North Texan

A .224 caliber rifle will kill deer. I know some individuals that have had more success with .222's than many hunters have with 30-06's. I've decommissionedplenty ofhogs with my .223. All it takes is the right bullet in the right spot. If the bullet has enough power to make it to the vitals, then you have enoughgunto do the job. That's not saying that there aren't better calibers out there for the job. But it will work. If somebody is comfortable shooting one, they can take a deer.

The one thing I have noticed in .22-250's is most of them come with a fairly slow rate of twist, so they don't always stabilize heavier bullets reliably. Light weight varmint bullets don't always penetrate well. Although if you are taking neck shots, those may be the bullets to have. I have seen larger bullets pass through the necks of smaller deer and not expand. They went between all the vitals, and although the deer was knocked unconcious from the impact, they came back to life about 10 to 15 minutes later.

zrexpilot

That is very hard to believe, unless he shot every single deer right square in the head. Most deer run a little ways with just about every caliber imaginable, some fall, some run, and caliber size usually doesnt negate the outcome.
But back to the question, yes the .22-250 will kill a deer, it'svery popular here in Texas along with the .243, but our deer rarley see 200 lbs. A well placed shot with just about any centerfire will kill deer very affectively, would I choose the .22-250 for northern 300 lb deer ? no, but it can be done if your skilled and limit yourself to take only great shots.
I took a 160 lb 11 pointer this past year with a 15 yd shot to the neck with a .22 hornet, he dropped in his tracks.
Would I have taken that shot on the same deer to the body at a 150 yds ? Nope! You have to be disciplined with small calibers just as bow hunters are with arrows.

Grasshopper13

.22-250 is a little light for deer sized animals. It can be done, but if your kids need something with a little less recoil, I'd suggest a .243.

Now if you hunt down there in Florida where all the deer are emaciated from their long travel from the northern states....it's probably good enough.


respect?



GH

retrieverman

The statement I made is completely true. There was not a question posed on shot placement, so I didn't go into it. Since my integrity is being questioned I will veer off topic, my brother takes all neck shots with his 22-250. He is very careful with his shots and does not take stupid or even questionable shots. As far as deer dropping in their tracks, I have personally dropped deer with 243 to 50 cal muzzleloader (and many caliber in between). I killed 8 deer in two states in 2005, and the only deer that ran (only 15 yards)was with my 50 cal muzzleloader. I killed 4 with a 30/30, 1 with a 270, and 1 with a 300 WSM, and the end results were all the same. SHOT! DROP!

8mm/06

Personally, I would not use a 22-250 for anything except Southern deer, particulary those low quality tiny Florida deer! Ya see, up here in the magnificent North, where the deer are burly and have 16 inch guns,... and DEMAND respect...

Naaa. JK, The 22-250 with a good shot and decent bullet will do the job within reason.....extreme distances or any situation where the shooter isn't confident about calling the shot should be avoided with any caliber, including the 22-250, but one of my pet rifles is the .243, so I'm sure that in the hands of some the 22-250 would be fine.

hardcorehunter

Where is everybody hunting that it is legal to use a 22.250? Just curious as anywhere out west that I have been I could have sworn that a .243 was the smallest legal gun on deer.

retrieverman

Here in Texas, there are many 22-250 shooters. Mainly insouth and west Texas, where shots tend to be longer and haveless obstruction that might cause a deflection. Here in east Texas, our woods are too think for it to be feasible. We are more 30/30 country.

stubblejumper

I wouldn't use the 22-250 for deer myself,but in reality,with a properly chosen bullet,the 22-250is just as suitable for deer as the 270win is for moose or elk.

Pass_Thru

My buddy has loaded his .22-250 ackely with the Barnes XLT and the Nosler Partition both bullets listed for deer size game and has had no trouble anchoring them with a scapula or high shoulder shot. But then hes only shot 2 or 3. A goodcal. for whitetails but not a greatcal. for whitetails. Personally Iprefer a.243 or.257 over a.22 cal.

jag-mag

Here in WI you can use any center fire rifle, except a 17 cal.