22 250 55 grain ballistic tips and v maxes for deer hunting??

Just wondering if anyone has used 55 grain ballistic tips or vmaxes on deer and what kind of results did you get? Also what about sierras 55 grain boattail hollowpoints?

Do your self and the deer a favor and use Nosler Partitions or Barnes TSX. Sure the deer can be killed with the bullets you listed but they are far from the best for the task.

Those are VARMINT bullets and chances are they will not perform well......unless you are hunting a WT deer that still has its spots.

You would need to neck shoot for the best chance.

22-250 does fine, right it's not the best choice as far as an exit wound would go but the bullet does frag when it enters the cavity and reaks havock on every organ in there. only problem is there is not a lot of blood to track. My wife uses one and never had one run more than 40 yrds.

the v-maxes are very explosive and deadly....however you HAVE to shoot them in the neck.

the sierra gamekings hold together a little better and if i was to lung shoot one thats what I would use.

To answer your question I personally have used the Federal Premium 55gr BTHP with great success for 25 plus years. My first deer killed, my kids and wife's also with that round. Shot everything from squirrels to bucks with it. I currently do hunt with a bigger caliber but the trusty 22-250 is my truck gun. Nosler or Barnes TSX also are great choices.

If yoy neck shoot they will work fine

Thats what I do. A well placed bullet and a deer will not walk off. As mentioned above there is not a very good blood trail to follow but theres no need to follow a trail if you place a good shot on the animal and he is laying where it was standing.

So many way better choices out their.

I can kill a deer with a 17 rem, but its not what I take to go deer hunting.

Is this a trolling post? Seems like I remember your username from a couple years ago preaching on using v-max and 22250 for deer hunting...

To the OP.. there are posts all over of you preaching about how great a 22250 or 223 can be with premium bullets, so why now the turn to the worst ones you could pic for deer?

Yeah cuz they are hollow points and immediate anergy trastfer to the neck means some blown veins adn/or spine.

why not just use products for which they are designed? Deer bullets for deer, varmint bullets for varmints...seems logical.

agree with JJH

I guess the good news is that as bad a choice as the 55 gr BT or VMax are, they are better than the 40 grainers. And that isn't much in the way of good news.

Years ago I shot a few deer with 55 grain Nosler SBBT bullets from my 220 Swift. That was a bad idea, based on the results. If you are going to hunt deer with a 22 caliber centerfire rifle, at least have the good sense and good sportsmanship to get a bullet that's up to the job. If you don't reload, the Winchester 64 gr PSP ought to do pretty well.

That combination is just a wounded deer waiting to happen.

yes and no, ive seen them do weird things , seen a 55 gr at 4k fps in a 243 poke straight through a small buck but also seen it mist a jackrabbit. personally i would want something a bit tougher specially at the speed of the 22-250

Both are neck only bullets in a 22-250. IMO..

Now the 53gr ttsx is a different story

Thanks for the info. I actually use the tsx but have heard some great things about the ballistic tip is used properly. Just wanted the info to pass along

Vmax worked great for me, but it was 110gr and out of a 6.8spc
Exploded heart and right lung, had a significantly larger entrance wound than exit

Well the next time my wife shoots one I'll post a pic of the heart kind of looks like chunky tomato soup.

If you hit shoulder bone up close the bullet has a high likelyhood of exploding and not penetrating through to the vitals.

My dad's main rifle since 1966 was a 22-250, despite having quite a number of larger caliber rifles on hand.

His bullet of choice was a 63g Sierra SP.
Deer simply did not escape.
This was hunting in deep south Texas, not Hill Country.

He was also an excellent marksman who would pass if he did not have a clean shot.

That Sierra 63 gr SMP in my 220 Swift did some good work for me on pigs, though I didn't use it on deer. And it was a really accurate bullet. That was some years ago, and these days there are better bullet choices for deer (Partition, TSX, etc). And I keep saying that I'm going to try the 65 gr Sierra GK in that 220, but I still haven't done it. A guy I spoke with at Sierra said that it had "the same bearing surface as the 63 gr SMP", so powder charges would be similar. But the bullet is longer and I don't know if it would stabilize - but I'm an optimist and think that it might.

The 65 keyholed in my dads 1-14 twist barrel.
The 63s shoot .5 at 200 yards over a max load of Varget.

A friend of mine lost a doe a couple of weeks ago. He was shooting a .223 with 62 grain ballistic tips. Why would you risk losing an animal, with such a small caliber and bullet weight? Much better choices out there.

I will chime in. I've taken between 10-15 deer with a 22-250, most were with handloads, 55 grain Nosler BT. The longest shot was 110 yards, everything else about 100 yards. All the deer dropped within 30-40 yards, in sight of the stand. Everyone of them had jelly for internal organs.

If you are a skilled shooter, and I mean, you shoot a lot, a lot of trigger time, go at least once or twice a month and shoot and shoot and shoot, then you should do well with this combination. If you are like some people I know, hey, deer season opens next week, I wonder if my rifle is still on, then I would say NO, don't use this weapon.

Its all about shot placement and knowing your weapon and limitations. Heck, one guy years ago shot a nice buck on our lease with a 30/06 at 50 yards and we never found the deer. Why, because he is one of the people I mentioned that shot his gun a week before the season. Heck the box of bullets he had was 12 years old, and only 5 bullets had ever been shot out of it, the 5th being at this deer.

Anyway ......

Were I hunt, 30-40 yards can be a tough tracking job

Especially when there not bleeding very good

Thanks, ccoker. You've saved me some loading work. I used IMR4064 behind my 63 grainers in the 220. Those little pills will really shoot. Probably have the BC of a rock though...

Where is Lil chit he's the resident 22-250 expert!!! From squirrels to orxy a 22-250 is a hammer lol

I also use a 22-250 55 gr. I have taken several deer with my ruger..but have been shooting this rifle and caliber for over 25 yrs. great caliber! shot my first 10 pt whitetail this season with it at 300 yrds. I usually wouldnt have shot that far with it, (unless its prairie dogs) but I had a very good rest and put it in his neck and he drop right where he stood. Go with the noslers!

can I drive a nail with pliers, probably, but a hammer works so much better..

LOL

Actually i also noticed that sierras 55 grain boattail hollow point game king bullet loaded from federal are different the the same 55 grain boattail hollowpoint bullets available from sierra to handloaders?? anyone know why the difference? the bullet available to handloaders seem to have a more rounded hollow point while the federal loaded one has a more pointed hollowpoint.

chunky tomato soup sounds right to me. again not much of a blood trail, but when they drop in their tracks every time, what does it matter? shot placement is everything.

I have a friend who hunts family land in northwest Parker County and his wife and three daughters have all killed numerous heavy bodied bucks with this 22-250. He prefers to use his .338 Win Mag but his four girls are deadly with that 22-250. I have no idea which load he uses.... he does hand load most of his ammo.... but seeing the dozens of heavy racks they have in the storage room made me a believer in the 22-250 assuming good shot placement

For years I used 55 gr vmax and it worked awesome. They are not forgiving if you can't shoot and expect a blood trail. Try them and you will love them

I have shot a Rem788 22-250 for the last 15 years. I've had 2 deer in that time run more than 10 yards and the farthest was about 30. I've always used Hornady ammo. Mostly use the superformance now. I have also killed too many pigs to count and dropped them all in their tracks. All about making a good shot.