{"id":219902,"date":"2022-05-23T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T18:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=219902"},"modified":"2026-07-01T11:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:09:58","slug":"22-250-remington-8-reasons-to-love-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/22-250-remington-8-reasons-to-love-it\/","title":{"rendered":".22-.250 Remington: 8 Reasons to Love It"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of great hunting cartridges<\/a> out there; chamberings for every type of game. Most of us can\u2019t afford to buy a rifle for every specific game animal we pursue, so, we look for cartridges that can fill more than one role. I\u2019m currently looking to strike a balance between something that\u2019s big enough to take an elk but small enough for whitetail deer, and that’s where the video linked below comes in. Jim from YouTube\u2019s Backfire<\/em> channel fills us in on a very popular, very versatile hunting round: the .22-.250 Remington, which he says is \u201cBy far, one of my favorite cartridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\".22-.250<\/div>\n
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The .22-.250 Remington is versatile and powerful beyond its size.I\u2019ve watched his channel for a while, and Jim always provides good info. He helpfully organizes his discussion into specific topics, so we\u2019ll just follow right along:<\/p>\n

Reasons to Love the .22-.250 Remington<\/h2>\n

1. Spot Your Impact<\/h3>\n

Thanks to the relatively low recoil of the .22-250, it\u2019s possible to see where your shot hits, which is a big deal. Jim notes that if you\u2019re shooting stuff like 30.06<\/a>, .308<\/a>, or 6.5 PRC<\/a> the recoil is enough to keep you from seeing the impact through the scope, which has enormous benefit for training people to shoot, especially kids. It\u2019s also valuable for hunters, though you always prefer to hit with that first shot. Seeing where the bullet actually lands, instead of a puff of dust, is a good thing.<\/p>\n

\"The
Though it’s the biggest of this bunch, the .22-.250 still shoots soft enough to see your shots land. (rifleman1.blogspot.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Versatility<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not very often that you see a cartridge that\u2019s absolutely ideal for knocking out a squirrel and a deer.\u201d The .22-.250 can do that and everything in between. It\u2019s primarily used as a varmint round, especially on coyotes, but can and does take deer and antelope.<\/p>\n

The round\u2019s designation comes from the fact that it\u2019s a .22 caliber<\/a> bullet in a necked down .250 Savage casing. It has enough powder volume to drive that heavier .25 caliber bullet. That allows a wide range of bullet weights, from ultra-high velocity 35-grain projectiles to 65-grain loads suitable for larger game.<\/p>\n

\".22-.250
(L) .22-.250 cartridge alongside the .250 Savage it was derived from. (R) .22-.250 Remington, .223 Remington, and .220 Swift (shooting times\/rifleman1.blogspot.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jim says he doesn\u2019t use .22-.250 for deer, but not because he thinks it unethical or underpowered for the job. It\u2019s simply that he sees no reason to. He has rifles chambered in larger calibers that aren\u2019t too much for him to shoot well, so there\u2019s no advantage to his choosing a smaller bullet. \u201cIt\u2019s not how tiny can I go and still do the job,\u201d he says, \u201cIt\u2019s how big can I go and still shoot as accurately as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Laser-Like Trajectory<\/h3>\n

Jim shows us a target he shot from 85, 185, and 285 yards. He held on the same point of aim and the bullet only dropped 5.2 inches. He notes the advantage of that kind of performance for a hunter. If you\u2019re hunting coyotes on the move, you likely don\u2019t have time to check their range, and it wouldn\u2019t hold up anyway. Being able to fire out to nearly 300 yards with essentially the same hold is a big deal.<\/p>\n

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The .22-.250 only dropped 5.2 inches between 85, 185, and 285 yards, giving it a 5 to 6-inch “maximum point-blank range” to almost 300 yards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is an example of \u201cmaximum point-blank range,\u201d where you have a vertical range, in this case, five or six inches, in which you can be certain of hitting your target without adjusting the point of aim. He notes that this method \u201cMakes you look like a better shooter than you are in a dynamic situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\".22-.250
The approximate “maximum point-blank range” of the .22-.250 Remington cartridge at 285 yards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Rifle Availability<\/h3>\n

The .22-.250\u2019s popularity is reflected by the fact that most rifle manufacturers chamber for it. We all have rifle preferences and it\u2019s nice that, if we want a .22-.250, we can likely find one we like with no trouble.<\/p>\n

Jim also notes that the last two years have made him more aware of ammo availability and the wisdom of choosing rifles and calibers that are as readily available as possible. With the current political and economic situation, there\u2019s no guarantee that the outlook for ammo prices and availability will stabilize anytime soon. The more versatile you are, the better.<\/p>\n

5. Up to 4,500 FPS<\/h3>\n

Yep, you read that right. Jim notes that the typical hunting cartridge fires its projectile at 2,700 to 2,900 feet per second. A normal, run-of-the-mill 55 grain .22-.250 runs in the neighborhood of 3,500. Hornady Superformance has a 35-grain load that tops out around 4,500 feet per second. That is absolutely scorching. With a 200-yard zero, that load would have four inches of drop at 300 yards.<\/p>\n

He then shows footage of what a .22-.250 will do to a watermelon at 50 yards. I\u2019m not sure which load he uses, but the results were spectacular. You should watch it.<\/p>\n

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The .22-.250 slaying a watermelon at 50 yards. You should watch it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6. 500 Yard Dash<\/h3>\n

The wind drift of the .22-.250 is low because it travels so fast, thus spending less time in the air. Again, I\u2019m not sure which load he is referring to, but the .22-.250 travels 500 yards in just 0.57 seconds, making it the 19th<\/sup> fastest cartridge of the 82 that Jim tracks. For reference, the .308 Winchester travels 500 yards in 0.69 seconds.<\/p>\n

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The .22-.250 is among the fastest hunting cartridges out there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. Decent Barrel Life<\/h3>\n

Jim says that super-fast cartridges usually turn him off because there\u2019s almost always a drawback. Usually, the energy needed to drive that bullet trashes your shoulder and\/or burns out the barrel. The .22-.250 does neither. The recoil is more than manageable, and the average barrel lifespan is 2,000 to 3,000 rounds, comparable to the best cartridges out there. He attributes that to the small caliber and very light bullet weights.<\/p>\n

8. It’s the Ultimate Coyote Hunter<\/h3>\n

The .22-.250 is \u201cProbably the deadliest coyote cartridge in existence,\u201d he says. The cartridge started as a wildcat from the .250 Savage in the 1920s and 1930s and was very popular. Similar cartridges came out under names like \u201c.22 Varminter.\u201d The cartridge was commercialized in the 1960s as the .22-.250 Remington.<\/p>\n

\"coyote\"
The .22-.250 Remington is “probably the deadliest coyote cartridge in existence.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because it\u2019s been around for so long and is so well-suited to coyote hunting, Jim guesses it has taken more coyotes than any other cartridge. He does allow that the .223 Remington<\/a> may be right there because of the round\u2019s ubiquity thanks to the popularity of the AR-15, but among \u201cReal coyote hunters, it\u2019s probably the .22-.250 hands down.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/h2>\n

Is the .22-.250 Remington all that? I have to say, it looks like something I\u2019d like to have in my arsenal. We don\u2019t get many coyotes in the Appalachians but there are more every year. Who knows, maybe I\u2019ll spend part of my retirement keeping coyotes away from the livestock with a .22-.250. Let us know your thoughts on this supremely versatile cartridge in the comments. As always, happy shooting, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n