Is it adequate?

[camper4lyfe]

I know this topic can generate a lot of debate, and heated discussion, but I really am curious.

I have a .22-250 that I use for woodchucks, and eventually coyotes.

As I'm writing this, I'm developing a second question, so I'll break it down a bit.

For woodchucks, I shoot in the 45-55 grain bullet size.

What's a good size for coyotes?  Should I step up a bit?

What about deer?  I've heard and read stories about people using the .22-250 for deer as well.  I hunt in Italy, in Yates county where rifle is permitted.  I'm contemplating using rifle, as I enjoy shooting that more than my shotgun.  I know this generally turns into an ethics question, and a lot of weight is put on bullet size/mass/energy, as well as shot placement.

Obviously with a shotgun, shot placement isn't quite as important, as it imparts a large amount of kinetic energy into the target.  However, since kinetic energy is influenced more by velocity than mass, is it feasible to use the .22-250?  Or does shot placement become SUPER critical, to the point where it's not a good idea?

I'm curious.  Let's hear your opinions.

[Mr VJP]

With a bullet of .22 caliber, shot placement is critical, as is the bullet's construction.  If the bullet is not designed to penetrate, it will most likely explode on impact and never get to anything vital.

I've seen deer taken with a .223 using 75 grain soft point bullets, but I do not know if a bullet that heavy is available for a 22-250.

[BizCT]

More than enough for coyotes..... a .22-250 with 55 gr. is what all the guides in canada suggest and use for wolves up to 150lbs!

[Pygmy]

The 22-250 shoots the same bullets as the .223....

I don't know what is available in factory loads, but both rounds use .224" bullets... There are 22 cal bullets vailable that are designed with deer in mind, such as Nosler partitions, Barnes X and others.. The bullets to avoid would be those designed for varmints, like Nosler BTs, Hornady Vmax, etc.

22 cal centerfires will always be controversial for deer sized game.. However, many thousands of deer are taken nationwide with them every season... Use a suitable bullet  put it in the boiler room and you'll have no problems..

[fasteddie]

I see this topic on several sites every year . It usually starts "I don't want to start anything , but ......" and ends up in a heated discussion .

I use a 22 for woodchucks and fox . I would never consider using it for deer and I don't care if

someone's cousin's brother's father-in-laws uncle shot a bunch of deer with a 22 .

If someone can't handle the mild recoil of a 243 , 25-06 , 270 , etc then go ahead and use a 22 .....

[nyantler]

If someone choses to use a .22 for deer be prepared for some disappointment evry now and then

[WNYBuckHunter]

For yotes, the 55 grain is fine. I shoot Remington soft point 55 grain for fox and yotes. Another great round is the Hornady Vmax, which is what Ill be using next year. Just couldnt pick any up in time to get some range time with them before season this year.

Will a .22 caliber work for deer? Sure. Would I do it? Probably not. Why? Too much can go wrong, you need absolute perfect shot placement or you are just wounding them or tracking for a long way.

[Santamour123]

What ever you ar using for chucks will smoke any yote.  As for deer with  a 250 nosler makes a 60 gr partition. I have seen this work on deer before. However not recomended.  It all depends on shot placement.  I have killed 2 does with a 223.  But. it is a bench rest rifle and I am shooting them directly in the ear or between the eyes, pff of a rock steady rest. 

[camper4lyfe]

I see this topic on several sites every year . It usually starts "I don't want to start anything , but ......" and ends up in a heated discussion .

I use a 22 for woodchucks and fox . I would never consider using it for deer and I don't care if

someone's cousin's brother's father-in-laws uncle shot a bunch of deer with a 22 .

If someone can't handle the mild recoil of a 243 , 25-06 , 270 , etc then go ahead and use a 22 .....

I'm asking more because I don't hunt in Yates county enough to be able to justify the cost of a new rifle.  If I determine it to be inadequate, I'll just stick with my slug slinger.

I'll probably ask my uncle, as it's his land that I hunt on, if he's ok with me using it.

[Larry]

22-250 is fine for yote’s. Shooting a 55gr at 3500 to 3700fps will put the smack down on them. One thing though it’s going to put a nasty hole in them

[erussell]

Like vjp said bullet design is critical. A bullet that can travel at high speed and not explode is critical and your options for this are very poor for a 22-250. With that said I have actually seen a pile of deer taken with 22-250 and 223. A land manager for a huge lease in Alabama use to use a 22-250 to take cull doe with. They would get permits from state to lower the population. And his weapon of choice was a remington 700 varmit rifle in 22-250. He would drive around the lease and shoot doe in the head with it. He use to pull up to the store I worked at with 8 - 10 doe in the back of his truck. I use to use a 25-06 for deer hunting and killed a few deer and pigs with it but had the problem of the soft point light bullets for it ( 100 grain )  would explode and cause a lot of meat damage. It killed the deer but had terrible expansion problems. I would stick to a gun that was a tad slower and heavier bullets no lighter than 130 grains. Just my opinion though.

