22/250=Deer? Kinda

[slugger]

HUMMM!

I don't think it will be my "Go To" deer gun. I found out It Will Kill a deer,kinda...

I'm shooting a TC Coyote 22/250 with a 4X12 Redfield. A barrens 45gr triple shock on 38 gr Varget should be going around 4000 fps. Sounds good? Well. It shoots GREAT it'll shoot'm through the same hole all day.We ran a cross a nice little 4 point on a hillside at 159 yards, sound asleep . He was all scrunched up head on the ground with his legs all tucked under and broadside. I slid up to the crest of my side of the brake and leveled the Redfield on the sweet spot just behind the front shoulder. The wind was blowing from his butt to his nose AND ,yup, when I shot the wind caught it and pushed it almost dead center shoulder, It whacked him hard but he got up. I put anorther one a little farther back, WHACK again he stumbled a little but stayed on his feet and was heading DOWN, not a good spot to go. I put anorther one ( was going to be between his eyes) in the base of his horn knocking it off along with his ear. Now I have to reload my buddy behind me was laughing his butt off and remarked,You going to wound him to death?All this and he is still going in to the "Hole" I slapped the clip in and shot again Whack, and again Whack, He stopped and was shaking One shell left and he had about 4 steps and he would be a half day ,pack out. I tried a heart shot again , Kawhack and he fell. Crap What a messy kill. I'm not to impressed with a 45 gr Barrens for deer. I'm used to a 300 45/70 slug, He would not have gotten up from the first shot. It turned out to be an easy game cart trip out to the road and truck, could have been WAY harder in about 3 steps. I'll try some thing a bit different next try with my coyote gun, May be a 53 gr HUMMM we'll see.

[dannoboone]

One shot in the lungs with the old Hornady 55gr SP's always put
them down within 50yds (at most) for my Dad, brother and I with
our .22-250's.

[mountainam]

I'm a big fan of Speer's 70gr semi point. At 3400fps it has good sectional density to make a kightning bolt kill out to 200yds. I wouldn't feel comfortable any farther---unless I had extra clips. Lol----just kidding! You still got him so KUDOS!

[ozark]

I have used the 22-250 on one seven point whitetail. Shot it at 65 yards just back of the shoulders and slightly below center up and down. It was broadside standing still. At the crack of the rifle it flinched and made a normal death run of 60 yards almost directly toward me before doing the nose shovel at full speed. Although I am a confirmed .243 user the 22-250 will take deer. But IMO a 25-06 or a .243 is a more reasonable choice. I have been feeling pretty good and have been toying with the idea of making my cabin blind assessable to my power chair and try the November season. I will give the meat away since I don't care for it and would rather not be bothered with getting someone to help prepare it for the freezer. Just enjoy being in the hunt and the time spent watching plus the rush I have always got when it is decision and trigger time. Ben

[wilmsmeyer]

That's good news Ben.

Regarding the above deer shot with the Barnes.....did anyone do an autopsy? Did these bullets fully penetrate?

[dans]

I'm sure that several deer are killed with the 22-250 every season. I am also sure several are lost. I would use the heaviest bullet that shoots accurately and be ready as you were to shoot until the deer is down. The only 22-250 kill I know of was at 30 yards and the buck was shot in the throat. The 55 gr Hornady bullet hit the neck bone and blew up leaving a baseball sized crater. I saw the result of two does killed with a .223 with again a 55 gr. Hornady bullet. One shot in the neck and one shot in the back of the head between the ears. Both resulted in blown up bullets and tennis ball sized holes where they hit bone. O yards to recovery on all three.

[slugger]

Oct 25, 2011 4:55:12 GMT -5 wilmsmeyer said:

That's good news Ben.

Regarding the above deer shot with the Barnes.....did anyone do an autopsy? Did these bullets fully penetrate?

They all went all the way through and in to the dirt.
It was a walking dead deer , I knew that I just had to put it down BEFORE it got in to the Brake. If you have ever seen a Missouri river brake you would know why, There HUGE and Deep.
All ,but the one to the head ,went through the lungs and heart but did very little damage to them, Just to small...

[wilmsmeyer]

That's good to know. It makes me think that the load I will use this year will also go thru as it is traveling a little slower and weights 35 gr more.

[pposey]

bet a high shoulder/spine shot would have dropped him,,,, the Speer semi pointed is a brute of a .223 bullet for sure,, and would expand more but is still pretty tough, I shot the heart on a spike buck a couple years ago with a .40 200sst going 2400fps out of a pacnor ml2, that sucker ran 50-70 yards before falling and the heart was blasted in half as that bullet expanded like crazzyy.

[ozark]

I have been trying to think with logic (hard to do at my age) and I am beginning to believe that we are sometimes caliber foolish. The location of a hit is naturally critical to how long a deer lives, but, regarding the 22.250, 243, other 6MMs and a lot of other calibers the bullet we use has more to do with the outcome than the caliber. The 6MMs would probably outshing the 30-06 using 100 grain bullets. I may be lost somewhere in left field but that is my opinion and I am sticking to it for now. Someone may change my opinion but before you try accept that I am old and hard headed. Ok, its your shot. Ben

[Mid_Tn_Plowboy]

I killed an 8 pointer around 220yrds with rem700 204, 26.5gr Varget and 39gr Sierra Blitz King @ 3440fps. Double lunged and severed artery = dropped on spot. Not my choice of Deer rifle tho its legal here in Tn.

[spaniel]

I saw a video last year from western Montana...same day as the kill...of a teenage girl killing a nice whitetail with a 22-250. She made a marginal shot that would have been an easy kill with a .243 or larger, but instead they had to chase him around half the day and put four rounds in him and he still made it another quarter mile before he died in the deepest, messiest hole he could fine.

The .22s will kill a deer for sure, but I would never CHOOSE one....especially when the deer is somewhere that a run could result in a really difficult recovery. I'm glad you got yours, sucks about the horn.

I'm assuming you were in the western breaks...I took an elk with my bow on Sixth Point west of Fort Peck back in September. We saw some mulies, only one decent buck and he was deep in the timber. We heard from others that all big game populations were WAY down over prior years.

[slugger]

North Central Old river brakes by Vergil/ Sag ranch area