22/250 for deer
 

:DMany deer are harvested down here ,especially around bean fields from stands, with the 22/250. I am presently working on loads for a Winchester 64 grain power point and a 70 grain Speer semi-spitzer. I am using H 4350 and IMR 4064. Anyone out ther use the 22/250 and one of the bullets? Or do you have another good deer bullet for it.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

blob I recommend you go over too the Texas Trophy Hunters Association website and check into their .224 TTH info. I was very excited about one of these rifles a few years ago (still am, who knows if my 22/250 proves to do what I think it will do then I will more than likely have a TTH built in a year or two.) and have read alot about their various tests with .22 cal bullets on deer. They speak highly of the 64 grain powerpoint and the 70 grain Speer. Even over the 53 grain Xbullet and the 55 grain TBBC which I have 4 boxes of for my 22/250 (available from Federal).

The difference as I understand it is that most 22/250s were given a 1 in 14 twist while Savage builds their 22/250 (which is what I have) with a 1 in 12 twist. That faster rate of twist will stabilize the heavier (over 55 grn) bullets when fired from the 22/250. Some reports of them not shooting heavy bullets well is directly a result of the slower twist rate.

The rate of twist on the 224TTH is REALLY cranked up, around 1 in 8 if I remember right. They would overstabilize (which would cause blowup and deformation from torque) with lightweight bullets under 50 grains or so but are excellent for 65, 70 and even some 80+ grainers custom built by Berger. In the TTH those 80s can be juiced up too 3800fps fairly easily and they recorded MANY one shot kills on game larger than deer with them.

I am looking forward to "necking" a doe or two this year with my 22/250 just for the heck of it. The gun shoots great and I am looking forward too my kids learning to get used too a centerfire rifle with this gun. You can bet I will have a big gun in the stand with me while I deer hunt with this 22/250 (if for no other reason than the .24 is the minimum legal caliber in my state!) just in case ol "sad daddy" steps out. But if I had a TTH or even possibly after I set my mind at ease with this 22/250 with 55grn TBBCs this season, I might get up the nerve to carry it solo next season!

Velocity and a tough bullet design can do ALOT in the way of penetration and killing without regards too bullet diameter and energy production!
RA

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I have built a couple of these "TTH" rifles: also known as a .22-6MM with a 8 or 9 inch twist barrel. The bullet to use seems to be a 75 grain Hornady A-Max. Hit 'em in the ribs and its lights out. I am in the process of building a .22-250 Ackley with a 9" twist for the same application. Not legal in all states (Colorado is one of them), but a pretty lethal tool for medium big game.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

:DHey some great info! Yeah I might have a bit of trouble getting a real good group with my New Remington 700 22/250 on the 64 or the 70 grain. But hope I can get a good enough group to not have flyers. That 75 grain A max with the 1 and 8 twist-wow!And may look into getting a different barrel put on this one if it doesn't at least get me close to 1" groups. thanks for the info!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

:DHey Roskoe I grew up in Western Colorado and some of my friends who loved to hunt Elk at night used to swear by the 22 magnum!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I'l bet they did some real serious swearing when the game warden's spotlight illuminated their nocturnalpursuits. :D

If your .22-250 has the standard 1:14 barrel, I doubt if it will stabilize the 64 gr. Winchester. Usually need at least a 1:12.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I just cant beleave people shoot deer with a 22-250. I sure hope the guys that do this do not go to a state with big deer. Shooting a 125# deer is eazy with any thing but a 250# is not the same.I have been there and watched 2 guys here in MT shoot a deer 5 times. One guy was shooting the 223 and one the 22-250. was one of the uglyest things I ever saw.The kill shot was a hit right at the bace of the antlars.When they guted the deer it had SPECKS of lead though its sholder.They lost a good part of the deer.[couldnt eat all the lead]

I shoot a 223.I have killed deer with it. The only reasion I have shot any deer with the 223 is I would be calling yotes and have a doe come in to the call. This is slightly difrant than some one grabing the 22-250 to go hunt deer.I should allso say the deer I have shot with the 223 where walking to me and at VERY close range.

Charles Bradford

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Used correctly, the 22-250 or 220 Swift are impressive one-shot killers on deer. Used incorrectly they are one of the ugliest things you have ever seen. Just like most things in life I suppose. One of P.O Ackleys books had a section on the subject and the info was very good. May have been Wilcats of the World, or something like that, it is a two volume set. He even used the .228 Ackley to flat lay down some elk.

