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Joined: Jul 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
Yeah, that's been pretty much my experience with .223's, even if they are AI'd: Most 50-55-grain bullets will do the job on smaller big game.
The same, of course, would be true of a .222.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 9,959
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2004
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I shot a doe years ago with a 55g speer sp from a 223 and it blew up on the shoulder blade. You could see the blade through about a 3 inch hole in the hide. I put 3 more in her as she ran with the last one hitting her in the neck at about 400 yards and putting her down. I've never tried the speer on deer again.
I would be tempted to try the 55g win PP though ( as mule deer suggests) because the 64g pp almost always exits. I think the winchester power point is one of the toughest cup and core bullets out there. I've seen the 150g 7mm do quite a number on elk.
Bb
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 78,300
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2008
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I just remembered another one. The 55-grain Winchester PSP will definitely work on deer, and stabilize in a .222.
JB...Shari's deuce with a 1 in 14 ( Rem 722) shoots Hornady 55 grainers great, and will shoot a 53 gr TSX almost as well..but in all fairness Ive never shot groups with the TSX past 100 yds...I have with the 55 gr. Horns...and they held up at 200 yds.... My deuce shoots them both, but its a 1 in 12.... Ingwe
"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 13,436
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 13,436 |
JB mentioned the Sierra 55gn HPBT.
That bullet shoots exceptionally well in my 22-250. It's the most accurate bullet I tested in that chambering. Based on it shooting a 3 shot, 1/4" group at 100 yards, I started testing Sierra's HPBT bullets in 25 caliber and 7mm, and they shoot equally well also.
It's a GREAT bullet design.
Don Buckbee
JPFO
NRA Benefactor Member
NSSA Life Member
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Whichever bullet you use in a hi vel 22, you must keep the bullet off the shoulder blade or even the shoulder..shots should be placed behind the shoulder..I know folks, self included, that took the shoulder shot with the 22s and they will normally blow out a saucer chunk of meat and skin and your in for a really bad tracking job and will probably lose the animal..Once was enough to convience me and I lost that deer much to my concern.
If you keep the bullets in the rib cage, the 22s kill very well.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,978
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
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Whichever bullet you use in a hi vel 22, you must keep the bullet off the shoulder blade or even the shoulder..shots should be placed behind the shoulder..I know folks, self included, that took the shoulder shot with the 22s and they will normally blow out a saucer chunk of meat and skin and your in for a really bad tracking job and will probably lose the animal..Once was enough to convience me and I lost that deer much to my concern.
If you keep the bullets in the rib cage, the 22s kill very well. Or the neck. 
To all gunmaker critics-
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.."- Teddy Roosevelt
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 96,121
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2002
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I ALWAYS go for shoulder, regardless of what I'm using. Have yet to catch a TSX or Swift 22 caliber in a deer but I'm trying.
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
Yep. In a contest between a typical Texas whitetail's shoulder and a 45 TSX, I'd bet pretty good money on the TSX.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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No one has mentioned the Sierra 55gr SMP (semi-pointed). I use this bullet in a .22 Hornet with a 14" twist and it stabilizes well even with a muzzle velocity in the 2,450 -2,500fps range.
The few bullets that I've recovered (shoulder shots on 100 - 120 pound live weight deer) have shown moderate expansion. This is with impact velocities of approx. 2,300 fps. It should hold up to impact velocities of up to 2,800fps I would think.
ego operor non tutela
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
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I ALWAYS go for shoulder, regardless of what I'm using. Have yet to catch a TSX or Swift 22 caliber in a deer but I'm trying. Yep, the shoulder is no match to even wish to catch a good .224 bullet. Standard ol cup and core can be a different tune sometimes depending.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
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Used the triple duece on several doe's and small bucks. I never bothered to reload for it as the Rem. Corelokt, Federal which I think is a Hornaday bullet and Winchester power point performed well for behind the should, head or neck shots. The head or neck shots are distasteful to me now so I stick with behind the shoulder only and with careful shot placement all should be well.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
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Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
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A 55 - 60 Gr bullet works best for a .222
You need to realize that a .222 is not really a deer gun.
But of all the .22 calibers, it is probably the best.
As velocity increases - the performance of the bullets goes down to the point of where a .22 / 250 is a poor choice for deer, unless you are hunting in an open field and can do a head or neck shot. a .220 Swift is not recommended for deer at all.
Every reloading manual I ever saw, has in big letter that this cartridge is not intended for hunting deer PERIOD.
One guy from hunting camp had a .222 Remington and loaned it to my sister a couple of times for deer season, she never shot anything with it except targets - but I was always intrigued to find out what it would do on a large whitetail deer. I don't think that it would bounce off, but it probably wouldn't penetrate too far either.
Not to say that there wasn't ever any deer poached in Pennsylvania with a plain old .22 long rifle.
