I shot one yesterday. Here's what I used:
Savage 22-250, 1 in 14 twist
bullet 55 gr Sierra spitzer BT
book velocity about 3700 fps
range 150 yds
broadside heart shot

This bullet left a whopping hole going in. It somehow broke 2 ribs. It clipped the soft tissue in the elbow of the leg but the hole in the hide behind it was only 1/4" wide so it couldn't have expanded before the ribs. Once in, it totally obliterated the heart and 1 lung and moderately hashed the other lung. It didn't exit. It left a small hole on inside of the rib cage between 2 ribs but didn't make it through the soft tissue. I couldn't find the bullet in the jello inside.

This was a very easy shot and he couldn't have got any more dead. I'm questioning how the bullet would have held up with a more marginal hit, like a leg bone. In general, I'd recommend a stronger built bullet for 22-250 velocities. A heavier bullet might have penetrated better on the far side but with this slow twist, I couldn't get much heavier. This is the most accurate bullet I've used with this rifle. I can shoot .75 MOI with it.

entry hole


far side rib cage. Knife point shows small hole where bullet stopped.

Looks like it did a fine job to me.

What part of DEAD, don't you like?? Rio7

Thread title should be, "Critiquing the 55 grain varmint HP for antelope"...

MY ERROR. In my OP I said HP. That's wrong. I meant BT. This is supposed to be a bullet for larger game than varmints.

Read again. I'm questioning what would have happened on a marginal shot like hitting a leg bone.

Nice hole.

Don't take marginal shots, and you won't leave any 3 legged speed goats behind.Rio7

That's easy to say but a walking critter can easily move a leg in front of a bullet. That requires a bullet that will penetrate it and still get inside. I don't think this one would.
Actually, I think this bullet would be excellent in a .223 with a little lower velocity. I don't think it's sturdy enough for a 22-250.

55 grain factory loaded soft points fired from a 22-250 have killed a bunch of deer and antelope around these parts.


Chancy shots and I would prefer a 270(antelope/deer).

Awesome! Some of the best table fair there is!

I am with Sam...

Rock Chuck: I have used 55 grain bullets from both 22-250's and 220 Swifts to kill Antelope - I have also seen them killt with 55 grain bullets from 223 Remingtons!
Patience and shot placement are both critical when attempting this.
Placement in the heart/lungs with this type/size bullet WILL result in a very quickly dead, Antelope.
LUCKILY on all the 22 caliber Antelope kills I have done and seen done none have as yet to strike a shoulder blade - so I can not comment on your question.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

rockchuck,

i've used the .22-250 on deer for over 40 years.

in my experience, the 55 gr. Sierra sp is a good pill, but i do prefer the 55 gr. Hornady sp over the Sierra.

the 60 gr. Hornady sp is also an excellent pill, but avoid their 60 gr. hp pill that they actually introduced for usage on big game such as deer.

in my own experiences, the 1 in 14 .22-250 rigs will readily handle the 60 gr. Hornady sp, the 63 gr. Sierra sp, and the 70 gr. Speer sp--i've found them to stabilize just fine. in fact, i've never had a problem with these three pills even when used at .222 velocities.

as an additional thought, i do prefer the 60 gr. Hornady sp above the other two--for obvious reasons.

if i remember correctly, the 70 gr. Speer has a jacket thickness of .018, about .004 thicker than some of the typical .224 55 gr pills.

back in the 1970's, i even used the Nosler 55 gr. solid base, in one case dropping a big mule deer at approx 375 yards. the jacket/solid base unit was found just under the hide on the far side.

i've only had one mishap with a .22 cf pill on deer, and that was when i used a lightweight Sierra pill in a .220 Swift on a whitetail back in the mid 1970's. the load was high velocity, and the deer was only about 160 yards out. while the deer was brought to bag, it was a good lesson for a young hunter...

try the 60 gr Hornady sp--i'm reasonably sure that you will like it...

When I dressed him, I saw his teeth and just groaned. They were worn down to where there were V notches in them and the 4th incisors were just nubbins. He was older than me. However, we had some loin chops tonight and they're very mild and VERY tender. A pleasant surprise.

I would say it would perform marginally on a marginal shot.

I'd use a more heavily constructed bullet in the 22-250.

The Hornady 60SP mentioned is a very good one.

My buddy is going to be using a 55gr. hornady this weekend, when we go deer hunting. I expect it will get the job done just fine..

the 55gr Barnes tsx would be a good one to use..

Monos would certainly be high on my list for skinny little bullets traveling at multiples of Mach speed versus eating sized deerish critters.

.22-250 kills stuff really dead.

There are so many bullets that would perform better than the one you used. Load a better one and go kill stuff at all angles...

64 grain PP?

Greg

What bullet(s) do you like for slow twist 22 250s?

Not everyone hunts over Texas feeders in fenced in operations.

An antelope can go from a slow walk to 50 mph in about 2 seconds. If you can get the walking shot, you'd darn well better take it. If you want an antelope, you'd better get some lead in the air or there'll be nothing but air in front of you.

In our case, we'd been stalking a herd of 13 for an hour and for over a mile. We had them located bedded down in the lava fields where there are lots of 1 to 3 acre grassy patches between lava domes. We peeked over the rocks and saw only 2 ears and 1 eye above the grass. That's all it takes, we'd been seen. They started popping up 1 at a time and getting ready hit the road. I got set and looked for the buck to stand. He got up moving and I shot. In 2 or 3 seconds the herd was long gone. The buck shot off like a rocket but with no heart left, he went 30 yds and folded like he'd been poleaxed. It was a fast but easy shot but there's no time to sort out what's marginal or not.

tzone, I am just lucky I guess, GFY Rio7

Rock Chuck, I have been hunting antelope since the late 1940s, Have killed my share, wish I had a 22-250 back then, my 30-30 was a little slow and didn't have much range, but I brought home the meat most of the time. Rio7

Found the bullet. It had got through between the ribs on the far side and was barely inside the far shoulder muscle. It weighs 27 gr so that's a 50% wt retention. I still haven't figured out how it broke 2 ribs going in. There must have been some terrific shock to it.
I'd prefer a higher wt retention. Maybe a TSX would fit the bill.

