Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Most effective 22LR for deer

First and foremost let me cover the disclaimer...
I live in SC. IT IS LEGAL. 100% Legal on private land to use a 22 rimfire to kill deer. I have it in writing from Charles Ruth of SCDNR.
Secondly, Shots will be 40 yards and under, only head shots and from a scoped and proven Ruger rifle that will put 5 CCI minimags under a dime at 50.
As well the stands will be over bait and only mature does will be taken.
The only shot I will take is the spot between the earhole and eye socket. If the animal is nervous r moving too much, I'll pass. That simple.

So,what's the question?

I've known folks that have used the stinger or velociters just behind the shoulder. They don't make it far. Put it in the ear and they don't go anywhere. Just because they are calm when you are about to shoot don't mean they wont move. Good luck!!! Good chance for a goat roping if you shoot enough of them with the 22

Just because something is legal, does not make it a good idea. miles

I shot a big wild dog about 20 yrs back that probably weighed 125ish.
Hit him behind the shoulder with a Stinger at 40yds, he dropped like he fell out of the sky.

What is the average body weight of these does?

Savage 22 High Powder! enough said!

The .22 LR stingers have dropped a few whitetail does for me; from behind the shoulder shots, let alone head shots.

Worked just as well as any more accepted round.

I wouldn't pull the trigger below 100 pounds live weight.

Stingers, Yellow Jackets, Mini-Mag HP, Winchester 40 grain Power Point, CCI Velocitors.

Shoot for ear hole if head shooting or just a good soft tissue lung shot.

Deer may be shot every day of the year with a 22lr. But their reasons for choosing it, are different than yours.

Not seeing why you want to? Just to brag about skill? Are you worried about bothering neighbors? Silencer would be nice, if legal. Added cost though. Traveling towards somebody and safety?

I wouldn't, but why not a 22 magnum, if you got one.

You got a tricked out 10/22 you want to play?

I'd bet that at 40 yds. and under it could be done; given proper shot placement between ear hole and eye socket. I used to help a friend thin out woodchucks on a small field and out to at least 50 yards we did head shots with 22 LR and those usually were DRT. That was when I learned that a 22 LR has more killing power than I had thought. Based on viewing the results I was surprised by the penetration & destruction displayed even through bone at those ranges. Put one of those in the ear hole of a stationary deer and I doubt it will go far if it goes anywhere at all. Having said all that I'd still step up to at least my 22 Hornet for that scenario or else my buddies would be accusing me of "stunt shooting".

Not interested in bragging, stunt shooting or playing. Just keeping the peace and want to not spook other deer.

This is common...45 yards with CCI quiet22.

So the rifle is spot on accurate and I am a decent shot and it's 100% legal and completely lethal and doesn't waste a tablespoon of meat.
So, the questions isn't why, it's why not.
Shooting a cannon guarantees nothing.

Let us know the results, sure the proof will be in the pot.

I love Stingers but I'd try the Browning HV's with the 40gr. I have really come to love those.




Dave

It don't guarantee nothing, except for the odd times that we make mistakes. Assuming you can make one, it's good to have something that can drive a bullet home at f*cked up angles.

Assuming you are 100% perfect, then you shouldn't have a problem, other than the obvious.

Why use a 22 when there any many other options that will do the job better?

Guys do it all the time, while holding a flash light, and drunk.

You might want to try the New Browning High Speed ammo that is advertised at 1400 FPS.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...22-long-rifle-40-grain-lead-hollow-point

I'll look into that.

And to point...I have seen guys with 300 mags make [bleep] hits on deer, wound them grievously and never recover them.
I am betting no one questioned them when they did it.
To say, if I make a poor shot does it matter what I used? A jaw hit with a 7mm mag is a wounded and quit possibly unrecoverable kill.
I'm ONLY taking a perfect head shot. I can hunt from October till January and have a very liberal bag limit. And a already half full freezer. I'm not pressed to make shots due to haste and nerves or rush shots because I need the meat.

60 gr aguila SSS if I was shooting suppressed, or some type of high velocity solid if not. I would prefer my .22 magnum but if all I could use was my 10/22 then it would be the Aguila with a lane suppressor and fast twist barrel. only take shots at the brainstem from the side or back ideally side and tucked in close to the base of the ear. I wouldn't do a facing headshot if I could avoid it, between the eyes if I'm in an elevated position such as a deck or treestand would be doable. I've heard the lung shots work and frequently well, but I've never tried one.

