Champlain Islander

I view any 22 cal as being too light for deer. True, a well placed shot will drop a deer but come on......they demand more respect than that.....

hardcorehunter

Well ,I did a google search on the smallest recommended rifle caliber for deer. Several authors noted that you should keep your shots at 150 yds or closer due to needing proper bullet placement with something so small of a caliber as wind can be a big factor with a little bullet. As several noted there are much better choices than a .20 caliber bullet for deer. The Arizona Cous deer link states that these are the smallest deer and that you should hunt with a .257 or bigger due to wind pushing little bullets.. Here are a couple of links. http://www.fishandhunttexas.com/debate_over_22_center.htm
http://www.arizonahunting.net/coues.htm
Will a 22.250 work? Yes. Butchers kill 1000 lb steers with a .22 rimfire to the head every day. Hunting is all about shot placement. Are therebetter choices to hunt deer with..I will let you decide? I have my opinion and that is what makes America great..freedom of speech and opinions.

Pass_Thru

Id feel fully confident with one of my .22-250 loads with a premium bullet and knowing where my guns shoot. If my loads dont shoot under 1.000" I wont use that load.

Jason

wishardass

A .22 anything for deer is not going to give you good results every time. THe minimum for deer should start at .25 bullets.

mlo3135127

I agree 100%

JagMagMan

The .22's will kill deer, the .22 RF's will kill them too! My question would be why??? There are sooooo many calibers that work sooooo much better!
I understand that shot placement is the key factor, but the .22's leave zero room for error! And the icing on the cake, is after talking about shot placement, you give one of these .22's to kids or other inexperienced shooters! It just doesn't make good sense to me!

retrieverman

You are 100% right! BUT, we as fathers are not going to start our kids out on something like a 270 that will kick the piss out of a 75+/- pound kid and make them not want to hunt/shoot ever again. The situation is a catch 22; small caliber/risk losing game or larger caliber/excessive recoil for the kid. I don't have an answer. I started my sons on a 223 and got lucky that both my boys made great shot on their first deer. If I had to do over again (which I do now that I have an infant daughter), I will more than likely do the same thing as before.

nchawkeye

retrieverman

I don't really understand this. Do you have something to contribute to the topic?

Pass_Thru

I wasnt saying a .22-250 is great for deer but in the hands of an experianced shooter it can be a good cal. Id feel more than confident of getting the job done if i had only a .22-250. I agree there are better cals. out there. I disagree fully that the min. should be .25 because a .243 is a great deer caliber. And a great caliber for kids or beginners. There are alot of great premium bullets out there for the .243 that will give great penetration and give you a margin for error if the need did arise due to poor placement. Barnes makes some great bullets for smaller calibers to get the penetration job done.