220 swift for deer

[dk17hmr]

I have killed several antelope with 22-250s. I started out with 80gr Amax which worked really well with a chest shot, I shot one for cross eyed with it which knocked her out but didn't make it to the brain and she took another round in the heart. I switched to 62gr Barnes TTSX at alot higher velocity. I shot one the very next year at almost exactly the same distance and placement, the barnes blew out the back of her skull and zipped across the desert.

I have no problem killing things with 22 calibers but I wouldn't let my kids use them on their first hunts.

I also shoot alot of my big game animals in the head. I don't suggest it but I do it pretty often.

[ChristopherO]

In the right hands, with the proper bullet I don't have much of a problem with the 22 CF's. My issue is the shooter and what they bring to the hunt that is the concern. We are all handloaders, or at least know what works best for the situation. I have a friend who is not a hunter but has an old 788 22-250. He was given permission years ago to cull a doe from the public garden and thought his rifle would be fine. When he shot the doe it ran off and didn't leave any trail he could decipher. He put the rifle away and decided to take a walk along the river to think and pray. He said he came upon the dead doe a long way from the garden patch, IIRC about 1/2 a mile or so. When I asked him what type of bullet was used he said a 40 grain factory load. I imagine a few fragments of bullet splatter made it to the lungs and the doe finally succumbed to blood loss. Yes, as they say, deer aren't armor plated, but the bullet/boolit still has to get inside to damage the vitals for a quick clean kill.

[kingrj]

A .220 Swift will kill a whitetail like lightning had struck it if hit broadside in the heart/lung area or in the head...The .243 Win that I use for longer range deer hunting will do just as well...However of the deer that I killed and have seen killed with a .243/6mm I have NEVER seen a complete pass through and when the deer did not fall right there (as most do with a good shot) there was NO blood trail. For this reason I am switching to a Barns TTX bullet for my .243 this year. The deer I killed last season was shot with a Hornady 95grain SST bullet at 3030 fps and it blew completely up after about 3" of penetration. I would suspect that the .220 Swift could do no better. Penetration and bullet construction are the limitations on all small bore rifles...

[barrabruce]

I used to know a bloke that would drop cows with his for a bush kill.
One to the head when it was munching grass straight on.
Always did the job just fine.
Just poll axed them.

So a deer would be a bit smaller I suppose.
I got caught up in p.o.ackleys books when I was young and the hydrostatic shock theory that blows major blood vessels well away from the bullet impact.
‘Corse a bullet has to be clipping a long pretty well before that happens.
I never understood the big free bore length thing. I understood it would lower the pressure somewhat.
Sort of counteracting stuffing a few extra grains in a case.
Never mind.

I know they turn crows into black mist a long way off and makes ones ears ring if fired from inside the cabin of a Ute.

[Pioneer2]

My dad shot a dozen or so Ontario WT's and 3 problem black bears with a .222 and my 55gr SP handloads.One round per customer most under 100 yards.

[green mountain boy]

i know of a wyoming grizzly that was shot with a 17 remington years ago. 1 shot was plenty.

[yeahbub]

The one time I've seen the .223 Rem used on a deer it was DRT. A 55gr to the side of the head and it was lights out. On closer examination, the bullet had entered the left side below the ear, turned right and exited the back of the head/neck, flying parallel to the neck and impacting again on the spine, leaving a nasty hole you could almost stuff a golf ball into. I had heard reports of the sometimes bizarre behavior of the 55gr FMJBT in Vietnam. This seem to bear that out.

[panhed65]

I have killed deer with the 222, 223 and 220 Swift here in Pa. for me its more about where you hit them than what you use. that said, normally I use either one of my .44 Mag carbines, or my favorite, the 35 Whelen.
Barry

[jaysouth]

Between 1920 and 1940, my grandfather and two of his brothers killed hundreds of deer with a .22 LR single shot and a flashlight. It took a deer a week to feed the three families.