[WNYBuckHunter]

You can use a 243 for yotes, and they work good for deer. If you want to do both with one rifle, that would be a good one.

[bubba]

If someone choses to use a .22 for deer be prepared for some disappointment evry now and then

You can be prepared for disappointment with any caliber.  The caliber doesnt make the shot, the shooter does.  That being said, I would not use a 22 caliber for deer.  However I use a caliber that most would say is marginal at best a 26-06.  Marginal my butt.  I will go up against any magnum caliber they make with it.  My point. It is all a matter of opinion.  I find it hilarious when ppl think they need a 300 win mag or 7mm mag to kill a whitetail.  But to each their own.  As long as it is cernter fire .22, it is legal.  All being equal as in number of hunters using them, I bet the stats woul show more deer lost to arrow hits than 22 hits.  I know I know shot placement with an arrow.  Umm the same for a rifle bullet.

[Mr VJP]

I have to caution people on comparisons between killing deer in upstate NY, with deer from states down in the south.  NY deer a often large, big bodied deer with thick hair on their skin.  Southern deer are smaller and the hair on their hide is not as thick.

Cartridges like the .22-250 may not perform as well on NY's larger whitetail deer.

[Gthphtm]

Bigger is better,any 3o cal.in most of the wooded areas of New York and a 12 ga. slug in the thicker parts.In the area I live a good number of hunters use some of the mag. calibers as an all around gun,there are a few areas where you could get a 200 yd. shot.But they still have the energy behind them for the thick areas.Too many people watch the hunting shows that are taped in the plains states and out west where you have wide open clear shots,the smaller calibers might work there,again with good shot placement.   

[camper4lyfe]

You can use a 243 for yotes, and they work good for deer. If you want to do both with one rifle, that would be a good one.

That's not an option for me, as I already have the .22-250, and don't have the money to justify a rifle I'd only use once or twice a year

Like vjp said bullet design is critical. A bullet that can travel at high speed and not explode is critical and your options for this are very poor for a 22-250. With that said I have actually seen a pile of deer taken with 22-250 and 223. A land manager for a huge lease in Alabama use to use a 22-250 to take cull doe with. They would get permits from state to lower the population. And his weapon of choice was a remington 700 varmit rifle in 22-250. He would drive around the lease and shoot doe in the head with it. He use to pull up to the store I worked at with 8 - 10 doe in the back of his truck. I use to use a 25-06 for deer hunting and killed a few deer and pigs with it but had the problem of the soft point light bullets for it ( 100 grain )  would explode and cause a lot of meat damage. It killed the deer but had terrible expansion problems. I would stick to a gun that was a tad slower and heavier bullets no lighter than 130 grains. Just my opinion though.

I can't argue with that logic.  That points to me sticking with the slug slinger.

[fasteddie]

Does your uncle have a rifle that he could loan you . If so borrow it and sight it in at a range as his sighting probably won't work for you .

Or .......... if you aren't too attached to the 22-250 , you might be able to trade or sell it and get a larger cal rifle .

Whatever you do , Good Luck !

[camper4lyfe]

Does your uncle have a rifle that he could loan you . If so borrow it and sight it in at a range as his sighting probably won't work for you .

Or .......... if you aren't too attached to the 22-250 , you might be able to trade or sell it and get a larger cal rifle .

Whatever you do , Good Luck !

He's only got his .30-.30 that he just recently got because of the change in firearms permitted.

I am attached to the 22-250, though I'm not completely attached to using it for deer.  It was just an Idea that I'd been throwing around, trying to decide if it was appropriate.

[bubba]

You can use a 243 for yotes, and they work good for deer. If you want to do both with one rifle, that would be a good one.

