I have a 22-250 H&R Ultra Varmint Fluted.Has anyone used their 22-250 to kill a deer? I want to try it, using a 55 grain bullet.The ballistics seem to say it will be effective.The gun is very accurate and I shoot well with it so my confidence level is there. The whitetail here in Texas top out @ 150lbs,but most are smaller.

I would not recommend using a 22-250 for deer. Yes they will kill a deer if you can make a clean head shot or heart shot. If you miss, it will be bad. You need something about .243 or larger. I have hunted with a 22-250 all my life and would not attempt a shot on a deer unless he was standing still, and I knew without a doubt I could make a clean headshot.

I have a 22-250 H&R Ultra Varmint Fluted.Has anyone used their 22-250 to kill a deer? I want to try it, using a 55 grain bullet.The ballistics seem to say it will be effective.The gun is very accurate and I shoot well with it so my confidence level is there. The whitetail here in Texas top out @ 150lbs,but most are smaller.
If you live in San Antonio, you probably get the Texas Trophy Hunter magazine.
Look in the Game Pole section and you will see all of the deer and hogs killed by children using .223, and 22-250.
You already know where to shoot them, and you already know how far to shoot them, so just pick a well constructed bullet and get after it.
This wouldn't be my first choice, but I have killed a lot of pigs with this caliber.My feeders are set up 150-200 yards from my blinds, and I have shot them in the shoulder as well as behind the shoulder. I've never had a bullet blow up on the shoulder and not penetrate.
Just don't take a bad shot, and they should go down.I have guided at least 6 hunters who used the 22-250 and were serious about it.
It would not be my first choice but I wouldn't stay home if that is all I had to hunt with.
I'm just telling you what I have actually seen.
Out of about 25 pigs, just about all of the bullets entered, blew up the lungs and heart area and did not exit. A few did exit but again use the right bullet, and I think you would be fine.

Yeah.... used a Barnes "X" bullet, can't remember if it was 52 or 53 grains.

I know other people who have used it, but couldn't give any more details.

Like Tom says, it's quite popular here in Texas. I'd be more concerned about shooting hogs with it than deer.... our deer aren't huge.

Would rather have my .257 Roberts along, but if I had to make do with a .22.250, wouldn't sweat it.

22-250 is a very common deer and antelope round in the open country of eastern Montana. Avoid heavy bone and use a bullet that isn't plastic tipped and you will be good to go. My step-father-in-law uses the bulk Winchester or Remington 55gr SP with good results.

I read where a western region Nikko optics sales rep,shooting a Howa 22-250,harvested a pretty good size antelope, so I began to think about using this caliber this deer season.

I read where a western region Nikko optics sales rep,shooting a Howa 22-250,harvested a pretty good size antelope, so I began to think about using this caliber this deer season.


Figure Texas is the main reason Browning chambered the BLR in 22-250. Have been out with two guys who swear by them...one uses the new Nolser partion, the other sticks with the old Speer 70gr. Semi-point.

I'm still not convienced it's a good idea on big deer, but the ones i've watched down near Brownsville aren't very big...and will admit, they did drop like they were hit with a StarTrec phaser (minus the shower of sparks)..

I moved to southern Missouri last year. It seems that the most popular deer guns, overwhelmingly, around here are the .223, .22-250, and .243 Winchester.

For real world hunting, as opposed to 'gun rag' hunting tey are enough. My only experience was a one shot kill of a California blacktail deer many years ago with a .222. Stopped him in mid leap. Could not have been more instantaneous.

Just my observations from watching folks shoot. An average SHOOTER needs a larger gun.
A good Shooter thats also a good HUNTER can get away with using about anything and still make a clean kill.

Michael

I've killed over 8 mule deer with a .22-250 on a Rem 700. All were takn with a 55 gr. spire point, and NONE were head shots. All were shoulder shots, and all were one shot kills. Longest was 364 (measured) yds, and closest was 85 yds.
The .22-250 is a very good deer round, and those who have used it will back this up.

Marlinman93: At 364 yards with a 55 grain bullet,that would produce much LESS than the "required by some" 1000 lbs of energy to kill even a whitetail. So I'll throw all that hooey about 1000 lbs of energy out the window. If I listen to the consensus here, I'm gonna shoot the 22-250 this deer season in Texas and place my shot carefully.I try to do that anyway.

I agree with most everyone else here....

Quality bullet; its all about penetration with a smaller caliber bullet.
Aim for the edge of the heart away from the shoulder towards the lungs; would rather hit the lungs than the shoulder (broadside)

A quality bullet will penetrate completely through if you don't hit the shoulder.

John Barsness wrote a very detailed article in the March 2005 edition of Rifle magazine called "Tough Game and "Adequate" Rifles" ; it is definetely worth a read.

I would recommend a Barnes X , or a Nosler Partition, and enjoy the versatility your 22-250 can bring you....

Alot of old time meat hunters , and farmers have been taking northeastern whitetails around here for years with 22 Hornets!!

Good shootin'
whizzum

Alot of old time meat hunters , and farmers have been taking northeastern whitetails around here for years with 22 Hornets!!



As far as the old time meat hunters, they would be shooting at a standing deer at close range and would be a head shot. I would not recommend shooting a 22 hornet at a deer unless you were within 50 yards and you had a steady head shot. Past that the bullet will not have the energy to kill much of anything.

As far as the old time meat hunters, they would be shooting at a standing deer at close range and would be a head shot. I would not recommend shooting a 22 hornet at a deer unless you were within 50 yards and you had a steady head shot. Past that the bullet will not have the energy to kill much of anything.


Gismo,

I'm not talking about your monster bucks out there in Ohio :D . I have personally seen deer taken off farms with Hornets with nuisance licenses with many a lung shot.
The old time meat hunters were using 22 mags to the head.

Anyway, I'm not trying to play devils advocate here; I usually hunt deer with a 35 cal or larger. I'm just saying that a 22-250 with a quality bullet should be adequate as long as the shot placement is correct.
A gut shot deer with a 30-06 will run just as far as a gutshot deer with a 22-250; and a lung shot deer from either caliber will run about the same distance. Usually 12 seconds before blacking out. Heart shot all the better.
whizzum

There's a pretty prominent guy who isn't on this board, who with his two partners out west have never shot deer with anything other than .222's/.22-250's/.223's. Hundreds of dead deer. Pick the right bullet, pick the right spot. Check your state laws. With what they do on a prairie dog...they'll do the job inside a deer. And c'mon guys...they kill soldiers don't they? Using FMJ's we might note.

I can remember my father talking about shooting deer with a .22 Hornet, back in the depression days when the deer was pretty desparetly needed to feed the family during winter. There was no talk of head shots.
There have been many articles talking about the serious problems with head shots, and I would think that they should be avoided with a .22-250 as well.
There was a Gun Digest article on the use of the .22-250 on deer, where the author (and the editor) concluded that even though the gun press had been fighting against the use of the .22-250 for many years, the reality was that many people had been using it quite successfully. As mentioned in a couple of posts above, it is not just with premium bullets, and certainly not with head shots.
A good 55 grain bullet, or heavier, seemed to be the trick, with a good chest shot to the heart and/or the lungs.
Obviously, it is not legal everywhere (not in Alberta as an example) nor for every type of hunting. I still hunt a lot in heavy bush, and even with snow I prefer a blood trail. So, I prefer heavier bullets that will penetrate thoroughly. Eveyones' hunting circumstances are different, and the .22-250 has shown that it will work in many cases. Good shooting in a vital spot (not the head) appears to be what counts.

I have killed deer and big hogs with the .22-250, the right bullet, right placement, no problem.