[Budzilla 19]

2 deer, 2 rounds of 22-250 loaded with 64 grain soft points. Job completed, DRT. SO, that being said, I reckon a 220 Swift should do the trick also!! As said numerous times, shot placement is key. Just my opinions. Good luck to you.

[roverboy]

The Swift will work with a good shot placement. A guy I work with had one and killed several with it. Said he never lost one with it. But, the shots were placed well.

[white eagle]

It's funny I was on Shooters forum and the same question was raised about the 220 swift and deer hunting.
The post was from a few years back say around 2007 and there was 5 pages of mostly condemnation in the proposed use of this cartridge.Now here, although not the first choice for this round there is not the out rite abuse for even mentioning it. What changed? Do you think the advent of more capable 22 cal.bullets changed the perspective or what?

[centershot]

In a recent post on the use of the 30 carbine for deer got me thinking
if the 30 carbine is such a good deer slayer my 220 swift should be like
a bolt from the blue on a unsuspecting whitetail
What say you

White Eagle,
Yes! You are correct in saying that! For many years now, hunters just over the border, in Pennsylvania, have used their 22-250 varmint rifles for deer simply by switching bullets. Replace that 55 gr. SP with a Speer 70 gr. SP and you're killing deer quite effectively. Shortly after rifles became legal in my area of NY I started using Federal's excellent Fusion ammunition for deer. It has a 62 gr. bonded core SP at a chronographed 2960 fps from my Ruger American's 22" barrel, I swear to you, it is absolute death on whitetail deer! The 3rd deer I killed with it was a nice 6 point, angling uphill toward me at about 40 yds. That little 62 gr. bullet broke the upper left leg, angled through the chest breaking a rib going in AND going out, then exited the chest and broke the upper right leg and exited! You can't ask more of ANY bullet, let alone a .223 caliber bullet! He fell dead on the spot. I've gone on to kill a total of nine now with that bullet (It's the Speer 62 gr. Gold Dot) which I now handload over a charge of Hodgdon BLC-2 powder. There's no reason your Swift can't do the same thing, feed it a bonded core or partition bullet and put it in the boiler room, the deer'll die!

[Good Cheer]

The first gut pile I ever had to carry home for the dogs was from an uncle with his .222 Remington.
He thought it was just the cat's meow. No problems with deer getting away.

[44magLeo]

I have my own thoughts on a minimum bullet weight for deer. I think a minimum bullet weight should be 115 grs, Going 2800-3000 fps.
This is enough bullet weight to penetrate to the vitals from most any angle.Using this a 25 caliber is minimum.
At this weright and velocity most any C&C bullet or any of the monometals will work well.
Casr boolits should be a bit heavier mostly because of the lower velocity that can be achierved. A weight to exceed 150 grs. At whatever velocity you can get. Most any 30 caliber or lsarger fits in there.
If you want to try using less then learn the limitatiopns of the cartridge you use. If it can't kill well at 50 yards don't use a 150.
The lowly 22 romfire has killed almost every kind of animal on this planet. Even Elephants.
Is is capable of killing under certain conditions but it won't if you exceed it's capabilities.
Is a 220 Swift capable, yes. but can it break down an animal's shoulder or hips as it flees at 200 yards, I don't think so.
Use it within it's caopabilities and you will find it works well.
Here In New York A 22 caliber center fire is legal.
In my old Hornady manual for the late 70's talked about using the 22-250 as a deer suized game rifle. They said they developed thier 60 gr Hollow point specifically for this purpose.
In my early years I have used the 22-258 with that buult as well as Sieeria's 63 gr, and others 55 gr bullets. They all worked. It was the rifle I had and feeding the kids was important.
At the time shotguns were all that was legal. They killed but not as well my rifle. Didn't hurt the shoulder as much either.
Now I use my Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag for short range work inthe woods. My 250 Savage for things a bit farther out, for anything I think needs killing farther than that can reach I get out the 280 Rem.
I have a 223 bolt gun with a 12" twist and it shoots well but I won't shoot at deer with it. I have some other rifles I could shoot at deer with.
I do have other rifles I could use but have'nt yet. A 7mm Mauser and a 6.5 Creedmoor. The 7mm is a Mexican Muaser that I'm trying to reclaim after it was bubbasized. A continuing project.
The 6.5 makes such nise one hoile group is the paper. It almost gets boring.
Leo

