44hunter45
Well-known member
Yup.
22-250 for Mule Deer???
- Thread starter HuntingJudge
- Start date
BuzzH
Well-known member
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.
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IIRC he posted here as breaksrunner.
I think him and that Swift have been pretty hard on the bears too over the years.
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44hunter45
Well-known member
@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.
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
Well-known member
I have his slings on all my rifles. Can’t beat them.
Same.
Nope. But it sure opens up my "reasonable shot" selections. mtmuley
wyoelkfan15
Well-known member
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
Well-known member
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
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- May 27, 2014
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- 2,527
Heck
He even uses “Match Bullets”!
cahunter805
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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
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- Joined
- Sep 2, 2016
- Messages
- 247
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.
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
Why is he gone?
Hammsolo
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- May 16, 2020
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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
Well-known member
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.
That 22-250 with a 60 gr bullet is going to have more energy at 200 yards than a 150 gr 30-30 will.
