Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .223 vs 250 Savage?

What would you hunt deer with if your only choices were;

A 223 bolt gun with "premium loads" like the heavier Barnes TSX or Nosler Partition
A 250 Savage (bolt or lever) with Remington 100 grain Core-Lokts

Shots taken will be under 100 yards

Pa hunters talked the Pa Game Commission out of outlawing 22 centerfires for deer which they were gonna do last year...apparently there was a deluge of complaints by guys who had used 22 centerfire on white tails for years.

Savage would be my choice, given those parameters.

Not really sure why you chose the two cartridges to compare? Is that the two you own to pick from? Based on the information you’ve given a lot of people in PA have done well with 22 centerfire.

Both should be ideal deer guns with those loads.

Yeah, My options

Well...the way you structured question...I believe you know the answer.

The .250-3000 Savage is one of the best deer cartridges made and even off the shelf run of the mill bullets will likely shoot good (inherently accurate as well) and kill deer well.

The .223 Remington can be made into an acceptable whitetail cartridge.

Both rifles loaded as in the OP...the .250 still has the edge for odd angle shots on a big buck. Core-lokts are no slouches on deer.

250 if I was forced to pick from those 2.

Either will work with equal shot placement but the 250 will most likely put more blood on the ground shluld you need to track.

Neither would be my willing choice if big deer were a distinct possibility. Either would be fine for the scrubs I see on public land.

That's my biggest concern. Small holes, less blood?

Under 100 yards I'd be as happy with one as the other.

I should have said that I like the Partition much better than the mono in 223. The Partition absolutely wrecks innards and penetrates deeply. Ingwe says that the monos "like bone." That seems to makes sense.

250 for the win. Way. I understand it Pa deer hunting has a lot of people in the field during the season so dead right there is the way to go. Cns or dbl shoulder shot.

There are many .250 Savage fans here on the campfire, mostly due to nostalgia and the rest are Savage model 99 shooters. The Savage 99 shooters using rifles in .250/3000 loaded with the 87 grain Speer demonstrate every season the little .250 is more than a capable deer slayer.

The .250 Savage has less muzzle blast and ever so slightly less recoil that a .243 making it a perfect "Youth" cartridge, loaded with 100 gr bullets there is no practical difference in the field between the two.

Being so influenced here on the campfire to buy or try a new cartridge I bought a .250 Savage wanting a light weight and "Soft Recoiling" rifle. I started out shooting 100 gr Hornady's yet to Steelhead suggestion I switched to 117 gr bullets. My 117 gr hunting load is a sedate 2,660 yet from 176 yards to a way out out there....342 yards the slow bullet has performed admirably.

The little .250 is the only rifle cartridge I carry any more...

Many campfire members are successful every year using the .223 on deer, really can't argue with their success. For many, more bullet weight and powder capacity is desired......I just happen to be one of those people.

This is my experience. Not much tracking to be done though. Dropped within 5 yards.

Have seen many elk on the ground from the 250,
Cant think of one from the 223. Ymmv

Either of those will work nicely. I'd likely lean toward the .250 but at the range stated there isn't a freaking deer on the planet I'd have reservations about with the .223 and a good bullet.

.223 a hundred times out of 100.

I`ve both, and some years I go "Iney-Miney", but always pick the 250.

That is a stupid question...STFU

Treemutt thats my experience.

Benchman thats the norm, I am just thinking of an off chance that fringes of the vitals are caught.

In the 223 I prefer the 55 grain Sierra Gameking, have never used a Partition out of the 223 but have used them from a 22-250.

If deer travel it isn't far and they bleed pretty good for such a small caliber bullet, not much difference between that 22-250 and a .243/6mm.