Shot placement with 22-250

[sambo73]

So tonight my daughter shot a nice buck with her 22-250 using federal fusion 55gr. Shot was uphill at about 200yds. Shot was in the shoulder, thinking you take out shoulder, he wont go far. Didnt find him, gonna go look in the morning. I figure shooting for shoulder, if shes off a little, itll be either neck or right behind shoulder. Should i have had her shoot behind shoulder, or where neck n shoulder meet?


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[txpitdog]

Going uphill would need to be low in the shoulder, so that the bullet would still be in the vitals on the off side.


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[jp77]

My son killed his first with a 22-250 last weekend, 50yds with 50gr Remington’s. Shot her in the shoulder and didn’t pass through. ZERO blood as the bullet lodged in the other shoulder and she crashed with the entrance hole up! Shot placement is critical with the light projectile, I prefer neck with this gun. In for the recovery tomorrow, I am sure you will find him!


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[sambo73]

My son killed his first with a 22-250 last weekend, 50yds with 50gr Remington’s. Shot her in the shoulder and didn’t pass through. ZERO blood as the bullet lodged in the other shoulder and she crashed with the entrance hole up! Shot placement is critical with the light projectile, I prefer neck with this gun. In for the recovery tomorrow, I am sure you will find him!


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How far did she run?


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[Ryan81]

Only deer I've killed with a .223 was a lung shot. Went 30 yards.

My girlfriend did the same last year and it went about 50 yards.

Never killed one with a .22-250.


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[iamntxhunter]

I go for lung shots as well nothing can live with no air.

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[Cazador]

Good luck with recovery.

The first one my son shot was a doe Axis with the 22-250, I had him shoot it up the leg behind the shoulder like a bow shot. He got some heart and both lungs at about 125 yds, no pass thru and little blood. She went about 40 yds. Everyone after that has been low neck and DRT.

[sambo73]

Thx for replies. Guess i screwed that one up. Hope i find him in the morning.


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[TxDispatcher]

Good luck with the recovery .22-250 is a neck or vitals caliber. Uncle has shot only a .22-250 for as long as I can remember, and I'm 40...neck shots only. I can recall only 1 that wasn't DRT. Vitals will also result in a quick death, but little blood trail. I started my boys out shooting .223, this year they're using my 30-30. Give her a good rest, and try to let the deer get into an area where you can watch them for 100 yards or so. The only time I used the .223, it was in the truck and when I pulled into the barn a few years ago, a wounded buck that we had been seeing out along the road for a couple of days, was hobbling across the pasture. 50 yard "run" with 3 specks of blood. I wouldn't want to track in a briar patch or yaupon thicket for sure

[Atfulldraw]

Lung shot will get you a minimum of four holes leaking air.

[sambo73]

On a side note, the caldwell dead shot field pod is the bomb!


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[sambo73]

Good luck with the recovery .22-250 is a neck or vitals caliber. Uncle has shot only a .22-250 for as long as I can remember, and I'm 40...neck shots only. I can recall only 1 that wasn't DRT. Vitals will also result in a quick death, but little blood trail. I started my boys out shooting .223, this year they're using my 30-30. Give her a good rest, and try to let the deer get into an area where you can watch them for 100 yards or so. The only time I used the .223, it was in the truck and when I pulled into the barn a few years ago, a wounded buck that we had been seeing out along the road for a couple of days, was hobbling across the pasture. 50 yard "run" with 3 specks of blood. I wouldn't want to track in a briar patch or yaupon thicket for sure

Thx! Hope i find him. Not sounding good


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[PYBUCK]

200 yds on a deer is a little far for a 22-250 IMO. Not enough bullet weight for good penetration at that range.

[RifleBowPistol]

This is a good example of why I say, kids or other hunters who have not been shooting for a long time and kids or adults who have not killed quite a few deer or other large game should not use a small round. A 22-250 can kill a deer very quickly, but if the bullet does not hit the right spot, the chances of finding the animal are low, because there typically will be very little blood trail. I have hunted quite a bit with both 223s and 22-250s. I have killed deer and hogs with both, all have dropped on the spot. But I had killed probably 25 deer before I ever tried to shoot a deer with a 22-250. I have always made sure my shots were closer range shots and not in high winds. The reason being, I want to make sure the bullet hits exactly the spot I am shooting for, not 1" off not 2" off, but exactly on the spot I am trying to hit. Every time the deer have dropped dead where they stood.

My step father and I discussed the idea for a long time, before I decided to try it. I had killed many deer, been deer hunting for close to 20 years at that point. So we looked at all types of things, shot placement, wind, penetration, bullet possibly exploding, how quickly 22 caliber bullets loose velocity and energy. I finally decided to try it. Every deer I have shot, I shot in the neck and I made sure I was directly on the spine when I shot. I always shot them looking directly at me or straight away, so I knew the spine was in the middle of the neck. I have taken both the 223 and the 22-250 hunting, seen some very large bucks that were out at ranges around 300 yards or farther, with the wind blowing to various degrees. Every time I would not shoot, for fear, I might wound the deer. Normally I would not hesitate on a 300 yard shot, but because I want to make sure without any doubt I hit exactly on the spine. I will not take a 200 or 300 yard shot in the wind with a 22 caliber gun. Because I truly don't know if the bullet will be blown off by 2" or 15". It's not worth risking wounding a deer. If I ever think I might wound a deer, I pass on the shot, I don't care how big the deer is. I have people give me all types of crap over that, but if I don't feel very confident in the shot, I won't take it. I have shot quite a few deer out around 400 to 450 yards, with multiple of my 7 mm Rem Mags. I had complete confidence, in where the bullet would hit and never hesitated to take 400 yard shots with those guns. Now on a day where the wind is blowing strong, no I would not take a shot, even with the 7 mm, at longer ranges. I don't want to take a guess at how much the wind will blow the bullet off and then be wrong.

