Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 22.250?

How many of you guys/gals deer hunt with a 22.250? Experience or feedback appreciated. Got a great deal on an A-Bolt last week. Thinking of throwing a scope on it and setting it up for my 16yrs old daughter.

Not a great idea. It's better as a varmint bullet.

For someone who's very calm and experienced and willing to wait for the perfect shot they work but then so does a .22lr.
In short I wouldn't and I wouldn't advise it for any 16 year old.

Kills deer like lightning. Stoke it with a Barns and watch them fall.

Or either myself. I have a few friends that hunt with one and like it.

I've used the 22-250 for filling antlerless tags for years. Great deer killer and it will be a nice match for a young hunter with its low recoil. Use a bullet built for the task and clear some space in the freezer.

I feel a .243 is a better choice.

Amen to that. 53 or 55 Gr. TSX for slower twists or 62 Gr. for faster twists will get the job done.

Did so for the first time this year.

70yards in the front right chest and exited in front of the back left ham with a 55gr tsx. Small doe, but with around 3 feet of penetration, I'm thinking size had little to do with it.

Example of one, but it was a lightening example of one.

Seen it work on antelope several times, as well as deer. Never seen one be able to soak up a good hit and tote it far.

Daughter killed her first deer with a .223 I handloaded with 60 grain partitions.

Broke upper leg bone, and clipped the shoulder on opposite side and exited, little bit of an up-hill shot. Very dead after 50 yd dash in tall grass, did not like no blood trail due to small exit hole

Acquaintance drilled a 100 lb doe straight on with same load. breaking couple vertebrae between shoulders continued on to stop in left hip. It dropped on the spot. Have also seen head/neck shots with 55 gr. v-max bullets work with utter reliability also...

Not a big fan of using such calibers for deer... but a 22 cal centerfire gets it done under IDEAL conditions, with CONTROLLED shot placement.

With a Barnes the 22-250 might be too much gun...







That oughta get'em stirred up lol...

With Barnes TSX they will work fine.

Heck the 223 works fine with a TSX, Partition, Fusion, Swift and others, the 22-250 is just more of a good thing. IMHO...

I think it would work just fine. Barnes bullets have changed the game.

I have not used a 22-250 but am in the process of putting one together. I have used a .22 Hi-Power and .223 on deer with good results. I used Barnes years ago in .30 caliber. Maybe they got better, but I won't load with them anymore. I could not get any accuracy out of them. I do agree with a lot of the others. Lighter bullets are for a more experienced hunter.

dawg I have been using a 22-250 on deer for a long long time. There is no great trick to it and by no means a stunt.
What I am going to say holds basicly true for any caliber but more so with the smaller 22 cfs.
Only you can answer and be truthful with yourself. How good a shot is your girl? How excitable is she when shooting at game?
Being 16 has nothing much to do with it. I have seen fifty year old men who went ape schitz when they went to shoot a deer.
Does your girl just shoot at deer or does she shoot at a spot on the deer? What is her effective range? IOW can she consistently hit a four inch circle at 100-200- yards? From field positions mind you not a bench rest unless you are shooting deer from the equivelent of a bench. Is she patient enough to wait for a good shot? Is she mature enough to let a deer walk if no good shot is presented? Can and will she practice with the rifle enough to have it become an extension of her arm?
If the honest answers to these questions are all good then she would be good to go with the 22-250 loaded with game bullets not varment bullets.
Only you and she can give answer.

IME...you're very good to go with the 22/250. I'd not worry one iota.

Take pics for us.

Dober

They flat out work! A .22-250 is more powerful than a .223. I have use the latter ery successfully on deer with nary a problem. Last year a frend of mine decided to try his .22-250 for deer. He was allowed a few doe tags and killed them with Barnes out to 450 with one shot each.

Well, it's not legal in Colorado. That should tell you that not everybody thinks it's a good caliber for big game.

Myself included.