a 22-250 enough ?

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leserz

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i have a 22-250 might be moving to new mexico soon they have a bunch of different game out there. i know my 22-250 will work just fine on prairie dogs,coyote .but is the 22-250 to small for any thing else ? thinking of trying antelope,deer or would i be better off with a .243 or ? think i know the answer but. i own a H&R so changing a barrel is no big deal other than another $150.00 or so.
 
22-250 won't be ideal, but it will work on goats. pay attention to your impact velocity. remember the 22-250 is a velocity monster and it will blow many bullets up on impact, resulting in shallow penetration.

as for deer... here we go... i would not encourage anybody to use a 22 on deer, even the small southern deer. however, there will be plenty of folks who have either done it, or will encourage it. again, the 22-250 is a very high velocity round, and there isn't much meat on a 22 caliber bullet. imo you're asking for trouble.
 
In New Mexico, you'll be far better off with a .243. Keep the .22-250 for ong range jack rabbits or coyotes. I wouldn't trust the .22-250 to perform on a 350 lb mule deer across a canyon. You need much more gun for big mulies and longer ranges. And, that ain't JMHO, that's just plain fact.

In Texas on small Texas whitetail, .22-250 has a following, but I've really never understood why even in Texas. Sure, it'll work on Texas deer. I figure if a youngster is old enough to deer hunt, he should have no problem handling a .243. My first was at age 11 with a .257 Roberts, personally. If the kid is scared of the gun, just wait a few years. As an adult, there is NO advantage in a .22 over a 6mm at all. Neither have any great recoil and the 6mm is a far better choice. In New Mexico, you can get longish shots and you're talking about deer 3 to 4 times heavier than a Texas whitetail. I haven't looked at the regs out there. Hell, the .22 might not even be legal for deer out there.

The one mulie I've taken in New Mexico was at about 350 yards across a steep canyon in the Guadalupe mountains in SE New Mexico. I took it with a 7mm Remington Magnum.
 
It all depends on your rifle, specially your rate of twist which correlates to weight of the bullets you can put down. I know 22-250 is fine round and with the right bullet people hunt elks... If you rate of twist 1:14 or 1:12 then leave this rifle for prairie dogs and yotes. For bigger animals you should look for 1:9, 1:8 to handle 69 - 80 gr bullets that would give you more range and expand your kill zone. However if you can shoot 55 gr M/LE TAC-X or 50 gr Barnes TSX bullets out of yours and get at least 1 MOA then 200 yards would be your max range with it and shot placement is vital here, either go for the chest lungs and heart or head and neck
 
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Be sure its legal for deer. Some states have a .24 caliber minimum.

If it's the only gun you have, it could work with the right bullet and well placed shots. But if you're going to live and hunt there, it would be wise to get something more suitable.
 
22-250 is perfect for whitetail, i know alot of hunters that have bagged nice bucks with it.

the minimum caliber for deer is .222 rem . I use the Winchester Model 94AE in 30-30 win caliber with 150gr JSP. alot of people say the 30-30 is not enough gun well they are wrong.
 
22-250 is perfect for whitetail, i know alot of hunters that have bagged nice bucks with it.
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The only Whitetail hunting you'll be doing in NM is for Coues deer down south the rest is the state is pretty much mule deer hunting.

The regs in NM require only a center fire rifle for deer there is no minimum caliber requirement. There however is a minimum of .24 caliber for larger animals such as elk, oryx and Barbary sheep.

AND I'll say it again...Using a .22 cal rifle or any other substandard round or bullet not designed for hunting big game will severely limit your shot opportunities. If you are prepared for that knock yourself out. But my advice is to get a suitable caliber rifle (6.5 MM and up) use decent bullets and go put some meat in the freezer.

If it was my H&R rifle I'd go put a .270 or .30-06 barrel on it and never look back.
 
This argument about 22 caliber bullets and how they suited for hunting big game can go forever, one thing I know that many hunters use 223 and 22-250 to hunt deer and elk, I even seen post of the guy who shot moose with 223 and 69 gr SMK bullet. Myself I own 223 but I never took it out on game larger they yotes, the smallest caliber I ever used on deer was 270 win, the largest would be 12 ga sabots. Maybe I should try 223 this season so I could advocate using 22 calibers on deer sized game...
 
Get another barrel in a big game cartridge and save your varmint barrel for the varmints.
 
This argument about 22 caliber bullets and how they suited for hunting big game can go forever, one thing I know that many hunters use 223 and 22-250 to hunt deer and elk, I even seen post of the guy who shot moose with 223 and 69 gr SMK bullet.
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DIM you are confusing solid advice with argument. All anybody is saying is that these are not the best hammers for the job. Will they work? Yeah but you need to adjust your hunting style. So why not just make your life easy and get a bigger hammer.
 
