njc110381 Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Hi guys. I'm just in the process of buying a .22-250 for foxing. I've got plenty of experience with .223 and .222, but I'm led to believe that some of the bullets that work well in those slower rounds might be a bit too splatty for the '250? My past favourite bullet in my .223 was the 55gr Berger Varmint. There are loads of tipped bullets and on top of those there are numerous soft point and hollow point bullets from Sierra, Hornady, Nosler etc.... One of the Sierra soft points is listed as good for the faster .224's, but I don't know if that means it will exit a lot? I want something that will penetrate ok but make a mess of the internals and hopefully not exit. In my .223 the Berger would do just that. Shoulder shot on the bone or not it would get right in there, make some soup and stay put. I don't think I ever had a surface wound and they only exited if I was shooting quite distant targets. I guess the reduced velocity at impact reduced their ability to break up? Likewise my .243 with 55gr Nosler Varmageddon would often stay put, which considering I was driving it flat out was a good effort from a small target like a fox! I'm looking for similar performance from the .22-250. Shots will almost always be within 200 yards, with an occasional push to 300 if I really have to. What do you all use? My local shop has quite a good selection and can get most things. The gun has a 1-14 twist so I have to stay down in the 55gr and below range. Edited January 29, 2017 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldwanderer Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 I'd imagine anything around 50-55gr will be plenty tough enough, the lighter bullets 30-40gr ish maybe not but I still think it unlikely that they wouldn't penetrate a fox well enough. My 2p, I wouldn't get too hung up on it but I think you'd be happy with 50gr zipping along at .22-250 speeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbuster Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 50/55grn hornady bt's for me, really accurate in my rifle. Same as 222/223, all depends on what the bullet strikes, bone etc. Most times not much of a mess, but other times you could swear it had been hit with a cannon! Not a huge difference between 223/22.250, but 22.250 is slightly more forgiving at ranges over 200yrds with regards to hold over, personally don't shoot much over 200yrds anyway. Put it this way, you hit the fox in the 'boiler room' and that fox is sure to drop on the spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Anything that hits the spot in the 50 grain region. It's no different from your other rifles, no bullet from a 222 or 223 will fail if loaded in a 22.250. Last year on 1 estate I shot in the region of 100 fox's and only a handful had exit wounds. You will get it on occasions with nearly all bullets in that weight range, it depends on what contact it makes with bone etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 I used 55gr V Max which was excellent. It's devastating to the Fox when it's hit correctly (I always aimed for the heart/lungs) and I never had one Fox that ran after being hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Why look for something different? If you like the bullet that you have been using why not use them in the 250? I use a 55 Sierra in my 223 pushed out at 3450 which is only a couple of hundred slower than the 250. I have taken targets out as far as 300 with this combination but it is generally used in the 50 >> 80 pace range and does a real job stopping them on the spot at short or long range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sat and had a good think about his NIC, I know what and where you want them for, top of hill. In around the ewes and lambs, exit is an issue. But, so is the wind up there. Fortune I think has it. 55gn, running 36-3700, zero at the 200. Just under 5" drop at 300. Point and shoot, maybe a slight hold off on the wind. 55gn noslar varmageddon over 35-36.5gn of varget. Stable in all temps. Summer winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Front on shots in the Bib it's highly unlikely they will exit. They normally mooch around the sheep quite confidently surly you can pick the fox off within a reasonably safe back stop with nothing behind. Edited January 29, 2017 by Dougy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Front on shots in the Bib it's highly unlikely they will exit. They normally mooch around the sheep quite confidently surly you can pick the fox off within a reasonably safe back stop with nothing behind. not when there 400 ewes and their lambs in a 20 acre paddock. The farmer leaves the gates to all the paddocks open but the sheep always seam to stay in the same paddock. It's always been a challenge, they will not call as they will run, red light on to Lang and they run. When a fox kills a lamb all the others surround the fox. Found a few rounds that do not exit, theres the 55 varmageddon from the 243, the 95 Vmax from the 6.5 and the 40sbk from the 223. All being run flat out, the 95vmax was stick bolt in the sako. Fine in the Tikka. Side on there has not been an exit. But NJC being NJC, he doesn't