or larger; and
• Long, recurve or compound bows and crossbows with
broadheads of cutting-edge design.
Firearms Deer Seasons
2022-23 PA Hunting & Trapping Digest25
Tips for a safe and successful big-game drive
Deer Hunting RegulationsDeer Hunting Regulations
Arms & Ammunition
Fluorescent Orange RequirementsFluorescent Orange Requirements
• Manually operated centerfire rifles, handguns and
shotguns with all-lead bullet or ball, or a bullet designed
to expand on impact.
• Semiautomatic centerfire shotguns that propel single-
projectile ammunition.
• Muzzleloading long guns of any type, 44 caliber or larger,
or a muzzleloading handgun 50 caliber or larger; and
• Long, recurve or compound bows and crossbows with
broadheads of cutting-edge design.
Firearms Deer Seasons
courtgreene
Member
I went .223 for reasons listed above. Not only do they tend to come in 1:7-1:9” as the pretty universal standard now, they’re also ubiquitous which means cheaper. So when I got a rifle for my son to hunt with I chose that, but was debating between that and .22-250 and .243. I probably would have been happy with any of them, but what’s been stated and the fact that I already load for it made the decision for me.
I’m in Oklahoma
JeffG
Member
I've killed deer with 22-250 handloads. Speer's 70 gr semi pointed at about 2900fps makes a definitive kill in the heart/lung area.
Hugger-4641
Member
What twist rate was that rifle?
Patocazador
Member
Back in the '70s when I went to Wyoming for antelope, the locals told me they used .22-250 for them. They shot them in the lungs and dropped them without any loss of meat. The heaviest bullets available then were probably 55gr. soft points and hollow points.
Hugger-4641
Member
With perfect shot placement, sure it will work. But it's a very low margin for error. More likely to wound it and not recover the animal than to drop it quickly.
JeffG
Member
1-10 the semi pointed is engineered to stabilize in regular twist.
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Hugger-4641
Member
Ok, well a 1/10 twist should be good up to 85 or 90 gr, but that is not a standard twist for 22-250. Most are 1/12.1-10 the semi pointed is engineered to stabilize in regular twist.
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alsaqr
Member
During the mid-late 1950s i killed a few bucks using a Winchester model 70 in .220 Swift. The available bullets were fragile and a mistake in shot placement resulted in a deer suffering a lingering death. After making a bad shot that was quickly followed by a neck shot, my deer hunting experience with the .220 Swift ended.
Today a large variety of bullets suitable for taking deer are available. But i'm a muzzleloader guy.
Today a large variety of bullets suitable for taking deer are available. But i'm a muzzleloader guy.
marksman13
Member
It will kill the crap out of them. So will the 223. I’ve got a good friend who happens to be a veterinarian and he swears the 22-250 is the most effective cartridge he has ever seen for traditional, behind the shoulder lung shots on white tails and pigs. That dude has seen the insides of a lot of critters and treats his field dressing like a necropsy.
If you do your part to limit shots to 200 yards and in, and know that you don’t have the horsepower to punch through much bone, you’ll be just fine.
If you do your part to limit shots to 200 yards and in, and know that you don’t have the horsepower to punch through much bone, you’ll be just fine.
I used one to take around 15 or 20 deer over the course of a few years when I was younger. Back then I was shooting the 64 gr Winchester Power Point out of a Savage model 10 with a 1-9 twist barrel, and I never had a deer go more than a few steps. Also accidently used a 52 gr VMax on a little six point that had a broken leg once, shooting him in the neck just a few inches below the ear resulted in a near decapitation.