H&Hhunter said:
So why not just make your life easy and get a bigger hammer.
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I have bigger hammers, didn't I say smallest caliber I used on the bucks was 270 WIN and I prefer 308 more... 30-06 I tried but I think its to much for bamby.

What would be a challenge is to drop one on the spot with 223, it should be an easy shot withing 100 yards
 
didn't I say smallest caliber I used on the bucks was 270 WIN and I prefer 308 more..
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Ahhh no not anywhere in this thread you didn't....

But I agree with you on the .270 thing that is a great deer round.
 
If you can swap cals for 150 bucks I would say why wouldn't you? Well plus the cost of another scope but still a good buy to have a IMHO better tool for the job. 25-06 or 270 both make great mule deer and goat rounds, I am a 30 cal fan but I would not point you away from the 25 or 270 I have seen deer and goats droped with both of them. Don't quote me on this but NM has elk... If you hunt there long enough you will get the elk itch and then a "bigger hammer" will be in order so now that 270 or maybe even a little more starts looking like a good buy. 7mm mag is another really popular mule deer round among my hunting friends.
 
22 250 is not a deer gun, will it kill a deer ? yes, will you lose some deer? yes, not worth it i think the 223 is a better deer round than 22 250 and i have killed deer with both, the 22 250 just doesnt have the penatration to do the job
 
I've shot 2 whitetails with a 22-250 and one with a 222 and didn't lose any of them. My longest range deer to date was a bang flop at 360 yards with a 22-250. With the right bullet, the 22-250 is more than adequate for deer. If there is a penetration problem, it's the bullet and not the cartridge.

Accuracy and bullet placement, by the way, trumps power.
 
I've shot 2 whitetails with a 22-250 and one with a 222 and didn't lose any of them
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Two problems here....

1) New Mexico is NOT Ohio, and I've been in both states and I've hunted New Mexico and intend to in the future. The hunting is more open, mountainous where I go, REAL mountains, not the Blue Ridge or something. There is woods, of course, but a lot of the hunting is in arid mountains, too, in the south.

2) Mule deer are NOT whitetail. Even your whitetail aren't as big, then add a possible 300 to 400 yard shot.

Nope, not .22 country, sorry. There are OH so many better calibers. .270, yes, I don't have one, but it is among the very BEST choices for New Mexico mulies.

Oh, yeah, and I'll add number three.....a sample size of 2 has a HUGE variance. I wouldn't even bother calculating a standard deviation on such a small sample size. Ever take statistics?
 
Yea, a 22-250 is adequate even at ranges of 300 to 400 yards with the proper bullet and placement thereof but a 270 is excellent as well. I've taken 3 deer so far this summer with my 270 and it worked very well.

By the way, Ohio whitetails, though a bit smaller than mule deer, aren't like the miniature deer I saw in South Carolina. They're soybean and corn fed and opportunities at 300 to 400 yards shots aren't rare.
 
I think that you have made a wise choice. I love my .22-250 but its for varmits only. I am sure it could take a deer but since it is illegal in KS I don't have to worry about trying it.
 
Anythng in the general range of performance of the .308 would work just fine for the usual big game in New Mexico. Plenty of oomph, flat-enough trajectory within rational distances.

While the lighter bullets will work, the heavier stuff seems to me to be a bit more reliable for penetration on an angling body shot...
 
I hunted with my 7 mag out there, but I hadn't gotten my little M7 in .308, yet. I consider a light .308 an AWESOME choice for mountain hunting...or the same little gun in 7-08 or .260 for that matter. I just wanted the .30 cal version, tried and true and inherently accurate .308. BUT, I'm thinkin' my next trip to New Mexico will involve a front loader because I've not done muzzle loader season and the season is longer and there's less chance of snow that time of year. It's tough to get inside muzzle loader range on one of those mulies, though. They've got the nose and their ears are like friggin' radar dishes. It WILL test your stalk skills. :D But, that's why they call it "hunting" and not "shooting".
 
Anythng in the general range of performance of the .308 would work just fine for the usual big game in New Mexico. Plenty of oomph, flat-enough trajectory within rational distances.

While the lighter bullets will work, the heavier stuff seems to me to be a bit more reliable for penetration on an angling body shot.
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You know guys Art is a crazy old coot. But when the chips are down and it looks like all is lost. Art is one hell of man and you can count on him to be there, he's got your back even in the most dire situations.

He's also most of a century old and started hunting with stone point spears..
I'd listen to him if I were you.:)
 
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