Recommendations for antelope?
- Thread starter JFox
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Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
The problem I've found with most centerfire .22's is they are effected a lot by wind and Wyoming has plenty of it. If you shoot it well (sounds like you do) and cannot afford to buy another rifle, then take it and recognize it's limitations. I use a .25-06, my son a .243. Both do a great job.
Work2hunt
Veteran member
Most antelope are not bigger than most of our MO 1.5 yr old bucks. I personally am not a fan of the 22-250 for anything bigger than a coyote but I understand some people like it and use it for various reasons. As was mentioned, if a 22-250 is your only gun and another is not an option then use it, but know it's limits. Wind in Wyoming is a lot different then here. It is always blowing so keep that in mind as antelope shots can be 200-300 yds.
For my antelope hunts we've used a 270, 280 and a 6mm.
For my antelope hunts we've used a 270, 280 and a 6mm.
Slugz
Veteran member
Any medium sized caliber weapon will work well. 25-06, 243, 270, 280, 30-06. I personally like a hot loaded 30-06 with a 120g hand load.
One thing to look at with your 22-250 is the barrel twist. If you have a fast twist or at least enough twist to stabilize heavy 22 cal bullets, they will perform much better in the wind than low BC 55 grain ish pills. But heed CC's advice, especially if using lighter .224 bullets. We've used a 223 on a number of deer and antelope, it works great with 62 gr. Federal Fusion ammo, to moderate range, for the kids we've had shoot it. So I'd not be concerned about a 22-250 having adequate power, so long as you use stout bullets, but the wind is a strong consideration.
Leave the varmint gun at home. I can tell you from experience that bullet placement doesn't matter with a gun that small. I shot an antelope one time with that caliber but never again. First shot (75 yards) in the chest, follow up shot in the chest from a distance of 8 inches, long slow death for that buck. Never again.
The best quote i ever heard was in the early days of eastmans magazine i believe it was about a coues deer hunt and the reason he used a 7mm rem mag. Something to the likes of " its not big bullets or magnum powder is needed to reach the vitals on a deer this small its about that huge chunck of air that i have to get a bullet through to reach that animal that i worry about." Always made sense to me shoot the biggest gun you can shot well and place every shot where you want it.
Odds are you are describing a poor choice of bullet, not a caliber issue. Use a Barnes X, Partition, bonded Fusion or the like, and odds are a quick clean kill would have ensued. One of the best MD hunters I know, uses a 220 Swift. Out to 450 or so in MT, has not lost a deer. Multiple 180-190 bucks, I think he's nuts, but he's expert with that rifle. So the caliber is capable, just feed it a stout bullet. That said, I'm not recommending a 22 caliber, only saying if the right bullet is selected, it will work just fine. Seen it numerous time via a 223 out to 225 or so. Avoid varmint bullets...
fackelberry
Active Member
Tim is right. Before Wyoming made it legal to shoot a centerfire 22 caliber, i would always hunt in South Dakota with my dad for BlackHills deer. I always would try to use a diferent caliber gun every year just for the sake of shooting deer with various bullets and calibers. One year i took my .223 Savage with a handloaded 53gr Barnes TSX. Velocity was about 3100FPS. We jumped a small basket racked 4 point beside a forest service road, he ran out a ways and turned and gave me a really sharp quartering to shot, was later stepped off at around 50 yards. I shot him in the center of the brisket and the bullet blew out behind the deers left shoulder. When the bullet hit the buck, he dropped his hind end on the ground and flipped over backwards, don;t thik the deer moved more than a foot. I wanted to find the bullet but it went out. I knew i needed a tough bullet, thats why i used a Barnes. If you have to use the 22-250, make sure you use a tough bullet like Tim mentioned specially with the speeds the 22-250 produces. Stay away from ANY varmint bullet or you will likely get the results from above. Oh and here in Wyoming if using a 22 centerfire the bullet HAS to be at least 60gr to be legal, so that should take care of all the varmint bullets.
Still have to be careful on bullet choice even over 60gr. They make a 60gr V max for example I wouldn't use. A TSX or Partition of 60gr I wouldn't hesitate to use. I'm in the camp that still prefers a bigger gun for big game though. I love my 264 win mag for antelope with a Berger 140gr bullet in the wind. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 243 or 6mm with a good bullet.
JimP
Administrator
Another problem with going to a heaver bullet such as a 60 grain in a .22 caliber is if it is going to shoot accurately out of your rifle. Most .22 caliber rifles are designed to shoot up to 50 grain bullets, 55 grain ones will work but much more and you will start to have problems.
But I also agree with the others if that is the only or best shooting rifle that you have then go for it. But other than that for big game I wouldn't use anything less than a .243/6mm.
But I also agree with the others if that is the only or best shooting rifle that you have then go for it. But other than that for big game I wouldn't use anything less than a .243/6mm.