My buddies and I killed a bunch of deer with .22's when we were teenagers. Nothing to it if you can shoot. I'd stay away from the light, hyper velocity HP's like stingers/yellow jackets as they don't penetrate for shyt.

We have a butcher shop and switched from 22 to 22 mag for sows and bulls. Best bullets I've used are the A22 s. That being said I've seen good results from 17 hmr vmax, but they're pretty loud in the shop. 22 and 22 mag solids out do hp s. Barry

I've shot a few deer with suppressed .22 Magnums while doing urban herd reduction work and they all died, but not all instantly even with short range standing head shots. Based on that experience, I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting deer with any currently offered rimfire cartridge/bullet combination unless it was a survival situation and then anything goes.

That said, since you're going to be shooting antlerless deer in a place with lots of deer and a liberal bag limit, if you happen to shoot one and can't recover it, it isn't the end of the world as no protein goes to waste on the forest floor.

CCI Mini mag hp in the lungs if not suppressed. CCI 0074 if suppressed in lungs.

For head only, CCI Mini Mag solids.

Its all in shot placement, patience like after any shot, and ability to trail if need be.

22s will kill deer just fine. Its almost all I use for hogs up to about 250 for the last few years. In fact have been shooting them in the ear with the suppressed HPs even at times.

You do have to pick and choose/pass shots. Obviously.

When it is a situation that HAS to be taken, then I step up, but more than most. Generally to some kind of 300 mag at a minimum with a good stout bullet. Its pretty rare that I feel the need to HAVE to shoot on any given day, regardless size of animal either...

Well, at least you won't be accused of "Over bulleting your deer rifle".

Ok. But you're being an idiot, which is nothing new for you. You can marry a man in SC too, I'm guessing that is next?

Yes, a jaw shot is a jaw shot with a 7mm, but should the opportunity to send one up the cheerio arrives after you f*cked up said deer, I'd count on a 150gr TSX being able to finish the deed over a 22LR Stinger.

That you can't grasp the difference, surprises me not.

Again, I'm all about using shiet that works when everything is wrong, not when everything is 'perfect', which clearly you are not.

Why post when you haven't read the GD thread?




Dave

I guess the "BB Gun for Deer" is the next thread.

PM Digital Dan. I think he has whacked a bunch of wild hogs with .22 shorts. If I remember, he always used solids and shot placement was as you described.

I'd use 40 grain solids over hp's, if it was me, and head shots were the only one I'd be taking. Whatever high-velocity 40 is giving me the best accuracy. I watched a deer drop dead to 3 Mini-Mags in the back of the head from a Ruger Mark II at about 80 yds. Bam Bam Bam while she was walking straight away. Hard to say whether the first two did any good, but the last definitely connected, and she died instantly.

It sounds like you answered your own question.

Why does that matter? Especially if he's shooting them in the head.

May be legal there, but here even a spent .22lr case will get me in trouble with the law. Poachers have used .22lr for many years due to the much quieter report.
I would love t o hunt with my dad's. Savage 24 in .22/.410 for deer, rabbits, pheasant, squirrels, but during deer-gun, .22 ammo can not even be present. (In ohio)

If I were determined to do it, I'd try Stingers. I considered doing it when I lived in NC albeit with a .22 WMR. I didn't get around to hunting that property though and I'll always pick a .30 over a .22 if there's no good reason not to.

A bad marksman, has nothing to do with the capability of the caliber.

It's being done with PCP guns in .30, .357, and .45. One guy on here has killed a bunch of Texas hogs with his .357. Seems to be okay for good shots that wait for the right opportunity and have a place to hunt where the game's not constantly on the jump, but not a good choice in my mind for general hunting. In any event, airguns aren't legal for big game anywhere I hunt.

Huh, I didn't have any problem dropping deer instantly with head shots from my .22 mag. using Winchester 40 gr. JHP. What load were you using ?

My dad has killed a bunch with a 22LR just to survive growing up because it was all they had. You don't have to head shoot them. You just have to wait for a good clean,close lung shot.

For soft tissue shots. Easier to get a Stinger or Mini Mag through an 80# deer than a doe that will go 125# or more.

I understand he said head shots only but if they are smallish 100# or so does I wouldn't think twice about a lung shot.

I "Heard" they are dirty. Any issues or is somebody blowing smoke up my azz?

So what does an "excellent" marksman such as myself, have to say about "capability"?

