Ok folks I just picked up a Remington 700 BDL in 22-250. Now the question is do I use it for deer hunting? My shoulder is getting older now and the old 30-06 and 270 are kicking more than I like. I got a really good deal on the 22-250.

Slap a suppressor on one of the larger calibers and do work.

Why not use a reduced recoil load on the 30-06 or 270? The 22-250 makes a poor choice for a deer/hog caliber. Sure, they work for head shots. But I've known many hunters lose animals because they are shooting game with a light weight varmint bullet that has no penetration.

Sure. A 60 grain partition or 62 grain Gameking would be my choice.

Those or 64gr Nosler, 62gr sirocco are a couple more good ones. If it had the twist rate which generally factory rifles in it don't there are some other good choices.

Neither of those bullets are likely to stabilize in a 22-250 with a 14 twist. I tried to use the 60 gr Partition in my 220 Swift. It almost worked in my 20” barrel. Maybe pushed faster in a longer barrel it might borderline stabilize. I tried the 63 gr Sierra SMP (which did stabilize), the 64 gr Nosler BSB, the Partition, and the 65 gr Sierra GK. Just the 63 gr was workable in my rifle, and I think I was pushing it at approx 3300 fps. I have read of folks that were able to use the Partition in a 220 or 22-250. You might try it, if you can find some. Worse case, I could mail you enough for a test.

If the 62 gr Sierra GK is as short as the 63 gr Sierra, it should stabilize.

Anyway, the 63 gr Sierra worked on a few pigs. I never tried it on deer.

One of the hunters on my place insisted on using his 22-250, didnt end well.

Its a varmint caliber.

I won't use .224 or 6mm (.243) bullets on deer.

Get you a 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 or .308 Win. Put a suppressor or brake on one of those and enjoy.

Long action cartridges are not necessary on whitetail. Most people go to the field over-gunned.

I have killed a dump truck load of deer with a .22-250 and 55 grain bullets.


Its not a deer hunting caliber. It will work ( and I will use it from time to time to shoot culls ) but everything has to line up for the shot to be successful. It's not a do-all gun.


Get a good reduced recoil load for the .270 from Hornady, or as mentioned use a suppressor or brake, relying on a .22 caliber centerfire is setting yourself up for failure; it works until it doesn't.

Sell the 30-06 and 270, buy a Tikka CTR, 20" barrel in the caliber of my choice, .308.

The 63 gr Sierra SP works great on deer and works well out of a 1:14 twist. I grew up on this bullet and loading it for my boy's current 22-250 at close to 3300fps. Almost always get good expansion and full pass throughs.

This would be the path I'd take...

I love a 22-250.. but for me, thats a prairie dog rifle.. not a deer rifle..

Ive got a very lightweight 308 (kimber adirondak with a swaro z3 mounted.. that fully loaded comes in right at 6lbs).. it kicks like a rented mule..

a YHM Resonator K (small, lightweight, and affordable suppressor) cured that problem.. its now got recoil somewhere slightly less than a 243 shooting typical 100gr loads.. and while not "hollywood" quiet, the sound reduction makes it much easier on the ears in an enclosed blind..

and I get to keep pushing 168gr 30 caliber bullets at 2700 fps (more than enough to be effective on deer at reasonable ranges)..

You might consider a 6.5 Creedmoor or a 260, with 100 gr ammo. Pretty mild kick. And, depending on what you need from a rifle, an AR in 6.5 Grendel has very little recoil. And you could get a bolt gun in that caliber. Very mild.

You don’t have either, but don’t let that stop you. You could tell the wife that it’s a medical necessity.

I would give it a whirl with some Barnes or similar. Killed way too many deer with a 223 for the 22250 to not be enough. A lot of it depends on what you expect out of it range wise etc. I know tons of people that hunted an entire 80+ year life with nothing bigger than a 222.

Brian Pearce recommend hornady 55 grain soft point with the cannalure on deer with the 22-250. Worked well here and i tested several bullets by shooting 5 gallon buckets of water at 75 yards. The hornady held up the best with Winchester 55 sp's second. These were all reloads and not maxed out. The 22-250 Ackley didn't fare as well with those bullets but the velocity was higher.

Wonder how many pages this thread will go.

Awesome. Love my 700 BDL in 22-250. Congrats!

45gr TSX

It was overdue for having a 22 caliber for deer thread.

I’ve got my son shooting a Tikka 22-250 and 65 grain Gamekings. It’s better than most would think. That same bullet killed lots of animals for both my kids with an AR in 223. Now that same bullet is scooting a lot faster. It does wonderful.

I have killed a lot of deer with it. 55 grain bullets have always been my favorite for the 22-250.

All depends. Not the best caliber but it works. About 40 years ago, bought my wife a REM 222. Now been through several grandkids. Never lost a deer with it. If you hit it in the right place, the deer or hog is down.

Lost several over the years with 30-06.

This is the Remington 700 BDL 22-250, just too nice a rifle to pass up.

Definitely a good one to have in the mix regardless of what you use it for, I would have snagged it too. Seems like copper bullets would help get the penetration for deer. Don't you have a Tikka 6.5x55 or am I thinking of someone else? The PPU load is very mild but has a high BC and certainly up to the task out to 300+ yards in my experience.

I also have three tikka t3s, 30-06, 308 and 6.5x55. So this Remington 700 is just fitting in with the rest of the mix. Like I told the wife just part of the daughter’s inheritance. lol 😂

I know you learned that it wasn't the caliber that caused that, right?