.22 cal bullets can produce some pretty spectacular kills. I know people who have shot moose and horses and cattle with a .22LR. I've read old stories where Inuit have shot polar bears,muskox,walrus & seals with a .222.
in one case people have no respect for animals,the other is making do with what u have to work with.
Most all of us would use whatever we had handy to survive if necc., for those of us who don't hunt to survive, some are stuck on stupid, some are "challenging" themselves to impress someone else, and some actually give a damn about what they are shooting at.