Getting cz 22 mag soon ,will it work on coyotes? small deer? or is that pushing it, should i stick to groundhogs

It has worked good on coyotes for me out ot 125 yds or so.

It wouldn't be my first choice though.

Probably depends more on you than the cartridge. First question I'd have for you is how well you shoot it. Next might be how smooth are you in the woods and fields? Do you understand the significance of bullet construction in terminal performance and what do your state game laws have to say about it?

If one can hold POI to within a half inch of aim point at any given range and knows the anatomy of the prey, one can wreak great havoc with a WMR or any other cartridge.

It isn't a simple question you've asked.

How good are you Pilgrim?

Hunting can be different than killin. There's truck loads of deer and probably an elk or moose or two that will testify if they could to the .22M's ability to get the job done. But there's probably multiple times the truckloads that would testify how they ran off and died, slow and lonely. The .22m is a varmint and small game round. It can serve well for predators up to 20lbs or so. Bigger than that and centerfires take over. I would shoot a coyote with one but only for targets of opprotunity (same with the .22lr) but I won't actively hunt yotes with one unless required by law.

Upper ethical limit-Coyotes, if they are under about 125 yards and in a position where you are able to put a bullet in the vitals.

I have killed many with the WMR and good shots. But my preferance is the 22-250, the killing machine. Good shooting

Put the 22 Mag around a coyote's ear and he will drop. Limit your range though... I wouldn't push it past 100 yards if it was me.

Put a .22 CB in a Coyotes ear and it will drop too. That mean a .22 CB is a good yote cartridge? Not to mention that putting a bullet in a coyotes ear is easier said than done at any range with any cartridge let alone a rimfire at 100 yards.

Well said.

Just cause you can, doesn't mean you should.

Also well said.

A little CB cap, or a 22 Mag, will drop half a ton of beef in an instant, when used in a chute. So should I choose it for elk, if I pick my shots carefully, and limit my range?

I agree with you, sirs. I never said it should be a dedicated yote rifle.

I have slaughtered cows with a 22 Mag before.

I once killed a +/-200 pound hog with a .22mag. using body shots. It took 3 solid hits, but he went down.

In my experience a .22 magnum is an adequate coyote/raccoon/beaver cartridge at under 100 yds or so, and 50 yds is better. However even a .22 Hornet is much more decisive on anything over foxes in size.

They will put down 1,000 lb steers with a flat on between the eye/ears shot. A 22 LR will deck them, but 5 minutes later, they're back up staring at you.

Well at the end of the day I'd rather not worry about stretching it and simply use more gun. I don't like the idea of loosing sleep about a wounded critter and when I considered the cost of 22 Mag ammo vs. 223 or 204 Ruger well I sold mt 10/22 mag.

That reminded me of a story my mom's cousin told.

He went out in the field and one of the cows needed to be put down. He shot her, the next day she was standing at the gate waiting to be fed. "I shot her between the damn eyes and she was there the next day wondering where the hay was!" Said he re-shot her...

Here in Michigan we are required to use rimfires at night when hunting predators.
I use a 22 mag limit my shots to 80 yards but I only hunt over bait with it. And limit my self to head shots.

With the Winchester 17 Super Magnum Rimfire coming out I think it would be a better choice than the 22 mag.

I think fox and raccoon are no bargainers, yotes not hit we'll with a 223 can run a half mile so for me they are off the list - unless that is you can let a bad angle go- however most guys won't do that on a yote.

I don't think I'd go smaller that a .22 hornet for coyotes, and I know I wouldn't go smaller than a .243 win/.250 Savage for deer(that's just me though).

I guess I have put down cows with a .22 lr though...

Fred Bear killed an elephant with a bow and arrow, probably not the smartest thing to try and certainly not what I would choose to use, if I wanted to kill an elephant.

There is no answer to your question, it all depends on what you are willing to put up with. Quick sure kills or the possibility of wounding an animal and it crawling off to die.

The possibility of making a bad shot is always there, but the probability can be eliminated, to a certain degree.

I've killed deer as well as coyotes with a 22 magnum, but both require a shot to the brain for sure kills. A rimfire is the only thing legal in my state for night hunting coyotes. The deer were killed under a crop damage permit. I wouldn't rate the 22 WMR as ideal for either though.

If hunting coyotes size animals i would keep my shots 50 yards and under and you should have no problem putting down with the 22 WMR

I've posted this question over on a couple of the survival boards and had a lot of private answers from people who either have shot deer legally or come from poaching families.

