I am pretty sure I have decided to go with the Ruger American. Looking for advice between the rounds listed below for hunting whitetail in south Texas.

The main things I am looking for is cost per shot, because I enjoy going to the range (and need practice), to do less damage to the shoulder, but still enough to makeup for a non perfect shot.

22-250
30-06
.270

Any advice besides become a better shot?

.270 if you're only going to hunt deer with it, final answer.

In!

I shoot 270 and it is cheap. My gun shoots just about any 130 gr bullet on the shelf so that helps as well. I would suggest 270 or 30-06 for the cost per shot and availability but you will probably get a lot of opinions here.

Not the 22-250!
Either of the other two.
They both will be enough gun to hunt anything in the lower 48. Would not hunt bears with a 270, but that's it.

I hear 6.5 Creedmoor is all the rage these days. American Gunner from Hornady is about .70 a shot if you by case of 200 plus shipping.

I sold a Ruger American here in 6.5 a while back. Great shooting rifle and is a great deer round. Get the new version that works with Magpul Mags. Stock is junk if wanting to shoot for groups and not Minute of deer. But Magpul has there hunter stock out for it now.

.270 - unless you had a need for heavier bullets off the shelf then .30-06 but not much a .270 can't handle

22-250 is a death dealer for whitetail. That velocity produces results.
Dont let the "its to small boys" influence you.

C4D said:

---

22-250 is a death dealer for whitetail. That velocity produces results.
Dont let the "its to small boys" influence you.

---

Much like a .410 is in the hands of an expert shotgun shooter. If I had a hunter show up on my ranch ( if I had a ranch ) in South Texas to hunt trophy deer with a 22-250 he'd have two choices. Either borrow one of my rifles or go home.
It might be ok for Hill Country does, but not South Texas bucks.

.270

.243?

I have always been against a .22-250 for white tail but in the last two years have had a complete turn around. I have 8 Grandsons beginning to enjoy hunting and I purchased a Ruger American youth model to pass down as each child grew. Match the rifle with a good scope and buy 64 grain Winchester Super X soft nose bullets and a well placed shoulder shot is devastating.

Close friend in Pearsall trails deer for hire.
When I asked him "... other than bow hunters, what's the most common scenario you have to use dogs on?
He replied " ... a kid or woman shooting a .243 or .22-250 and a man shooting a 7 Mag!"

It sounds like I'm trolling, but I'm not.

devilriverag72 said:

---

I have always been against a .22-250 for white tail but in the last two years have had a complete turn around. I have 8 Grandsons beginning to enjoy hunting and I purchased a Ruger American youth model to pass down as each child grew. Match the rifle with a good scope and buy 64 grain Winchester Super X soft nose bullets and a well placed shoulder shot is devastating.

---

If you have used a 22-250 for whitetail at any length you know this to be true. People have been Taking Texas bucks (souh, west, north, east, central)with this this round for many years. Its a misunderstood round in todays deer hunting world.

Both are bad shot scenarios

C4D said:

---

devilriverag72 said:

---

I have always been against a .22-250 for white tail but in the last two years have had a complete turn around. I have 8 Grandsons beginning to enjoy hunting and I purchased a Ruger American youth model to pass down as each child grew. Match the rifle with a good scope and buy 64 grain Winchester Super X soft nose bullets and a well placed shoulder shot is devastating.

---

If you have used a 22-250 for whitetail at any length you know this to be true. People have been Taking Texas bucks (souh, west, north, east, central)with this this round for many years. Its a misunderstood round in todays deer hunting world.

---

My cousin and I both took does this past weekend with a 22-250. His dropped immediately, mine made it 10 yards. They both weighed in right about 140 on the hoof.

I'm about sold on the Ruger American .270. Academy has it for $599 including the 3x9 Vortex right now. Thank you all for the suggestions.

The 22-250 will kill deer , that is fact. I agree that it is not the preferred choice for an all around deer round.
Of your three choices I would go 270 and not look back. Almost any caliber in a decent rifle with today's bullets will be excellent for deer. After you get one, you will definitely start having wandering eyes for another deer rifle.
260 rem/6.5 creedmor/ 7mm08 are all great deer cartridges also. Light recoil, accurate and affordable to shoot.
Good Luck

Yep. It's all about placement. Taken dozens upon dozens of deer over the years with my 22-250. All but a handful even make it out of the feeder enclosure. 55+gr PSP's are devastating. That goes for both neck and shoulder shots.

