Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting anyone thinking of using a 22centerfire in MN for deer this year?

I thought about carrying my cz 527 american 223 instead of my 30-06 on opening day,but I have decided to carry the '06 at least till I fill my buck tags.anyone else?

I'd carry the bigger '06 hammer for buck hunting, just in case a longer or angled shot presents. When you can pick and choose, the smaller round will do the job, as I found out last year. I may try a .223 up in WI if I fill my buck tag early this year. It did a wonderful job on a Texas doe last Fall. As usual, bullet placement and bullet quality are VERY important, IMO.

fluffy, I think you are making a wise move there. Obviously I don't know how good a rifle shot you are.
What I do see by you asking and your choice is that you don't have complete confidence in the 223 yet. That is no knock on you believe me. It takes use and some experience with that round used on bigger animals than folks are used to useing it on to be sure of what it can and will do.

On your part you have to have the complete confidence and the ability not to just shoot a deer but to be able to hit the spot on a deer you are shooting for.

With an 06 or the like you can hit a deer somewhere in the front half and more than likely put meat on the pole. Not so with the 22 centerfires. You need to pick your spot and be able to hit it.

I have never shot an elk in my life. Never will either unless I hit the jack pot or some kind soul takes pity on me. I tell you this in all seriousness though. Within my sure range of being able to hit the spot I want I would have no qualms of using my 22-250 on one. I'd kill him graveyard dead too. I have shot that rifle enough to know what it will do and what I can do with it. Not bragging just saying.

BCR

I've thought about using my .223 with 55gr Hdy SP's for my extra doe tag this year....haven't decided why I want to with all my other caliber choices.


Brett

By the way, has anyone used the 55gr Hdy SP's on a critter. If so how did they work as far as penetration?

Thanks,

Brett

thought about it.

I typically don't know what I'll be carrying until I reach for it as I'm heading out the door of the deer shack. I'll typically have my tried & tru M70 FWT 30-06 in the rack, along with other rifles such as an old M88 in .308, a M70 in 300 wby, sometimes even a .450 marlin... sometimes an encore in .243 win

Always depends on my plan at the time which is always based on the wind, weather conditions & things I may have learned about the deer the previous evening or earlier that morning. I've got my favorites for different stands or still hunting or for what kind of cover or land I'll be attempting to crawl through.

the legalization of the .22 centers in MN will likely just add one more rifle to the rack for me to choose from on any given outing.

For those of you that don't know, this year MN lowered the minimum caliber size requirement from 24 cal.(.243), to 22 cal. centerfire or bigger.

My .223 Tikka might get a little more experience than with just toothy critters!! The longest shot where I hunt is 100 yards, and I will be very selective with the shot.........Al

39 gr of Ramshot Big Game under a 53 gr TSX was doing a nice kind 3475 out of a 20" Win 70 22-250 Carbine last night.

Will load a couple more to see fer sure how they pattern before getting too committed to the concept.

Sure looks "right" with a 6x36 M8 tho ...

GE

I'll meet you at Kabekona coners and will bring my 22/250 and TSX's along...

Dober

By the way, hi to Tingy when you see him again

Dober,

Iffin' you're serious I AM THERE.

'Course opening weekend is for them "edibles" in the RRV ...

GE

Man if I could I would, I think that they still have the family farm but not sure.

Would be fun though, I sure love that country.

You ever fish the crick there for trout?

Dober

its just I have so many components for my 06,If I switch to something else for hunting,I will never use any of them.

Dober,

Haven't done them brookies in some time. Didn't do it well last time I tried with kids in tow IIRC. Not opposed to trying again, but so much water ... so little time ...

Then again, we have access to a patch of cover or two in these parts, should you come home ... we got a spot.

GE

Thinking on it. I will load some TSXs for the .223. If I decide to use them it will be head shots only for me. I have no question a .224 TSX will do the job if placed decently in the chest, but even a small mistake could mean a long tracking job. I consider the likelihood kinda slim though. I want to try some TTSX 130s out of the '06 and .300 WM. They interest me more. I have very accurate loads for both guns, and at the speed they'll hit with their penetration they should be as close to a perfect bullet as I am likely to ever see.

