22/250 for Fallow

[tacklerat]

I have a Tikka Super Varmint in 22/250. And while it's a bit heavy to carry around, I reckon it's a great candidate as a "sit and wait" rifle. I shoots the 55 Vmax really well, and the 55gn Sierra HPBT is a great performer. Just a bit dubious about as a deer cartridge. I've shot some big buck kangaroos with my 222 for dog food using a 50gn Vmax and never had a problem. My usual point of aim with Fallow is just behind the foreleg to blow out the heart and lungs. Has any one used one of these on Fallow.
Cheers,
JD

 

[Tim.243]

I have a Tikka Super Varmint in 22/250. And while it's a bit heavy to carry around, I reckon it's a great candidate as a "sit and wait" rifle. I shoots the 55 Vmax really well, and the 55gn Sierra HPBT is a great performer. Just a bit dubious about as a deer cartridge. I've shot some big buck kangaroos with my 222 for dog food using a 50gn Vmax and never had a problem. My usual point of aim with Fallow is just behind the foreleg to blow out the heart and lungs. Has any one used one of these on Fallow.
Cheers,
JD

Not in the UK.... .243 is the minimum these days. You might get a when they used a .22 Hornet for everything.

 

[VSS]

I have a friend who uses 222 for all deer in New Zealand, and there's plenty of older UK stalkers who will remember successfully using smaller calibres for fallow before our minimum calibres were introduced, so I don't see why it wouldn't be effective in your situation. I would be wanting to head shoot them though.

 

[ofbiro]

Tacklerat, I have a very limited experience with fallow and I have no clear ideas about its resistance to the bullet. However, I know several people in my area using .22-250 on chamois (weighing not more than 30 kg). The death is quick, but the target weighs much less than an adult fallow.

 

[Tim.243]

I have a friend who uses 222 for all deer in New Zealand, and there's plenty of older UK stalkers who will remember successfully using smaller calibres for fallow before our minimum calibres were introduced, so I don't see why it wouldn't be effective in your situation. I would be wanting to head shoot them though.

What would/do you and Mouse use for fallow Tim? What is in the past is just that, the op's question is fair but given the largest % of uk SD members shoot under the deer act the only answer is .243

 

[Sika98k]

Back in the day 22 centrefires were all we were allowed in Ireland. First fallow doe I shot with my 22/250 was using V-Max 55 grain I remember. I had a good look inside afterwards in the field to see what damage had been done. The bullet had struck a rib, there was extensive damage to the left lung and the heart was useless as a potential transplant. The right lung had suffered minimal damage and there was no exit wound.
I used that caliber for a number of years, as we all did in Ireland. Will it do the job ? Yes. Are there better choices? Yes, a 243 makes a good crossover calibre for deer and pest control.

 

[VSS]

What would/do you and Mouse use for fallow Tim? What is in the past is just that, the op's question is fair but given the largest % of uk SD members shoot under the deer act the only answer is .243

The OP is in Australia.
He wasn't asking about what is legal in the UK. He was asking about whether the calibre is capable, which it is. Maybe not my choice or yours, but we're not in Australia.

 

[Overlay]

I have a Tikka Super Varmint in 22/250. And while it's a bit heavy to carry around, I reckon it's a great candidate as a "sit and wait" rifle. I shoots the 55 Vmax really well, and the 55gn Sierra HPBT is a great performer. Just a bit dubious about as a deer cartridge. I've shot some big buck kangaroos with my 222 for dog food using a 50gn Vmax and never had a problem. My usual point of aim with Fallow is just behind the foreleg to blow out the heart and lungs. Has any one used one of these on Fallow.
Cheers,
JD

Tacklerat Get yourself a teckle mate, just in casey I'm guessing here - but it should have plenty of work, a fallow buck will soak up a shot or two of a 243 on occasions

 

[Tim.243]

The OP is in Australia.
He wasn't asking about what is legal in the UK. He was asking about whether the calibre is capable, which it is. Maybe not my choice or yours, but we're not in Australia.