Nothing that will add to the discussion, I suspect.

why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd think twice about the whole damn thing! lol

I haven't shot them, but I'm going to. I'll let you know.

To be honest I wouldn't think about it at even if legal. I have seen the above work, and work damn fast too.

If I were me and I wanted quiet I would get me a 223 and suppress it shooting a 55 grain Gameking. Super deadly combination there, at least on these Missouri deer.

Also understand not everybody has the funding for a can either. It's legal and if the shooter feels they are up to the task then why not.

I personally wouldn't shoot #6 shot at turkeys but people do and the results speak for themselves.

It's a legal method where the OP is so if that's what he wants to use then go ahead.

Buying a silence and a rifle to shoot it for the ability to throw 5.56 subsonics when a 22LR is legal and effective is like buying a F350 to carry a lawnmower.
While you may enjoy spending money for show, why no just use what's already available?

Never said anything about spending money for show. Also never said you shouldn't use it.

Said go ahead of legal.

Shot a coyote harassing a doe several years back precisely between ear and eye with late Dad's Marlin 60 and It went straight down with an exit.

She was a big one and remains best offhand shot I've made on game smaller than deer. Forty yards; I'm now partial to Velocitors.

Were it legal I'd shoot does that way.

I'm guessing that was directed at me, so in short I already have the setup and no i didn't buy it "for show" I bought the suppressor because it's a lot of fun and for my kids to learn to shoot a variety of firearms with less noise. I usually use it on my .22 magnum but since the original post limited use to 22 lr I limited my response as well. To stabilize the larger bullets you need a faster twist and they hit with more authority than 32 or 40 grain bullets. the barrel I got was on sale, came threaded and still works great on all other 22 bullets out there. when shooting prairie dogs it doesn't spook others that are up allowing multiple shots from one location without spooking them. This setup allows the use of ALL 22 LR bullets already available.

You are just putting on a "show" with this thread. Have you gotten all the attention you were seeking?

this^^^

Sounds real ethical.

Well, since thats the case, may as well have fun and try to roll them running at 150 yards.

Quite often people talk on here about the strange things bullets sometimes do.

I knew a crack shot rancher years ago told me about a big crippled stray he shot in the head at about 20 yards in the ranch dump to keep it from suffering. 22.

Ten days later it had crawled half a mile to try and get a drink of his dogs water in the ranchers back yard, half its head rotted off.
Cured him.

Never was a man who did much shooting where he didnt miss or have crap happen.

Over half the head offers non immediately lethal matter. Most people who think they can send the message to fire and ALWAYS hit the brain before a deer can move its head dont know much about deer or shooting.

I will agree, some can make a noise and make a good head shot before the deer drops its head back down, provided another distraction doesnt occur to attract its attention before the bullet gets there.

+1

to paraphrase jeff foxworthy, "if you find yourself shooting a deer with a 22LR, you're an azzhole"

And yet millions of people throw sticks at 300fps every year at deer and none utters a condemnation.
Odd that.

You could stab one to death, too. That is even lower velocity.

The principles of the killing mechanism of arrows and bullets are different. Velocity between the two methods is an apples to oranges comparison.

One cuts and slices, one uses brute force and crushing.

A person could use too small of a bow, too. Just like too small of a bullet.....

Not the comparison I was making.
To point a deer can move prior to the trigger break on a 22 .YES.
A deer can move after the release of an arrow and no body condems the Archer for irresponsible behavior.
What's more likely a deer wounded and never recovered by an arrow 3x slower than the sound of it's release. Allowing it to jump and be porrly hit or the supersonic solid smashing a deer in the CNS?

Just some random thoughts and observations. May be worth exactly what you paid for them, but>>>>

22 LRs are used an many a homicide. Looking at autopsy reports has been relieving. The wounded ones too, but the kills were what I looked at most times.
Their are really only 2 factors that come into play in most cases. Both of which relate to the bullet hole through the body
#1 is where it hits, and the angle it hits at.
#2 is a bullet that penetrates well. No 22 LR is super dependable for linear penetration and often veer off course, so the 1st factor is the most important.
Hits to the brain the spine and neck are instant in putting them on the ground. The closer the vertebra is the the surface the better the odds of hitting them.

Heart shots are usually fatal, but sometime they work instantly, and some times they kill over a period of a few minutes. Sometimes quite a few! If the ventricle supping the aorta is hit the man or animal usually drops instantly, or very soon after the hit.

