.22 Centerfires on Medium to Large game

[Markga]

In the real world I have seen a moose killed with a .22 lr. One shot and dead. Just sayin I won't do it. I have bigger calibers to use and am not recoil sensitive. Now that you proved it too, we can let the rest prove it for themselves or argue for a while.

On the other side of this I have seen a whitetail deer run over 200 yards with its heart hanging out of its body shot with a 30-06. Nothing is set in stone when dealing with living creatures. Just saying!

 

[cvixx]

I think the gist f this thread is that it can be done…however IMO it should be asked should it be done. Brown bears have been killed by a .22. Does that mean it should be done? Probably not a good idea. Maybe on coastal black tail or varmint sized critters. On antelope or deer, I would use something larger…maybe I have aged out of the " sounds good, let's try it" period of my life.

 

[Raudy707]

Agreed. It's not worth taking the risk with the price of ammo, tags and licenses. Also, private ranches and trespass fees continue to skyrocket. I don't see any real advantage for a junior hunter or recoil sensitive shooter to use a 22-250, 22 Creed over a 243 or 257 Robert's. My daughter shot all her big game animals with a 7mm-08 light load 120 grain Nosler Ballistic tips. Coyotes to Mule deer this very light recoiling load worked excellent on everything we shot from 100 to 300 lbs. I think we used 34 grains of H4895.

 

[dogz]

CVIXX and Raudy please tell us about your personal experiences on using the 22/250, 223 or Swift on deer or lopes.

Brown bears need not apply

 

[cvixx]

Haven't…at 79, I am still waiting to get enough seniority points to hunt here in Utah. Probably be dead before I am chosen. Hunted the Coastal Blacktail using a .243. Very small deer. Last Mulie I dropped was with an '06. Just my take on the issue. Why push the envelope? Next will be how much game you shot with a .17.

 

[dogz]

No worries and thanks for chiming in. I understand your discomfort with the idea being as you've never used it. Though to me it's kind of like saying I've never tried steak before but I just know it won't be any good.....Kind of right

I on the other hand have been in and around the taking of deer, elk, antelope and black bears with the 22/250 and Swift since 1978. My family alone is well into the triple digits of game taken. I'm very comfy to a quarter mile (farthest we've used them is 505) and will take any angle of a shot that I'd take with my bigger guns (6/06, 270, 7 Mashburn Super).

Now that you mention the .17 Rem I got my first one for yote calling in 1982. I went thru two barrels with it. And yeah we did take out a few head of small big game (lope/deer) with it. Mainly we used the old Barnes "Original" which as I recall was a 30 grain sp that held together very well! Farthest I shot game with that load was a lope @ 308 yds. Bullet went in behind the left front, zipped thru trashing the lungs and exited behind the front. The buck took a very short dash and went to Croak City Wyo..........

For some time I tried to get Ty @ Barnes to build a 25 or 30 grain TTSX for the .17. Never happened.

I have tried the Hammers in my Howa "Mini" .204. Think they're 39 grain, they'll do very well also.

Best of luck to ya, hope you get that tag soon. I'm not 79 but at 65 I'm catching up rather quickly.

Enjoy your weekend

 

[Nomosendero]

Bring this back up again..............from an earlier post of mine in this thread

I've been using the 22/250 (as well the AI) and the Swift since 1978 that's when I met the boys at the Powder Horn (Bill, George JR and Sr, as well as Scenar). They introduced me to the wonderful world of the big 22's. At first I was like many on this thread, a sceptic with no experience. But, these fellas were great hunters and new their guns and so I trusted them.

After using them for 46 years, I've more than a bit experience in seeing small big game like deer, lopes and black bears as well large game like elk taken with them. I realize that rounds like this are not for all, nor do they need to be. Those that are "twitchy" (and a lot of hunters are...) and those that just have to shoot no matter what need not apply. By this I mean one has to be a bit patient, cool and calm in the presence of game and have the patience to wait for the right shot angle (those that are like this will be so irregardless of cartridge size).

IMO we all have our limitations, we have times when we should and should not be shooting. Range, wind, angles of the shot, our ability to be calm, and our choice of weapon be it a bow, pistol or rifle. The key is to have the discipline to know when you should or shouldn't take the shot. For me, I want to be 110% sure that it's going to be a one round knock out!

Regarding mono's vs standard cup n cores, I've used them both A Lot! I've found the 55's-63' standard cup n cores to be much quicker killers than the Mono's. Note I didn't say they'd kill them any deader, it's just that the time that elapses between the shot and the time the critter is on the turf is quite a bit quicker with the standard cup n core bullets. Probably a matter of seconds but it's real.

