Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

I had someone try and tell me they hunt whitetails with this gun. He was a little in the bag so I dont know if he was serious. Isnt the 22-250 just for varmints?

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

The .22-250 is in the higher end of the .22 caliber line up.
IMHO, I' d say NO .22 calber is justifiably a deer caliber!
I would not go smaller than a .243/6MM, some would not go lower than a .257!
The .243 or .257 have good power and little recoil. I don' t know why anyone looking for a deer gun would go out and put money on any .22 !!!?????

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

The 22-250 is a small high velocity cartrige made for varmits,and yes it will kill deer and then some,but in the hand of a person who can call their shots wait for the right moment and shoot.

I have shot deer with the .223 and 22-250 and I would not recomend them for deer.
I live in Montana and the caliber restriction on big game is a .22 cal or larger,and belive me I' ve been elk hunting and have seen guys toting their 22-250,and all I' ve wanted to do is slap them silly.[:@]

I would like to see a minimum of.25 caliber for all big game in Montana.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

I know several folks that use their .220 Swift on deer with spectacular success and swear that they' re the greatest thing since sliced bread. (equivalent to .22-250.

They are owned by varmint hunters and that crowd normally are exceptionally good shooters.

I took two deer on a Texas hunt years ago with a short barreled .222 and both dropped in their tracks. I shot a springbok this summer with a .222 and it made three steps.

I use a .257 Roberts and am now upgrading it to a .260 Remington for deer, but I sure know a bunch of folks that believe that the .22-250 (and equivalent cartridges) are deer guns.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

In the right hands (very responsible and accurate hands, and where legal), the .22-250 has taken many many deer...my aunt hunts in TX, where wild range deer are no more than greyhounds with racks, the .22-250 is a viable weapon for her and she' s had outstanding success with it. In most other situations, no, it' s not a good choice, but I won' t tell you it' s not a deer rifle at all, it' s just not the best choice...if you' re in maine, I don' t even think it' s a legal choice, and with the size of your deer, it' s not a good one at all.

For deer populations where 130-150# dressed weight is average or light for fully grown adult does (bucks should be heavier still then), then the .243 should be the minimum cartridge, if your bucks are lucky to hit 180# on the hoof, like in some desert/plains regions, then there' s nothing wrong with a .22-250, but I can' t imagine that you' re hunting deer like that in Maine.

I' ve also known people that have great success with .22-250' s or .223' s on Antelope, which I feel would probably be a decent low-range cartridge for this game, as long as they' re hunted up close, and not from ridge to ridge like many 7mm rambo' s so enjoy.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

The 22-250 is a smokin' little caliber. If the bullet is placed in the right place, and is the right kind, it' ll drop a deer in its tracks.

Would I recommend it for a beginner??? NO! But for an experienced shooter, it would suffice.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

I' m with the NO crowd on this one. While the 22-250 has taken deer and is capable, that doesn' t mean that it is a good cartridge for the job. A .22LR will kill a deer IF you can put it in the right spot, but that certainly doesn' t mean that it' s a good deer cartridge. With a 22-250 you are handicapping yourself needlessly. To hunt deer with a 22-250 you' ll want to step up to at least a 60gr+ grain bullet, which means that the blazing speed of the cartridge won' t be there. Most 22-250' s are designed to shoot 40-55grain bullets and are rifled for that purpose, meaning that the rifle might not stabilize the longer heavier bullets at the slower velocities and accuracy could suffer.

Some argue recoil as a factor, but I' d counter that a .243Win or a 6mm Rem with a 85 grain bullet won' t kick that much harder than the 22-250 to be a serious factor to accuracy, and you get quite a bit more cross-sectional area (i.e. bigger hole) than a .224 bullet.

When it comes right down to it, I think that one is doing the deer and the rest of the hunting community an injustice by selecting a less than adequate cartridge for the job. I don' t care how good a shot one thinks they are, there is always the possibility that one won' t make that perfect shot and the deer will be forced to suffer a needlessly extended and painful death and may never be found. Secondly, avoidably wounding animals because the cartridge just wasn' t quite good enough gives the rest of us hunters a bad name. I' ve noticed that when debates like this come up, there are always a few people who advocate the small calibers who think they' re a cross between Annie Oakley and Carlos Hathcock. If you genuinely are an outstanding master marksman and have the superhuman patience and discipline to wait for the " perfect" shot to present itself, then by all means use whatever caliber you want as long as it' s legal. But if you have ANY DOUBT WHATSOEVER as to your skill , then please go with a cartridge that gives you a reasonable margin for error.

I say get the 22-250 to practice with and become a good shot and maybe to take a coyote or groundhog or two, then get a more suitable rifle to hunt the bigger animals with. One only has to shoot the hunting rifle a few times a year, and one never feels the recoil when they' ve got a deer in their crosshairs, so there is no reason not to shoot a gun that is a little more forgiving of a slightly misplaced shot. If you want more challenge when deer hunting, take up muzzleloader or bowhunting rather than hunting with a poor choice for a centerfire deer rifle.

Mike

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

I' d say it all depends on where you' re at and what the deer are like that you' re hunting. For 300 lb corn fed deer or the monsters in the North, I' d say no.

If you' re talking 100-200 yard shots at deer in the South where they normally weight anywhere from 75-150 lbs (on the hoof), it' s a fine deer rifle. If it wasn' t capable, I don' t think the game departments would make it legal to use.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

In the state where I hunt, the 223 and larger including the 22-250 are legal deer rifles. I know quite a few good hunters who use them including my brother in law. Most of these guys live on ranches and can hunt every day of the season. They can pick and choose thier shots or pass until another day. For these kinds of hunters I think the 22-250 with good bullets like the Nosler Partition and Barnes X bullets as well as the 70 grain Speer semi-spitzer, is suitable. For someone who will take any shot regardless of range or conditions, No its not a deer rifle. I will be carring mine as a back-up and coyote gun this year. I would not hesitate to take a 100 yard shot at a deer with it if the condition presents itself. It would be a head or neck shot or a clean miss. I have Nosler 60 grain partitions and Speer 70 grainers loaded just in case. The 70 grains are loaded to 3330 fps and the Noslers to 3400 fps.

RE: Is a 22-250 strictly a varmint gun?
 

O, I am going to solve all this " is this caliber big enough for...." jazz once and for all. A 45/70 is the ultimate hunting rifle, has been for 150 years, and, yes, it will kill deer. 22-250' s are for plinking at coyotes, cans, things of that nature. 55 grain bullets that shatter when they hit coyotes are not for deer. I have a 22-250 and I love it, but would never hunt anything bigger than varmints with it.