Ok guys, want to reload my 22-250 shells for deer, whats the best bullet for the task. I dont want anything over 60 grains because Im not sure what twist rate my rifleing is. I dont think nosler makes a partition in the 55 grain range and anything that explodes is out of the question. I need some penetration along with decent expansion without having to worry about fragmentation. Anyone have any experience with this?

Well, I get a lot of flak on this, but I use the Sierra 52 HPBT for deer and antelope in one of my .22-250 rifles and the Sierra 55 grain BT spitzer in another.

Both are extremely effective.

I've used the Sierra 55 gr Spitzer (Blitz) for many years with great success on the smallish hill country deer around my parts. They work well.

Hollywood

Barnes new .224 / 53 gr "Triple X " may be a choice. The new design has apparently cured many of the accuracy and pressure problems previously seen with Barnes X bullets.

Plus I believe Nosler does make a 60 gr Partition.

I have used the 63 gr sierra smp and it stabilizes quite well even in rifle with a 1-14" twist. Very accurate in most rifles and the performance on deer is very respectable. Between myself, my children and three friends that I load 22-250 for we have killed 25+ whitetails and mule deer. On broadside shots behind the shoulder it exits 100% of the time. It works! Shot placement is better than power any day.

I'd have to agree with Mulerider, how could you go wrong with the Barnes TSX in the 53 gr. bullet. Double the caliber expansion and complete penetration. IF you had to track the deer, having a good blood trail would be my only concern.

Stinkers did you ever use the name Judy? roger

My advice 2 u is 2 just forget it. There were a lot of us that were hooked on the touted supremesy of hydraulic shock in the 50s and 60s. A lot of deer size game was killed and probably far more were wounded.It took me just one season to learn that a 22-250 ain't no tool to use on mule deer. Stay above 6.5, 1500 ft.lbs. of energy at 200 yds. and do it right.

If a 6 point 250 lb. buck is quartering away from you at under 30 yds. With your 22-250 are you going to try to angle a shot thru the ribs and into the vitals? Hell yes you are and that 50 some gr. bullet that someone recommended isn't going to arrive where you intended. If you're lucky your next shot will be a Texas heart shot and if your real lucky it'll angle up and hit the spine parsllyzing the deer from just above the hip. They don't always stand side ways. Hey! that should be the title of a book.

I noticed through the years that every generation seems to make the same mistakes. How do I know? Almost everything I just wrote was told to me over 40 years ago just as I was about to start hunting mule deer with my 22 Varminter wildcat( now 22-250). It must be part of the individual learning process.

Now if you ever ask what bullet to use for elk in your 6mmX.270 super improved I've got even more advise. roger

No...at 30 yards I do a head shot!

The .22-250 and the 6mm Remington will take white tail, mule deer and antelope just fine. If not, you better talk to the over 200 animals I have taken with them, with a single shot each...

I put a .22-250 in the hands of a brand-spanking-new hunter several years ago. And she took two antelope, two white tail and a mule deer...all in the same day...



Prior to this she had a couple of hours of instructions at the range (by me).



I hunt with a guy who uses nothing but a .222 Remington on deer and antelope, and I hunted with a guy when I was in California who hunted with only a .222. Neither has ever had any problems with using that caliber.



Hell, if you have read any of the great P.O. Ackley's writings, he felt that .14 and .17 caliber bullets were excellent for bear, sheep and goat!



And we know old Parker would never tell a lie (neither would Elmer).

Years ago I killed several deer with a 22-250. I think the 70 gr Speer is the bullet to use. (But I must say that after I had killed 15 or so, in several states, I went back to the 270 Winchester. I can't say why I ever tried the 22-250. Just "had to know" I guess.

I used my 22-250 AI this year for Michigan whitetails. On top of some H4895, I placed the 60 grain Nosler Partition.
I shot a 1.5 year old doe that was facing me at 125 yards. The bullet entered above the brisket and lodged just under the skin behind the rib cage. The deer ran 30 years and dropped.

I think the 22-250 can provide quick clean kills but shot placement and a GOOD PENETRATING BULLET are key


H380

My dad usually used regular factory ammunition for hunting with his 22-250 but since I am getting into reloading he would like me to load some of his old shells for him with a decent hunting round. He has taken several deer with his 250 and never left one injured that I can remember. Hes 60 plus years old and a good shot though and he doesnt get excited and take shots that hes not sure of, like I might do. I saw that there were some 60 grain nosler partitions that might be worth going for and barnes makes some solids in that area also.

One huntress with the instuction from a knowledgable gun buff isn't every hunter. The truely knowledgable experieced hunter can pull off using a minimally capable rifle and cartridge but my experience has shown me that there is room for mishap. Maybe you're real good or lucky or both but those qualifications aren't gifted to all. With the message your sending I fear the moutains and woods are going to be full of deer HUNTERS useing varmint loads.

Oh by the way did that gal have tags for all that killing? My oh my, That sure would have been a sight to witness.

P.O was a great gun smith right? I asked him to make me what was the first or one of the first 6.5X .284s. He or his people somehow chambered it with a .284 reamer. The neck was .020" larger in diameter than it should have been.

