redsox3624

i like that bigcountry

DIXIEBANJO

Yes ,a 22mag is very capable of taking a whitetail.Ive seen it been done before.Im not encouraging it,as it is illegal in every state I know of to use a rimfire cartridge to hunt deer.But it is definately capable.The indians of the far north kill the BIG bears with it regularly.Thats right ,the big bears with a 22mag and 22lr.Dont ask we why ,but they do.They sneak up and pop them in the head at 3 feet and it goes through the brain.If you want to think about it in a technical point of view,you can kill any north american animal if your cartridge can penetrate 1 inch of bone.The one inch is the skull thickness,and most deer only have around a 1/4 inch thick skull.If you can get to the brain,Its dead.The only problem is getting really close to the animal.I know someone that was forced to shoot a medium sized black bear with a 17hmr.One shot through the eye and into the brain and he was dead.Ive heard some people say the 17hmr is only good for animals less than 5 lb.That bear didnt seem to know that.What really maters is shot placement.

zrexpilot

The .22 mag is illegal here in Texas, this I know. I also have taken 3 deer with it. 2 were body(heart lung) shots, one fell the other went about 20yds, the third was a neck shot and it fell. All were 120 lb deer and shots were around 70yds.
Its very capable, but I dont recomend it even if it were legal, there just better choices. I Just got me a .22 hornet for next year. This is legal in texas.

James B

There are very few states where the 22 mag is legal. Most require centerfire only.

Ruger-Redhawk

Legal or not I don't recommend using a 22mag on deer size game.We as hunter need to make the most clean and humane kills possible.It's hard for me to swallow that a hunting safety instructor would mention using a 22 mag for deer.It;s just not ethical or good practice in my opinion.

Ruger Redhawk

T/C fan!

Well said RR. Rimfires are not legal here in Ky, but if they were, I'd NEVER take a chance like that. We, as true sportmen, owe it the game we chase to make as quick and humane kill as possible. A wounded deer running around is just another bullet in the anti-hunters gun. I don't know who gave this guy his certification to be an instructor, but they need to re-think it. He's obviously not teaching ethical ways of hunting to young/new hunters and needs to be "culled" before he "instructs" any more bad habits.

bigbulls

I doubt that your instructor was actually condoning you going out and hunting deer with a .22 mag.

I am sure he was simply trying to convey how even some of the smallest cartridges can be capeable of killing even large animals when in the hands of very skilled hunters.

The .22mag is more than capeable of killing any deer that walks this planet. Even elk and moose. Put a bullet of any size where it needs to go and the result is a dead animal.

Did he add anything to this statement before or after? Any other context that goes along with it?

fairchase Larry

When I was in Idaho on an Elk hunt in 98 I went into a small rural Sporting goods store.
I was looking at the used guns and ask the owner if he had any .22 mags, he said no I wish I had a hundred but I can't keep them in stock.
After asking why they were so popular, he heitated then began explaining that they were the gun of choice for bow hunters.
He said the locals would stash one inthe area they were bow hunting,then go to that area during the rut and call up the big bulls and pop one in the neck with the .22 mag. stash the mag, then quarter it and pack it out and no one was the wiser.
He said that in that area at least 90% of the big bull archery klls were taken that way.
When I ask how effective a neck shot on an elk was, he said that if you knew where to stoot one,slightly behind the ear, that they would drop in their tracks paralized from the neck bone hit,then,if necessary, they were finished off with an arrow.
The reasons he gave for using the .22 mag was, they are cheap and can be left out in the weather for weeks and if they get rusted it was no big deal plus the report when fired could not be heard very far.

So I guess if anyone has a .22 mag that they no longer want, there is a little gun shop near Avery Idaho that would love to buy it!

trailer

Personally I think that bigcountry and bigbull have the correct interpretation of what the instructor was trying to say. It was just a statement about the 22 mag. nothing more , nothing less.

BareBack Jack

When we butcher our beef and hogs thats what we use,one shot to the head,BAM flop.It will work on deer also,seen it with my own eyes.Shoot them in the head about 2 inches down from the top,or as they feed by they put their head down and behind the ear right at the base of the neck(I'm talking 40 yds or less).

Now is it the right gun for the job,heck no.A person would be better off with a 243 or larger for deer.