22/250 for Fallow

[Bowland blades]

Our UK laws make it difficult to say , however 22-250 is a pretty much regular tool for deer in other nations including the USA , Ron Spooner is a fan of 22-250 Ack and talks a fair bit about larger deer with it and even bigger quarry that 22 cf has been widely used for . Most moose in Alaska are said to be harvested with 223 rem than any other calibre / cartridge .
End of the day its the Nut behind the butt and the opportunity taken or declined in all these situations

 

[Bowland blades]

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)

View attachment 321147

Black and white deer exist in all nations just like Red hair is in all Human populations . Many pubs are named " the white Hart " and such

 

[landkeeper]

@ion

 

[ion]

.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.

I shot all 3 Irish deer species with the 22.250.
Just like you say we adapted our point of aim to what the calibre did best, especially if your animal was facing you. I was shooting big Meath reds at the time. When I switched to .243 I still stuck with the neck for most shots.
The biggest issue is that I probably incurred most of my hearing damage with the 22.250

 

[tacklerat]

Looks like I started a bit of a bush fire here. Deer are regarded as feral animals in Australia. There is no closed season and they don't have any natural enemies, apart from the occasional wild dog or dingo. They have to be controlled. That said, they are still deserving of respect, and I hate losing an animal due to poor shot placement. If I can't be sure of a kill, I don't take it. The question came about after I scored 500 of those Vmax at a petty good price. However I also have a good supply of 62gn Sierra soft points that shoot well, and are a lot less frangible than the Vmax. When I opened the first box of those 500 I got I found them all to have a cannellure. Never seen that on a Vmax before, so I wondered if the cannellure would help hold the jacket in place.

 

[Dunwaters]

No bush fire, just differing opinions.
If you use frangible varmint type bullets the lead core will pretty much disintegrate on contact and a cannelure won’t prevent it happening.
Be aware that the lead will be in small droplets that are difficult to see and get distributed some distance from the impact site. If you’re concerned about lead ingestion I’d bear that in mind.

 

[Will the chippy]

I've used the hornady soft point to great effect. Very accurate and cheap too

 

[takbok]

I'd be happy to use a 22-250 for fallow. No need to change shot placement compared to any other deer cartridge with decent bullets.

I have experience with 50gr Barnes TTSX which do an admirable job on deer but unfortunately aren't legal for anything bigger than Roe here.

 

[mchughcb]

Looks like I started a bit of a bush fire here. Deer are regarded as feral animals in Australia. There is no closed season and they don't have any natural enemies, apart from the occasional wild dog or dingo. They have to be controlled. That said, they are still deserving of respect, and I hate losing an animal due to poor shot placement. If I can't be sure of a kill, I don't take it. The question came about after I scored 500 of those Vmax at a petty good price. However I also have a good supply of 62gn Sierra soft points that shoot well, and are a lot less frangible than the Vmax. When I opened the first box of those 500 I got I found them all to have a cannellure. Never seen that on a Vmax before, so I wondered if the cannellure would help hold the jacket in place.

You are obviously not from NSW, Vic or Tasmania. They are considered game in those states and the minimum calibre is 243 80gr projectile.

Deer hunting methods

www.gma.vic.gov.au

 

[Tim.243]

.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.

What do you use on Fallow these days and why?

 

[Dunwaters]

What do you use on Fallow these days and why?

A .270 or a Swede, because they work a bit better and are internationally more acceptable for game, but if all I had was a .22/250 I’d be quite happy.
Theres really feck all difference between a hot .22 and a 243.
Trawl back through the thread, the guys who’ve used one all say it works, its the guys who haven’t expressing doubts.

 

[tacklerat]

I also have a 6.5 Creedmoor, and a 7x57/275 Rigby, so there's plenty of choice there. But there has been a lot of discussion here and there about the suitability of 224 calibers for deer. It's common knowledge here that plenty of red deer have been shot by cullers in New Zealand with nothing more exciting than a .222. In Australia we have a number of deer species apart from Fallow. There are Reds, Hog, Sika, Sambar, and Rusa. Most were introduced in the 1800's by and organisation called the Acclimatisation Society, although the Reds came from Britain as a gift from someone who believed we were due some culture. They have a good population in the Brisbane Valley and have spread a bit from there. A red stag is actually part of the State of Queensland Coat of Arms, but they have since been declared a pest species. They may have to alter the coat of arms.

 

[Tim.243]

A .270 or a Swede, because they work a bit better and are internationally more acceptable for game, but if all I had was a .22/250 I’d be quite happy.
Theres really feck all difference between a hot .22 and a 243.
Trawl back through the thread, the guys who’ve used one all say it works, its the guys who haven’t expressing doubts.

I am sure they they do work very well however you can tow a 4 berth caravan with a mini just not very far..
And that is the whole thing which must to be considered over all, I have had a round pencil through the ribs after taking out the lungs of a fallow at 250 and it ran 50 yds yet others fall over 200 plus with a quartering shot and just drop.
What is interesting is that nearly all the answers are from the past not what they do know so there must be a reason for that.
Found something better is what I get from yourself.

 

[takbok]

I am sure they they do work very well however you can tow a 4 berth caravan with a mini just not very far..
And that is the whole thing which must to be considered over all, I have had a round pencil through the ribs after taking out the lungs of a fallow at 250 and it ran 50 yds yet others fall over 200 plus with a quartering shot and just drop.
What is interesting is that nearly all the answers are from the past not what they do know so there must be a reason for that.
Found something better is what I get from yourself.

Does your 270 kill deer deader than the 243?

I thought not...

 

[Tim.243]

Does your 270 kill deer deader than the 243?

I thought not...

No but the .270 is not affected by wind like a 22-250 who pray for a still day..

 

[Overlay]

I also have a 6.5 Creedmoor, and a 7x57/275 Rigby, so there's plenty of choice there. But there has been a lot of discussion here and there about the suitability of 224 calibers for deer. It's common knowledge here that plenty of red deer have been shot by cullers in New Zealand with nothing more exciting than a .222. In Australia we have a number of deer species apart from Fallow. There are Reds, Hog, Sika, Sambar, and Rusa. Most were introduced in the 1800's by and organisation called the Acclimatisation Society, although the Reds came from Britain as a gift from someone who believed we were due some culture. They have a good population in the Brisbane Valley and have spread a bit from there. A red stag is actually part of the State of Queensland Coat of Arms, but they have since been declared a pest species. They may have to alter the coat of arms.

oh bloody hell now you started it, my local food pub will now be called the “off colour pest. “. instead of the white hart

 

[Dunwaters]

I am sure they they do work very well however you can tow a 4 berth caravan with a mini just not very far..
And that is the whole thing which must to be considered over all, I have had a round pencil through the ribs after taking out the lungs of a fallow at 250 and it ran 50 yds yet others fall over 200 plus with a quartering shot and just drop.
What is interesting is that nearly all the answers are from the past not what they do know so there must be a reason for that.
Found something better is what I get from yourself.

Its not like towing a caravan at all.
Are there better deer calibers?
Definitely.
Will it work?
Absolutlely.

 

[Morkai]

Its not like towing a caravan at all.
Are there better deer calibers?
Definitely.
Will it work?
Absolutlely.

Classic, not seen that for years.

 

[Tim.243]

Its not like towing a caravan at all.
Are there better deer calibers?
Definitely.
Will it work?
Absolutlely.

Quite it ran out of steam and no wind...

 

[Dunwaters]

Quite it ran out of steam and no wind...

Wha?