Help me pick a 22 cal bullet

[silasbowhunter]

My wife is a shooting a 1-9 twist 223WSSM for everything right now. Deer, antelope, coyotes, prairie dogs. Stuck between
50gr Vmax
52gr ELD
52gr BTHP
53gr Vmax
55gr Vmax

They are going to be cooking, but barrel twist is holding me back from anything much heavier.. thoughts suggestions?

Shots on game will be 300 and in, although my wife can shoot much further.


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[TheGDog]

Easy - No varmint bullets (Vmaxes) for deer.

You should be able to do 62gr. Get some Barnes TSX in 62gr. And they even have TTSX 70gr! The 62gr I know it can do, the 70 I'm not so sure.

 

[Boreal]

Have you tried Hammer bullets yet? Their 52 gr. 0.224 cal is set for a 1-10 twist.

.224 Cal-52gr Hammer Hunter™ - Hammer Bullets

This 52gr Hammer Hunter™ is designed for the 10" twist rifles. The pure copper 70% weight retention bullet will handle small game up to hogs and deer.

hammerbullets.com

 

[silasbowhunter]

Have you tried Hammer bullets yet? Their 52 gr. 0.224 cal is set for a 1-10 twist.

.224 Cal-52gr Hammer Hunter™ - Hammer Bullets

This 52gr Hammer Hunter™ is designed for the 10" twist rifles. The pure copper 70% weight retention bullet will handle small game up to hogs and deer.

hammerbullets.com

I haven’t really looked at them, $74/100 though.. maybe worth trying though!


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[TREE ‘EM]

None of your choices are viable for the game.
I haven’t been with any mono metal bullets performance on the game.

From my experience your best bets are going to be Swift Scirocco, Sierra Gameking or Sierra Gamechanger.
For strictly big game bullet Swift is my choice. For all around use I favor the Gameking.

It’s worth noting that some states have a 6 mm minimum for a big game. You might consider sending your wife’s rifle out to be reboard and turn it into a 6 x45. 60 to 75 grain bullets will pick up approximately 200 ft./s with the increase in bore diameter. I load 85 grain Sierra Gameking in my son’s for all around use. There’s absolutely no perceptible difference between that and a 223 when it comes to recoil. If you’re already hand loading it shouldn’t be a big deal to step up a notch. Rebore costs about $300.

 

[EastMT]

Unless she is an absolute crack shot, shooting the white spot in the throat, none of those are ideal, the WSSM is just too fast for body shots with those. Hammer, TSX, 62gr partition maybe.

Many years I shot all my animals with a 22-250(hence my handle) and 40gr ballistic silver tips going about 4100 fps in the neck, zero meat wasted but I would never recommend it, too easy to make a bad mistake.

 

[Fullquiver]

75gr Speer Gold Dot. Bonded soft point, driven at speed with the 1 in 9 twist should be a whomper.. Plus a good SD what's not to love..

 

[Te Hopo]

I use Hornady .224 75gr BTHP in a 223 on red deer using heart/lung shots.
The deer just drop on the spot spewing blood.

Not sure how the projectile would go with the step up in velocity, personally I'd be looking at the Hornady GMX or Barnes TSX

 

[PathFinder]

At those velocities if it won't stabilize a 65+ grain bullet, the Nosler or Sierra 52 HPBT will do the trick. Lots of people I know shot lots of stuff with them (including some cow elk) out of 22-250s and they do very well. Performance is very different from the varmint bullets in the same weight range.
Most of the naysayers have never seen anything die behind a 22 centerfire. Disregard them all.

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[Vern400]

55 gr Sierra SBT will do all those jobs although I am not a fan of 22 cal on deer. I respect your choice. I know that will cause hate comments but I don't care. It's risky for all but the most conservative shooter . The 65 gr SBT would do better if it will stabilize in your gun. They shoot good and they're available. They ain't as purdy but they work. They aren't varmint bullets but I've never seen one fail to open up even on a rabbit. And they do have some penetration and weight retention for less than ideal shots on deer.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

Whatever gold dot you can find or a 70gr accubond

 

[Dirtbag]

I use .22 centerfires a lot for deer. Look at the Hornady 55 grain SP(Not the SX version). These have worked stupidly well for me and many others who use .22 centerfires for big game. 52 grain SMK's work well too.

 

[Dirtbag]

Most of the naysayers have never seen anything die behind a 22 centerfire. Disregard them all.

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Couldn't agree more, most of the naysayers are people have never done it, and have read too many opinions from gun writers who also haven't done it.

 

[tstith]

+1 for staying away from v-max or similar bullets for deer. For what its worth, I have had very good luck with 1:9 barrels shooting 60 grain bullets. I have a preference for 55-60gr soft points... but if you want to shoot the extra $, go for the Barnes bullets designed for deer sized game.

 

[Jim1187]

A 1-9 twist .223 WSSM should stabilize most lead cored bullets up to 80 grains. The bullets listed in the OP give massive but shallow wounds, some kills will be decisive and the next may be a long suffering lesson in the origin of the old disdain for .22's on medium and large game in spite of identical placement.
Speer's Gold dots are probably my favorite deer bullet in the various .22 calibers. I'd reach for the 62 or 75 but the 55 has merits for slower twist barrels.
The 77 and 69 grain TMK from Sierra have a dedicated following and the results are hard to ignore, they are very effective.
The 60 grain Nosler partition while not always the most accurate bullet is very lethal if it shoots well enough to give you confidence. I like it's on game performance, but certainly struggle to reconcile its accuracy compared to other options.
Lead free options are more limited here in Canada but Barnes 50 and 62 grain TTSX are my favorites for what I have been able to experiment with.