My wife has just started to deer hunt some and I have her shooting my 22-250 and was not bullet to use for whitetail, or if we should be using it at all. soft tip? ballistic tip?

this will probably start a heated debate.

here's my take. a 22-250 is not a good choice for deer hunting. however, it's not to say it can't be used effectively. if you have no other choice for her, then use it.

as far as bullet selection, i would stick to a bonded core bullet. anything else will have too large of chance breaking apart on impact as this round is extremely small.

I've got a Ruger Model 77 Mark II in .22-250 that is an absolute tack driver. It's heavy, (13+ lbs) so the recoil is basically nill and it's easy to shoot. It's the only centerfire my wife enjoys shooting and she shoots it very well.

That being said I've only used it on smaller does. It's the varmint round, and the ammo is manufactured to expand rapidly and violently - so you're going to have to be darn sure about shot placement - you catch a shoulder blade or a rib and that little round is likely to come apart and have very little penetration. This might cause unnecessary suffering from the animal. It'll do the job, but there are a lot of inherent drawbacks to a round specifically designed to hunt varmints at extreme distances.

I have a good bit of first hand experience using the 22-250 on whitetail deer. I use 55g or 60gr Ballistic Tip. Federal has this as a factory load and Academy stocks it. Some may think that the 22-250 is undergunned for whitetail, but every shot has dropped the deer dead. Head and neck shots on does has proven fatal every time. Shooting shoulder has done the same - dropped on the spot. On bigger deer that were shot just behind the shoulder - a complete pass through did not always occur - but internal damage to the lungs and vitals was impressive. I had one deer run about 75 yards, but the track job was easy. Plenty of blood to follow.

Like ANY other caliber - shot placement is key. Just like the thread on here now about the 270 - if you can't put it where it should be - no bullet will work. I think the 22-250 is a great round for the smaller bodied Texas Whitetail.

I imagine it would work just fine. The small .22 bullets tend to tumble through the flesh after they hit instead of boring through, so they actually do a lot of shock damage, even if they break up or don't exit. I wouldn't use them on a deer at long range though. Past 150 yards or so, you lose quite a bit of the ballistic shock value of the high velocity impact, and the bullet will behave a lot more like an conventional bullet, and bore in instead of tumble, but with much less energy and shock, since it is so much lighter. It will still kill, but not nearly so quickly.

I know you can get .223 in bullet sizes up to 78 grains. I imagine, with some searching you could find heavier .22-250 bullets as well that would have more energy and penetration. They might not be quite so accurate if your twist ratio isn't tighter on your rifle.

Frankly, I'd have no problem with it as long as shot placement isn't going to be an issue.

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Like ANY other caliber - shot placement is key. Just like the thread on here now about the 270 - if you can't put it where it should be - no bullet will work. I think the 22-250 is a great round for the smaller bodied Texas Whitetail.

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+1
When I do rifle hunt, I shoot a 6mm-it does a great job!

I'm not a big fan of .22 calibers being used for deer hunting. My buddy was using his 22-250 last weekend and shot a big doe right in the boiler. Heart/lung shot. She fell over. Layed there for 2 minutes, then got up and ran off never to be found. Blood trail stopped after 30 yards. She most definitely died.

If you're going to use one, make neck shots only. Head shots are out b/c you'll end up shooting a jaw off and the deer will not be found. A body shot does not cause a big enough hole to produce a good blood trail.

I'd recommend a .243 instead, at a minimum, for deer.

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Head shots are out b/c you'll end up shooting a jaw off and the deer will not be found

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I disagree. Head shots are like any other shot. You must place them as well. Shooting for the neck? You can't pull low and put one through the brisket. Shooting for the shoulder? More room for error - but you still can't shoot wherever you want. Shooting for the head is the same thing - it must be placed. Too far foreward and you WILL blow the jaw off. Put it right behind the eye and the deer isn't going to move. The great thing about the 22-250 is the low recoil - thus the potential to become a really great shot.

If you are going to use the .22 centerfires, game bullets, not varmint bullets like the ballistic tip, should be used. Game bullets will expand adequately but still penetrate deep enough to reach vitals. I'd aim right behind the shoulder and keep the range short.

