I see a lot of threads about 22 cal center fires. I have a 222 but never messed with a 223, 22-250, etc. Various deer over the years have fallen to it by wife and grandkids.

I’m lazy, slothful and too ignorant to figure this out on my own. From a ballistics standpoint (hunting); is there one that clearly shoots straighter, kills them deader, than another?

BTW, I hand load.

Drag out the loading manual and look at the published velocities for the bullet you want to shoot. See if the difference is enough for you to buy a new rifle.

I love 22-250 and kill lots of animals(very selective shot placement) with it but most don’t have optimal twists for larger bullets.

Wether you buy a 220swift, 223 Valkyrie, 22-250, 22 Creedmoor or 223, make sure you get a twist to take advantage of some of the larger bullet options.

I've always felt a .22 center fire is too small for deer sized animals. Yes in the right hands it's doable, but why go under gunned if not necessary. You run the risk of wounding and not finding your animals.
Felt recoil is minimal but any person 80 lbs or more can handle and shoot a 12 ga. Shotgun.

My .02 cents worth.

I have killed many deer and hogs with a 22 caliber centerfire. Efficacy largely depends on bullet weight and type and shot placement, and to some extent shot distance. If a shot with good bullet is placed in the boiler room, then most likely that translates to a dead deer or hog. The problem with this small caliber, aside from poor shots, is the small hole(s). Often blood trails are minimal or lacking, making it hard to retrieve the game under some circumstances. This is especially true with hogs because the fat layer common to hogs can easily plug the bullet holes.

So far it seems you want 60gr or more of bullet and bonded doesn't hurt for nicer exit wounds. Faster has more impressive than slower. That's what I've seen.

I shoot alot of 22 cal centerfire, I have owned and loaded 223, 22-250, 22-250 ack, 22 creedmoor. The key to the 22 is shooting heavy bullets like 80 grain class or even 90’s.

I shoot a 7 twist and usually focus on 80.5 Berger’s and in the 223, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot deer with it.

The hydraulic shock generated from the fast twist especially in something that holds 40 ish grains is quite impressive.

Stick with the heavy bullets 7.5 twist or faster. The 22 creedmoor is absolutely wicked but it has a short barrel life like the 250’s..

The 22 creedmoor only needed 2 clicks of elevation to go from 100-200, 2 more clicks gets you to 300 yards and I wasn’t even looking at the wind because the wind drift was negligible all the way to 500 yards. I was running a mild load of H4350 right around 40.5 grains.

One of the most efficient in powder burn, and on the pocket book is the .223 A.I.

1:8 twist, 80 gr at 3080 fps, with less than 27 gr of powder. It's on the heels of a .22-250 but with small rifle primer and a third less powder.

I am on my second .22-250 barrel, but am going to quit on it. My next will be a wildcat. 22X47 Lapua. It won't be 22 Creedmoor fast, but it'll be real close to it.

I have no experience with the 70+ grain stuff. Have hunted off and on with a 223 REM shooting 60 grain nosler partitions for over 20 years. Shot hillcountry does to 200 pound hogs and south texas bucks. Never recovered a bullet and the only animal I can recall that we lost to it was a pot shot my brother took at 400+\- yards on a hog. We found bone and blood but never the hog. I have zero reservations about using it and suspect the heavier bullets would do as well or better just can’t bring myself to rebarrel the one I have.

I agree fast twist is where it’s at these days and there are a few 22-250 rifles made with fast twist but hard to find.
The easy button is get a 22 Creedmoor as their are a couple semi custom rifles available or a complete custom if so inclined.

While I am all about wildcats and trying cartridges just because… that’s pretty much how we got the 22 Creedmoor train rolling 8 years ago. But now that there is 4 companies making 22 Creed brass and ammo available to buy albeit it sells out pretty quick to me 22x47 seems more trouble than it’s worth as does the 22-250 AI as they are all ballistically the same.
I actually had a buddy call me and ask my thoughts on a fast twist 220 Swift and I asked WHY? His reply was everyone and his cousin has a 22 Creedmoor and he wanted something different. Again that’s fine but dealing with hard to find brass versus just hitting the easy button doesn’t seem smart on a varmint higher volume shooting rig to me.

But then again a 22 GT does sound like a fun project