The question is bellow Tim nothing related to which country so as he asked I gave my answer unlike yourself which was in relation to NZ which is not Australia (I have a friend who uses 222 for all deer in New Zealand,)
Has any one used one of these on Fallow.
Cheers,

 

[VSS]

The question is bellow Tim nothing related to which country so as he asked I gave my answer unlike yourself which was in relation to NZ which is not Australia (I have a friend who uses 222 for all deer in New Zealand,)
Has any one used one of these on Fallow.
Cheers,

No I haven't. Neither have I used one on chamois in Italy as per post #4. Perhaps you ought to have a chat with @ofbiro, and ask him to keep strictly to topic? Or, better still, why not just accept the fact that conversations ebb and flow, and that everyone has something different to bring to the table?

 

[Tim.243]

No I haven't. Neither have I used one on chamois in Italy as per post #4. Perhaps you ought to have a chat with @ofbiro, and ask him to keep strictly to topic? Or, better still, why not just accept the fact that conversations ebb and flow, and that everyone has something different to bring to the table?

The question was for Fallow not chamois so I gave my answer where you did not.
What is the calibre needed for the Billy goat?

 

[VSS]

What is the calibre needed for the Billy goat?

Depends on circumstances and how good a shot you are. Mouse has shot goats with her 222, and I use my 270 or my 243. She's a better shot than me.
But the OP wasn't asking about goats, so you're going off topic now.

 

[shakey jake]

i dont rhink it matters where in the world you are a bullet in the correct place will kill. bigger bullets may kill quicker or with more margin for error.
shoot a few and see how it works

 

[Greenmist]

With the correct bullet and placement I'd say its more than capable

 

[Sol]

I have a friend In NZ that shoots well up to 400 yards with a .223 on red stags in the right circumstances I wouldn't imagine the 22/250 being any worse at shooting fallow. (said person has even shot a melanistic stag)

Do not set your rifle down and only pick it up in the roar, using a lower powered calibre you want to make sure your ready and prepared for it and your hitting your mark.

(never heard of any melanistic/black stags in the uk or europe... only NZ/Aus)

 

[Donkey Basher]

I have never shot anything with a .22/250 but I would imagine that it will have a lot to do with the bullet used & the shot placement. A light, fast & highly frangible bullet is not going to work very well on a fallow, I'd guess that unless you are head or neck shooting you'd want to find a good sturdy bullet that has some weight to it (relatively speaking).

 

[VSS]

A light, fast & highly frangible bullet is not going to work very well on a fallow,

I use 58 grain superperformance varmint bullets travelling at 3925 fps on fallow. They are devastatingly effective.
(Head shots only)

 

[jthyttin]

a bullet in the correct place will kill. bigger bullets may kill quicker or with more margin for error

Considering fast 22cal, "a" bullet in even the correct place might not kill. Taking placement and bullet (along with species) from OP, it's almost sure that it will raise some complications. Both the mentioned bullets are marketed for varmints or at most small game, so I wouldn't trust them for behind the foreleg shot.

 

[Donkey Basher]

I use a 58 grain superperformance varmint bullet travelling at 3925 fps on fallow. It is devastatingly effective.
(Head shots only)

Exactly - "head or neck shooting", I'd want something a bit more sturdy for a heart/lung shot as described by the OP.

An old keeper friend of mine told me once that he bought a .22 Hornet because he was having to put too many bullets into the fallow bucks with his .22WMR .

 

[Dunwaters]

.22/250 works fine on fallow, but fallow are a bit tougher than reds to put straight down, so you may get a few more runners. It’s a supremely accurate cartridge with very little recoil but a lot of factory loads feature varmint loads, so very destructive on shoulder or chest shots, you rarely get an exit.
Runners are hard to find with no blood trail.
Using .22/250 for deer turned a generation of Irish stalkers into neck shot specialists, (I still haven’t recovered), but we killed a lot of big deer with it and learned to place our shots carefully.