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Author with a full-size deer target when setting up his Savage Predator .22-250 for taking big game with the .224-caliber bullet.

With some additional hunting with my old and well-used .25-06 matched with Federal 117-grain Sierra bullets, it was clear that under almost all conditions – with the exception of some ultra high wind and long range work with a .300 Win Mag– the .25-06 family of cartridges could meet the requirements of a very good deer round each and every time. For the most part I had not even moved into the 7mms or the 30-calibers, for I found enough solid performance from those 6mms and .25s to fit any ballistics requirement for whitetail deer.

Norma supplied many of the bullets used in this review. For a general-purpose round in the .223 Remington, the Norma Oryx 55-grainer is hard to beat.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

In most cases I would be the last guy to ever come down as dictating guns and loads for sport hunting. I don’t like the massive shooting restrictions encountered so often especially in many of the eastern states. However, as illustrated in the main body of this review, the .224 caliber family of cartridges tends to come up short in the delivered performance department even at close range when the smaller .222 Mag and .223 Remington have been used afield. The more you move up the energy and velocity, as with the .22-250, .220 Swift or .223 WSSM, the more happens in the energy contact department. However, often the reaction of the animal to a hit is a “walk off” – not good when it comes to tracking time, as penetration is poor and blood trail faint. Under these circumstances, a day can become very long indeed.