Think a TSX would do a good job, but don't expect to find them in the off shoulder. Rio7

But maybe you can expect to eat the onside shoulder...

Thanks for this thread Rockchuck. Those pronghorn are some seriously tasty critters!

I have a bunch of 55 gr GMX that'd likely do wonderfully in this combo, but I'm trying them thru a 223.

The Barnes 55gr TSX wont stabilize in a 1/14 twist

I like onside shoulders. That's why I quit using bullets like the plastic tips. They're killers, no doubt, but the waste of meat is too much for me. I prefer a bullet that gets farther in before unleashing hell.

Ran a 53 TSX into a corn fed 2.5 year-ish Nodak/Minn border whitetail last year at about 75-80 yards from a 22-250 RAR Compact. The load only chrony'd 3375, but I chanced it. I shot. It jogged up the river bank and flopped over just like most every other critter with the air taken out of it.

I hear rumors that they kill things about as well as anything else on deer and smaller critters.

GE

Thanks for this info. Good stuff.

The 22-250 is the most underrated deer cartridge out there IMO.

53gr. TSX and the 60gr. Hornady SP are straight up killahs.



Travis

Biggest problem with my 22-250 is that it weighs a pound more than my 30-06.

I agree. To that list I'd add the 60gr Partition.

Is there a consensus that the 63 gr Sierra belongs in that group, too?

Wait a minute......you mean you didn't range them, calculate the alignment of Jupiter and Venus, consult a trigonomentry book taped to your stock, zoom click the dials, check your battery, and fire?

I'll be darned.....good on you RC.


Casey

Absolutely. It works very well. The only "problem" is that it has a low BC, if that matters to you.

Nope, BC doesn't bother me. Just wondering about Bullets integrity if bone is encountered or penetration is required.
Sierra lists it as a Varmint bullet, and some on here don't think Sierra can make a good game bullet, even when they try.

Hell, just use a 250 grain premium .338WM bullet. End of worries. . It will penetrate bone and not leave such a massive wound. Eat right up to the hole, the premium users tell me.

Sierra does have a 65 gr. Gameking SBT for larger game. They do specify that it requires a 1 in 10 or faster twist so I don't know how it would shoot in my 1 in 14.

And then there's the 8 twist .22-250 which opens up all kinda bullet options.

I really like mine, a Mohawk with 8 twist CM Shilen, Timney, aftermarket aluminum bottom metal, VX-3 1.75-6x32.

Right now I'm using 60 gr. Ralph Council bullets because I have a bunch and they're super accurate. It's my truck gun for hogs, etc. Handy, quick to action, deadly.

This gun loves 80 gr. VLD's and a variety of bullets on down the line; no worry about what does or doesn't stabilize, they all do.

DF

I just got a .22-250 with a 1 in 8 twist barrel, it shoots Federal factory 55 gr NBTs really well but I shot a big hog this weekend with it and was less than impressed. I picked up some 62 gr Barnes TTSXs and am going to work up some loads. Anyone had any experience with this bullet.

Tell us more about what it did/didn't do to that hog.

DF

Now, that wasn't very nice...

DF

Hit it in the shoulder from about 200 yards hog went about 150-200 yards into some thick stuff. Just a little blood where animal was standing. Did not find it till 2 days later when I saw some buzzards on it so not a lot of post mortum, was a pretty big pig though 180 #s or so.

Did really light up a coyote though! First time out with the rifle, built by Hill Country Rifles. Stiller action, 23" # 4 8 twist fluted barrel and McMillan Sporter stock.

I have culled a bunch of Oryx, Blue Wildebeest and Red Hartebeest with them in Namibia, and found them to be a great killer. Most of them stayed inside but then these are very big bodied animals for the little pill.

In the same hunt I shot some springboks with them and they were equally good killers, passing through all the time.

All the recovered bullets looked the same. Here are some samples.

Thanks chamois that's exactly the info I was looking for. We have to take a bunch of relatively small whitetails off our place this year and this was what I thought to use.

I agree with Hidalgo, that's good onfo.

I need to try that bullet in my gun.

Thanks for sharing.

DF

All the discussion on bullets can be put in 2 catagories:
fast twist
slow twist

They aren't all that interchangeable. Mine's a slow twist.

True.

Once you go fast, you won't go slow again...

DF

Yesterday I didn't buy a Tika 3 .22-250 on sale for $650 at Sportsman because it is a 14" twist. It even has a fluted barrel made specifically for Sportsman. No matter how I tried to get my mind around it I just couldn't do it.

Nope.

I'd have passed, too.

Once you work with 8 twist, 14 just isn't very interesting.

No matter the deal, no matter how nice.

I'd pick up a donor SA 700 and install an 8 twist tube.

It would cost more than $650, but would be a lot more useful, IMO.

DF

Good thread and always interesting to hear first-hand bullet performance.

Congrats RC!

But of course 270s demand a head shot, right? since no sarcasm icon.

I aggree with your concerns completely.

Do you think a 60gr NP might if the load were adjusted?

Is the partition shorter than the TSX? If so it might work.