Quote:

---

He replied " ... a kid or woman shooting a .243 or .22-250 and a man shooting a 7 Mag!"

---

My assumption for the kid/woman is poor shot placement. Smaller calibers for smaller shooters is fine. If they are not experienced, it's going to happen. Hunted with a varmint hunter for a few years (friend of a friend). Had a tricked out, heavy barreled, 243 for varmints. Hand loaded. The works. Guy was a great shot on a static target and a resting heart rate. See a deer? He'd get the yips, and damn near every deer he shot ran. That ass lost more deer than I'd ever could have imagined. My dad and his old 243? He'd drop deer like they were struck by lighting.

7 Mag is such overkill. I have too close friends to used to hunt with that round. Neither were all that good with it so switched calibers: first, they were a little 'flinchy'. They spent less time practicing with it as the noise/recoil got old. Second, it's going so fast, often it failed to expand and passed through with a minimal wound channel. Like hunting game with a FMJ.

So much hate for .22 caliber bullets in here! If you can't place your shot, what difference does it make? I would put my .22 caliber and quarter bore rounds up against any of the bigger ones with the same results for anything you can hunt in Texas. Advantage to the heavier bullets with a crosswind, though that should be common sense.
Get a round you can comfortably shoot all day at the range to become proficient.

Of those, 270

But there are other options. 243, 6.5 creedmoor, 25-06

Quite frankly, one of my favorite things about the 22-250 is if i needed to do a growing buck a favor and shoot the tick off his arss at 200 yards i could. Its Suck an easy round to shoot accurately.

New generation 22-250's with a twist rate to handle heavier bullets make it much more applicable for game. But the factory ammo side can't/won't see it, due to the sheer numbers of 1:14 22-250's limited to 55-60gr bullets.

My Ruger American using Barnes 62gr TTSX, over Superformance powder, is an overachiever in both accuracy and velocity. Sierra 65gr Gamekings were a close second.

This doesn't help the OP much, and his 270 Win choice ensures easy access to decent, reasonably priced ammo.

If you're that worried about ammo cost, can't go wrong with .270 or .30-06. I would look at the 7mm-08 though

6.5 CM

I would also consider a 7mm-08.


if doing all over again, I'd buy one of those two calibers for your use case.

I've taken two doe with a .22-250. One ran about 15 yards and the other was to the dome

just get a 300 rem ultra mag

I do not have very much experience with rifle rounds, I'm a new hunter. So please forgive the dumb question, but what is the 7mm-08 comparable to? 308, 5.56, or what?

I took one doe with the 22-250 and one with my 7.62 AR. The AR absolutely destroyed the shoulder, so that's what set me on the path to looking at the .270, that and I wanted some more powerful glass than what's on my AR.

7mm-08 is necked down 308 win. Simply put, it is a 7mm(.284) bullet in a 308 case. .

Thank you.

If you already have a 7.62 AR, why not a .308 bolt gun? Ammo is cheap and I would argue less recoil than a long action and the benefit of a 30 cal projectile. Or .243 if you want less recoil and a different caliber.

.270

I'm kind of in the same boat, OP, and I'm trying to choose between the .270 and .30-06. Both are great rounds. If you are not going any bigger than elk, you can stick with the .270. If you think you'd like to hunt moose or brown bear, then I'd step up to the .30-06. I'm probably leaning .30-06 just due to ability to get larger grain bullets.

For whitetails in South Texas, the .270 will be fantastic. I would also suggest shooting them right behind the shoulder to reduce the amount of meat wasted. The shot will be just as effective.

Hoenstly if you hit a deer in shoulder with a 270 it will jack up the meat...
Why not just hunt with the 22-250? With the right ammo
It functions as good as anything that has been listed here for deer.

Yeah, shouldn't be aiming at the shoulder. Behind the shoulder and you have a giant target of vitals with no lost meat... especially if you wait for both shoulders to be clear for the shot.

I would still take a .270 over a 22-250 on a deer any day.

I love 270.
But why, what is the logic?
22-250 has ammo that is bang dead ammo with ok to decent shot placement.
Most people don't shoot deer at 200 yards + in Texas
Suitable for all ages to shoot