[Texas by God]

There are some fancier bullets nowadays, but we've had the Hornady 60 gr hp, the Sierra 63gr smp, and the 70gr Speer semi Spitzer all along. An excellent little bullet that was discontinued decades ago was called the Nosler Zipedo- a solid base with little ridges around the bearing surface. All of these have produced DRT one shot kills from my various 22-250s over the years.
A friend swears by the Remington factory 55gr sp. He has an old 788 22-250 that all his children used on their first deer and his wife will only use that gun. All one shot kills on big bucks.
Less than 200 yards, perfect placement on stationary deer. No problem.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[ChristopherO]

An excellent little bullet that was discontinued decades ago was called the Nosler Zipedo- a solid base with little ridges around the bearing surface. All of these have produced DRT one shot kills from my various 22-250s over the years.

TBG, I recently picked a box of those Nosler Zipedo's at a show. They fit in my 223 brass but the neck tension is not enough to hold them in place as all the other jacketed bullets do. Any suggestions on loading this bullet?

[smkummer]

The barrel's twist rate is all-important. I have a Ruger M77 whose original barrel had a 1 in 10" twist. I found the Speer semi-pointed 70 gr bullet accurate and very effective. I also know a number of men who used Hornady 55>60gr softpoints for deer hunting. Note: These were not V-Max bullets.

In the early 90’s, I had a coworker while working in Texas used his 22-250 for 4 or 5 small Texas dear. We loaded the Speer semi point 70 grain. I believe it was one shot kills and had pics of the deer. He was satisfied with the performance. I have a 22-250 but I also have a 270 ( 130 grain bullet for open range) and 35 Remington lever for thicker cover of which I would choose.

[Driver33]

I have put several deer in the freezer with my 22 hornet. As long as the nut behind the bolt does there part an there limitations you should have no problem

[Lloyd Smale]

I have put several deer in the freezer with my 22 hornet. As long as the nut behind the bolt does there part an there limitations you should have no problem

same could be said for a 22lr or a 25acp but it doesnt make them ethical choices for taking the life of an animal cleanly. I shoot alot of deer. I know that if you dont use proper equiptment its only a matter of time before your going to have it catch up to you. I detest tracking deer and even more so detest having a deer suffer because of my pride or stupidity. even shooting a 300 mag at long range a guy HAS to shoot carefully ;and put the bullet where he wants. Shoot a 100 deer with a 300 mag and dont consentrate on what your doing and rush a shot and your going to make mistakes. Now factor in a marginal caliber or gun and a bullet being off 4 inches that that 300 would still dump is now a wounded deer. If you tell me you dont make mistakes like that then either your a navy seal sniper, havent shot more then 50 deer or are just full of bs. Keep your squirrel and ground hog guns for what they were made for. Shooting a big game animal with a little gun IS NOT a measurement in your skill or experience. Its a measurement of your intelligence. Real comical thing is the same type will bash someone for using a 7mag or 300 mag on deer. DEAD RIGHT THERE is the goal for hunting. Not yup it died and im the best tracker in the county because i do it most every time i shoot a deer and get lots of practice. It doesnt even make sense to me why anyone would even want to try it unless its the ONLY gun you own and youd have to take a loan out to get one. No, unless your is such tough shape the bank wouldnt even give you that loan. I could care less about your buddy doing it or you doing it and thinking because you shot 2 deer its a killing machine. Or that its adequate on 80lb texas deer. Even then most likely your hearing about the lightning kills and those that ran off wounded were called misses or forgotten fast. On a site like this i wouldnt think something like this would even be discussed. Most of us are all about knowing the killing power of what we shoot. Bit more experienced then the average outdoors forum.