22/250 on Missouri Whitetails

[Buckshooter]

I currently live in SC I use my 22/250 to hunt whitetails down here. It drops them quick because it is accurate and I know where bullet placement should be. I saw a lot of people using a 22/250 on deer when I lived in PA. We are going to northern Missouri in November to hunt whitetails. My question is: Are the deer up there to big to be usinga22/250 on using a 60 grain Nosler Partition Bullet. My sons say to leave it home and bring something else. Just throwing that out there hoping someone from that area will comment on this post. Others welcomed as well

 

[303tom]

I have friends who use the .223 Rem. & they seam to do just fine, its all in shot placement......................

 

[Radar3006]

Well here is my .02 for what it is worth ....I spent my first 35 years in nw mo. and the last 20 odd years in sw mo. and the deer tend to be larger in the northern part of the state and while I have hunted deer in the southern part with a 223 I always use my 30-06 up north but it's not the size of the deer but the range I will take a shot with the 223 and for me that's about 100 yds. or less and up north a lot of the time we hunt wide open corn or bean fields where even the 30-06 falls too short
If you have room I would take both rifles if not then it's up to you but for me I would always take a larger cal. just in case that trophy whitetail gives you a shot at over 200 yds or so

 

[Buckshooter]

22/250

Thanks for the info guys

 

[horsemen61]

Yeah I hunt up in Nw mo and I wouldn't tell anybody to bring less than a 270

 

[Davek1977]

a lot of the time we hunt wide open corn or bean fields where even the 30-06 falls too short

Ok, you're saying you hunt at ranges where the 30-06 is considered an inadequate DEER cartridge?!?!?! The 30-06 is capable of killing ANY north american deer FAR beyond what the average hunter can get hits at. If you can't kill a given deer with the 30-06, simply switching calibers isn't going kill it any more. The 3006 has a trajectory allowing for long range hits, and carries enough energy to humanly kill deer at ranges far beyond where the average hunter can still make hits.

 

[Art Eatman]

While I agree with your opinion, Dave, that's not really germane to the original question.

Let's not run off into the rose bushes of that argument...

 

[adelbridge]

If it is all you have to hunt with use it. I like the insurance a larger caliber gives, especially on a twitchy buck of a lifetime in heavy cover.

 

[jmr40]

The most profilic deer hunters I know have prefered the 22-250 for at least 30 years. To borrow a line I read elsewhere. "You don't have to knock the snot out of them, just let the air out of their lungs". A 22-250 does that as well as anything bigger. Todays better bullets have only improved smaller calibers effectiveness. Anything larger than 243 is overkill on deer.

 

[JShirley]

Anything larger than .243 is overkill on deer.

No, rather like the misinformation bandied about in yesterday's .30-06 thread, the cartridge is only part of the equation. Just as there are fragile '06 bullets unsuited for deer, there are very many .22-250 bullets designed for varmints. The .22-250 may well do a fine job on deer with the correct bullet at appropriate distances.

John

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

The key is and always has been a combinarion of adequate shot placement and appropriate bullet design. Regardless of caliber, if you deliver the appropriately designed bullet to a vital region of the game's body, you will have meat in your freezer without too much fuss. if you avoid the varminting bullets, your 22-250 with Partitions is more than sufficient for pretty much all MO whitetail, as long as you are able to deliver a bullet to the animal's vitals with sufficient accuracy.

I let someone use my .30-06 last season, and the person shoulder shot a big buck in their excitement. We recovered the deer the next day, but that person did not sleep too well that night, and it wasn't because they didnt have a big enough gun.

It sounds like you have some experience shooting whitetails, so I'm sure you'll do fine. Hope you enjoy your stay in MO

 

[schnarrgj]

My brother and I have been using our 223s for a number of years here in central Missouri with great success. As with any deer rifle, use an appropriate bullet, know your limitations and put the bullet where it belongs and you will do fine. Last season, my SIL shot a nice buck at 200 yards which dropped on the spot with my AR. The deer weighed just shy of 190 lbs after field dressing and hanging overnight. Use what your are comfortable with and confident using and you will do fine.

 

[JShirley]

As with any deer rifle, use an appropriate bullet, know your limitations and put the bullet where it belongs and you will do fine.

Yup. That's the big take-away. I hunted once with a .223 loaded with a fast-expanding bullet (I'd tested it, and it wouldn't penetrate 3 milk jugs full of water- rather like the '06 thread from yesterday). Since I knew it was a shallow penetrator, I would only have taken a neck shot- so I did not manage a shot on the nice doe I saw, since her neck wasn't exposed. On the bright side- I didn't wound and lose a deer.

That was my big lesson on not assuming a local store will have the ammunition I want in a timely fashion!

John

 

[JDGray]

Double lung hits, the animal wont go far!! I've taken a few whitetails at 300+ yards with my 22-250. Accuracy + shot placement, is all you need.