I haven't shot many deer with my swift, but I've never hit them twice and never had them go more than 30 yards, and that was with (god forbid) a 55 grn ballistic tip. The 53 barnes shoots horrible in my 40 XBKS, about the only bullet I have ever tried that it wouldn't shoot. That and the 70 grn speer...

I guess the problem for me is what if it comes down to that 250 yard quartering shot on ole mossy horns. I don't feel comfortable with a 22 in that situation. You can take an iffy shot or pass. With my 30-06, 165 interbond I don't worry about it. Both my boys learned to shoot deer with my 7 x 57, and there were sure times I was glad of that heavier bullet:eek:.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I have mellowed a bit in my stance against 22 caliber cartridges and deer. In the past I have had to track far more deer than I would have liked that were shot with off the shelf 22 cal ammo. In other words people were using the wrong bullet for the wrong job. Nowadays however there are several well designed game bullets in 22 caliber that should work acceptably well in the right rifle, shouldered by the right person, taking the right shot. Would I use one, nope. There are far too many other cartridges that will do a far better job. Too each his own though.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

To second what roskoe said unless you have a custom barrel your gun won't likely group a 64g or 70g bullet. If your guns a 700 I believe all/most have 1:14 twist...they don't even like some of the 55g bullets (I know, I have one. I got decent groups...but I get much better with 50g) Some guys will say that even 1:12 is marginal for a 55g. If you're looking for the ultimate smallbore deer round give the .243 ballistics a look, it's alot more impressive than you might think!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Same thoughts here!!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Most game can be taken with most calibers out there with a well placed shot. Doesn't mean that it is the best tool in the box. Idaho is another state that doesn't allow big game hunting with .22 caliber. Some of your larger calibers might allow you a better chance of retreival on game with a not so well placed shot. Had an uncle that took a lot of game in the 50's with a military .30-06 including a few elephants. The 06 was put in the closet after a bad experience with a lion.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I have had pretty much the same opinion about minimum deer calibers for years. However, the stuff they are doing down in Texas with the .22-6MM has been somewhat eye-opening. You might go to www.TTHA.com and look up that article Red Allison was talking about. These guys tried quite a few different bullets out of a 1:8 twist barrel. They had the best luck with the 75 to 80 grain bullets, and it appeared the best of those was the 75 grain Hornady A-Max.

I can't remember how many deer in a row they shot with this bullet, but every one of them went down in his tracks. I followed up with a call to Horace Gore and he indicated that they were getting more one-shot "lights out" kills with this caliber/bullet than they were with the .300 Weatherby.

The idea occurred to me try the 105 gr. 6MM A-Max in a 6MM-284. I couldn't get it to stabilize in a 10" twist, but last year I got a 9" Jeff Lawrence barrel and fitted it to a Remington short action. This bullet had pretty much the same effect on elk that the 75 grain .22 caliber version had on deer . . . . one shot lights out kill, hit in the ribs. It appears that these bullets penetrate well into the rib cage before even starting to expand, and then literally explode - creating a huge wound channel. On the elk, both lungs were pulverized and no fragment of the bullet made it to the ribs on the off side.

I don't know how many of you remember the old Western Open Point Expanding bullet that Jack O'conner used in his beloved .270 - but it was a bullet of similar concept. Delay the expansion enough to get it inside the animal, and then create a massive internal wound. These are not good bullets for inexperienced hunters or marginal marksmen - but with a well placed shot, are extremely lethal.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I want to make a retraction of my earlier post...after ready that link and some others I'm now a believer and trying to figure out how I'm gonna 22-250 setup for heavier bullets!!!!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Ive seen the 22-250 with standard 55 gr holow points blow huge holes in deer.
I shot a 11 point, 160 lb buck this year and also a90 lb doe with my .22 hornet, they both dropped in their tracks.
it's all about the man behind the gun.
if I really need to reach out and touch'em, i'll go for my .243.
I'm a big fan of fast small cartridges for deer, I think they offer more than a big chunk of lead just leaving a .30 cal. hole.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I believe that the 64-grain Winchester Power Point bullet is very good for deer, as is the 60 grain Nosler Partition and the Barnes X type bullets. Despite having adequate weight for such work, in my experience the 70 grain Speer semispitzer is a little soft for things much tougher than a coyote!