That's not an option for me, as I already have the .22-250, and don't have the money to justify a rifle I'd only use once or twice a year

Like vjp said bullet design is critical. A bullet that can travel at high speed and not explode is critical and your options for this are very poor for a 22-250. With that said I have actually seen a pile of deer taken with 22-250 and 223. A land manager for a huge lease in Alabama use to use a 22-250 to take cull doe with. They would get permits from state to lower the population. And his weapon of choice was a remington 700 varmit rifle in 22-250. He would drive around the lease and shoot doe in the head with it. He use to pull up to the store I worked at with 8 - 10 doe in the back of his truck. I use to use a 25-06 for deer hunting and killed a few deer and pigs with it but had the problem of the soft point light bullets for it ( 100 grain )  would explode and cause a lot of meat damage. It killed the deer but had terrible expansion problems. I would stick to a gun that was a tad slower and heavier bullets no lighter than 130 grains. Just my opinion though.

I can't argue with that logic.  That points to me sticking with the slug slinger.

I can argue it.  I took a very northern new york 190 pound whitetail with a 25-06 115 grain bullet at just under 3200 feet per second.  He ran 50 yards and piled up. I am willing to bet I could do the same with a 22-250.  Bigger is not always better.  In fact most guys who use the 25-06 for whitetail deer use either the 87 or 100 grain bullets.  Yeah bullet designed for bigger gme are a good thing to have, but regardless shot placement trumps them all.  Total pass through the ribs, lungs were jelly took out a 2 x2 inch chunk of ribs entrance and 3x3 chunk exit.

[camper4lyfe]

I can argue it.  I took a very northern new york 190 pound whitetail with a 25-06 115 grain bullet at just under 3200 feet per second.  He ran 50 yards and piled up. I am willing to bet I could do the same with a 22-250.  Bigger is not always better.  In fact most guys who use the 25-06 for whitetail deer use either the 87 or 100 grain bullets.  Yeah bullet designed for bigger gme are a good thing to have, but regardless shot placement trumps them all.  Total pass through the ribs, lungs were jelly took out a 2 x2 inch chunk of ribs entrance and 3x3 chunk exit.

The heaviest 22-250 bullet I've found so far is 64 grain.  I'm thinking that's not enough for deer.

[Mr VJP]

You could hand load bullets of 75 grains like they offer in the .223 loads I shoot.  However, if the rifling twist rate in your barrel isn't fast enough, they will not stabilize and accuracy will be terrible.

My Remington 700 SPS will not shoot them well, and the barrel needs a good cleaning after using them to get it back on with 55 grain bullets.  My Bushmaster Bullpup will shoot them just fine though.

Even with these bullets, I'd have to go for head shots on deer, (which I don't like) just to be sure they would drop it clean.

[Dave]

Guys I hear your opinions and I would error in the side of a larger caliber than the 22. Anything can deflect the smaller bullet that say a 3006 might go thru and still take out the deer. Plus you have the capability of taking a bear with the larger caliber if one crosses you path while deer hunting. I would not even take a shot at a bear with a 22 type bullet. I know we are not talking about bear hunting but you never know when one will cross your path, maybe a once in a life time chance and I would want to be prepared.

Dave

[Single_shot]

Just my 2cents here but.....my dad used his 22-250 for many years on WT and it never did him wrong. He had alot of other calibers in the closet,but he felt very confident with it,which makes a big difference. I'm open to the caliber as a deer cartridge just from his high success with it. It isn't a brush gun for sure,i'm just saying what worked very well for him. He was'nt a poke and hope shooter either,he prided himself on one shot kills. Whatever you choose,you do best with a rifle/caliber you are most comfortable with.

[Lawdwaz]

The 22-250 shoots the same bullets as the .223....

I don't know what is available in factory loads, but both rounds use .224" bullets... There are 22 cal bullets vailable that are designed with deer in mind, such as Nosler partitions, Barnes X and others.. The bullets to avoid would be those designed for varmints, like Nosler BTs, Hornady Vmax, etc.

22 cal centerfires will always be controversial for deer sized game.. However, many thousands of deer are taken nationwide with them every season... Use a suitable bullet  put it in the boiler room and you'll have no problems..

Very sound reasoning.  An experienced hunter/shooter at the keyboard.

[Larry]

I would never use a 22-250 for deer unless I had no other choice, and then the only way I would use my 22-250 would be from a shooting house over a food plot taking head shots only out to 300 yards. It’s not that I’m that good but the gun is.

You asked what is the heaviest bullet you can get in 22 cal. That’s around 80gr’s but you would have to reload it. You also have the problem if you go to a heavier  bullet the bullet gets longer and your gun may not stabilizes the bullet in flight. My rem 700 has a twist rate of 1:14 and will not stabilizes anything much bigger then 60gr’s.

I am going to tell you not to use a 22-250 on deer there are too many better deer rounds out there. Recoil is a problem then look at a 243 30-30 or even a 44mag in a rifle if your shots are 100yds or less for the 44mag.