What Twist and What Bullet to Use In 22-250 For Deer?

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RickF said:
Two constants. First, virtually everybody talks cartridges, nobody ever talks bullets.

Second, when it comes to 22's and 24s on bigger animals, those who have never done it decry the practice while those who have just keep on doing it successfully.

If I didn't live in thick grizzly country, I could very happily use a 243 on everything else that lives in BC. Grizzlies change the calculus. But that's a different topic! :)
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Modern bullets are not made out of magical unicorn dust...... they still need powder to be propelled and a case and primer.....

I always get a chuckle when I read stuff like this..... guys that have full confidence and preach the killing power of a small bore all while telling stories of all of the huge animals it drops in its tracks like lightening...... but then all of a sudden a grizzly is some kind of magical stop sign...
 
Big Jon said:
As always... This is getting hilarious and fast. If .22 CFs were legal for deer in AB I'd be all over it. I've done it with antelope (.22-250 63 Sierra SMP, capable bullet that will stabilize in a 14 twist). Seen .223s do antelope too. Dad just may have killed ON deer with a .222 as well. My BC buddies have rubbed it in to me how quick mature mule bucks tip over when they catch a high speed .22 slug in the air bags. Then there's the 2 bull elk, that caught 6mm slugs in the chest and died promptly. Not to forget truckloads of mature AB deer thay have been killed handily with 243 Win/6mm Rem....

I think I'll kill next years bull with a .243 just to see some CGN heads explode. Extra lectures if I use a plain jane cup n core I'm betting!!!

Bullets ( even cup n cores) are better than they were years ago.... Large calibers and heavy bullets or solid copper bullets aren't required to kill most game.
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No, but as responsible hunters who care about the animals we are taking, it is only reasonable that we use something that is more than just enough to kill with. And while a 22-250 will certainly kill a deer with a good shot, a less than ideal shot can lead to an injured animal dying a slow painful death and not being recovered. Obviously this can happen with any cartridge, but your margin of error gets increasingly smaller as you go towards lighter and lighter projectiles.

A 90 grain 243 has 50% more weight and significantly higher sectional density than a 60gr 22cal bullet. You would need a 75gr 22cal pill to get close to a 90gr 243 pill, and you'd need an 85gr 22cal to equal the sectional density of a 100gr 243. You show me a source for a premium 22cal hunting bullet that weighs at least 75 grains, and I'd be more inclined to agree to its capabilities in comparison to a 243, but with the exception of mono-metal bullets I haven't seen much in terms of heavy, premium 22cal bullets.

Keep in mind, without a premium bullet, at the sort of speeds you will be shooting with a 22-250 most bullets out there will have pretty explosive terminal ballistics, and if you are hunting to put meat in your freezer this is not an ideal outcome.
 
RickF said:
The guys that are not playing are stuck in the 1940s with 14 twists and blow up bullets in the 220 swift.

With modern mono-metals and quick twists, the 22's work like lightning on deer. Barnes', the 60 NP and a bunch of others. Don't look past the Hornady 55 SP, deer won't like it at all.
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No some people that are not playing look on the side of the box of 22-250 and see VARMINT some where on there ..
 
a friend of mine has been using a 22250 and factory rem 55 gr sp for deer for 30 years. no problems. the bullet is not overly explosive. more of a mushroom and go type of bullet. most deer that I have helped him clean had exit holes.

don't use an exploding varmint type bullet.
 
This just gets better and better. Sectional density, "varmint".

The original poster asked what twist and what bullet to use. You really think he's walking into Canadian Tire and reading "varmint" on the side of the factory box?

All bullets are exactly the same?
 
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Here is my 8" twist .22-250. If I ever rifle hunt deer with a rifle I'd likely take her and use the 75 grain amax it thrives on. If I don't sell it first.
 
A friend on mine shot a deer with a 223 at about 50 yards and it just died right there ,, Now the 223 is the go too gun for deer ,, It is a varmint round that will kill a deer under the right circumstances.. a 22-250 is a varmint round
 
RickF said:
Two constants. First, virtually everybody talks cartridges, nobody ever talks bullets.

Second, when it comes to 22's and 24s on bigger animals, those who have never done it decry the practice while those who have just keep on doing it successfully.
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Is it too early to quote this guy? Because he nailed it quite a while ago. :popCorn:
 
RickF said:
You don't understand the difference between putting a hole through ungulate ribs and lungs, and stopping a grizzly?

Gotta love internet debates.
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I understand it just fine.... When you are out to ethically harvest a large animal that won't fight back a small bore traveling fast is perfectly suitable with the use of a good modern bullet..... When the animal is no longer defenceless and you are the one whose life is on the line your miraculous small bore suddenly isn't enough and you reach for something bigger.......

Why is your magic small bore capable of flattening large deer, moose and elk suddenly not enough?
 
Hmmm.... I see Barnes makes a 70 gr .224 TSX......but,....a 55 gr .243" has to be a way better deer bullet.......legal here anyway and that's what counts...:-|

I'd like a headsup on the beer and wings too.....I'll buy the third round.
 
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