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.

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


Brett

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.

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

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...

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.

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.

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..

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

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