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.

use H335 with the 53xlc....

Got news for you.....any .22 caliber bullet / rifle is "iffy" for deer. It can be made to work, but realize that the shot placement is critical and must be near perfect. Almost any soft point from 50-70 grains will work if heavy bone is avoided and a broadside lung shot or neck shot ("iffy" shot too) is taken. Just stay away from true "varmit" bullets that are designed to explode on impact.

Florida allows center fire .22 as well now for Whitetails. I see and hear about a lot of wounded, and lost deer though. The rounds are marginal, and work well at optimum ranges, and with great shot placement. Many folks think that a .223 has the same ability to harvest deer as a 30/06 though, and wind up losing animals when the capabilities are stretched too far.

Either of ya'll fellars used a .22 centerfire on deer? Think we've had this discussion before TexasRick re: .22 centerfires for deer...

While I agree it is not a tool for the average hunting Joe (not a lot of tools should be used by the average Joe) the same rules apply for the .22 centerfire as they do for the larger calibers. If you follow the general rules, shot placement, correct bullet for task at hand, and patience for the correct shot, the end result will be the same 100% of the time...

I don't know why you guys would want to go into this so over gunned. A 22 LR would be much more sporting.

Hmmm...

WWBS (What would Bart say)...

Nahhh...grin...

I settled on the 50gr BARNES XLC with 24gr of H-335. Dime size groups @ 100 yards. Couldn't find 53gr TSX in my area.
I plan to stay away from shoulder shots and limit myself to double lung and possibly neck shots if one comes along, hell mabe even a ear hole shot will do.
Ill post later with the results.
I didn't use a chrony but the HODGDON manual listed this load at 3,1660fps and I have heard that you might pick up 150 to 200 fps by useing this coated bullet. Not sure! I only shoot for accuracy not FPS.

Gmoney.....yes i have taken deer with a .22 caliber rifle before. Shot them with the .22-250, .223, .222, .22 Hornet and .22 LR (once in a while with .22 shorts). It CAN be done, but as a famous personality once said "a man's got to know his limitations".

Use of a .22 caliber (and to a lesser extent the .24 and .25 calibers) must be done with special attention to bullet design and placement. Things must be "perfect" to work and the shooter must accept that sometimes he will have to pass up shots he could easily make with a heavier caliber. For that reason I think the use of .22 and .24 calibers by young / inexperienced shooters is the wrong way to go. These are more of a tool to be used by an experienced shooter with the judgement to know when to shoot and when to pass. Unfortunately, it is the younger shooters most often given these rifles when something like the 7x57mm or a light loaded .308 would be much safer in inexperienced hands.

A deer just isn't that hard to kill if conditions are right (a cousin once killed a young doe with a .177 caliber pellet rifle) but conditions are often not perfect. Use of very marginal calibers carries with it the responsibility to only shoot when things are "perfect" and pass when they are not.....tough to do when a yound shooter is in the grip of "buck fever".

You're right ribs don't matter. ANY varmint bullet shot into a deer is going to fragment whether it hits bone or not...BTDT

Well, hell, I tried. But then I don't eat lungs.

BCR

Lots of experience with Barnes X and TSX here. Great bullet. If I could use 223 caliber for deer that would be my choice. You still have to hit them where they live and avoid raking shots with such a light bullet. As for seating length, start between .030 and .050 off lands. Unlike most other bullets, that are not made of all copper,they like a bit of a running start into the barrel to get best accuracy. The reason is that they are harder than lead bullets so setting them close can cause pressure spikes due to the minor differences in the shape of the tip from bullet to bullet. (This is not exclusive to TSX) The pressure spikes are not dangerous, just not conducive to best accuracy. Check out the Barnes web site for more info on same.

We always have this discussion about .223 bullets and penetration, killing power, terminal performance, etc.

http://www.gunsandhunting.com/Bullethitsbone.html

[bleep] is guns and hunting with no spaces

In this article, Richard Mann tests various bullets and shows that a 60g NP from a .223 Remington actually outpenetrated a 200g North Fork from a .358 Winchester and a 150g Sierra Pro Hunter from a .308 Winchester.

I would argue that a monolithic copper bullet such as a X/TSX/XLC or GS Custom would penetrate deeper that a NP so this argument is even more moot.