22-250 Stopping Power...

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Nah, I wasn't putting words in your mouth in particular, just this whole anti magnum thing on gun forums. Guys I know sell guns they don't like or are afraid of to guys that do like them and can handle them. And, it doesn't seem to be a problem for them to figure it out.

I'm not one to blame a bad shot on a magnum although it might be more convenient than admitting I just made a bad shot.

Hey, maybe I should start using a magnum.
 
Well, there's certainly plenty of bad shots that get made that don't have anything to do with recoil. It's true, it starts with being honest about what caused the problem. Lots of times though, that honest answer is "I'm afraid of my gun, I flinch like crazy and I never practice because it beats me up." Sometimes it's just "I screwed up." or "I never practice." but it's rarely because "I didn't use enough gun."
 
When you're in your teens and your uncle has a couple of dozen sets of antlers nailed up around the garage and workshop, you figure he might have a clue for "how to".

People in gun shops kept talking about how many deer my father had killed.

Hokay, when father and uncle swear by neck shots as being good because that means Bambi's not going anywhere, a teeny-bopper tends to believe it.

Been working for me for right at fifty years now. I guess I just got in the habit...

:D
 
I've hunted deer but not taken one with my .243 win. Most of the places around here where I have a chance to get a black tail deer (no white tail in NW OR) my 94 Winchester .30-30 is a better choice of rife.

In Oregon any .22 center-fire is legal for deer and I've been tempted to hunt with my. Ruger 77/22 .22 K-Hornet. On the other hand I'm not a great hunter and I'd be better off with something more powerful.

I don't own any magnum rifles and I currently don't see a need for one... I'd like a .375 or .458 magnum rifle but if I had one, I'd probably only shoot reduced cast bullet loads in it...

Tony
 
The 22-250 might be useful for deer when using the right bullets. The twist, however, will need to be tight enough to stabilize 75 gr copper-jacketed or 55 gr all-copper jackets.

This chart can be useful as a reference:
BulletWeightsforMediumGame.jpg

The weights are independent of caliber.

If you're curious about the development and background of the chart, you can look over a more extensive discussion on the "Ideal Bullet Weight" page.
 
I only owned a 22-250 for 1 1/2 yrs now. Worked up a load with Varget and Hornady 50 grain SPs. They shoot a ragged hole. I only shot two deer with them so far, both head shots. When deer's hit ground they only have half a head. They are unbelievable on head shots. Wouldn't recommend for anyone else but I'm a target shooter who loves deer meat and wouldn't take the shot if everything wasn't perfect.
 
First of all, there is no such thing as "stopping power". It is a myth concocted by people with poor understanding of animal physiology, ballistics. and terminal ballistics.

Secondly, while a 22-250 may be a great varmint cartridge, and possibly a passable deer cartridge, it would not even hold a candle to a 30-30 for putting an elk on the ground.
 
there is no such thing as "stopping power".
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Thank you for mentionong that, I hear that all the time when someone is bragging on a particular cartridge and have to roll my eyes. Also add "knockdown power" to the mythical list :rolleyes:
 
This chart can be useful as a reference:

The weights are independent of caliber.
Click to expand...
That chart is someone's personal opinion, no more useful than any of the opinions posted here. Note that the lead to no actual data obtained by testing those bullet weighs and bullets by shooting the animals and comparing the results, but to a nebulous extract of some "mathematical model". That chart may look like some kind scientific authority, but it is just someone's educated guess, albeit clever enough to impress some people.
 
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Call it what you want. I have killed a lot of deer with a little bit of everything and the difference between what happens when you shoot one in the vitals with a 243 Win and a 300 Wby is noticeable.

Now, they both end up dead. And, I am not suggesting a 300 mag for deer. But, if the bullet works right they will slam a deer like a concrete truck ran over it.
 
Few javelinas exceed 40 to 45 pounds. Not in Texas, anyway. I've seen one that might have gone 60. Maybe.

Texas whitetail (bucks with decent racks) dress out anywhere from the 75-pound "greyhounds" to the real-deer 175 to 200 size.

Dunno about "stopping power". But when you hit Bambi in the right place, he folds up and quits. Right There. That's from everything from a .222 to an '06. :)
 
ZeroJunk

You are right about that. When I was a kid the neighbors took me to the mountains to hunt deer. The last minute they found out I was using a shotgun. Somebody came up with an open sighted .300 Wby for me to borrow. I shot a spike that ran past me (Maybe 40 feet max) and it literally threw it against a tree it was passing. It went through the lung area and hit no major bones. The hole in both sides was small, but everything inside was like jello, including the heart. The only thing even close to that since was when I was using an 8x57 M with .220 gr bullets. There is definitely a difference.
 
The deer might have jumped at impact and hit the tree. No rifle caliber that could be carried and fired by any person will "throw" a deer sized animal anywhere.

I've also seen deer shot with a variety of calibers. Even 10ga slugs at close range. .243Win, 30-06, .270 (and WSM) 7mm-08, 12ga, 20ga, BP muzzleloaders, smokeless muzzleloaders firing 300gr bullets at 2,300+ fps (that's over 3,500 ft/lbs), who knows what else.