We shot cows many times when we butchered our own meat with nothing but a .22 to the head and they all died. A cow has a much heavier bone structure then a deer, but we were shooting the cows at a range of about 3 feet.
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Campfire Sage
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Campfire Sage
Joined: Aug 2007
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A 55 - 60 Gr bullet works best for a .222
You need to realize that a .222 is not really a deer gun.
But of all the .22 calibers, it is probably the best.
As velocity increases - the performance of the bullets goes down to the point of where a .22 / 250 is a poor choice for deer, unless you are hunting in an open field and can do a head or neck shot. a .220 Swift is not recommended for deer at all.
Every reloading manual I ever saw, has in big letter that this cartridge is not intended for hunting deer PERIOD.
One guy from hunting camp had a .222 Remington and loaned it to my sister a couple of times for deer season, she never shot anything with it except targets - but I was always intrigued to find out what it would do on a large whitetail deer. I don't think that it would bounce off, but it probably wouldn't penetrate too far either.
Not to say that there wasn't ever any deer poached in Pennsylvania with a plain old .22 long rifle.
We shot cows many times when we butchered our own meat with nothing but a .22 to the head and they all died. A cow has a much heavier bone structure then a deer, but we were shooting the cows at a range of about 3 feet. I have found your recent posts very enlightening. Please continue to share what you've read. I find the cow analogy amazing! Please expound as to what it has to do with the OP's question. Travis
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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It's obvious that you have never seen the Barnes manuals then. They seem to heartily endorse the use of their products, some of them anyway, on deer and antelope sized game. #3 even shows a couple of them in their Hornet data! (And if you've ever had the opportunity to see various big game suitable 22 CF bullets versus Varmint Ballistics Tips or Blitzkings, you'll understand that there are two different games being played but on the same field. I've shot a few caribou both ways. Good bullets in a 22 CF work about the same as they do in a 270 or 375. They leave no doubt, IOW.)
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,812
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,812 |
A 55 - 60 Gr bullet works best for a .222
You need to realize that a .222 is not really a deer gun.
But of all the .22 calibers, it is probably the best.
As velocity increases - the performance of the bullets goes down to the point of where a .22 / 250 is a poor choice for deer, unless you are hunting in an open field and can do a head or neck shot. a .220 Swift is not recommended for deer at all.
Every reloading manual I ever saw, has in big letter that this cartridge is not intended for hunting deer PERIOD.
One guy from hunting camp had a .222 Remington and loaned it to my sister a couple of times for deer season, she never shot anything with it except targets - but I was always intrigued to find out what it would do on a large whitetail deer. I don't think that it would bounce off, but it probably wouldn't penetrate too far either.
Not to say that there wasn't ever any deer poached in Pennsylvania with a plain old .22 long rifle.
We shot cows many times when we butchered our own meat with nothing but a .22 to the head and they all died. A cow has a much heavier bone structure then a deer, but we were shooting the cows at a range of about 3 feet. I think I read something like that in F&S...or was it LHJ.
"Be sure you're right. Then go ahead." Fess Parker as Davy Crockett
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2009
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A 55 - 60 Gr bullet works best for a .222
You need to realize that a .222 is not really a deer gun.
But of all the .22 calibers, it is probably the best.
As velocity increases - the performance of the bullets goes down to the point of where a .22 / 250 is a poor choice for deer, unless you are hunting in an open field and can do a head or neck shot. a .220 Swift is not recommended for deer at all.
Every reloading manual I ever saw, has in big letter that this cartridge is not intended for hunting deer PERIOD.
One guy from hunting camp had a .222 Remington and loaned it to my sister a couple of times for deer season, she never shot anything with it except targets - but I was always intrigued to find out what it would do on a large whitetail deer. I don't think that it would bounce off, but it probably wouldn't penetrate too far either.
Not to say that there wasn't ever any deer poached in Pennsylvania with a plain old .22 long rifle.
We shot cows many times when we butchered our own meat with nothing but a .22 to the head and they all died. A cow has a much heavier bone structure then a deer, but we were shooting the cows at a range of about 3 feet. LMAO... This is obviously a article that was read, it's amazing what is learned with real world experience!!
"If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?"
Vince Lombardi
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Anyone remember the guy who killed Tigers in the Raj with a 22 Savage HP when it was known as the Imp ? Ask this buck about a 70 gr .224 TSX starting out at 3600 fps (22-06) that penetrated 3/4 of his body, then the neck and is still flying at 352 lasered yards. ![[Linked Image]](http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z231/leadloader/antelope2206-2.jpg)
Newt-Condi 2012
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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Didn't he do you in high school?
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Anyone remember the guy who killed Tigers in the Raj with a 22 Savage HP when it was known as the Imp ? Ask this buck about a 70 gr .224 TSX starting out at 3600 fps (22-06) that penetrated 3/4 of his body, then the neck and is still flying at 352 lasered yards. Congrats. What state was that shot in???? Surely not Wyoming...
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