Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 22LR and the whitetail skull

I think some people have never killed anything with a22Lr. When I was growing up game laws weren't really laws they were suggestions by the state (according to my family members)...

I know for a fact that you can kill every deer you ever wanted with 22 LR. High speed or standard velocity matters not. The only thing that matters is bullet placement.

We won't talk about what a 22 WMR will do...


Unless deer have gotten alot tougher in the last 20 or 25 years you will be fine. The bigger concern is not letting that bullet get into your neighbors house.
Dink

My uncle, who was once an outlaw and who has probably killed more deer than everyone on this thread combined, swears up and down that that the CCI Stinger will drop them about as quick as a 30-06 within range limitations.

It's not a matter of science, but rather one of wisdom! Proceed.

Some farmers around here have been known to get good at it. Of course those that do, unfortunately don't worry all that much if one runs off to die a miserable death someplace else.

Unless I was in survival mode, I can't see why any reasonable person would want to.

When I was young the Stinger was the bullet of choice. I wonder how the newer stuff works though.

Dink

A lot of the farmers who have deer problems have gleeful dreams about the deer they've just shot running off and dying miserably.

Until they find out they can get people to pay....

why don't you try one of these? i'm sure a 40 gr limestone pebble would have some knockdown power

I've killed quite a few with the .22 LR and .22 magnum. You definitely don't want any hyper velocity hollow points. I've seen them flatten and fail to penetrate the skull. Any of the 40 gr. LR solids will work if they hit right. From the side your aim point should be between the eye and ear hole. A LR solid will often go completely through and out the other side with that placement. It's best to avoid front on shots as the skull is very sloped and will sometimes glance off. The eye is definitely not the place to aim if they're facing directly at you as the bullet will completely miss the brain. It will work fine if the head is at a quartering to you angle though. The back of the head right between the ears also works well. That said, the .22 magnum works much better as it will completely penetrate the skull/head from any angle with no tendency to glance off even from the front from what I've seen.

Sooo, you have complete confidence in the .22 LR being up to the task, but you don't know which bullet to have confidence in? sense me Makes to.

If I was doing it I'd bypass the .22 LR and go straight to the .22 WMR.

Do not take a head shot with a .22 LR or even the .22 mag if they are facing you.
Side head shot. Draw a line from the ear hole, thru the center of the eye. Put the bullet between the the ear and eye on that plane. You BETTER be able to hit a nickel 100% of the time at what ever distance you're shooting, cuz that's how much error you have. Back of the head works well.
Get a .22 mag if you're serious about doing this. Winchester Super-X 40 grn solids....

Never had a problem head on with the .22 mag.. In between the eyes and out the back of the head every time. Those little flat nosed 40 gr. fmj's penetrate like the dickens.

You guys put way too much thought into this. Back in my younger days I learned real quick that a single 40 grain American Eagle .22 LR bullet tight behind the shoulder is about the cleanest kill possible on a deer. Some shots were in excess of 100 yards and it was always the same result. Instant death. Did it quite a bit on a couple ranches owned by buddies.

FYI I haven't done anything illegal for over 14 years now so don't even go there.

I did several behind the shoulder with .22 mag.. None went more than 80 yds. but none dropped instantly either. I know somebody who used to lung shoot them with .22 LR but only with snow on for tracking. He told me he'd just plug one and walk away and come back later to track them out. He said they always laid down and died within 100-150 yds. that way but never said a thing about any instant drops. I've killed enough to know I don't buy instant drops every time behind the shoulder with anything, much less the .22 LR.

To each their own. On a text book broadside shot the "thwak!!!" was clearly heard and the deer fell down. I don't doubt your experiences but know mine were real.

According to my best bud, he hunts exclusively during California's rimfire season; however, he prefers a 22 mag. lol

Should probably clarify that by "instant death" I don't mean constant bang flops. Lots of them were but lots also did a 20-40 yard death run before they fell. What I meant by "instant death" is they were dead on their feet and I never had to go finish one off. No different than a more conventional rifle bullet through the chest.

Cali's got a rimfire season for deer? Are you being sarcastic?

Dink;
Having "dealt with" yard coyotes over the years with Yellow Jackets (1), Stingers(2?), Blasers (2) and Velocitors (4), I would definitely give the edge by a pretty fair margin to the Velocitors. The Velocitors dropped the largest Okanagan male coyote I've run across so far with one shot at roughly 25yds.

As a by the way, I've shot coyotes with a bunch of cartridges up to and including the .308 Norma Mag and .338Win Mag. From that experience have a good basic understanding of their tenacity and toughness.

The Velocitors worked on at least one vehicle hit mulie doe as well, though in my mind I think there might have been a second one as well. We can't hunt deer with rimfire rifles legally here in BC, but when putting an animal down the CO's haven't asked what I used when I saved them a trip - they only said "thank you very much sir."

Anyway, the mulie doe in the neighbor's yard took exactly one Velocitor at the base of her left ear to ease her out of her pain.

Speaking of them, the local Conservation Officers have told me that they'll use .22's for problem bears in urban settings quite a bit. At last count the BC CO's killed somewhere on one side or the other of 1000 nuisance black bears annually and many of the times they are only a "nuisance" when they can't see their way clear to leaving town.

I apologize that I neglected to ask what they use in their .22's though, sorry.

Anyway, for those who are curious about such things, do try the Velocitors if so inclined.

Hopefully that was some use to someone, somewhere.

Regards,
Dwayne