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Its hard to be open minded.
As hunters we have experiences in the field that shape our thoughts for a long time, sometimes too long. I shot a squirrel once with a CCI Stinger hp. It failed to penetrate breaking up at the surface wound. I rat holed a box of Win power points away today thinking theyed be fine for paper. I dont know that they wouldn't be fine for game also. I got it in my head that hp 22's are bad.
I think we form ideas about some cartridges and bullets the same way and its hard to reasses as technology changes. Its not because we're stubborn so much as that we care about what we're doing and have these percieved failures of equipment burned in our memories.
One good thing about the internet as we can see some 22 centerfires are fine for deer if used judiciously, ballistic tip bullets of the right type will work as intended, etc and so on.
I think we form ideas about some cartridges and bullets the same way and its hard to reasses as technology changes. Its not because we're stubborn so much as that we care about what we're doing and have these percieved failures of equipment burned in our memories.
One good thing about the internet as we can see some 22 centerfires are fine for deer if used judiciously, ballistic tip bullets of the right type will work as intended, etc and so on.
My thoughts are generally clear. My typing, not so much.
Replies
Oh yeah, there's been for years a lot of people down here killing deer with the .220 Swift and the .22-250 and using little 50-55 grain varmint bullets at 3000+ FPS to do it and doing it in many cases at some pretty long ranges. Now with better constructed heavier bullets they're even more effective. And in the last 10-15 years you see more and more people using the .222-.223-.222 Mag. With heavier .224 cal. bullets, more and more deer are falling to them.
Actually I've been using the Speer 70 grain Semi Spitzer for years on deer. Being a semi Spitzer it's not a long range bullet. But also, being it's a Semi Spitzer, it does stabilize in looser twist rifled barrels. Even my 1:14 twist Remington 700 .22-250 stabilizes them. Like I said, it's not a long range affair. But out to a couple hundred yards it will kill as well as anything else.
And let's be honest, most deer are killed well within that distance. I mean, would you recommend a .30-30 for a 300 yard shot? It's not thought of by many as much more than a 150-200 yard rifle at best but an even better reason not to use it for long ranges is there's just too many better cartridges for longer shots. But for 100-200 yards you could do a lot worse.
Well, the .22 CFs will do the job within this range or maybe a little farther. Actually There's several old reliable rifles in this class and some of the newer offerings chambered in ARs fit this bill. But a lot of deer are taken with them.
Now a .22 CF with a well constructed, heavier higher BC bullet can stretch its legs out considerably more than this. I have a box of SGK 65 grain bullets I'm loading for deer. And my shots at my lease can be long. When one of your prime shooting lanes is a pipeline Sendero you can have some very long shot opportunities. They don't like to lay pipe like a snake, they prefer it straight where possible. So you can have stretches of distance in a straight line to shoot that are over 1000 yards, way yonder farther than I'm going to shoot. Hell, I can hardly make a deer out at that distance.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
I bet its hard for someone thats witnessed a failure to attribute realistic and comprehensive perspective.
:uhm: I've shot more squirrels than I can count with CCI stingers. Never had one survive the experience.
Luis
The one I shot had a gaping surface wound, and suffered until I could finish him. I always figured it was because of the hollow points.
When I bought the Winchester power points thinking they'd only be good for paper, I realised that I'd never given modern hp 22's a fair shake. That all my prejudice was based on what could be an anomaly.
That thought process made me wonder that perhaps many of my peers may keep from giving cartridges and or bullets a fair shake because of similar experiences.
Exactly! Well said!
John 3: 1-21
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
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Mike
N454casull
Short form....CCI Mini-Mag HP's. Not as accurate as the best 22LR rounds you'll find (but you never know, 22 LR's are the most finicky rifles I've ever dealt with), but they handle squirrels handily. At least as well as you'd hope. Squirrels are tough, and across a lot of game I've shot, squirrels have left me with some of the best hunting memories I have. And some of the worst. CCI Mini-Mags, for me seem to cut down on the latter.
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