|
|
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 1,252
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 1,252 |
unless i have to legally
the 223 with 77gr tmk or 75gr eld-m is all i use for wyoming/sodak
mule deer, whitetail and antelope... as many tags as i can get.
my tracking skills are now done behind the scope.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 504
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 504 |
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. , TATELAW, PM sent to you. Yaddio
Liars should have good memories.
H. Babcock
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,148 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,148 Likes: 2 |
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.
I've been experimenting with this bullet in my Valmet 12/222 combo gun. I don't know the twist. I'll calculate it sometime soon. But, these 64gr Nosler Bondeds have shot ok and no fliers or keyholes yet. https://www.shootersproshop.com/nos...-solid-based-w-cannelure-blem-100ct.htmlGood terminal performance reportedly. I can’t get them to group. They do OK, I just don’t care for 1 1/2” groups out of a half inch gun. Probably good enough for deer, just not good enough for me. DF
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,325
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,325 |
When the regs changed a couple years ago in Saskatchewan to allow a .222 for deer hunting I did an on-line request for advice from people with experience using a .222 for deer. A man from New Zealand advised me to use factory loads from Norma or Sako with 55 grain soft point bullets, which he had considerable experience using on NZ commercial cull hunts. He said most USA loads were loaded with bullets made for varmint hunting and were unsuitable for deer. His tally was just over 800 fallow and red deer without wounding and losing any. With a bit of irony and humour, he said the few deer he wounded and lost were with the .270, because he was over confident with such a powerful cartridge and he didn't shoot as carefully. He advocated shooting deer with a broadside double lung shot or neck / brain shot. I haven't used my .222 for hunting our local whitetails yet, but that conversation gave me a lot more confidence that it can be done without problems if the right bullet is put in the right place. I admit that I am much more comfortable with a considerably more powerful / capable cartridge with fewer limitations. But his experience is genuine and speaks for itself.
Last edited by castnblast; 03/07/21.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,581
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,581 |
I lived in Nunavut for 9 years and the Inuit when hunting caribou and seals used the 223 and 22-250 with 55 grain soft points from Remington and Winchester. Being conservative I continued to use my 308 but couldn't help but notice that my Inuk friends never had a problem with their little rifles and factory ammo. When I finally ventured out to try 22 caliber centerfires I started by using Barnes X bullets, the 60 grain Nosler Partition and 64 grain Power Points. They all worked but so did those damn 55 grain soft points from Remington and Winchester!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,621
Campfire Regular
|
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,621 |
I lived in Nunavut for 9 years and the Inuit when hunting caribou and seals used the 223 and 22-250 with 55 grain soft points from Remington and Winchester. Being conservative I continued to use my 308 but couldn't help but notice that my Inuk friends never had a problem with their little rifles and factory ammo. When I finally ventured out to try 22 caliber centerfires I started by using Barnes X bullets, the 60 grain Nosler Partition and 64 grain Power Points. They all worked but so did those damn 55 grain soft points from Remington and Winchester! Exactly! I enjoyed the story you shared & am beginning to think the same thing. I’m gradually migrating away from the magnums, heavier 30 cals and am really enjoying my .257 Rob & 25-06 lately. Someday, when conditions favor me, I’ll get the .222 into action
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 10,144 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 10,144 Likes: 4 |
24 Caliber is, & has always been the min. Caliber for Deer in Virginia !!!!! It's hard to tell the difference in a .24 caliber and a .22 caliber hole in a dead deer. I always use a larger caliber myself, but I won't tell on somebody that knows what they're doing and cleanly kills deer with a .222.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,787
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,787 |
I hunt WV & NC sometimes where 22s are legal, I use a 223 or 22-250 AI while there. When hunting in VA I use a 243 AI or a 6mm creedmoor.
I honestly can't tell much difference between any of them. Bullet choice makes more difference than the caliber used as best I can tell.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078 |
I’ve used the 55 hornady soft point (not SX) on a few deer out of a 22-250. They’ve all been perfect little mushrooms in the hide of the far side of the deer. Very little as far as blood trails go but they don’t go far if you hit them right. My 22-250 is a 14” twist and I couldn’t get it to shoot 53tsx or 60 partitions well enough to hunt with. I’ve not used the 55 Sierra bthp on deer but have had it shoot lengthwise through coyotes (out of a short barreled 223) so it would probably work fine for broadside deer. I’d load the 55 hornady and poke them through the lungs or heart and not be worried at all of the outcome. Good luck!
Ben
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,886 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,886 Likes: 1 |
I’ve used the 55 hornady soft point (not SX) on a few deer out of a 22-250. They’ve all been perfect little mushrooms in the hide of the far side of the deer. Very little as far as blood trails go but they don’t go far if you hit them right. My 22-250 is a 14” twist and I couldn’t get it to shoot 53tsx or 60 partitions well enough to hunt with. I’ve not used the 55 Sierra bthp on deer but have had it shoot lengthwise through coyotes (out of a short barreled 223) so it would probably work fine for broadside deer. I’d load the 55 hornady and poke them through the lungs or heart and not be worried at all of the outcome. Good luck!
Ben I had the exact same thing happen with the 60 partitions in a 22-250. I tried the 64 noslers and they shoot pretty decent and perform really well on WT, MD, and Antelope. The 63 sierra shot well too.
|
|
|
|
|
162 members (allscopedup, 35, arky65, 240NMC, 10Glocks, 13 invisible),
1,525
guests, and
854
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,503
Posts18,490,603
Members73,972
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
