My last post was mainly a joke, especially that last sentance.


I'll actually try totalk like a man this time, and I'm truly sorry if you took offense to my last post,

In my first post, I stated that it is my belief, that for hunting WhitetailedDeer, it is best for the hunter to choose the rifle, that is the most powerful they canhandle,without sacrificing shooting ability and accuracy, in this way, having an accurately placed shot,with a more powerfulrifle cartridge, would be amore prudent choice than to have an accurately placed shot, withamuchsmaller cartridge in terms of power and performance,simply because, although it doesn't guarantee afaster kill, neccessarily, itstill takes a little bit of chance out of the equation, and in some cases,thatcan, not neccessarily will, but it can, make the difference.
As an earlier poster who had hunted with the .222 and the .22-250 for deer said, "But you have to be prepared to let deer walk if the right shot doesn't present itself."

Now, for different types of hunting, "the right shot" means different things, with bowhunters, for example, they can only ethically take a broadside shot, or a quartering away, wheras a rifle hunter may also shoot a quartering toward, or, if they are able to shoot the base of the neck from their vantage point, they can shoot a still deer facing away from them if they want to, though this isn't the best choice for a man trying to get the deer mounted.
Likewise, smaller cartridges are confined to slightly stricter areas where a shotcan be taken, withresults that one can be almostcertain of the damage inflicted on the deer, should that shot be taken.
For example, aimingfor the pointof the deers'shoulder, (i.e. in front of the shoulder toward the neck), in an attempt to hit the spinal cord where it dips down, wouldn't be advisable witha cartridgesuch as the.222 or the .22-250, not because the bullet wouldn't do damage, but because since those bullets are very light andfast, on impact with the bone, they could deflect withinthe body cavity, into a place other than the desired location, which may result in either desireable, or notso desireable results, and it is herethat we encounter "chance".
On the other hand, using alarger bullet, with a .270 cal or .30 cal, that has more inertia, mass, and weight, would give the bullet a much greater chance, ofgoing out the oppositeend of whence it entered. "Chance", is still present, as with any hunting situation, but greatly reduced.
I have personally witnessed chance turn out for the better when my grandfather fired at a Mule Deer spike, and the light, 55-grain bullet struck a rib, and deflected within the body cavity, turning the heart and lung area into a blender, without an exit wound.Thedeertook 3 steps, and dropped.
However, the fact is that chance is unpredictable, and there is no guarantee of favorable results, andthe unpredicability,makes it less favorable.
Therefore, larger cartridges, are a much wiser choice for deer hunting, but, needless to say, only when used accurately, with precision.

Unlike small game, deer, being larger creatures, are less likely to be "mutilated" by a large weapon, quite simply, because they have more mass, and stronger, largerbones. A3 1/2 year old buck shot with a .375 H&H, would still yield at least 100 pounds of edible meat, guaranteed. (In no way was this statement advocating that people should consistently hunt Whitetailed Deer with a .375 H&H, unless they are capable of doing so, with accuracy, and if such a person did exist, hats off to them.)
However, if one were to shoot a rabbit with a 20-guage slug, significantly less meat would be harvested, since the meat surrounding the bullet wound would need to be disposed of, to avoid lead poisoning.

Therfore, the debate about hunting deer with larger cartridges, is not connected with hunting small game.