Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting For those who use 22 caliber for deer

I bought some .224 62 grain Sierra Gamekings and they shoot great out of my 1-12” twist .220 Swift. Am thinking that will be my hunting bullet for whatever I shoot with it.

You'll be impressed by the terminal performance of the 64 NBB. It's grenade like, but penetrates well.

22 centerfires recoil mildly enough that you never lose the picture of the animal. The mild recoil affords plenty of bench time. People shoot 22 centerfires better than they shoot harder recoiling chamberings. Bullets are nominally less expensive, and when it comes to 223 brass, it is widely available and cheap. Once you have done post-mortem on enough deer shot with 22 centerfires, you realize the damage to the vitals is indistinguishable from the damage imparted by much larger centerfires. Given all that, the question isn't why, it becomes why not?

Two different cal. bullets of same construction moving the same speed, bigger and heavier is going to do more damage. The question is, is it needed.

I've killed one each with .221 Fireball and .225 Win with X Bullets (45 and 53gr), for what it's worth, no issues. The last deer I killed was with a 55gr Fusion out of a .22-250. It did not exit, but resulted in a picture book mushroom.

Federal Fusions in my experience are one of the better factory cup n core bullets out there. It is no surprise that yours did so well!

Sort of cup n core.

It's a bonded bullet.

If you have the twist and can find some, try the 75 gr Gold Dots. They’re made the same as fusions and penetrate deep. I haven’t caught a 75 yet.

It's a Savage 99 with 1/14 so doubt it would handle it.

i only have one doe that i killed with a 22-250AI (1 in 8" i believe) with a 75gr A max and i forget what powder. it was only 30ish yards and it was a headshot. basically why i did it is i told myself, "myself, why don't i use the 22-250AI to take deer?" so i did. am i going to do it again? no. i'm not against the 22, but it is just not me.

Some of you brought up something interesting, and something I tend to overlook. That is hard angle shots. My biggest buck ever was taken on the last day of season at noon. Not that big for some of you guys (130), but pretty big for where I hunt.
It was pretty thick, and hard to see. I had actually shot at him and missed, but the group of does he was with did not know where I was, so they cautiously eased out of the bottom I was in. I saw the lead doe cross an opening at 80 yards where they were going up over the ridge, so I got my gun on that spot. The buck was last, and as he crossed the opening squeezed the trigger. He was quartering hard away.
Went up to where I shot, and there he lay, 40 yards from the shot. He was quartered so hard that the entryways right in front of the ham, and exit in front of the shoulder. I was using a 260 with 140 accubonds. Not sure what would have come of that deer with a 22 caliber rifle.
I think for myself I may be more comfortable with something slightly larger

Jeyvod, I agree with you there. I've said it before, but our hunting here might give a guy 2-3 opportunities on shooter-grade bucks throughout the entire season and there may not be a perfect broadside scenario involved. Considering the amount of effort and time associated with my hunting, I'm not keen on blowing an opportunity or having to pass because I brought the wrong rifle. I'll certainly carry a .22 centerfire for "targets of opportunity" and I enjoy using the smaller rifles to take does and pigs, but I usually want a .257 caliber or larger centerfire in my hands for my general purpose deer hunting, which often takes place near some pretty heavy cover.

Jeyvod, i agree with you too, or three.

the average size deer for me is 150lbs, altho they can get up to 250lbs or bigger. i shot a doe that weighed 263 lbs. most of my shot at 30-40 yards, but over 300 yards, i shot deer that i could count on one hand and have fingers left over. i hunt for meat, but shooter grade bucks are in my preview. most of my hunting area, it is lucky to get a 60ish yards shot on deer. you can see deer or pieces of deer. i shot an 8pt at 12 feet in the shoulder, because of the brush around the deer and me. i tried to my shot behind the shoulder or in the neck, but it was thwarted by brush. if i were doing that with a 22CF, i wouldn't touch the trigger. i used a Ruger #1 in 270 Win with 130gr Nosler BT and IMR4320 going roughly 3000fps+. that's another story on why i use cast bullets on deer.

22 Creed 90gr A-tip has been a deadly combination for me. Most drt, a few managed to move 10-12 yds

1-14” twist, 22-250, you need some 63 gr Sierra SMP’s.

I have a doe antelope tag and the season doesn't start until the end of Oct. By that time, the antelope will be well herded up for the winter. With my 22-250, the trick won't be to avoid a hard angle shot but rather to find a broadside without several more behind it.

A263lb DOE.
LMFAO... I think you meant 163...

Does anyone use the Speer 70 gr. that is kind of like a round nose? I think those would be real good, and they are reasonably priced.

Hornady Steel Match 75 gr BTHP worked on these hogs via my HBAR.