22-250?

[Guest Ben Allen]

I was wondering if any of you have ever used a 22-250 for whitetail. In my younger years my dad had me using a 243 wich worked great. Now I use my 300 wim mag only because it is the farthest reaching gun I own. (Killed a small buck last year at 800yds, No B.S.) I use the 22-250 for prarie dogs and coyotes, etc. I was just curiouse if it would nock down one of them stubborn whitetail. I know how tough these deer are, and know if you dont kill one quickly you may be packing it out of the bottom of the most hellaciouse canyon emaginable. So what are your guys opinions on this round? Would it do the job. My next gun will be a .257 weatherby. 100 gr bullet at 3,550 fps!!!! Now thats a whitetail gun!

[300 wsm]

In my oppinion the 22-250 is a very good couse gun out to 350yds. Although it is more than capable past that range it just still has quite a bit of energy at that range. personaly I use a 300 wsm but I always take my 22-250 along as well. I have a couple of friends that shoot 22-250's every year and kill their deer with one shot. I have also witnessed my little brother take 2 mule deer with my 250. Both went down in their tracks.

 

But my favorite has to be my 300 wsm which is basically the same power as the 300 win mag. I love the flat bullet flight and killing power out to those extended ranges.

 

for the 22-250 I would recommend 55gr nosler partition and 55gr remington soft point. Those are two factory loads that i have seen drop deer, I load nosler partitions for mine.

[Guest Ernesto C.]

I'm sorry to disagree with your opinion 300 WSM about the 22-250. Sure the 22-250 can kill a deer,a 22 Win.Mag.can kill a deer too but conditions had to be perfect;when do we know conditions are going to be perfect?

This is an old subject here,we already talk about this;in my opinion the 22-250 is good only if the deer is PERFECTLY STANDING BROADSIDE,MOTIONLESS,and you have a SOLID REST and the deer is 200 yds or LESS.

There is way to many things to consider: deer running,not having a solid rest,deer a 3,4 or 500 yds away,shooting angles or frontal shot,does the bullet at 400 yds will pass thru bone and then to the vitals? see what I mean?

In my opinion a good caliber for coues is from the 243 and up,but if you only have 2 rifles and the smaller caliber is a 22-250 well take it just in case something goes wrong with your other rifle,but I will not recomend the 22-250 as a coues gun.

 

God Bless you. Ernesto C.

[catclaw]

I will agree with Ernesto. I used to hunt with a 22-250 and killed a number of both whitetail and muleys with it. Then one day I hit one a little too far back. The deer ran off. I got a VERY lucky second shot at a running deer about 400 yds away and broke his back. He was in rough country and still very much alive when I got to him. The first bullet had hit the liver and done very little damage. I was using 60 Nosler solid bases. That same shot with my 300 WBY would have been quickly fatal.

 

The 22-250 is a great rifle for an expert marksman at relatively close ranges. It's not a 300 yd deer rifle. It just doesn't have must sting left at that range. Why risk a very difficult to draw tag by uses a very mediocre caliber.

 

I have hunted these little deer a LOT and have seen upwards of 40 of them killed. I think one is far better off with a 270 class rifle than a 22 caliber. I have seen them lost to 25-06's on two occasions and this isn't usually considered too small. I have never seen one lost to a 300 mag. Doesn't mean it doesn' t happen but it's nice to put them down.

 

On a Mexico hunt a few years ago, There was one 270 and all the rest were various 300 mags. David Millers 300 Wby, my 300 WBy a couple of 30-378's and a 300 winnie. These were all people who were repeat customers and knew what worked when you put several thousand $$ on the table for a Mexican hunt. Nope, I wouldn't recoomend the 22's unless you have a detached retina or something that absolutley rules out any recoil...

[Guest Potato Whisperer]

I think under the right circumstances, the .22-250 can do the job, but personally I'd like somehting with a little more punch. The most important thing is to put them DOWN! I bought a Lazz Firebird 140grain coming out at 3900 fps with 4200 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle...NOW that's a COUES GUN!

 

Scott G.