The .22 Magnum is probably the favorite poaching round. It is reliable, relatively quiet and both the guns and rounds are inexpensive compared to a centerfire.

Almost all recommended shots be kept under 75 yards where precise placement could be made. One guy who regularly uses the .22 Magnum for deer said if heart or lung shot are made the deer basically acts just like bow shot deer he has killed. If they don't drop on the spot they don't run far.

Some only took head or neck shots.

The round of choice almost to a shooter was the Winchester 40 grain HP. It is an actual jacketed HP not a plated one. They don't blow up but expand and penetrate very well. No one used the new generation hyper velocity stuff.

When I lived out west I met several ranch hands who used nothing but .22 Magnum for daily use both in handgun and rifle. I saw one ranch hand drop a average size Texas doe...heart shot, ran 25 yards and dropped. Have seen deer hit with 06s and .270s run a lot further. But again it is shot placement and not taking chancy shots that will make this work.

I have several .22 Magnums but probably won't ever use one for deer hunting. If I did I'd limit the range to the same as a open sighted handgun which is about 75 yards...

Bob

Was talking to an eskimo friend of mine that has killed a polar bear with one, but it took 13 rounds. Since November he has killed nine caribou, all one shot kills, neck shots right where it meets the skull. They routinely use a 223 to take polar bear and grizzlies, they consider a 243 a "big gun".

I know a guy that killed a leopard with one......so I think the question is asked wrong.....instead of "can" take the question should read "should"

And to that I'd say turkey (where legal) and animals up to 50 pounds.

It's a very fine round but it's not a superstar.

Glad to see this. I have been experimenting with a few different .22mag rounds. I do like the CCI game point, but ordered 500 rounds of the Winchester because I heard how accurate and effective they are. Good response BTW.

I know an old guy who has taken a pile of gobblers with his old Savage bolt action .22 Mag, he told me in all the years of using this rifle he has only lost one turkey...................Hb

I haved owned a couple of the marlin bolt 22mags. Although a very capable rifle/cartridge for small game, I found it too much for squirrel and not enough for varmints at ranges exceeding 100 yards. I traded my Marlin even for a Rem 788 in 222 and with reloading, found I could shoot for about the same dollars.

In NH it is lileagle to shoot deer with any thing but centerfier and when I used to hunt NY nothing under .24 caliber

Griz

But you might have to shoot some of them from inside of 'em.

The 22 Mag makes a great truck gun... I've dispatched probably 10 deer or so in the 30 years I have owned my Marlin 25MN.. all have been head shots, and have been taking down deer that have been hit by cars out in rural areas...

between the eyes or in the ear...

for hunting, coyote would be the most I'd take with it..

then once again, I shot them as targets of opportunity and could really care less if they die right there or run away wounded to die elsewhere... could care less about the little fawn killers..

It was all I had for a coyote gun at one time, and it worked fine. The 125 yard advice is good.

If it were my "survival rifle" I would hunt deer at 100 yards with it and be confident. But I would choose my shots carefully - straight through the boiler room - no quartering shots.

You should give some consideration to the 50gr 22mag rounds. The should provide more penetration than lighter rounds.

100s of hogs have been killed with the 22MAG.
A shot in the ear and they are DRT.
A lot of farmers in Fla. and Ga.use the 22 Mag for their truck gun.

Coach

I'm not sure a .22 Mag would stop a truck.

I hunt in Maine and Pa. mostly. In Maine it is legal for deer...can't remember about Pa. but I don't think so.

Bob

..the "disturbed" Mr. Short replies again....

That's Mr. CB Short. If I had a ladder I'd tell you that eye to eye.

Solids are great on squirrel, Winchester 40gr Hollow Point will about cut them in half. Other critters I personally know of that fell to the Win HP are:

Muskrat de-headed. Just some scraps of skin and a little jaw hanging off the shoulders.

Turkey gobbler. Shot head on just right of the crop and exited the left thigh 50c size hole.

Knothead buck. Shot between the eyes. Could hold each ear and wiggle the two pieces of skull around.

Spike buck. Eye got dotted. HP bullet was against the back of the skull size of a dime.

Big doe. Shot in neck under the spine, ran into briar thicket and thrashed around a bit till she bled out.

This is a small list. I'm sure there are folks that could write a book.

To clear up the NY deal ALL centerfire rifle calibers are legal where rifles are permitted as are shotgun with slugs 20 gauge or larger,handguns I BELIEVE centerfire with a barrel longer than 5" ? As well as muzzle loaders 45 caliber and larger