The farthest we've shot game is 505 on a lope we just couldn't close the gap on, It took one 55 NSB and a step and pitched over...ready for the grill, well almost ready for the grill

Another thing I read is how one needs to take head, neck shots etc. This is horse hockey and to me shows a lack of experience. My preferred shot it tight behind the front on a broadside or a slight quarter away shot. If one uses this shot selection with the 55's-63's the critter will hit the turf 93% of the time at the shot. And be down and out, where as a high shoulder shot often times the critter needs another one (with the 22's or with bigger guns).

The V-Max will work on good broadside shots but is a bit in the gray area for me and being as elk are generally on the menu as well I prefer a bit stouter bullet. I've used a hand full of different one's over the years but the following are far and away my rock stars.

*55 Horn w/c
*60 Horn HP ( as well the SP)
*63 Sierra (my fav)
*52/55/60 Nosler Solid Base

Any of these will do one proud on any of the game I hunt here on a yearly basis in Montana. Including on shoulder blade shots on elk, the bullet will punch thru and tear up the lungs and then it's game over!

I won't go into the number of critters I've take with the Big 22's and or have seen taken but suffice to say it's well into the triple digits. In the last several years alone we had49 one shot kills on 49 head of game (the 50th took two as the first shot hit a bit far back) between 35 and 410 yds with the 60 Horn HP (mainly) and a few with the 63 Sierra. Of those 93% of them went right down, I mean straight freaking down! There was only a couple of them that ran, the longest being a 110 pound doe that I shot at 120 yds, she went about 35 yards which really shocked me....Generally though the game has went straight down.

Rarely will a bullet stay inside, the pretty much always exit. Even on a big cow I shot a couple years ago. A bit over 300 yds, the 63 went in behind the left front and exited low on the right shoulder. She went 15 yds or so and went to Croak City Wyoming.....

Over the last 46 years I recall very few that needed a second shot, and recall very few that ran if at all.

A couple years back I built a 6.5 pound "all up" (scope, sling rounds) 22/250 AI with a 8 twist. it shoots the heavies extremely well. I'll be interested to get serious with it see how it perks on game. As effective as the 55's-63's have been and with the speed of how quickly they kill I'll be shocked and amazed if the heavies can do it any quicker. If anything I expect it to be a bit slower of kills. But the heavies will play nicer in the wind that's for sure (once one gets out there a ways).

Bottom line with all of this we need to find what we're comfy with and go with it. For me and my family I'm very comfy with using the Big 22's and could use them and them only for the rest of my days no problem (I'm 65 so I've seen some killing).

Since you have seen so many taken with the medium weight 22 bullets, it will be interesting to see how it goes for you with the heavies. It will be a good read once your sample size of the heavies is big enough. I am interested in the 77TMK and 88ELDM results!

 

[dogz]

Yeah that will be interesting. I know pretty much exactly what to expect with the 55's-63. I just can't imagine the heavies doing any better. I pretty much keep my shots to a 1/4 mile or less so I honestly don't think they'll show me anything too great.

They'll probably get pushed around in the wind a bit less than the lighter guys do but I long ago learned my wind limitations. I'm not much of a fan in shooting at much over 10 mph on big game. Steel sure I'll hit it all day long.

The heavies I'll most likely hunt this fall aren't really heavies but more mediums. 62 TTSX which is a beast of a killer, the 73 Berger and most likely because they get so much press on this forum the 70 Hammer. All of these shoot extremely well in my lightweight (6.5 lbs "all up" with scope, sling, rounds and a 8 twist Lilja).

 

[Creoleboy]

Please tell us about your experiences in using the 22 CF's on deer/lopes that would encourage you to feel this way?

From watching youth and parents try to get kids to hunt early and not want the kick of something more powerful, deer hits that were of the mark, we never found and the blood trails were nonexistent...maybe better with experience shooter but why just shoot good ol 308 with a break

 

[Will.284]

I'm gonna use my 17 hmr this year on my whitetail, private land no pressure from other hunters, eyeball shot 100 yards and under no problem!!

 

[Creoleboy]

Fly fishing for big game....

 

[dogz]

At my age I do a lot of catch and release IE. if I don't get the shot I want then the game wins, no biggie for me.

 

[rdsii64]

Here in Eastern North Carolina, the deer are small and the shots are close. My 20 inch AR15 launches the 75 grain speer gold dot at 2800 FPS. If that deer is between me and the 200 yard line its meat in the freezer.

 

[pickens72]

Run a hammer bullet and dont worry bout iv killed tons of deer and hogs with high velocity 22 cals with bout every bullet out there but hammer takes it to the next level!