From the time I was about 11 years old to around 25, we guided many people on hunting trips. During that time, we tracked a lot of wounded deer, we saw all types of crazy stuff. We used to hate when people showed up with 243s and 25-06s. The percentage of deer we had to track, that were shot with those two rounds was very high. Both rounds are very capable of killing deer, but if the shot placement is not good, deer don't go down quickly with either of those rounds. We always had extra rifles. We tried to talk people out of using either of those two calibers or any similar caliber, such as a 6 mm Rem. I promise you, at least 85% of the guys who used guns of those two calibers, when hunting with us, had a deer run off on them. We were told so many stories of how many deer the guy had killed before, with that same rifle. So we knew we were not going to talk him out of using the rifle, but we would try anyways. Then they would shoot and we would wind up tracking another wounded deer. I got very good at tracking wounded deer, we had a lot of guys back in the 80s bring 243s and 25-06s. We always asked what gun each person was hunting with. When we would find out they were hunting with a small bore gun, we knew we most likely were going to be tracking a deer or two that weekend. I always had cactus thorns in my lower legs, from making trails through thick brush and cactus, tracking a deer. During Jr. High and High School most any day, during deer season, my lower legs were full of cactus thorns.
My best friend used one of our 22-250s to shoot the first deer he ever shot. We tried to get him to use a 308, but he wanted to use the 22-250. Shot a doe, through the chest, pretty sure it was a high lung shot. I tracked that deer for a long ways, with very little blood, then finally no blood. I kept tracking the deer long after I quit finding blood, never found the deer.

I always tell people, when you are starting your kids off, deer hunting, pick a round that will make a decent sized hole all the way through the deer, something that will leave a good blood trail and likely knock the deer down with any chest shot. 7X30 Waters, 30-30, 300 Savage, 308, 44 Mag., 7mm-08. Now days, you have the 6.5X47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor, both a little smaller bore, but with a 120 gr. bullet you should get a decent hole all the way through. Get a heavier rifle, not a lightweight synthetic stock, gun with a cheap recoil pad, something with a little heft and a good recoil pad, possibly a muzzle break. Then get the kid to shoot the gun, to the point where they don't show any signs of being afraid of the gun and shoot accurately. Then take them hunting. I see guys, let a kid shoot a gun three to five shots and decide the kid is ready to hunt with that gun.

I know people will disagree with a lot of what I say, but I have killed a lot of deer myself, with all types of guns, from point blank to around 650 yards. I have helped most of my family members kill deer at one point. Years ago, all six family members used to hunt and kill deer every season. So just our family alone, we killed quite a few deer. Then with all of the people we took hunting, which was a lot, I saw a hell of a lot of deer shot. I can tell you, small rifle calibers will kill deer very dead, very quickly, but if you try for a chest shot and you are off 2" one way or another, you will be tracking a deer, likely with very little blood trail, if any at all. Neck shots are the same wany, if you are off 1 1/4", possibly even an 1", you likely are not going to kill the deer dead on the spot.

I will always say, a 22-24 caliber rifle and even likely a 25 caliber rifle, is a bad choice for a kid's first deer gun. A 24 or 25 caliber gun with a 120 gr. bullet should get plenty of penetration and make a large enough exit wound that tracking should not be hard, if required. But I still say something in the 7 mm bore size or larger is a better idea, till the kid has killed multiple deer or other large game.

Your chances of finding that deer now are slim. Forget tracking it, unless you can get a dog. What you should do, if you want to try finding the deer. Look the area over around where the deer was shot. If there is any water in the area, creek, pond, stream, ect. Go there and look for the deer or signs of a wounded deer. Don't expect blood. The other places to check are any areas that have very heavy brush or the heaviest brush around. Mainly brush that is very dense low to the ground. Stuff you would not think a deer would or could get in or through. Deer when wounded will craw up under very heavy dense brush. Most every deer I have lost, when tracking and then later found the carcass or skeleton of, were in some very thick short brush.

One thing I tell people about tracking deer, that I know most ignore. Is when tracking a deer, that has been shot, with a good shot or lethal shot, but one that does not put a deer down quickly. The thing to look for is a deer that is not getting much blood to the brain or oxygen to the brain, they will commonly slip and or slide multiple times, where a deer would not normally slip or slide. Healthy deer very seldom slip or slide on ground that is not slick.
One more thing about tracking dead deer on the hoof. When a deer is getting very little or no blood/oxygen to the brain. They will commonly run in a straight line and commonly only change direction, when they run into something, trip or slip. Basically they are either not thinking well, if at all and or are blind. If you have ever lost a lot of blood, you loose your vision pretty quickly and then black out.

[cbd10pt]

I aim for the top of the heart allways. Any weapon bow, pistol, rifle, doesn't matter-4" in any direction is ok