Hello everyone. My grandpa gave me his 22-250 and I fixing to start loading for it. I will mainly be target shooting with it with maybe the occasional doe or hog. I don't intend on shooting a buck with it. All I can seem to find are "varmint" bullets. Would anyone be hesitant to shoot a whitetail doe or hog, in the neck or head only, with a varmint bullet? I'm looking at the Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint 55 grain specifically. Thanks

In the .22-250 a 55 grain soft point would be the bullet I would choose.

Polymer tipped bullets, like the Nosler Ballistic Tip you mentioned, are basically hollow point bullets with a polymer plug in the cavity that are designed to rapidly expand which compromises penetration. Penetration is your friend when using .22 Centerfires for deer or hogs, along with perfect shot placement.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

What is your preferred bullet of choice?

The last 30 deer and hogs I’ve killed were with the 45gr TSX as fast as it will safely go. It devastating at less than 250 yards, and probably beyond. I have only had one that didn’t pass through. It was a large Fisher County whitetail buck shot at 175 in the neck. It broke the neck and ran down the spine and lodged in the ham. Tore up a lot of good meat but weighed 43gr and was flat. I switched over to the TSX after shooting a hog at 100 yards with a 50gr NBT. I hit him in front of the eye. It didn’t penetrate. He came back to life when I was walking up to him. The problem is the 45gr TSX is impossible to find right now.

With deer and hogs it seems to open up on impact with a dime size entry and quarter sized exit. I shot a running coyote the other day at 100 yards and it passed right through without opening. Knocked him down but he still ran a ways. That is the first time I didn’t like the performance on a varmint, but it didn’t hit anything solid.

One question. If you will shoot a doe with a 22-250, why wouldn’t you shoot a buck with it?

I shot a 22-250 for many years when starting out, no problems with deer. Have always shot 55 grain soft point like mentioned in whatever brand I could find.

My favorite bullet for the 22-250 is the 60gr Nosler Partition but those are hard to find. The old 55gr Trophy Bonded worked very well. If you have the twist rate for it 64 or 75 Gr Swift Sirocco of even 75gr Sierra tipped match kings have a good following

https://www.solelyoutdoors.com/winchester-super-x-22-250rem-power-point-64gr.html

these do just fine...

This right here. Works like a charm.

To answer your question, varmint bullets will work on head or neck shots. I have killed many hogs with a 22-250 using 55 grain hollow points. If you are wanting a hunting bullet, the Federal Fusion is a decent hunting bullet. The all time best hunting bullet for the 22-250 was the trophy bonded bear claw, but I don't think they make them anymore. My rifle is not accurate with the heavier weight bullets.

Yep, 22-250 and 55 grain soft points be a match made in heaven. The effectiveness of the 55 grain bullet coupled with 22-250 means you don’t have to look for flexibility unless you have time you want to use up.

I have a 222 and have killed deer and hogs with it. If you poke a hole in an animals pump, at an acceptable range for that caliber, you have groceries.

I generally shoot a 30-06 or 30-30, depending on range, and have lost deer with them that I can’t blame on the caliber.

55 gr Sierra Game King spire point boat tail.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101093139

Below the ear notch, behind the jaw latch is brain stem..

That shot placement is more about your confidence and ability than the bullet, IMO. The right head shot with just about any bullet will kill, but could also make for a really bad few days (or longer) for a deer. If that's your only option, look for any of the hunting bullets mentioned above and go for a conventional shot.

The 55 Grain Sierra Gameking SBT mentioned is a good choice, the 60 Grain Nosler Partition mentioned is another good choice.

I've killed many deer (and hogs) with a 22-250 using hand load 63 gr that my FIL used to load. My current rifle doesn't have a consistent grouping with a number of factory loads but seems to like the silver Winchester 55 gr lead point. My son has loaded up some 63 gr but I haven't had a chance to test yet.

my point, is if using factory loads, test many to find one your gun will group well.

I had a couple of does in an oat patch this year. I wasn't shooting that day, but for research purposes, I tried for about 10 minutes to get settled head shots on both. There were several I could have taken but most of the time those girls were moving their heads around quite a bit. It's super-easy for one of them to move just a tick, resulting in a very gruesome wound and death. I won't say I never take them but it's usually a very unique situation and I wouldn't put myself in the field thinking 'Well, it's only head-shots today'.

.22-250 is all i use for deer anymore.

I've killed many deer with 22-250 but not with a varmint bullet.
Most of mine were killed with 55gr Sierra GK handloads.
With that load I'd not be one bit afraid to kill a mature S TX buck up to 250 yards with either of my 22-250 because I know the guns and both drive tacks with that round in it.

I keep one with me all the time in s. tx and use it plenty for shooting does and have killed a decent number of bucks with it as well. No coyote or bobcat gets a pass either.
The 55 gr. Sierra worked fine but once I was able to get enough of a supply I switched to the 63 gr. semi-points and seem to get more pass throughs with those.