In fact, I saw a small button buck, weighed maybe 75lbs field-dressed, hit from about 40 yards with that 300gr at 2,300fps. That deer took off like lightning and went a solid 75 yards. It's off-side leg was dangling by skin pieces and the exit wound was soft-ball sized. Until it fell, you'd have never known it got hit, beyond the unused leg.

With all the deer I've seen shot, with all the cartridges/calibers I've seen used, the only thing I can predict is that the reaction will be unpredictable and the distance they go is apparently random.
 
Anything can happen on any particular shot. But, on average a heavier higher speed bullet will stop them quicker than a slower or smaller bullet with identical shot placement. It is physics, logic, and experience.

And, the best record I had not losing a deer was with a 300 Weatherby for the simple reason that you do have to concentrate so much. No lazy out of position shots or it would punish you for it.
 
It is physics, logic, and experience.
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Only to a point and I think that point is a lot lower than most folks imagine.

Take a head shot, for an example. Will a faster, heavier bullet kill them quicker? Only to the extent that a certain minimum damage has to be done. Once you get to that point, anything else is wasted energy/damage.

There's no reason to believe, including my experience, that doing more damage to the heart and lungs kills them quicker, so long as you reach a certain threshold.

I don't believe that threshold is is the mid to upper magnum range, by any stretch.

A 7/8" hole from a broadhead seems to kill them just as fast as a 12ga slug that blows the heart to fragments which seems to kill them just as fast as a .243 bullet that misses the heart but jellies both lungs. They "die" (lose consciousness, really) when the brain lacks blood pressure and oxygen. They "DRT" when the proper nerves are disrupted, which control their legs. Other than on shots which severe the spinal column, that effect seems like random chance to me, not a matter of power.
 
Brian, I'm sure I could have believed that as well until I bought the 300 and shot a few deer with it. It was my intention to load it down for deer and use it full bore for elk. But, the reduced loads I tried had such poor accuracy that I thought something was wrong with the rifle. So, I tried some 150 grain factory loads and the accuracy was so good I just used them rather than chasing down an accurate reduced reload. The first deer I shot was maybe a 160 pound buck and when I could get my eyes back on target after getting hammered the deer was right where I shot him and blood, pieces of rib, and whatever else was blown up in the bushes for about 20 feet. Matter of fact of all the literal DRT deer I ever killed most were with the 300.
Now, I don't use it anymore because I got tired of getting the crap beat out of me. But, if you don't think it will drop a deer faster that say a 270 go get one and try it.
 
from dahermit
That chart is someone's personal opinion, no more useful than any of the opinions posted here. Note that the lead to no actual data obtained by testing those bullet weighs and bullets by shooting the animals and comparing the results, but to a nebulous extract of some "mathematical model". That chart may look like some kind scientific authority, but it is just someone's educated guess, albeit clever enough to impress some people.
Click to expand...

The chart is indeed based on a substantial database and is linked to established wound ballistics.

You are welcome to track the references and judge for yourself.

Guessing is reserved for those who choose not to avail themselves of the references.
 
"Stopping power" might not be the technically correct term, but it is quite common to use the term when referencing a bullets potential to damage an animal.
 
Brian, you need to get out more. I have shot two deer head on in the neck and flipped them over backwards. ON THEIR BACK. One of them was 150+ pounds. The other about 80-90 pounds. 7x57 140 gr 8x54R 180 gr My EX shot a big doe in the neck that was standing sideways and it spun the deer around and knocked it down at the same time. .257 R 115 gr I was in WV one year and jumped a buck right in front of me. By the time I got the gun up he was out about 40 yards. I shot and he dropped like a rock. I thought sure I spined him. One little grey hole behind the shoulder (Had to push the hair away to even see it) and since he was kind of quartering away, about a 5" hole coming out the front almost centered. There was pieces of heart and lung spread out in front of that deer. 220 gr 8x57 I have used a lot of calibers with 160 to 180 grain bullets and never saw that kind of damage.
 
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I don't need to "get out". Physics says that, BY ACTION OF THE BULLET'S ENERGY (momentum, technically), what you describe is impossible.

Animals are living things and they might react to getting shot in funny ways. I saw a coyote that was shot with a 6mm Rem from about 175 yards. It "flew" a couple feet in the air and landed flat on it's back. Except it didn't "fly", it jumped.

The deer you've shot in the neck that flipped over backwards or spun around or ran into trees did it with their muscles, not from the energy of the bullet.

It's completely and totally impossible and it's been proven so over and over again. Watch this video. The MythBusters did an episode about "knockdown power". They had a manikin hung on two rods such that a tiny push would knock it off. They barely had to touch it. They tested several different gun, including the mighty 50BMG and 12ga shotgun. Guess what? The ONLY gun that knocked the manikin over was the 12ga (yep, not even the 50BMG did it) and it didn't "fly" off the posts. It slid just enough to fall and fell straight down.
 
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