Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Kyaryl · Last edited by Kyaryl on Fri Dec 27, 2019 2:51 am; edited 1 time in total

I'm looking at a Savage Axis XP 22-250. Has black synthetic stock, Bushnell 3-9x40, and 22" barrel. Is this enough gun for whitetail deer hunting? My wife has a .270 and she says the "kick" hurts her neck. I'm looking for something she won't be worried about shooting. Any opinions on this gun?

PS...
anyone know of a "safe" heat, tent heater? i know there was a product called Zodi Tent Heater, but they no longer offer this product and even if they did they cost a kidney.

has anyone else come across any other one? what can you say about this review? basically one that i can leave on over night, propane powered, and most importantly no carbon monoxide coming in.

i may just have to build my own, but i wanted to put this out there before i started.

SingleShotLover · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 9:52 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

There are opinions all over the board about this very question. Personally, having seen many wounded deer with this cartridge, I am uncomfortable with any caliber less than 6mm for game animals. Others cite dozens of successful kills with the .22/250. I love the .22/250, but just not for game - varmints only for me.

If you should choose to use it, there are a few caveats to consider:

1. Many states require 6mm or greater for deer.
2. Bullet selection is foremost. The heavier 65 - 80 grain bullets should be chosen over the lighter bullets designed for quick expansion/fragmentation.
3. Using the heavier bullets will require a fast twist barrel...1 in 9" or even faster to stabilize; how fast is the barrel you are looking at?
4. Shot placement is critical to avoid heavy bone.

You might rather want to look for a good .243 with a real good recoil pad to help reduce the already reasonable recoil.

Just my 2 cents. Good hunting and stay safe.

Bushmaster · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:09 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

The .243 is a good round for deer and other medium game. Recoil is easy to control/manage with recoil pads.

In short...I agree with SingleShotLover.

Vince · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:01 pm Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Gidday kyaryl, welcome aboard The Nut. Grab a beer and pull up a stump.

As both Single Shot and Bushy have said, the .243 (6mm) is the best start point for deer, but even with this cartridge, shot placement is still paramount. The best thing about the .243 is the proliferation of 6mm bullets available, ranging from the tiny 50 grain up to and including the 115 grain offering.

My Weatherby Vanguard In .243 loves the Hornady 87 grain HP bullet and puts them into .7 of an inch if I do my part.

SingleShotLover · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:26 pm Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Just another thought, if you reload, you might consider downloading the .270. Use the lightest acceptable bullet for game and load to around 2,400 fps or so and see how your wife handles it. If her rifle doesn't have a really good pad, get one and make sure the stock fits her properly to assist in recoil management...not too long or short.

Pumpkinslinger · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:12 pm Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

It looks like the Axis has a 1-in-9" twist so it should handle some of the heavier bullets. If I was going to try deer with one I think I'd stick to the monolithic bullets.

When I thought my daughters might start hunting with me I did some looking around and bought a .260 Rem.

www.huntingnut.com/ind...cle&sid=59

slimjim · Last edited by slimjim on Fri Dec 20, 2019 6:18 am; edited 1 time in total

All good advice above. However, I was surprised to see that 3 out of the 4 guides I have used for elk hunting use a 22.250. They, however, take neck shots. I think your biggest challenge will be finding a .22-250 with 9:1 or faster. IMO, it should be 1:7 or 1:8 to shoot the bullets you need.

But I would like to make another suggestion. Get a 224 Valkyrie! I have one and love it. Mine is an AR but Savage produces a bolt action with 1:7 twist.

www.savagearms.com/con...ry&s=57409

I shot a pronghorn at 130 yards last year with a 78gr TSX and was very impressed with its terminal performance. It was a large exit wound for a .224 bullet and the buck dropped in its tracks. I hand load but Federal sells it in their premium line. Barnes also is making a TTSX for the Valkyrie now. With this fast a twist rate and bullet performance, I would be willing to shoot out to 300 to 400 yards on deer.

slimjim · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:17 pm Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

found the pictures of the pronghorn and the exit wound.

Elvis · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:03 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

well I dont own or use a .22-250,I would like to but cant justify it.
I do however own and use a .223
now singleshot lover is a wise ol sage whos advice is normally spot on,Vince is old n hornary,and Bushy...wells he's Bushy

Slimjim has been an advocate of mono projectiles pretty much from the getgo and has tested more types of projectile than most folk would shoot in a lifetime.
in short there is a wealth of experience between these chaps.