hold on to a rifle for long as the wow factor or boredom hits. (Sorry NJC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sounds a difficult task, all adds to the excitement. There's always the 17 remington lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Sounds a difficult task, all adds to the excitement. There's always the 17 remington lol Hahahaha! Funny you should say that. NJC what rifle have you being built at the moment.lol. He gave up waiting for it and has ordered a 22-250 sako. Guess what gun I might be buying cheap. Hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Hahahaha! Funny you should say that. NJC what rifle have you being built at the moment.lol. He gave up waiting for it and has ordered a 22-250 sako. Guess what gun I might be buying cheap. Hehe Lol I'm beginning to see now. Tell you what I love mine, but had issues with brass availability Nosler custom is the only one I can get. And forming from 222 and 223 or 204 Ruger although possible is a pain and leave short necks and the need to neck turn. So what I'm saying is stock up on brass now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garygreengrass Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 I used 55gr V Max which was excellent. It's devastating to the Fox when it's hit correctly (I always aimed for the heart/lungs) and I never had one Fox that ran after being hit. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 Ok, ok... So it seems a few of the members here have got used to me?! I can't help it. I love trying new things and the world of firearms has so much to offer! Mr activeviii knows me better than most. He has to put up with my ramblings on a very regular basis! I think judging by the Varmageddons in the .243, I will try them in the .22-250. It's a similar round after all. If Varget works I will use that. I have some here and can get plenty more from my local RFD. .17 Rem wise I have 100 Nosler brass for it and several hundred bullets left over from my .17 Hornet. I'll be bored of it by the time I've got through that lot so there's no point stocking up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted January 31, 2017 Report Share Posted January 31, 2017 Hi guys. I'm just in the process of buying a .22-250 for foxing. I've got plenty of experience with .223 and .222, but I'm led to believe that some of the bullets that work well in those slower rounds might be a bit too splatty for the '250? My past favourite bullet in my .223 was the 55gr Berger Varmint. There are loads of tipped bullets and on top of those there are numerous soft point and hollow point bullets from Sierra, Hornady, Nosler etc.... One of the Sierra soft points is listed as good for the faster .224's, but I don't know if that means it will exit a lot? I want something that will penetrate ok but make a mess of the internals and hopefully not exit. In my .223 the Berger would do just that. Shoulder shot on the bone or not it would get right in there, make some soup and stay put. I don't think I ever had a surface wound and they only exited if I was shooting quite distant targets. I guess the reduced velocity at impact reduced their ability to break up? Likewise my .243 with 55gr Nosler Varmageddon would often stay put, which considering I was driving it flat out was a good effort from a small target like a fox! I'm looking for similar performance from the .22-250. Shots will almost always be within 200 yards, with an occasional push to 300 if I really have to. What do you all use? My local shop has quite a good selection and can get most things. The gun has a 1-14 twist so I have to stay down in the 55gr and below range. If you could be patient, waiting until the 300 becomes 200, then with a 1 in 14 twist and a 50g SPSX your exit problems are largely solved. You just need the 22 Hornet to go with them. Agh, no, come to think of it, you've been there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I still have a place in my safe for a Hornet. Such an under rated round. Next time, just to be awkward, I might try having a Taranah Hornet made. It's fairly standard but with .15" taken off of the case so a standard 40gr spitzer can be seated and still fit the magazine of a CZ527. The one thing I thought let the cartridge down is the fact that you have to either use Hornet specific bullets or single shot feed. Neither were what I really wanted to do. When I had mine I used the 35gr V-Max. Not the best bullet for long range performance but as a tool to replace my HMR and give a little more energy for foxes it worked extremely well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 55g vamintgedond works in mine. But as dougy mentioned 17 Rem sounds ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I still have a place in my safe for a Hornet. Such an under rated round. Next time, just to be awkward, I might try having a Taranah Hornet made. It's fairly standard but with .15" taken off of the case so a standard 40gr spitzer can be seated and still fit the magazine of a CZ527. The one thing I thought let the cartridge down is the fact that you have to either use Hornet specific bullets or single shot feed. Neither were what I really wanted to do. When I had mine I used the 35gr