The idea that a 22 LR is "totally ineffective" is untrue. Many many poachers use them and kill far too many animals with them but if a poacher makes a kill and the animal runs that poacher will usually let it go rather then risk exposing himself to being caught. I would never use a 22 LR for any reason other than a desperate one, but there is simply no reason for me. I have more powerful rifles and handguns and so I would use one of them. But I have seen the wounds made by 22s and I can say that they damage is similar to that done by some broad heads shot from bows. If the angle is right and the hit is well placed a 22 will kill most animals. Even the elephant has been killed with 22 LR now and then by men in the past, but to my mind that fact never made my CZ 22 an elephant rifle.

Accuracy becomes more and more important the farther down the power scale you go. I dare say you can't get very much below a 22 rim rifle, ------------ with any firearm.

Many areas of the US and definitely in Mexico had the deer population essentially wiped out with 22 RFs. I watched a Rancher make several hits on a mid sized buck with a 22 WMR with hollow points. Found the deer the next day about a mile from where it was shot.

On the other hand at least for some missions the highly trained Israeli snipers use 22RF for specialized situations. They are expert at taking out the target even in crowd situations with few or no secondary casualties.

Some friends use a 218 Bee or Hornet as their primary deer rifle which are a step above a rim fire but not all that much. The friend who uses the Bee has had around forty consecutive one shot kills and no loses. This is strictly harvesting does as herd reduction and for meat over a feeder so not challenging shots. The noise level is low enough the deer will usually return and multiples are possible.

WM Bell or was it Pondoro Taylor (?) wrote that he could walk from Cape town to Cairo armed only with a 22 RF and never go hungry. No doubt either of them could.

Where did those ranchers bullets land ? The reason I ask is because I've killed a half dozen deer with lung shots from a .22 mag. and two more with a 5mm Remington rimfire mag.. None went so far as 100 yards before they went down and most were down and dead inside 60 yards.

I plead the fifth....

.[/quote] Where did those ranchers bullets land ? [/quote]

They were around the edges of the lungs maybe one in the liver. No center of mass or behind the shoulder aorta area hits. No doubt one well placed shot would have put the buck down. I think it was trotting initially then running and all off hand shots.

Where did those ranchers bullets land ? [/quote]

They were around the edges of the lungs maybe one in the liver. No center of mass or behind the shoulder aorta area hits. No doubt one well placed shot would have put the buck down. I think it was trotting initially then running and all off hand shots.
[/quote]


Oh well, that's exactly what I'm talking about....

Back in my early days I worked in a packing house where we killed about 1,000 head of cattle a day. For the most part they were all killed by cutting the major arteries in the neck with a knife after they were stunned with a pneumatic knocker and hanging upside down from a rail. The really tough ones that came back alive from being knocked had to be killed before they could hurt someone and they did that with a .22 pistol shot to the head. Granted that was point blank range, but those were 900 pound adrenaline filled cows or bulls with lots thicker bone structure than any deer. I'm not sure what bullet they used and that was 40 years ago. Bullets are way better today than they were back in the '70's. That said, I killed a car hit deer that had a broken back to end it's suffering using a .22 pistol and it was less than decisive.

I have never killed a deer with a rimfire but I have killed hogs in traps with them. For this kind of I prefer a 22 magnum with hollow points. It is a more decisive killer with a greater margin of error,

They make air rifles that are fully capable of killing deer............

The most shocking thing about this post is the OP's Ruger will put 5 mini mags under a dime at 50 yds. I've never seen a ruger do that .

Any .22 lr firearm's capable of taking deer quite reliably if it hits them with sufficient velocity. If you have access to,say, a tethered hot air balloon, a pawn shop bolt gun dropped on a whitetails skull from a few thousand feet up should do nicely.

You've shot one?
I've got a Savage HBAR that'll do the same. You shocked disposition may say more about you than me.

A guy uses an Evanix .22 PCP in Hawaii for hogs all the time but I digress. I used to do urban herd reductions with a 22 mag. A solid with the fastest most accurate round is the best. Fast frangible bullets might break up a bit. I passed 10-1 what I shot. Between the eye and the ear is safe bet. Pay close attention to head position. I.e., if the deer is looking up it's not between the eyes but just below, etc. It's not as easy as it sounds. Never lost one but was extremely patient.

My old Marlin 25 will come pretty close to that accuracy with Mini Mags. And it is almost a piece of junk. Except for the fact that Santa gave it to me as a 10 year old. and it kills way too effectively, I might not have kept it myself for 36 years......