Putting one in the brain box out of an accurate .223 at moderate range is no big deal. Seeing what happens with a new bullet for the first time is a bigger deal.

You will never admit it but I bet one of you guys regrets using a .223 on deer this season. I know we are all perfect shots out here but the .223 is still marginal on deer.

I guess I haven't given it much thought. Maybe I might give my CZ 527 221 Fireball a try. It's deadly accurate and I have a few stands that are quite clear out to about 100-150 yards. What do you guys think would be a good bullet and bullet weight out of this little round(head shots only) out to 150?

I killed a deer last year with a 243/Barnes 85 TSX last year. That's not a whole lot different than a 70 grainer out of a .223. It took out the last two ribs on the left side going in. it took out the heart and lungs. It took out the first two ribs on the right side leaving the chest. It traveled through the neck most of the way to the head before exiting. Almost thirty inches of penetration. There was no recognizable lung tissue in the chest. The heart was laid open with all four chambers and valves fully exposed.

I don't care what you call it, as long as you don't call it marginal performance. I have killed and seen killed a lot of deer with 30-30s. They cannot match the destruction or the penetration of those little TSX bullets, much less even think about that kind of accuracy except in very special circumstances. They are not marginal are they?

I'd be willing to be there's some of us will regret using some of the bigger thirty calibers on deer this year. Some might not be as steady as they should have been. Some might choose the wrong bullet. Some might misjudge range in bad light. Some might have bumped their scope on a tree before the shot.

The right bullet in a .22 is hardly a marginal proposition. The wrong bullet in a much bigger caliber can be. I myself have always been a habitual head shooter. To me, it's more or less the same target size as the heart and If I can hit one I can hit the other with equal ease. I'd far rather shoot a deer with a .22 that will put the bullet where I want it than an .30 that shoots 4 inch groups, and I would be willing to bet that there is a hell of a lot more .30's out deer hunting that shoot >4 inch groups than shoot under 4 inches. And that doesn't begin to address shotguns and slugs. If you want to discuss marginal, have a good look at 3 out of 4 people shooting the kind of accuracy I just mentioned.

Don't know me very well do ya ... :-)

I publicly admit my shots gone bad so I and others can learn from the experience. I believe I posted the half mile track of a lost buck that I hit a little too far forward with my 7x57 last fall.

Ironically had I attempted made the same shot with a 139 Hornady instead of a 120 TSX I'd a rolled him right there. (The slower bullet would have gone further back and right into the shoulder/boiler room.)

In any event, I'll report the 22-250 experience be it good/bad/indifferent.

GE

Miles58,
You are right, shot placement is MOST imporant. A good shot with a small calibur is much better than a bad shot with a large calibur. I am hearing so many guys rave about the centerfire .22s that I must be out of my mind. I did witness a small doe lost to a good shot with a .223. We recovered the deer after seeing the buzzards flying in. Shot hit right behind the shoulder and the deer went about 300 yards with a very slight blood trail. My guess he was using a varmint bullet. I guess I need to get used to the fact that a .22 centerfire is a very legitimate deer cartridge. As for the 30.30 you would be amazed by the killing power of the new Hornady Leverevolution ammo. I would put it up against your 85 grain any day. A hunting buddy helped me skin a deer I shot with the new stuff and he insisted that I shot it with a 30.06 until I grabbed the gun out of the truck to prove I shot it with a 30.30. Awesome stuff

I killed a big doe with a 30-30 and the Leverevolution ammo last year. While it is better than what we have had in the past, it is no match for a 70 grain TSX out of an accurate gun. At least not in most cases. I think there may well be guns that shoot it very accurately. Mine doesn't. It's not bad by 30-30 standards, but it just can't compete beyond fifty yards. The doe I shot with it last year was DRT, but that's what happens when you take one in the back of the head.