I think here in Alberta a .243 is the smallest one can use on big game.[:-]

In Maine .22 mag is the smallest legal caliber. I hunted with a .22 Hornet one year only because I had no other choice if I wanted to go hunting (broken back). It did the job on a 215 pound (dressed) buck with a shot to the boiler room, but left absolutely NO blood trail to follow. Another hunter found my deer before me and tagged it as his own[:@].

After that I decided I would only shoot if I could drop it in it' s tracks - ended up making a brain shot on a spike on the last day.

The .22 calibers are definitely NOT ideal for deer, but they can do the job in the hands of a skilled hunter who chooses their shots carefully, as said before.

The .22-250 will kill deer, has killed deer, and many people will continue to use it for that purpose. Now, having said that, I personally do not like to see its use on deer. Even under the best of circumstances, (seldom exist in the field), it leaves little margin for error. Why an ethical hunter purposely would choose to go into the field with any centerfire .22, (unless there are extremely mitigating circumstances....like the gentleman with the broken back), when there are so many " BETTER" choices, escapes me!

There is nothing that can be done with a centerfire .22 for deer hunting.....that can' t be done much more certainly with a 6mm of some sort. If the difference in recoil, (excepting maybe the above stated circumstances), is enough that the hunter can' t tolerate it....then they should do the ethical thing and admit they should NOT be hunting that particular game.

Yes, a skilled hunter with a centerfire .22 can kill any deer that has ever lived. If...and only if...they are ethical enough to be absolutely certain of the shot! But fact of the matter is...you can kill a whitetail with a pointed stick....if you are willing to wait for the " perfect" opportunity. And there is the " fly in the soup" .

If you are NOT willing to wait for the perfect opportunity....do NOT use a centerfire .22. If you are honestly that ethical...then by all means....please avail yourself! Are you??? (And for heavens sake...don' t recommend a centerfire .22 to a beginner.....because they will almost certainly NOT be disciplined enough to do the right thing!)

Bigbore, I don' t think you' d feel that way if on the last day of the season, the only deer you' ve seen (and the biggest buck you' ve ever seen) was quietly grazing 250 yards out from your stand. The dimunitive .270 would be looking mighty good about then.

Haha, nah Danny, I like .270' s enough, but I don' t really take shots at anything longer than 150 yards. The whole appeal to hunting for me is being close to the animals. Not as a macho thing, it' s just how I like to hunt. I would never seriously give another hunter a bad time about taking a 250 yard shot (jokingly for sure ), I just like to be within close quarters. Bows and Big Bores, and plenty of shotguns, that' s the way to go for me. I would just stalk in to about 50 yards of the late season buck and drop his ass where he stood with a single 300 grain hollowpoint [>:].

Thanks....thats a stitch.

I think most of the deer taken in our area with 22 centerfires are by farmers and ranchers who carry these 365 days a year in thier truck gun racks. 90 percent of thier shooting is coyotes skunks coons and porcupines.. Most deer are shot in the head. Most of these guys when actually going deer hunting have bigger rifles for that. Many gun rack guns are 243 as well. I think however in that area the 22-250 is the most popular because most shooting for all critters is fairly long range. The average shot on deer is close to 200 yards. This is a prairie region with most shots acroos open fields or across river breaks and draws. You will almost never get a shot under 100 yards.

Well, it is compared to the 45/70! LOL

NO it isn' t. But for larger game like white-tails or mule deer, it should be loaded with non-varmint bullets, (Nosler Partitions or Barnes X' s) and very precise shot placement is critical to success. However, precise placement is easier with such an accurate, low-recoil gun, but only if the deer present broadside shots, are not moving, and are not too far away because these bullets lose energy fast!!

.22 rifles, regardless of their power level, are not GENERALLT RECOMMENDED for deer hunting. In fact, in some jurisdictions, they are not even legal for deer!!