V-Max. Not the best bullet for long range performance but as a tool to replace my HMR and give a little more energy for foxes it worked extremely well. Yep, therein lies the rub. I use the single feed option but have a follow up round in an elastic grip by the chamber which is quite quick but have only had to use it once in several years. Good to see you posting again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I only had one shot with my combi gun and it never let me down. It's surprising how quickly you can stuff another case in when you're desperate! But with a vermin/fox rifle there's always that chance of needing several shots. I prefer to have a repeater. I'm looking forward to picking up my .17 Rem. It looks like an interesting cartridge and should be great for those moments when an exit is undesirable. I think I'll probably use 25gr V-Max in that. I've thought for some time that I really need a night vision dedicated rifle. At night I like to have plenty of power behind my bullet. It reduces the chance of runner which are harder to find in the dark. .243 was my choice for a while but having it always made me want to experiment with deer, and that never ended well. I've used my 6.5x55 for a while but that's a bit big. 95gr bullets do sometimes stop in the fox, but not reliably. It's just too much energy to be held in. Funny. I look back a few years and think that I always slated the .22-250. Why buy a rifle that you can't shoot deer with when it offers next to nothing over a .243 with light bullets? It seems I've found my answer - the law says I can't use it for deer and that takes away my need to experiment! As this post shows, it takes something to stop me or I'll mess about with it something silly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouser Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Have a look at Barnes varmint grenades , their long for weight, 36 or 50 gn ,their used a lot by the fur gatherers in the states Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 (edited) I only had one shot with my combi gun and it never let me down. It's surprising how quickly you can stuff another case in when you're desperate! But with a vermin/fox rifle there's always that chance of needing several shots. I prefer to have a repeater. I'm looking forward to picking up my .17 Rem. It looks like an interesting cartridge and should be great for those moments when an exit is undesirable. I think I'll probably use 25gr V-Max in that. I've thought for some time that I really need a night vision dedicated rifle. At night I like to have plenty of power behind my bullet. It reduces the chance of runner which are harder to find in the dark. .243 was my choice for a while but having it always made me want to experiment with deer, and that never ended well. I've used my 6.5x55 for a while but that's a bit big. 95gr bullets do sometimes stop in the fox, but not reliably. It's just too much energy to be held in. Funny. I look back a few years and think that I always slated the .22-250. Why buy a rifle that you can't shoot deer with when it offers next to nothing over a .243 with light bullets? It seems I've found my answer - the law says I can't use it for deer and that takes away my need to experiment! As this post shows, it takes something to stop me or I'll mess about with it something silly! Edited February 6, 2017 by Walker570 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Well the gun has arrived and I've been out for my first couple of outings with it. First impressions for home loads are not great. I bought a couple of boxes of Hornady 50gr V-Max Superformance to get me started and they group extremely well. Now I have to get my home loads to match it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewsher500 Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 moved to 40gr SBK when the 52gr AMax wouldnt work in my .222 very good terminal effect and have shot them out to 400m on targets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Gilmour Posted September 1, 2023 Report Share Posted September 1, 2023 On 06/02/2017 at 07:47, scouser said: Have a look at Barnes varmint grenades , their long for weight, 36 or 50 gn ,their used a lot by the fur gatherers in the states I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned the Speer 50gr TNT bullet. The 55gr TNT is recommended for the 22-250 power level, but, GMK don't import them, so, I've had excellent results on hundreds of foxes with the 50 grainer. 36gr Varget or VV N140 in a Lapua case works well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 6 Years, its close to a record. 😉 Posted September 1 On 06/02/2017 at 07:47, scouser said: Have a look at Barnes varmint grenades , their long for weight, 36 or 50 gn ,their used a lot by the fur gatherers in the states I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned the Speer 50gr TNT bullet. The 55gr TNT is recommended for the 22-250 power level, but, GMK don't import them. Probably the reason why they hadn't been mentioned was the fact that they were never imported to the UK. But thanks George, and welcome to PW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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