I have a 220 and used it to shoot some deer and pigs back in the 80’s. I was host guiding on big leases in south Texas, and I wasn’t supposed to shoot deer, but to see that the customers did. I used the 220 mostly on coyotes so I’d have something to shoot. Never failed though that the ranch manager would call me on the Jeep radio and tell me that the customers were crummy shots, and if I didn’t shoot something we’d have no supper. At first I used my coyote bullet, which was a 55 gr Nosler SBBT. That was not a good choice for shooting deer, so I transitioned to the 63 gr Sierra SMP. That one worked pretty good if I could place the bullet well.
My opinion: Don’t shoot deer with 22 cal varmint bullets. Get a good tough bullet.
As for stabilization, my 14 twist won’t quite stabilize the 60 gr Partition. Absolutely won’t stabilize the 64 gr Nosler Bonded SB, and is so far from stabilizing the 65 gr Sierra GK that when I shot them at 100 yards, I have no idea where the bullets went.
In my 223, I have had fine results with the 60 gr Partition and the 65 gr Sierra GK, but the Sierra is more accurate in my rifle.
Also in the 80’s, a few friends and I were invited on a high dollar pig hunt in south Texas. I took my 270, but one buddy didn’t have a rifle, so I loaned him the 220. I had loaded up some 63 gr Sierras, but I really wasn’t sure how that 220 would work on hogs, with any bullet. Well, we were up on a high rack on back of a Jeep, and here came a medium size hog at a run. My buddy shot it behind the shoulder and the pig plowed a groove with his snout. Seriously dead. And he shot a few more that weekend, and I think he collected them all.
So yes, you can deer and pig hunt with a 22-250 or a 220, but there are better options. But...If I could stabilize that 65 gr Sierra GK in my 220, I’d deer hunt with it.