 

[wow6599]

The deer in Missouri are larger in the northern half of the state, or I should really say they are just smaller in the SE portion of Missouri.

Remember this one? http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/10/17/missouri-monarch-the-world-record-non-typical-whitetail-buck/

99% of the folks I know use either a .30-30, .270 or the favorite IMHO - .30-'06.

 

[JShirley]

Double lung hits, the animal wont go far!! I've taken a few whitetails at 300+ yards with my 22-250. Accuracy + shot placement, is all you need.

AND the right bullet. A bullet designed to fragment in a ground squirrel will not punch through both lungs.

John

 

[Grumulkin]

I've taken only 2 deer with a 22-250. The first with with a Remington 55 gr. factory load. The bullet didn't "punch right through" but the results on the deer were devastating.

The second deer with a 22-250 was the furthest of any I've taken to date; one shot, DRT, through both lungs at 360 yards with a Speer 70 grain Semi Spitzer.

Then there were two I took with smaller stuff; with a 222 Remington at about 80 yards and a 204 Ruger at 252 yards.

These weren't miniature southern deer, by the way, but the Ohio corn fed variety.

I would consider a 222 Remington and 204 Ruger adequate but marginal and a 22-250 very adequate for Whtetail Deer.

 

[loose noose]

Sorry fellers, I believe the .22s .222-.22-250 belong on the varmint hunts, not on deer or bigger hunts. I hunted a quite a few years ago with a guy who had a Colt AR-15 that he insisted on using for deer. We weren't 100 yards from the truck when the rest of us heard about 6 shots, coming from our AR hunter. Shortly thereafter he came back to us and said he had hit a big buck (Muley) right under the "left front shoulder" less than 50 yards from where he was shooting.

Needless to say we all went over to where he said he was shooting found his empty casings, and circled the area where he said he had shot the deer. We never even saw a drop of blood but did see some tracks leading away. (note absence of snow or leaves in the area). Well we searched the entire area for the better part of the day to no avail.

BTW I got my buck as did the other 2 guys we were hunting with. About 2 weeks later a game warden friend of mine said he had found a nice 4 point muley all bloated about 5 miles from where we were hunting. He had 3 rounds from a small caliber two under the left front shoulder that had hit bone and did not penetrate, it looked as though he died from internal injuries, the 3rd round apparently hit him the rump.

Now note he was using 62 grain Barnes bullets "that were supposed to stay together for great penetration". Yeh Right, No I won't hunt with him any more, nor will any of the other guys that were with him on that particular day. Further we were hunting with .270 and 2 .308s.:banghead:

 

[Buckshooter]

22/250

I only use Nosler 60 grain partition bullets and nothing in the varmint categories

 

[Lloyd Smale]

we did some testing on pigs with the 60 partition out of 223s and 22250s and that little bullet preformed way about what should be expected. Hands down the best bullet for deer hunting with a 22 cal. I even keep 500 loaded up in my 223 stash for my ars. I figure if shtf it would be about the ultimate self defense load for an ar.

 

[Buckshooter]

@@/250

I just bought some 64 grain accubonds from a fellow member here. Going to load some when they come in and shoot series of milk jugs at 300 yards to see how many they penetrate. If they do two or more I will feel safe with them

 

[Davek1977]

The hunting of deer with .22 caliber centerfires will forever be controversial it seems. Everyone has an opinion, and has a story, either of total success or total disaster. That said, I've only shot at one deer with a .22 centerfire, and that deer went in the freezer just like any I've shot with my 7mm. So, with that in mind, considering I've already done it, I'd have no issue doing so again if I found myself in a similar situation. Its not my first choice, but under the right conditions, I believe calibers like the .223 and above are suitable deer medicine.

I let someone use my .30-06 last season, and the person shoulder shot a big buck in their excitement. We recovered the deer the next day

What kind of bullet was used? A quality 30-06 bullet should easily punch through BOTH shoulders. In gfact , shoulder shots are what I take with my 7mm mag if I absolutely DO NOT want the deer to go anywhere. Its my preferred "anchor shot".....What happened to cause the shoulder shot to fail to such a degree?

 

[303tom]

I have seen White-tails killed with .22LR Rimfire, so if you tell me that a .22-250 is NOT enough to kill a White-tail I am going to tell you that you are full of, well you know. (Shot Placement) & knowing when to & NOT to shoot.................

 

[ldlfh7]

I live in NW MO and a buddy of mine has taken countless whitetails with a .222 Remington. Shot placement is everything. Deer will go down with about anything as long as the placement is there.

 

[Sunray]

"...its all in shot placement..." It's all in placing the right bullet. Most factory .22 CF ammo is loaded with varmint bullets. Varmint bullets are totally unsuitable for deer sized game.