As regards the .224 TTH, I find it amusing that in this day and age, people are still waxing eloquentover what is nothing more or less than the old .22 Newton cartridgeof 100 years age-a 7X57mm Mauser (or 6mm Rem.) case necked down to .22,with a quick twist tube to stabilize long, heavy-for-caliber bullets. It was a good cartridge then, and still is-but it shore ain't 'nuthin' NEW, either in concept or capability!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I believe this is essentially the same effect that once caused people like Elmer Keith to conclude that "the .30/'06 is not adequate for anything bigger than jackrabbits", etc. Old Elmer and his buddies were using inadequate BULLETS in perfectly adequate cartridges! [/b]

John Nosler ended this problem in 1946, with the introduction of the Partition Jacket bullet.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

i have to agree with all that the 22-250 is just not made for varmints that get that big,tho i have done it once to a deer at about 400yds . the deer was broadside to me with head down looking away, i put the cross hairs on its throat just above the jaw bone ,and hit it 2" higher but still on the center line of target .that deer went down so fast it was like i cut its head off.i was using a T/C encore ,55gr,bthp with 42gr.of H414 but that load was just to hot .so i backed it off to 39gr .the only other powder that gun liked was w760,a near clown of h414 .varget was ok with 40gr. bullets but i had no need for a bullet that lite.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Umm, you sure you don't mean 40 yards instead of 400?

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I shot a doe at 75 yards with the 70 grain and it was lights out. But I found that the 60 grain Hornady SP has more energy and a lot better flight path than the 70 grain. The 60 grain needs a 16.5 twist to stablize it so the 1-14 Remington 700 stablizes it real well. The 60 grain has 1000 Foot pounds of energy at 250 yards so will handle the deer I hunt from 50 to 100 yards.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

There is no doubt that the Barnes "X" bullets are tough enough, but the 60-grain Nosler Partition combines the best of both "hard" and "soft" types. It is shaped right, heavy enough, holds together from the partition back, and penetrates deeply but also expands because the front section is soft.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

In my 22-250(Ruger MII)Ive used a 55grn Sierra Blitzking on 2 bucks and a doe. One shot behind the shoulder and 2 in the neck. They all droppedrather quickly.
Ive also shot many does with my .222 with 50 grn CT BTs. Mainly head and neck shots, I usually hunt woods so shots are less then 100yrds.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

Perhaps the secondbest thing about the 60gr Nosler Partition, is that it was designed to shoot accurately in twists commonly encountered in 22-250s.

It works. My best load for the 22-250, is 38grs of IMR 4350, CCI 200s, Remington cases and it has killed deer. Not my first choice either, but it does the job.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

You know I wouldn't have any problem using a 22-250 on doe or something, but I want to be ready for the day I see that big buck and want all the help I can get. Cause if you end up shooting and it doesn't go down like you want, you will always be questioning should I have used a more appropiate caliber.

I know this year, I changed to a 45-70 with partitions. I shot a decent 8pt at almost 100 yards. It ran about 20 yards and layed down but right across the line on another piece of property. About 5 min later, the guy on teh ridge shot it. I blew out the last 3 ribs and blood was everywhere. But he claimed it got up 5 min later. Hard for me to believe. But its been going thru my mind that maybe I should have used something little more accurate or appropiate or something to knock it down harder. Who knows. But he claimed the deer. Kinda burns when you see a buck like that go down but only he and God knows the truth.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

"I blew out the last 3 ribs and blood was everywhere. But he claimed it got up 5 min later."

As you say, only he and GOD know the truth, but I'll bet you that that buck did not get up!

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

I got this love hate relationship with MD. One, I have never seen so many 2nd year 8ts in my life with spreads greater than 14". But all the people hunting makes it so difficult. You have to get one heck of a shot to get them down immediately. From now on, shoulder shots with my 45-70. That don't take them, I don't know what will. When I hunted in Ky or WV, I never saw 1 buck for every 2 does. But here, its pretty normal.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

BigC
You know I could help you with some loads to get those deer to drop before they get over your property lines. Funny you dont agree with my methods but what I try to accomplish is exactly what you needed in the situation when you lost that deer.
Let me know and Id be happy to email you some load info, just give mea caliber or 2,dontnock ituntil you try it.

RE: 22/250 for deer
 

the 22-250 loaded with 60 gr. nosler partitions or speer 70 gr. bullets is instant death on deer with good shot placement. a native friend in NFLD. uses a browning blr in 22-250 to shoot caribou and moose he always shoots them in the head or neck and not one has moved out of their track yet. the key for using a 22-250 for deer is bullet selection and placement.