.22 magnum on deer?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rimfire is illegal for deer in Texas. I think that might be in part due to the fact that it's the poacher's favorite tool.

Folks sometimes ask me what I think of a kid using a .22-250 for deer. Now, the .22-250 is a heckuva lot more gun than .22 mag. I tell 'em if the kid can't handle a .243, he's got no business deer hunting, JMHO. When I was 11 years old, I was already head shooting squirrel out to 50 yards with a very accurate Remington bolt .22, but I killed my first deer that year with a .257 Roberts, on the run at 75 yards partially obscured by the ridge of a ravine. I couldn't have shot that deer with a rimfire.

Modern times, there are better bullets for .22 centerfire guns and our deer aren't that big down here. I've mellowed on the .22-250. Now, I have no use for one, don't want one for deer hunting, but a well placed shot from a .22-250 in the lungs with the proper controlled expansion bullet can do the job on Texas whitetail, especially hill country deer, more the size of a big coyote. LOL Another reason I'd rather be in the stand with that old .257 or my .308, though, is that we have a lot of hogs down here and I like to shoot 'em and they're a lot bigger and tougher than a deer.
 
In Northern Ontario, some subhuman poachers I knew used .22 magnums to poach moose. They knew the best spots for the moose to bed down. They'd go out on rainy days and shoot them when they were bedded down. Disgusting.
 
You can but should not.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I've done it. I'm sure there are one or two other people here that have done it. There are better choices, but, now some of us know when SHTF that a .22 Mag can take some decent sized game. :D
 
Respect the animal enough to kill it with an adequate round. Even if the shot costs you $1+ for one round of ammo, is that not a fair price to pay for many meals from mother nature?

I would use my .22 to hunt deer in a survival situation where I had no other choice. But you do have another choice... many.
 
There are better choices, but, now some of us know when SHTF that a .22 Mag can take some decent sized game
Click to expand...

Yep, in a survival situation, a .22 or .22 mag is nice in that you can stuff several hundred rounds into a pack at it takes up less space and weighs less than a box of 12 gauge. I even have a little take down AR7 with a scope on it that weighs maybe 3 lbs total, scope and all. It shoots accurate enough to head shoot a deer at 50 yards. Heck, yeah, I'd shoot a deer with a .22 if it meant I didn't have to die of malnutrition. :D That's a little different than sport hunting, though.
 
I think that we have become too fond of huge powerful cartridges, to the point where we feel that anything that doesn't generate enough power to penetrate both side of a army tank is inadequate to destroy the lungs of a game animal. I've lost one deer in my life and that was a ill advised shot with a bow at a very young age. Every deer that I've shot with rifles from the Winchester 300 Mag. on down to the 22 mag. have been one shot kills and all have died very quickly. Taking carefully placed shots at close range and passing up on shots that have the potential to fail is the key to successfully harvesting venison. My family once hunted with a fine gentleman from New York state and he owned a beautifully made custom rifle in 7mm Mag. He hit a running doe way to far back and then took another shot at her ass end and connected low in the ham. Over an hour later my brother dispatched her with his 30-30 Win. He was never invited back on our land. The hunter has to know his games anatomy and have the resolve to pass on some shots.
 
The Winchester that was a 22 Magnum was the Mod 61 (also made in regular .22 rimfire). The Mod 61 was hammerless, while the Mod 62 was a hammer model. I think the 22 Magnum Mod 61 was made for only two years and are worth a mint now.....Regards, James
 
The 22 mag. that I've used most of my life is the Win. M61Mag. that you mentioned. This is an excellent rifle! I've never had a failure to feed or to eject with this fine little hunting tool. This is the same rifle that I've used to harvest 6 deer. I have two other 22Mag. rifles but the Win. rides in my truck with me everyday. I'm not much of a collector but I think that you time line is about right.
 
What Art said.

Any caliber will kill--given certain conditions and/or eventually.

What should guide our choice, however, is what gives us the best chance to take game humanely.

1 - Arm yourself with a cartridge that has plenty of power for your game, but that you still shoot accurately and confidently. Going out with a cannon that makes you flinch is not much better than doing so with an underpowered pipsqueak you shoot well.

2 - There's no virtue in getting lucky--even if you get lucky all the time. Luck is just luck, and can turn on you at any moment.

3 - There's virtue in knowing which shots to pass up in light of accurate assessment of your shooting skills and your equipment's limitations. It's easier to brag about your self-restraint than to explain your having lost a wounded animal. ;)

4 - Every time you're about to pull the trigger, remember that your goals are to kill and not to wound. They go together. Always.

Tom
 
There's virtue in knowing which shots to pass up in light of accurate assessment of your shooting skills and your equipment's limitations. It's easier to brag about your self-restraint than to explain your having lost a wounded animal.

Sage advice, you would be welcome to hunt with me any day.
~z
 
Back in another lifetime,..when I was young and hungry, ...yep,...more than a few times. Head shots only,...usually 25-35 yards max. Could ya? Yep. SHOULD ya? I'd say only in dire circumstances where it was all you had. Otherwise,...no.
 
While the law surrounding cartridges legal for taking deer in thechosenone's vicinity is really pretty liberal ("any centerfire rifle"), it doesn't allow rimfires.
Click to expand...

I guess a 5.7x28 could be used to test the effectiveness of the 22WMR. BTW I am being factious and not really advocating that. It is too little gun IMO. I know it can and has been but I wouldn't recommend it
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
.22 Magnum Effectiveness?????
Replies
4
Views
1K
ENC
E
B
  • Locked
Anyone deer hunt with a 10mm or .41 magnum?
Replies
17
Views
2K
GooseGestapo
GooseGestapo
Y
  • Locked
.22-250 whitetail deer and blackbear?
Replies
11
Views
4K
Leanwolf
L
C
  • Locked
  • Poll
500 S&W Bullets For Deer
Replies
16
Views
7K
rcmodel
R
M
  • Locked
6" .357 mag revolver for whitetail?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
Gillster
G
Back
Top