Now I can't argue, never having had one,but if a .14 cal. isn't a mistake to use on large game that chambering job was a mistake and being a GS was P.O's greatest claim.

Did Elmer ever load anything smaller in diameter than a .333? Roger

nada, is judy good or bad?

You didn't say what your budget was; but if it's not an issue, the 55-gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claw will answer all your prayers.

The only problem is, bullets that good become boring after a short while.

Lots of experience and opinions both ways, it seems, and I think both have valid points worth considering.

My favorite rifle is my .22-250, but I don't consider it my "deer rifle".

I've used a .22-250 to "shoot" quite a few deer under crop damage permits and also during hunting season before I got another rifle that shot bigger bullets. With a proper hit within good range, it kills extremely well.

IMO, if I had multiple opportunities at reasonable ranges in open areas, it would be OK. If you choose your shot and execute it carefully, it works just like any other rifle. It's only a deer.

If I was "hunting" deer, where any fleeting opportunity at any angle might by my only shot, or I might get a quick shot in cover, I would be using something I'd consider more appropriate, with a heavier bullet and more power.

This is because even a light twig will fragment or deflect the .22-250 bullet, because a bad angle or belly full of vegetation will prevent full penetration, because a quick second shot is not always possible, NOT because a .22-250 won't kill them under good conditions.

Whether it will or will not kill a deer isn't an issue. We butchered a hundred steers with a .22 long rifle (hi-velocity, of course), but the shots were perfectly placed under tightly controlled conditions.

I want to be able to make a clean shot under less than ideal circumstances, and the .22-250 simply does not do that. Bad angle, little haze of twigs, my .35Whelen doesn't care, my .22-250 chokes.

I have used bullets from Federal's 40grHP to Speer 70's, but mostly 55 grain soft points. Nosler does indeed make a 60 grain partition, and I'd like to try them at some point. I am also very impressed with every Barnes bullet I've ever used and would like to try some of their .22's, too.

I believe that bullet selection is a far second to good bullet placement, but I do like enough weight to penetrate fully with a broadside shot. The 40's didn't do that at any angle (but do a lot of damage inside), but the 55's usually go right through. My rifle shoots factory loads well enough that I don't bother handloading for it anymore, and I shoot a lot of factory ammo. I'd have no reservations taking any 55 grain factory load out there and whacking a deer with it, if I had a decent shot.

Along with a LOT of successes though, I've experienced a few failures with the .22-250 as well.

Among them, I shot one small deer at 375 yards. There was no reaction and my spotter called it "a miss". The deer resumed feeding. Thinking I had over estimated the range, I held for 300 and shot again. No reaction. "Missed". Baffled now, and thinking now that I must have under estimated the range, I held for 425. The deer folded. The carcass had three vertically stacked bullet holes through it. One was right where I had held the first shot, the another was a little lower, but still OK. The third bullet struck higher and hit the spine, which finally dropped the deer.

If the deer had stepped out of sight anytime after the first two shots, we would have called it a miss and lost it. A bigger caliber would have likely shown an indication of the hit.

Another failure involved hunting in open hardwoods. I had a shot at about 80 yards, through what looked like open area. I fired, with no reaction. I fired again, the deer took off. Walking down to the spot, I found a few small twigs clipped off. When I looked back at my firing point, I could see a thin veil of very small branches. Agaunst the background cover, through the too powerful scope, the small branches were invisible. I am convinced the bullets never reached the deer. A heavier, more solidly built bullet would have worked.

Yet another failure involved lending a friend the rifle. I drove a few deer past his position and he shot at one, swearing he got it. The deer ran with it's buddies intoi thick cover. I knew the fellow could shoot well, and so we searched and searched. We covered a circle at least 100 yards in diameter in the thicket, but never found one cut hair, one drop of blood, nothing but the many, many tracks in the area. A week later, hunting nearby, I stumbled over the carcass another hundred yards past where we stopped looking. The bullet entered a little back, right at the diaphragm, and never exited. I suspect the stomach contents stopped the bullet and the deer ran and crashed dead, but it was wasted because we couldn't find it in time. A heavier, more solidly built bullet would have worked.

WHY?!?! No offense, but why use a varmint rifle to hunt big game?

Really I say the same thing, but hes been using the 22-250 for 40 or more years and isnt going to change. Hes got many guns that are more appropriate but he swears by his 22-250 and he is a good shot still, better than me at least. I just figure if hes shot so many deer with it before with factory ammo, I can make his chances of missing or wounding a deer even lower with a well made reload. Personally I wouldnt take a gun any less than my 243 after deer and if Im in search of a trophy I might even move up to a 7mm type round. Im even tempted to try out my new 338 WM this year if I get more than one tag and I end up chasing mulies, it packs a whollup but its exciting to shoot.

Great posting. Well written. You told it a lot the way I lived it. I use to kill my table beef with a 22 LR also. You have a nice easy way of putting down your thoughts. roger

Thanks for your kind words, Roger.