22-250 for Mule Deer???

[44hunter45]

Wearing red suspenders? I bet that's the guy I referenced as a poster here...

Yup.

 

[BuzzH]

Wearing red suspenders? I bet that's the guy I referenced as a poster here...

The guy in the red suspenders handed me a photo of that buck on a bear hunt a few years back, along with some other photos, and some rifle slings.

 

[1_pointer]

Yup.

IIRC he posted here as breaksrunner.

The guy in the red suspenders handed me a photo of that buck a while on a bear hunt a few years back, along with some other photos, and some rifle slings.

I think him and that Swift have been pretty hard on the bears too over the years.

 

[44hunter45]

@HuntingJudge - Let's talk about getting over your flinch with the 300.

1) You can work up reduced loads for the 300WM to tame recoil. For safety, just make sure you chose recipes that keep you above about 60% load density. 70% even. There are methods to fill up space in low density loads but I have not used them. You could load a lighter monolith bullet if they will stabilize with your twist.

If you want to explore this, reach out to me off-line.

2) I learned a good flinch recovery exercise from a handgun instructor training with big-bore revolvers. This is best done with a partner, but you can do it alone.

Some may throw the safety flag, but it can be done safely. You must be able to absolutely control your downrange access.

The process is simple. You set up your weapon on sandbags carefully aimed at the backstop. Do not use a lead sled or other aid. You need to feel all the recoil.
You mount the weapon, check your sight picture and aim point, and then close your eyes. It is important to check your sight picture before you close your eyes to verify you are pointed at the backstop and to be sure your are mounted on the rifle for the correct scope picture and eye relief. You should not get a scope kiss doing this.

Wear ear plugs and muffs over those. Often flinches are associated with the report as much as the recoil.

Wear eye protection.

Trust that you have the rifle in the sandbags safely pointed at the backstop. You do not care about the target or even if you hit paper, only the backstop. With your eyes still closed, focus on trigger squeeze and let the shot surprise you. After some repetition, you will either decide that the recoil is not going to hurt you or you will decide it's time to sell the gun. Soon you can get back to opening your eyes and shooting for accuracy.

When I am training someone else with this technique. I will set them up for a surprise dry fire when it seems like things are getting worked out. This lets us gauge whether the flinch is still there. If you don't have a training buddy, you can make up dummy rounds. Mark the dummies only on the primer/base so you can tell them from your live rounds, but not when you are loading the rifle. This will give you the random element.

This exercise can also be done in your basic field shooting positions at any wide spot on a USFS road that has a safe backstop. 25 yards is enough. Skip prone because the odds of a scope kiss go up in that position. The idea is to work out that the rifle is not going to hurt you as long as you are properly mounted on the butt end.

One or two range sessions is usually enough. Stay tuned up with continued dry fire practice.

 

[MTLabrador]

The guy in the red suspenders handed me a photo of that buck on a bear hunt a few years back, along with some other photos, and some rifle slings.

I have his slings on all my rifles. Can’t beat them.

 

[TheJason]

I have his slings on all my rifles. Can’t beat them.

Same.

 

[mtmuley]

You don’t need a .300 rum to kill stuff....

Nope. But it sure opens up my "reasonable shot" selections. mtmuley

 

[wyoelkfan15]

This thread has me back and forth between buying a new scope for my 22-250 to putting said rifle on GunBroker to pay for a new scope for my .270

 

[buffybr]

IIRC he posted here as breaksrunner.

I think him and that Swift have been pretty hard on the bears too over the years.

Yes, before he moved to "the northeast corner" he used to hunt everything with his .220 Swift: deer, bears, sheep, and elk. A couple of his and my other friends also killed a few buffalo with their .22-250s. Like was posted earlier, bullet placement is the key.

 

[1_pointer]

Yes, before he moved to "the northeast corner" he used to hunt everything with his .220 Swift: deer, bears, sheep, and elk. A couple of his and my other friends also killed a few buffalo with their .22-250s. Like was posted earlier, bullet placement is the key.

I agree. It's folks like him, and their results, drove that point home to me. Something I was alluding to in my responses on this thread.

Heck, he used a 260 Rem with a 130gr bullet in AK on a grizzly!

 

[cahunter805]

I agree. It's folks like him, and their results, drove that point home to me. Something I was alluding to in my responses on this thread.

Heck, he used a 260 Rem with a 130gr bullet in AK on a grizzly!

Heck
He even uses “Match Bullets”!

 

[cahunter805]

I’d recommend testing the 60gr Partition and see how well they group. Some 12 twists will shoot them. The 50-55gr NBT isn’t a bad deer/antelope bullet either.

 

[backcountry_sassn]

I’m it’s more about shot placement than caliber. Better to be accurate with a 22-250 than using a 7mm RUM that you’re afraid to shoot.

 

[mtmuley]

Heck, he used a 260 Rem with a 130gr bullet in AK on a grizzly!

I still say that success is because of the man holding the rifle in this case. Not a fair comparison to a lot of hunters that would choose to use a .22 centerfire to do what he has done. I wish things here wouldn't have driven him from posting. mtmuley

 

[TheJason]

I wish things here wouldn't have driven him from posting.

Why is he gone?

 

[mtmuley]

He's busy. mtmuley

 

[Hammsolo]

I have personally never shot a deer with a 22-250, I have always relied on my .270 Savage. A 22-250 is barrel burner, that round comes out hot and fast. It's a proven varmint killer and pile drives coyotes, that being said; I would not ask if you could kill a Mule Deer or a Whitetail with a 22-250 but instead ask if you should. There are a lot of factors that come into play here such as kinetic energy, terminal ballistics, and as you stated shot placement. When I shoot an animal I want to make sure that the round I use is going to do the job, that it is backed by adequate energy at impact and that the terminal ballistics (the amount of disruption to tissues, organs, and other vitals) is adequate enough that it will kill that animal with out causing a lot of suffering. Now there are bigger caliber weapons out there that can cause unnecessary suffering with poor shot placement, I won't argue that; but taking a shot at 400 yards with a 22-250 on a 180 lb. deer.....I don't know if I would take that shot. Check out Vortex Long Range Ballistics Calculator and punch in the ballistics of a 22-250, might be interesting to see the kinetic energy at 400 yards. I would also look into what a 22-250 round does upon impact; does it fragment, what the expansion is like and so on and so forth. I think this will give you the information to make your call on using a 22-250 for deer. Good Luck!

It’s interesting how hunters jump around in terms of too much or too little. A 22-250? There’s a reason many states have caliber minimums. There’s always talk of minimums for elk? What is it for deer? I usually fall on the 243 with a controlled expansion bullet. A 22-250? I’ve heard stories about people still killing deer with spears, but should we be doing it? These critters deserve our respect. A 22-250 at 400 yards doesn’t sound like a respectful “Howa Handshake” to me.

 

[Irrelevant]

Totally anecdotal, but my Grandma who grew up in the depression and often talked about only ever using .22LR for deer. No one could afford anything bigger, said it worked fine, just had to make a good shot on them.

That 22-250 with a 60 gr bullet is going to have more energy at 200 yards than a 150 gr 30-30 will.

 

[TheJason]

Know your personal limitations and the limitations of your rifle. Work within both of those parameters and everything is hunky dory. Push the envelope on either and that's when things go south.

 

[brockel]

I’ve even seen a rutted up mule deer buck take a 35 grain Berger from a 204 behind the shoulder at 250 yards and make a 10 yard death circle and fall over. Lungs were soupy. I wasn’t the trigger man