Federal makes a 60 grain Nosler Partition load for the .22-250 that should work well. You can buy that load anywhere on-line and at a few of the big box stores.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=148333]

You can get reasonably-priced custom-made ammo from Conley Precision company that has loads with the nosler partition, Barnes X bullet, Barnes Triple shock x bullet, as well as the trophy bonded load.

http://www.cpcartridge.com/22-250-V.htm

55gr Sierra GK is a good bullet for hunting if you're going to stay with the .22 calibers for deer. I've seen it kill plenty of them with body shots, but don't expect them to drop in their tracks. They run almost 100% of the time. I still don't know why somebody would compromise with a .22 caliber for deer. Just step up to a .243 and be done with it. Even kids can handle a .243.

One of my friends using a 22-250 shot a buck 2 weeks ago headon right where the neck meets the body of the buck (it was facing him). The buck folded, laid there for about 4 minutes, then got up and walked directly away from the blind he was in. I was about 400 yds away from him and about 10 minutes later i see this buck with his head down walking really slowly through a small clear cut. So i immediately text him asking if his buck is on the ground, his reply was no. Told him I was almost positive i saw the buck... well i met up with him about 45 mins later at the jeep, drove to where he shot him and there was no blood whatsoever. I tried to get him to wait til the morning before he tries tracking him, but his brother and dad had their own ideas and tried to track him. NO blood was found. He and I went out the next morning for about 2.5 hrs and again no blood was found. My .02 cents - if your buck hunting, take a larger bore rifle. It makes absolutely no sense to shoot a buck without a clean kill, no matter if your Matthew Quigley and can drive nails. I felt bad for my buddy losing that buck, but then again, I didn't because he knew better. Unfortunately he learned the hard way... He lost the biggest buck he's ever shot.

Why didn't you finish him off for him?

Hell that is the best of all worlds. You get to shoot him, but you don't have to tag, gut or clean him!

I think this is a common problem. People encourage a newer hunter to use a smaller caliber bullet (assuming reduced recoil), when instead they should opt for a caliber that allows for a slightly larger margin of error.

The margin of error with a .22-250 is nil.

Not a good deer round in my opinion. Not saying it won't kill, but the slight step up to a .243 or a slightly larger step to a .25-06 (or similar load) would make a world of difference.

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The buck folded, laid there for about 4 minutes, then got up and walked directly away from the blind he was in

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22-250 or 300 win mag - if you shoot - watch your deer for a while and see if he is dead. This deer had to be showing signs of life while laying on the ground during those 4 min -which is a long time. A follow up shot could have helped his cause.

Only he knows where the shot was - but right where the neck meets the body there is a ton of muscle and meat. The poing of the neck shot is to break down the spinal cord. Not any 'neck' shot will do the trick. Everyone must understand the limitations of what you are shooting.

To each his(or her) own, but I personally think it is a good whitetail round. I have killed more deer over the years with a 22-250 than anything else. I have never had one run more than 30 yards. I always used handloads with the aforementioned 55 grain Sierra soft points. Nosler now makes a 60 grain Partition that would be great for deer. I always used the same shot placement as I do today, just behind the shoulder, 1st couple of ribs...

96 - I strictly bowhunt and saw the buck about 200 yds off...
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I couldn't agree more with a follow up shot.
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No follow up shot, cause he said the deer walked directly away from him. So i guess was starin' at the bucks brown eye... He did say that the buck thrashed a little, but not alot. He said he was getting his crap together in the stand when he looked up and the deer got up and walked away.

As a female, I like shooting a 22-250. I learned on my dad's 30.06 and that's probably why I didn't like shooting (I liked hunting, but the shooting part was miserable because of the recoil).

The key to the 22-250 is distance. If you're close, it's fine. The further away, the more room for error. I was less than 150 yds, hit the buck square in the head. He jumped straight up and fell flat dead.

I would suggest a 22-250 or a .243 for a female. The 30.06 will make hunting miserable.

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hit the buck square in the head

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why shoot a buck in the head?

For meat?

does=meat

bucks=meat and rack

Not if it's a cull. It may have not been worth mounting. I never said what kind of buck it was.

My buddy is hunting this weekend with a 220 Swift. He's taken plenty of deer with that gun.

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My buddy is hunting this weekend with a 220 Swift

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My dad has been shooting a 220 Swift for as long as I can remember and he has never had a deer get up or run anywhere.

22 caliber is plenty. Don't let these macho hunters tell you differently.

Whitetail hunting with anything over .223 is overkill.