22-250 for deer

Correct shot placement,and correct bullet design of any caliber, will kill any animal.
I'm also one of the guys that have shot a few hundred deer.
On a once in a lifetime hunt, I would choose a med size(.257 or.30 cal)rifle. Why???? just because I have limited time, and want to be successful.
On the flip side of the coin, when I was doing "cull shoots"
I shot a .223AI, 22-250, or a .243.
We had as many as 30 tags a day, and were shooting,(not hunting) from box blinds, or rigs, the deer were on bean feilds.Less noise meant more deer killed. We took only head and neck shots. Either, clean kill or clean miss.
I am confident shooting deer, even big mule deer, with .224's under the right circumstances, had success enough times when a "small gun",was all I had handy.
My opinion is that any person can shoot whatever they want, big guns, and small guns both have "pros,and cons".
To cover what I think was the original ?, match bullets may not be your best choice, depends on shot placement.
Vitals are mostly "water", which will cause bullets to expand more rapidly.(for a test, shoot a jug of water at 100yrds, and shoot a block of wood at 100yrds, with the same bullet, and judge the results.)
I shoot V-max, or nos-bt's, 50 to 60 gr, depending on gun,with head and neck shots the results are good.
Make your choices wisely,and enjoy hunting. Duane
 
I have said it before and will say it again. The 22-250 can flat out kill and kill spectacularly. I have seen it used on deer and, God forbid, elk with 55gr soft points. One of the local natural resources guy uses one. I would love to use one if it were legal here. But WA has a .243 as the minimum for big game.
 
An Eskimo that I know in Alaska only uses a 223 for caribou, sheep and wolves (and anything else that needs shooting) If its good enough for him then Im sure that something with a little more knockdown would do great.
 
I used my 22-250 to kill one deer just to say I had used the 22-250 to kill a deer with it. My bullet of choice was the Sierra 63 Gr, SMP and it did it's job. Would I use it again? NO, Not as long as I have my Pre 64 Win. 264 Win. Mag. it is just the rifle I prefer to hunt deer with. Now if the 22-250 was the only rifle I had then the answer would be a big YES.

I can't not argue with success about the 52 Gr Matchkings, but for me I would always choose a bullet that was designed as a hunting bullet.

I like my .243 for yotes with the Nosler 80 Gr ballistic tip bullets, but the way they perform on yotes I would not trust them for Deer hunting. Like one feller said if you use the 80 GR BT bullet for yotes you need a rake to gather the fur. This bullet might do real well but why take a chance on it not working on deer.

DAB
 
Originally Posted By: Duane@ssu We took only head and neck shots. Either, clean kill or clean miss.


That old theory sounds good, but I'd hardly call a shot off jaw or nose a "clean kill" or a "clean miss".
IMO,,, head or neck are very low percentage shots, but then, I'm not a professional hunting guide so what do I know?

A 22cal hole in the lungs will kill just as dead as a 30cal hole will (providing you can get through the ribs and get good penetration).
 
Years ago I was working for some large hunting ranches in So. Texas. Guiding some but mostly culling deer,feral hogs and coyotes. My rifle of choice was a rem 788 in 22-250. The bullet Mainly used was a sierra 55 gr flat base. I used other bullets but this bullet gave the most conceistant performance. In my experiance I found that the boat tail design bullet to be more of a problem in small calibers, with jacket/core seperation being the issue. Sorry I do not have any experiance with the 52 gr bullet in question.
 
Originally Posted By: jbuckI have said it before and will say it again. The 22-250 can flat out kill and kill spectacularly. I have seen it used on deer and, God forbid, elk with 55gr soft points. One of the local natural resources guy uses one. I would love to use one if it were legal here. But WA has a .243 as the minimum for big game.

Oh good god, 22-250 for elk, really, whats next, grizzly too?

How many elk have you killed or even seen killed?
 
Since when are deer small game?
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Originally Posted By: 204GunnerAs far as 204 goes, 22 cal centerfire is smallest allowed to use in Michigan for deer. There is a reason 243 is smallest centerfire allowed for Colorado...elk. I'm sure a 22 centerfire with a decent bullet would work with a well placed bullet no doubt about it, but things aren't always perfect. I thought this thread had died a while ago. Far as me using my .204 here in Michigan, it was completely legal. The rule book states no using .22 or smaller caliber Rimfire. They have no mention of centerfire caliber size.
 
Originally Posted By: 204GunnerPA deer are pretty small, the ones I've seen.

Having lived in PA and now in Utah, I see no real difference in size. Antlers, yes mule deer are body size, not in my experience. The southern part of the state they run a bit smaller, but in NW PA, it's not uncommon to kill 200 pounders.
 
I just had to put my 2 cents into this topic. I killed the below buck year before last with my 22-250 Coyote/groundhog load. I reload all my stuff and was using 50 gr. Hornady V-Max. The only reason I used this gun was because I knew I was going to be hunting a farm with a lot of open fields. I have this gun and load shooting really well and know where the bullet will hit. The shot was 226 yds. ranged with my Leica 900. I placed it well, double lunged him.....HOWEVER, that being said if you do this in heavy brush or thick woods with no snow, it is very bad idea in my opinion. The reason is that bullet went into both lungs but lodged in the off lung and never came out. Not a drop of blood anywhere. The reason is, I think is this buck weighed 170 lbs. dressed which means he was 200 lbs. on the hoof. Thats a pretty big deer around here. He only went about 40 yds and colapsed dead. BUT if he was in heavy laurel or something like that, with no blood trail could have lost him easily. This is all just my opinion but you really should use a bigger caliber on bigger game.
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Peter- Im betting a heavier contructed bullet would have given you better performance.

Ive shot alot of deer with a 55g SP out of a .223 and never had one take more than 2 steps.

I agree that is a large buck lol. Nice
 
I don't understand the want or need to shoot a large animal with a small round. I know you can kill a deer with a 22 lr or 223 or 22-250. But why take that chance when there are other calibers much better suited for this size game. Is it economics or is it something else
 
Anytime you pull the trigger your takeing a chance. I've been a small cal guy most my life. A .243 win has been my favorite for a loooong time. I've also killed a few with a .223 rem. I know WAY to many people that think their MAG something is the only thing to have. Problem is most of them are afraid of their Magnum cals,no they won't admit it,but the groups prove it. Don't get me wrong I'm not a "mag" hater,I've got one myself. Most people that shoot smaller cals are way better shooters/hunters.
 
Originally Posted By: Mark2I don't understand the want or need to shoot a large animal with a small round. I know you can kill a deer with a 22 lr or 223 or 22-250. But why take that chance when there are other calibers much better suited for this size game. Is it economics or is it something else

My thoughts exactly. That said, I hung up the .308 a few years back and fell in love with the kids' .243. Some would argue that's too light for deer but our results paint a different picture. I say use what's legal and what you're comfortable with. If one has deer running off and never found with any regularity, then they shouldn't be in the woods IMO.
 
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