I purchased a 50 pack of 50gn ttsx and loaded them for the .223 not too hot but fast enough. the terminal preformance of them has really opened my eyes.
the .243 above has been mentioned as has down loading .270 well a downloaded .270 is a great option,there are good 110grn loads and out to 200yards they would be awesome.......
the slower factory .270 loads (rem coreloct for one) work but preformance is less than a full house load.
now the preformance of the .223 ttsx is VERY VERY similar to them EXCEPT ITS BACKWARDS!!!!!!!!
eg with .270 you get small inhole,pulped internals and a rooted offside shoulder if you have placed bullet through shoulder bones.
with .223/ttsx you get large amount of damage on nearside shoulder,pulped internals and small exit hole.
I limit myself to 150ish yards.
Ive shot half a dozen deer with these and 4 pigs...one a 140lb boar.

if these projectiles work well in .223 they should be AWESOME in .22-250 and you could strectch range out a further say??? 50-100 yards.
I love my old .270 and have killed many many animals with single shot with her.......try the 110grn route and see what your good lady thinks. the barnes 110tsx is another option.......slimjim did huge amount of testing and these were a standout....Ive shot a couple of animals with them and it was no fuss no bother...

Aloysius · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 3:38 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Lot depends on the distances… I don't like the 22-250 as in my opinion, when you need more energy you take a bigger caliber instead of increasing velocity and eating barrels.
I do use several .222's but only for varmint and the young or female roedeer. But I don't recommend the 222 for younger or female hunters for that use, instead I recommend for women the 7x57 or the .308 Win. The 7 mm Mauser for being sweet to shoulders and the .308 because there are so many bullets and reloads available so that one can use it to hunt mice till moose.
High velocity is only needed for hunters that are to lazy or not intelligent enough to take into account the bullet trajectory…
Now when you're a professional hunter doing several thousands of shots a year (and exchanging barrels every year), than such 22-250 might be an excellent choise...

slimjim · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:28 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Elvis's suggestion to down-load the .270 is a good one if you handload. There are numerous .277/6.8 caliber bullets designed for the 6.8mm SPC from 85 to 120 grains that have great terminal performance. Then you wouldn't have to buy a new rifle. If you want to look at those bullet options, check out this thread on the 6.8 Forum.

68forums.com/forums/sh...erformance

If you handload and want the most effective combination of low recoil and terminal performance, get the 120 MKZ from CavityBackBullets.com and download it to 6.8mm SPC velocities. I've shot elk with the MKZ in my 6.8mm.

www.cavitybackbullets.....8-120.htm

slimjim · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:46 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

Back to monolithic/copper bullets ....

Twist rate, or more specifically the bullet's rpm/spin rate, is critical to bullet expansion with copper bullets. Faster barrel twist promote greater bullet expansion and can be dramatic. The .270 110 TTSX that Elvis mentioned is very effective in 1:10 twist but loses it's effectiveness in a 1:11 twist due to limited expansion. That is what concerns me with the .22-250 because most have slower barrel twist for varmint bullets (unlike the Valkyrie). Here is a graph of bullet expansion vs twist rate for the .224 55 grain GMX. At the energy level just before the bullet would break into pieces, the bullet actually becomes elastic which is the dotted line. A 1:7 twist really wakes-up copper bullets in the .223/5.56.

slimjim · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:52 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

sorry, I'm on a roll .....

I started with the 110 TTSX in my .270. When loaded to full power its velocity was 3450 fps and it kicked the snot out of me. I had to get a LimbSaver recoil pad which dramatically reduced recoil.

Maybe that should be your path forward, Kyaryl. Install a LimbSaver recoil pad. If the recoil is still too much, switch to the lighter 6.8mm bullets. Your terminal performance will be significantly more than a .22-cal.

inthedark · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:59 am Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

I have to agree with most everyone here a 243 or 6, 6.5 would be all good. IF you were to go to the AR platform such as the Stag 10 , you could buy different uppers for it. But as such the calibre recommendation would be of the 24, 25, 26 calibres. 243, 257, 260 6.5 cred or better yet 6.5x55 swede would be a great choice.

Elvis · Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:25 pm Post subject: Re: Deer hunting with a 22-250?

lol we sure have opened a can of worms here....Slimjim Im running the 110s at MAYBE 3150ish...dont own or desire a chronicgraph..... they dont kick at those levels....the comparison to a .243/EBRG/twoforfree is very close...there is a few more grains of powder but thats offset by wider bore. there are some very good cup n core 110s in .277 out there that folk have used for years...they are polar opposites of monos if you drive them fast...the very reason 270s got reputation as meat wreckers....but as the wise ol owl said "you cant make an omlet without breaking eggs" you want a bullet to cause damage...how much and where it is situated is completely up to you.
shikes its nice to have a CIVIL calibre/cartridge discussion.