Deer bullet for 222.
 

I live in south Georgia and 22 centerfire is legal for deer down here. I was suprised myself to see people using 223 and 22-250 for deer. My ex-father-n-law uses an AR and he hasn't lost a deer since i have known him. I have a Sako Vixen in 222 that will shoot the pants off any 223 i haveshot. I plan to use it on some smaller deer (90-120 pounds) to thin our herd out a little this season. They have started to get a little dense. The bullets i am considering are the 60gr Nosler Partion and the 53 an 62gr Barnes X bullets. The 55gr Speer Trophy Bonded as well as the 55gr and Possibly the 65gr Sierra GameKing even thoughitsheavy. Has any one used these bullets? I use the partitions in my 06' and they are great so i figure they are my best bet.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

The 55Hdy SP will do just fine and will be a lot cheaper to shoot then the ones you mentioned.


Brett

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Crew - I would say the heaviest quality bullet your rifle could shoot accurately. Shot placement is really critical with such a small bullet. I was astonished too when my Oklahoma guide told me that he used a .223 for mulies.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

I have a friend that uses 50 gr Remington factory loads, fills his tags every year.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

I'd go with the 60gr Partition...My niece uses that in her 22-250, has killed 8-10 with it the past few years, it's stout enough to drop them with high shoulder shots...

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

The Partition was my first pic, like i said. I use the 180gr NP in my 06'. But i have read a lot of good things about the Barnes.

nchawkeye- How well does your nieces rifle shoot those 60gr? I had a 223 with a 1 in 14 twist that would key hole the 62gr load from Winchester.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

An 8 twist or faster will shine with the heavier bullets.

Lotsa deer die via the 62 grain TSX's ran hard and spun fast.........

Chances are that .222 isn't twisted like that.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

BARNES used to make a 50 grain X-bullet..not sure if they do anymore...Out of a 22/250 this this will take the lungs out of a deer like a vaccum cleaner..not sure if they still make them or not...the .222 will be a little slower but with a Barnes bullet it should still pass right on into the vital area with little problem..

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Barnes currently makes a 45 grain TSX FB, 53 grain TSX FB, 62 grain TSX BT, and 70 grain TSX BT.........

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

For starters the Sako likely has a 1-14 twist so forget anything over 55gr.Some will shoot them most won't unless driven fast.I handloaded 55gr Hornady[old style with canalure] over 24gr of Win 748 in a Sav 340/.222 for Ontario WT's He ran up a string of a dozen deer all with one shot.I wouldn't shoot much past 100 yards taking only double lung/heart or neck shots.Last fall my son dropped a running WT doe at 75 yards [head on] with a centre of the chest hit.Load was a Rem 50gr HP/19gr RE#7 Dead before she hit the ground lights out! My dad also shot 3 pest black bear each with one shot with the first load.The Innuit in our North are still wackin walrus,caribou ,seals,muskox and even polar bear with the triple deuse..............hard to find fault with that.....Harold

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

I saw a documentory about the Innuit when i was a kid. They filmed the men hunting polar bear with the 222. Personaly, my first thought was that those guys were suicidle. But it worked and seemed to work well. I'll get a box of 53gr TSX to go with the Partitions. I only have 2 powders at the moment for it, IMR 3031 and H322. I have BL-C(2) but not enough for serius development. I'm loading it with 50gr Sierra Blitzking for groundhogs and it shoots them into a raged hole. Maybe the light TSX will work.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Nope, can't find any fault with that at all, unless you look on OUR side of it........

I have a huge amount of respect for the Innuit, and other Native Peoples when it comes to hunting game and making things work right everytime. But there is a huge difference between us and them, with "us"and "them" being generalistic words.

The Innuit spend far more time hunting than a lot of "us" do, and inmost cases their survival depends on it. When we see, or read about, a People like that being hugely successful with the lil' ol' triple duece it's because they see things we don't, they know things we don't, and they do things that we can't. They don't have modern worldly things occupying 95% of their time, and they don't have hunting as a recreational venture....like we do. They live it and breath it, day in and day out. We don't for the most part, give or take....

Would I recommend a .222 for killing'Bouto the average suburbanite hunter who only sees the outdoors on golf day and a couple weekends in November? No, I wouldn't, absolutely not. Would I recommend it to the average Innuit sustainence hunter any day of the year? Absolutely, they could probably get it done better than I could with my 30-06.

So when we hear of such things we need to step back and not assume just because the Innuit are killing Polar Bears with a .222 then We can too. It's not the same ballgame and folks need to understand that. Grocery stores tend to have a large impact on a persons hunting/shootingsavvy..........

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Would I starve if all I had was a .222? Not a chance.Most "subsistance natives" don't even hunt anymore they live off the nearest grocery store and substance abuse is rampade.Sad but true on a lot ofreserves .We have killings every weekend by rival native drug gangs trying to control the crack market.They have a $50,000 reward posted for info leading to the arrest and of conviction of the people responsible for a driveby killing of a young woman at a house party last weekend.........Harold

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

55 grain Serria sp in a 22-250has killed a couple dozen mulies and blacktails in Ca and Nv for my Mom and shoot 5 shots inside a nickle cover with a dime on a really "hot" day .

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Crew...they shoot "decent", not great...Groups run around 1 1/2 to 1 3/4...

As you know that's not anything to brag about, especially with a 22-250, but she hunts stands where the longest shot will only be 100 yards...Most are killed at 50-80...

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

I was figuring hunting rifle accuracy wich i consider any thing under 2" at a hundred, good enough to work. Not what i would prefer but it'll hit the boiler room. So long as it wasnt a 4-6" group. Those 55gr Sierras are varmint bullets arent they? They really hold up on Mullies? As for my rifle shooting ability, i shoot nearly every day. I spend at least an hour on the range 4-5 days a week. I have that luxury because my land lord is a farmer. He was kind enough to let me talk him into building a range on his property. Plus being single i have all the time i want. I have an old Rem 721 in 30-06 that i reload for like crazy. I usually load 2 boxes in the morning when i get home and set up to shoot in the evening when i get up. I put between 150-200 rounds through it any given week. I shoot from any position but the bench. Ihave clover leafed 200gr Norma Oryx at a hundred from the seated position. I shoot my Sako almost as much. I'm pretty sure i can stick that 222 were ever i feel like.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Crew Dawg

Use the one thats shoots the best from your gun.
something to think about islighter bullets dont penatrate major bone like theheavy ones. therefor shot placementis critical with the small ones.

here's pics of one I took with my .22 hornet 45 grain bullet
(heart shot)

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

HOLY COW!! What a hole? You did that with a Hornet? Barnes makes a 53gr X that it should shoot. All i am waiting on is the UPS guy to try'em.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

There's the truth!

Instead of watching National Geo... go spend some time up there, and you will see what it's REALLY like...

Been there done that...

DM

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

Back in the '30s & '40s there were a lot of Alaskan brown bears being killed with 30-40 Krags. Not because it was a great round for big bears, but because there were lots of surplus military rifles and ammo available. I can't speak for the .222 butI've read about Innuits using .223 and I suspect it's for the same reason, cheap guns and ammo. Bet if you gave them the choice of hunting bears with .223 or .338, most would opt for the .338.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

NO, they'ed be just like us. It was good enough for my dad. It's been killing them for years.

RE: Deer bullet for 222.
 

A 22 LR will kill a deer-but whats the point.Go with at leasta 243.Even at certain ranges even that is questionable.