Biggest Animal A .22-250 Can Take Down

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zombie0hour

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I was just curious about what the biggest animal a .22-250 can take down effiectivly. Would it be ok for deer, but no bigger? I live in Arizona if you know the laws on this caliber please tell me.
 
I hunt with a 22-250 for deer. I got one with this gun and my dad the same. His was taken at about 40 yards and the damage was incredible for this little rifle. I took mine at about 200 yards, it didn't exit, nor did it do much damage. If I wouldnt of got a vital shot, like I did, I dont think we would of found that deer. So I would stay under 200 yards. I use Remington round nose 55 gr.
 
Stay under 200 yards ok, any more yardage and i think i might not be able to hit vitals im not the best shot as it is. I will keep in mind that the .22-250 is a good deer rifle since i am not so excited to use my moms 30-6 becasue of the recoil :D
 
The bulletmakers' R&D of the last dozen or so years have come up with decent bullets for use on Bambi. The lighter, varmint-style bullets have always worked, but also have always been subject to blowup if there is an inopportune hit on a rib or upper leg bone.

So, IMO, as usual, it's a skill thing, for those who can stay pretty-much close to perfect in shot placement.

Note that in Arizona, Coues deer are smallish, but are commonly seen at longer distances. Most Coues hunters seem to specialize in the gear and ability to hit at 300 to 400 yards--which, for me, is beyond .22-250 ethics.

To me, a shootable mule deer buck would be a bit on the large size for any centerfire .22, just on the issue of penetration on an angling shot. Up close and in the neck, yeah, maybe so. Again, a skill-level thing...

My 2¢,

Art
 
Thanks alot for the information guys, on a side note however why is it all of the shots that you should take are at the heart, lungs and such instead of the brain? If a shot to the brain usually kills a human why is it so ineffective against an animal?
 
1. It is such a smaller target.
2. try and stay away from nervous tissue damage (Chronic Wasting disease).
3. Many do go for a head shot, Then after a bad hit and a lost animal most will go for a boiler-room shot.

MN just legalized .22Center fire cartridges for white tail hunting. But they do require a good bullet. (No varmint bullets allowed).
 
.22-250 will work fine on deer in the hands of an expert with the proper bullet. But you should learn to shoot the .30-06. The recoil isn't bad, recoil is mostly a mental game. With the proper form and mindset the 30-06 won't hurt any healthy adult.
 
I think you can get .224 bullets up to 70 grains. I wouldn't hunt deer with the 52 gr HPBT match grade bullets I use for Varmints. As previously stated, the damage is massive from a hollow point moving at 3800+ fps...
 
I'd stay away from .22 caliber for deer. It's illegal here anyway.
You can get lighter loads for the .30-06, as well as recoil pads that reduce felt recoil. Give it a try.
 
.22-250 is a bit different than a .22 Buzzcock, its not a rimfire its a centerfire and it releases 1.7k pounds per square inch of energy with a 65gr load, compared to the 150 pounds per square inch of a .22LR. Big differnce my friend.
 
I agree with Art that the lighter weight .224 projectiles, 55 grains and under, could fail to get adequate penetration on whitetail deer. I know that back in the 60s my Dad used a 220 Swift and also a 225 Win and he said he made some dramatic DRT shots with them. Conversely he also had a couple of dramatic failures. Later in the mid eighties he used the .22-250 with the 70 grain Speer and it worked fine. I myself have killed a couple of deer using the 70 grain Speer and the results and wound channel were just as good as a 6 mm Rem or .243 Win will provide.

In short if you are going to use the .22-250 on deer and hog size game, you will be better off using the heavier bullets. I've never used them, but the 60 grain Nosler, 64 grain Winchester and similar should all work.

I know people will insist that the 55 grain and others work and kill larger than varmint game, but they weren't designed for it. They were designed to rapidly expand on varmint size animals.

As to what is the largest game you can kill with a .22-250, I would say that with the heavier bullets, like the 70 grain Speer, that you could take on anything you would take on with a .243, 6 mm or anything else in that class.
 
To me it is not about can it kill a deer but can it do so ethically...

I will admit to having killed one deer, a doe, with my 22-250. It was a neck shot at about 70 yards. I will also admit that I will consider doing so again but I will not take a shot at a deer over a hundred yards with it. And even then I will only aim for the neck. My 22-250 will shoot less than 1/2 groups at 100 yards so I am not worried about making this type of shot with it. As far as beyond 100 yards I do not have the confidence to make a neck shot much beyond this...not because I can not hit what I am aiming at but I am concerned with the variables, wind etc at beyond 100 yards. And again I am not talking about a heart lung shot here but a neck shot and down here in Tx that is not a real big target. So for me anything beyond 100 yards is unethical.
 
What is Chronic Wasting disease?
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It's like Mad Cow disease, but it effects deer, moose and elk instead of cows. As far as I know, there hasn't been a documented evidence of it causing disease in humans, but it's probably not a good idea to be a test case if you don't have to.
 
I have shot a number of fallow deer with a 22-250. Shot placement is critical & you must be prepared not to shoot unless the perfect situation arises. Forget shots that may require shooting through long grass or even light twigs. As for the biggest animal a 22-250 can put down, well some 25 years ago I was on a month long hunting & fishing trip in the top-end of Australia. At that time the National Parks decided to eradicate feral Water Buffalo from from the top-end fearing a tuberculosis outbreak may threaten the cattle industry. For a bet I stalked within 75 yards of a feeding bull Water Buffalo. Using a termite nest as a rest, the Buff which was standing broadside was dropped with a single shot behind the ear with a 55 grain Winchester factory round. Yes- I was young & foolish, & No - I don't recommend the 22-250 for Buffalo.
 
A 22-250 is illegal here also but even if it was not I would not use simple because it's unethical for deer size aniamals.
With that said if I was a wimp or a women and didn't like the recoil of a larger caliper I would try using a muzzle break on that larger caliper.
There are calpers like the 243. or 6.5mm that work okay at the min if you are looking for a smaller caliper but I would not go lower.
 
I would not use a .22-250 for anything larger than a coyote. Hogs and even smallish deer would get something larger. Just because you could kill an elephant with a perfectly placed .22LR doesn't mean you should.
 
I was just curious about what the biggest animal a .22-250 can take down effiectivly. Would it be ok for deer, but no bigger? I live in Arizona if you know the laws on this caliber please tell me.
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The biggest problem with the .22-250 isn't in its ability to kill deer or larger game it is in its barrel twist rate. The twist rate is so slow it usually will not stabilize the better hunting bullets and you are stuck with varmint bullets. These bullets are designed to come apart on impact thus leaving a shallow non fatal wound on larger game.

As far as I know AZ requires most hunters to take a Safety course and caliber restrictions will be covered in it. Plus your big game regulations should be found at the sporting goods counter of most department stores. You shouldn't rely on other people to find your hunting regulations if you are serious about hunting in the first place.
 
My father's .22-250 has a one in 12 twist and it does just fine with bullets up to 55 GR.

Personally I would consider the .243 a much better light deer round.
 
In NY, it's illegal (because it's unethical) to hunt deer with anything .22 caliber or smaller. Also, for the majority of the state, it's illegal to hunt with a rifle.
 
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