Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .222 REM for Deer - what modern bullets make this possible?

Doing some reading, filling the last month before Cabin Fever begins to subside, about the little .222 Remington. I’m very familiar with why this round, to some, might be the wrong choice to shoot at a Deer. I’m not so familiar with what it would take, leveraging all the modern bullet & load offerings, to make it viable. Not looking to start a debate devolving into pissing match, just a conversation that looks toward the hypothetical shooting of a 150lb whitetail at 150 yards in mixed terrain from a stand or blind with a .222.

(I won’t include the .223 Remington because of the twist difference/limitation within most .222’s is not shared with .223 so heavy bullet use is more limited)

Edited to add: I do own a .222 and have loaded it for varmint/coyotes for years

55gr Hornady SP. Shoot them through the chest or break their necks. Dead stuff, no sweat.

55 grain Sierra Gameking or about any of the 55 grain soft points.

The 63 grain Sierra might be a good choice if twist allows.

55gr Remington PSP worked for me on a pronghorn at 175yds. I'd have no qualms about sticking one in a deers ribs.

Not sure what your twist is, but I've got an older 223 with a 1-12. I shoot the 50gr TTSX an 63gr Sierra in it with great results.

^ This right here, is my choice as well for .22 centerfires. I've killed a few with 52 grain matchkings too.

Friends up in Sullivan County have Savage 340s in .222. They've killed truckloads (literally) of deer over the years with Winchester 50gr PSP factory loads, the vast majority taken with one shot.

An easy correct answer is the 60g Nosler Partition. Just don't think it is a long-range load or anything.

My wife's co-worker shot 20 white tails in about 25 years , all with one shot/each ( allowed 1 deer per year in Maine) with a Savage 340 bolt in 222 Rem, with a 60 year old steel-tubed Weaver El Paso-era K4 with standard crosshair. Factory ammo was used ( not sure if it was 50 or 55 grain ammo). She shot from a tree stand on her father's Albion, Maine dairy farm at distances less than 50 yards. She was a patient hunter ( passed on many deer) and decent shot (not great). She aimed for the base of the head/neck area. Never missed.

After she got re-married (after the 20 deer streak with her 222 Rem), her husband told her she was doing it ( deer hunting with a light rifle) "all wrong", and bought her a 308 Win bolt rifle. Now she is successful. She now gets one deer with one shot. :-)

The biggest problem with most 222 Rem rifles are their 1-14" twist barrels, which limits use of heavier bullets. If you have a 222 Rem 1-14" barrel, try the Speer .224" 70 grain round nose flat base. That may be stable in a 1-14" twist barrel at 222 Rem max velocities.

Setting your maximum range will be very important. 150 yards may be pushing it.

My wife's co-worker would still get her deer if all she had was a 22 Hornet with a single factory 45 grain cartridge with an ear shot at 50 yards, so go figure.

Nothing wrong with the 222 if used within its limits.

I've killed a handful of deer with a couple 222s shooting factory 50 grain softpoints and hand loads with 55 hornady sp and 50 grain ballistic tips. They all worked fine.

I'd pick the 55 horandy softpoint and stay off the shoulder. They work great.

45 Grain TSX from Barnes....





If your twist will allow 55 grainers, the Hornday SP, the Sierra GK, and the Speer Gold Dot are all good...

This one was with a 55GK

Off topic, but I really like the way you set up this picture.

Oh...and the .222 55 gr. Hornady combo works on pigs too...

Stunt shooter! Our all knowing game dept has decreed that such tank like animals as 100lb deer cannot be killed by any bullet less than 55gr, regardless of bullet construction.

Well, if the box is marked 55 gr..they might not go to the trouble of pulling and weighing a bullet.

Thats all I'm saying...

I used Hornady factory 50 grain bullets in the 222 for legal culling operations. Neck shots just below the head, DRT. Worked like a charm for 20 years

It might be easy, but an incorrect answer..........the 60g Nosler Partition will keyhole at 100yds with the factory 1-14"twist

My dad killed a truck load of whitetails with the Remington 50g PSP Bullet in a Mohawk 600. Most of those were one-shot kills - but he was very patient and I doubt if any of his shots exceeded 100yds.

PennDog

This.

I have killed a truck load of deer through the years with a 53gr Barnes x out of a model 600 in 222. Never lost a deer or had a problem finding one either. Didn't take stupid shots and kept them inside of 150 Yds.
Shot placement
Shot placement
Shot placement