Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Hunting Deer With Smaller Calibers

I once worked with a guy who lived in a remote part of the county. We were talking about the upcoming deer season, and he said the season was open all year for him, because whenever he wanted meat, he killed a deer. I asked him what rifle he used, and he said a 22LR. He went on to tell me that every now and then he lost one that he'd shot, but for the most part the 22 did the job.

I told him that I didn't care what he did on his land, but that he should get him a bigger rifle, one that would kill better. He soon quit working with me and went to farming full time, and I didn't see him for several years. The next time I did, he told me that he took my advice and bought a bigger rifle, and that it did kill better. I was expecting him to say that he'd got a 30-30, 243, 30-06, something along those lines, but the "bigger" rifle he was now using was a 22 Magnum.

And that just plain says what 12 pages of posts didn't.

Thanks!

Shoot some deer with a 6mm creedmoor and a 88gr hammer hunter leaving the muzzle at 3300 fps and I promise you won’t feel under gunned.

I’ve killed ~200 deer with everything from a 300 wsm and smaller and the 6CM and hammer hunter combo has been the most impressive thus far.

I think this can’t be overstated.

Answering the OP’s main question, the 243 and 22/250 just plain work, and they’re fun to shoot. After you’ve processed truckloads of deer that you and your friends have killed with them, that realization settles in, and the ancient dogma quickly fades.

You've obviously never hunted the big northern woods.

After the OP asked why those of us who use 243 and smaller centerfire for deer prefer to do so, and reading replies by those who haven’t used them, I’d say the average male’s head has gotten softer too. Reading comprehension is a must.

No offense intended to anyone.

What kind of hunting is this paint? Out of stands like so much deer hunting in Texas?

Some stand hunting, mostly still hunting swamps and cut overs around the Big Sandy river bottoms. Some so thick it’s hard to see very far. Also hunt the mountains in the Cherokee National Forest.

What stand hunting I do is mainly thick woods. So, a mix of a lot of terrain.

If a bullet will blow a 2-3” wound channel through a deer and exit does it really matter what diameter it starts out at?

Sure haven’t. Why would I?

Because while.it sounds similar.to where you bunt no serious big woods hunter chases deer with a 22 or even a 243. For jump shooting and running shots those calibers are not as effective as larger rounds.

Does a person need to hunt the big northern woods to know if a .243 and whatever bullet you’re comfortable with is adequate for 300 ish pound deer in thick cover?

Or any of the old school 55 grain SP bullets.

We are talking about something that might go 250-300# on the big end.

Not exactly large critters.

I hear what you’re saying, but the OP’s main question was why do those of us who use 243 and smaller centerfire choose to do so. Not why we wouldn’t use them.

Heck, I’m a lever action guy first and foremost. Always will be, but I also enjoy others, especially when they work when used responsibly, like any center fire should.

I don't know if it's considered "big woods" - the place I hunt is 8.8 million acres of forest or about 84% of the over all land mass but plenty of guys are shooting deer over 200 lbs with 22 CF and 243's.

Odd - a 223 will kill a 250lb, drug addled man in tactical gear but it won't kill a deer? I guess you learn something new every day.

There it is.

I'm not jump shooting 300 pound bucks in the style of get hair under the sights, pull trigger and let the chips (bullets?) fall where they may.

If I can visualize a line from the muzzle of my rifle through the heart of the deer without said line intersecting things aft of the lungs on the way in, then I'm good to go. For members of my circle a 243 shooting 95 grain Ballistic Tips or SSTs has proven entirely up to the task. From what I've seen on pigs I have no doubt the 90 grain Interbonds and 95 grain Partitions would also do the number on deer.

I’ve shot one doe with a 22-250. It was about 20 feet away. The 22-250 was what I had. The shot was between the eyes and it killed the deer. I know a guy who used a 222 Savage all his life for deer and was successful.
If I am going on a trip to hunt deer, I would not take any thing smaller than a 243/6mm.
But that’s my preference. The only cartridge that didn’t work well for me was a 30-06 using a 165 grain bullet. The bullet was stopped by the doe’s shoulder. The bullet never entered the rib cage. I switched to a better manufacturer’s bullets and they never failed. Lately I use anything from 24 to 35+ caliber and have not had a bullet failure since that 165 grain failure.
My opinion is using a cartridge/bullet/rifle that I’m sure will work is what I use. I’m not going to chance a poor combination again.

For me a rifle that has more recoil than a 375 won’t be carried for deer unless I just have to try it.

Interesting, thanks!

I suppose one could find out!

One thing I can’t help but notice is this. Most of the people who are using a 243 shoot kill put up and eat a lot of deer. Year after year. We know our equipment works fine for what we will be doing because WE DO IT.

Then we have another group who keep going on about all this hypothetical stuff. What if it’s a bad angle what if it’s running what if it’s thick cover what if it weighs 300 pounds. lol.

Serious question. How many of you normally shoot(or ever) 300 pound deer running in a thicket at bad angles?

For the most part you have people who do stuff and people who talk about doing stuff. Most people do more talking about it and thinking about it than doing it. Maybe that’s why all the worst case scenario stuff keeps coming up? What do y’all do when your alarm doesn’t go off? What do you do if your truck doesn’t start or have a flat? What if a tree fell across the road. You can what if all day long. Meanwhile the world is full of people who go out and make meat with 243’s and the like.