Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .222 & .223 For Whitetail, Which Bullit Nosler PARTITION or Something else

TN allows us to use centerfire .22 calibers now. I was toying with the idea of trying either my Savage 340D 222 or my H&R ULTRA .223 on the next rifle hunt. Shots are under 100 yards. Which bullet do you reccomend 50 or 55gr Nosler Part, or something else?

For those velocities I'd go 60 NP, 53 TSX, or 64 PP as my top three...

Only one .224 NP made, and it is a 60 grainer by the way...

But the 60 Hornady SP, the 55 CL, or the 65 SGK will also do...

I was looking at the TSX But have never used a BARNES bullit. Im currious about the seating depth for a .222 or .223?

Out of my 223 I have never had a bit of trouble with a plain old Hornady 55 grain (not VMax). Don't shoot for bone.

BCR

53 grn X bullets are good, I also like the GS custom bullets from South africa, They are solid copper bullets too. Try there 60grn HV bullets very very good. Neal at www.custombrassandbullets.com stocks them.

Ed

Greg-has said pretty much all I would of, I'd only add the 63 Sierra to the list. It has been one super lil bullet for me.

Dober

My son took both whitetail and mule deer with a 60NP both made it less than fifty yards after the shot.

You won't be disappointed by the 53 gr. Barnes...seating depth is rifle dependant.

Unless you like eating little particles of lead go with the partition or TSX either one will work fine. Trying to put a bullet in the boiler room without hitting a rib bone is at best a 50/50 deal.

Hornady 55 gr. Sp, the 60 gr. SP and 60 gr. HP all act pretty much like hunting bullets when pushed at less than 3200 fps. They are designed to hold up to the really high velocities of the 22-250 and the Swift so they don't fly apart too easy. However not shooting for bone is a great idea with any 22 centerfire on deer.

Back in the 70s one of my dad's friends shot several whitetail
deer and 2 or 3 black bears with a 222 and a 220 Swift.

Daughter killed three deer last season with the 60np and all dropped on impact. No tracking. Great perfromance from a .223.

I have killed several deer with the 223. Nosler partitions and the factory Winchester pointed soft point. Double lung shot just like with a bow. Keep it out of the shoulder. We have several younger hunters using H&R Handi-rifles in 223.

We used the Barnes in my sons 222 and most deer dropped in their tracks only a couple even made it 50-75 yards,but I wouldnt let him shoot past 125 yards and he always had a decent rest.

The other boys picked up for me. Sorry I didn't make myself clear. I meant break down shoulder shots. Ribs don't matter.

BCR

I am able to reach 3000+fps with my 22" M77 223 and speer 70gr bullets. I haven't killed a deer with it yet but I wouldn't think it would be an issue.

I couldn't get the 53gr TSX from my supplier. I had to settle on the 53gr FB XLC #22455 from BARNES. Will these perform the same as the TSX 53gr on Whitetail deer out of a .222 REM close to 200 yard shots? The powders I have on hand are shown below. What OAL should I start at with my SAVAHE 340D .222 Rem. Barnes says .50 to .80 thousandts off the lands.

WW-748
H-4198
H-4895
H-414
H-4831
H-335
H-4350
WW-WMR1
RL-22









Iff my .222 doesn't like the BARNES Bullit ill try it in my H&R ULTRA .223. Its a known tack driver with 50gr bullits

BTT

Hogbuster

Good luck. Chances are pretty good that the Savage 340 has a 1-14" twist, if so it may not like the extra length of the all copper X because the bullet MAY not stabilize in that twist. My .222's (Sako Vixen Sporter, Rem 700 V) are only OK accurate with regular 55's, being morte accurate with the shorter lead tip 55's over the longer B-Tip or A-Max. Your Savage may shoot OK, but be wary if your shots tend to pattern rather than group. The .223 likely has a 1-12" twist and will probably shoot them better than the .222. FWIW

Steve

I have decided to start out with my H&R ULTRA .223 since it has a 1/12 twist. It shoots 45,50,55gr BT & Hornady V-Max bullets at Sub MOA. But the ole granddad 340D also shoots the 50gr BT to sub MOA as well. This is the first time trying BARNES Bullets of any caliber. Should be interesting!
Dumb question but has anyone ever used a 50gr BT on deer? I saw on another FORUM that someone was useing a 22-250 and 50gr BT and droping deer in their tracks with neck shots. Sounds pretty iffy to me.
Thanks for the input so far.