New Handi barrel, 22-250 for deer question.

[cwlongshot]

Sometimes the bullets do fail..if you have hunted enough you may have experienced this...A good friend, who by the way has shot hundreds of whitetails, told me of trying a .22-250 on little W. Va. whitetails...He shot several and had good success..then he popped a forked horn in the shoulder with a 55 grain factory..the buck bounded away, before he could work the bolt...but he could see the deer had a broken shoulder...it was lost...once I had a 225 grain Speer hollow point from a .44 break up on an antelope's shoulder..I got in another shot before  the buck got away...and broke his neck...when he was skinned, there was a huge hole though the shoulder blade, but no damage to the internal organs from that bullet...so bullets do fail..

I agree 100%.

I will also add or point out that both the bullets in the example are excellent examples of NOT good bullet choices for the task at hand!

As I have always said, HOLLOW point bullets in conventional jacket and core bullets are not a good choice for big game. They expand too quickly and underpenetrate and over expand, thats what they are designed to do. A hunting bullet, IE Big game bullet should penetrate fully and expand slower to allow for that penetration. In the case of the 22/250 55G bullet, its a target/Varmint bullet plain and simple.

I don't think a 22 and big game hunting should be used in the same sentence. One should at least use bullets so designed... in the same way you would not go to a drag race driving a stock Yugo, you wouldn't expect a HS kid playing foot ball to be as competative on a NFL team and none of us are gonna give Jerry Micklick or Doug Koenig a run for there money shooting.
My examples and "we" are not good choices for the tasks. Simple as that, choose the proper tool for the job.

CW

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  CW, You are quite right..The 225 Speer was a popular bullet when I used it on antelope..the load was not a hot one, 18.5 grain of 2400 in a Bisley...so speed was not the greatest...plus, in those days I often hunted with a handgun..that load and bullet killed maybe 8-10 antelope with out a hitch...Then disaster...I still see that bullet hit the bucks shoulder, he was maybe 50 yards and I had a dead rest..he acted drunk for a bit then I could see he was not going down, so I have him another..that one in the neck exited..I had shot several antelope though the shoulders with that load and it worked fine, but then

[cjrjck]

I see quite a few .223 rifles in South Texas. Big deer, big money. Small caliber just like your 22-250 but even less potent. I used a 223 this year and shot a decent buck in Georgia. My first time hunting big game with a 22 centerfire. I made sure I loaded Barnes X bullets. Shoulder shot put him down on the spot. Complete pass through. Shot him a second time in the neck just in case. Jury is still out for me only because one experience is not enough to base an opinion on usually.

[rickt300]

I tend to use my 7x57 till I fill my buck tag then whatever I want to hunt with.  My experience with the 223 and 22-250 makes me feel as if the 22-250 is a lot more gun than the 223.  The only thing I can say is that for low pressure hunts (take your time and shoot well) the 22-250 will do just fine with good bullets.