Agree 100%. About the only non premium .224 pill I know of, not bonded/monolithic/partitioned, that I may let a kid use is the Winchester 64 gr. PP. It's rated for deer.
That's the only one I can think of right off too. If someone loaded the 65gr Gameking it might be worth a look. The Federal Fusion is bonded and only a 55gr. A quick look at 22-250 offerings from Midway USA shows factory loads using the 50 and 55gr Barnes TSX bullets, but if there is a 60gr minimum that doesn't help. The 64gr Winchester and a 64gr Nosler bonded solid base are the only loads they list that would fit the criteria. I wouldn't bet they shoot great in the twist of most factory 22-250's but they might.
Many 223's are being made now twisted for the heavier bullets, not sure how many 22-250's are.
Nosler makes a factory 60gr Partition load I'd have to try. Barnes only makes the 50gr in 22-250 it looks like. Federal also offers the 60gr Partition. I'd buy both 60gr Partition loads and try them then try the 64 gr loads if neither shot well. If I was handloading I'd try the 60gr Partition, the 62gr Barnes TTSX, and the 65gr Gameking. My mid 1980's built Remington 700 in 22-250 shot anything over 55gr terrible, 50-55gr pretty decent when I played with different loads in it.
By the time I did all that experimenting I'd likely have spent $50-$100 on ammo, more if I bought reloading equipment and components. With a Ruger American in 243, 270, or 6.5 Creedmoor under $400 I'd start thinking of another rifle before spending that much trying to make a 22-250 my big game gun.
Many 223's are being made now twisted for the heavier bullets, not sure how many 22-250's are.
Nosler makes a factory 60gr Partition load I'd have to try. Barnes only makes the 50gr in 22-250 it looks like. Federal also offers the 60gr Partition. I'd buy both 60gr Partition loads and try them then try the 64 gr loads if neither shot well. If I was handloading I'd try the 60gr Partition, the 62gr Barnes TTSX, and the 65gr Gameking. My mid 1980's built Remington 700 in 22-250 shot anything over 55gr terrible, 50-55gr pretty decent when I played with different loads in it.
By the time I did all that experimenting I'd likely have spent $50-$100 on ammo, more if I bought reloading equipment and components. With a Ruger American in 243, 270, or 6.5 Creedmoor under $400 I'd start thinking of another rifle before spending that much trying to make a 22-250 my big game gun.
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Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I built a .22-250 back in the 60's before it became a factory offering. I used a Sako short action and an Apex barrel. The bullet I used for deer was a 63 gr Sierra soft point, they didn't call the Game Kings then. I only shot a couple of deer with it. One was a doe, shot in the head. the other was a small blacktail with a lung shot. I decided that it was a great coyote and ground squirrel gun, but not for deer. Like I said in my earlier post, I'd go .243 or bigger.
fackelberry
Active Member
Ya i forgot they make a 60gr V-Max, Hopefully people will read that those are varmint bullets. I think the bullets you are refering to CC are the Sierra 63gr semi-spitzer. I have sum but havn't loaded any up. I just looked at a bunch of 22 caliber Barnes bullets today. They have recommended twist rates on their bullets, the 62 grain TSX will likely be to long for standard twist 22-250s. Can always try them but probably won't stabilize. You guys were talking about the Winchester factory 64gr PP rated for deer. I forgot i seen my little brother shoot a nice 4 point Whitetail buck at 150 yards broadside through the chest with them out of a .223! Buck jumped straight up in the air, mule kicked and ran 75 yards and piled up. Bullet passed through both lungs and out the other side, never to be seen again. If it will kill a whitetail it sure will kill an antelope. If i draw my South Dakota hills tag i may shoot it with my 22-250AI. I've been working on a load with the old Nosler solid base bullets that came in the red and black boxes, I have some 60gr boattails i want to try. But may shoot the 50-55gr TTSX if they will stabilize in my gun. I have never shot an antelope with less than a 243 though, because the range may get longer and like stated before them 22 caliber bullets don't buck the wind as well.
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
HuskyMusky
Veteran member
I've seen people use lighter calibers like the 22-250 and 556/223 on deer, and in my experience choice of bullet and shot placement do become more critical, but it's more than doable. Thanks for the info, gents! I'm torn between a 260, a 280 or something like a 257 roberts...
They will all work fine. You could flip a coin, base it on your preference, base it on what other game you may chase, or what other rifles you own. Etc... No wrong answer there or for a number of other calibers. It's a great first world problem to ponder...
Timberstalker
Veteran member
Go with the .280 then you have an all around western big game caliber.
I see zero reason to shoot .22 caliber bullets on big game other than that all you have. I personally would not go lower than .24 myself.
I don't do a lot of antelope killing but I used a 25-06 on the one I did, it did the job!