Theoretic question

[trappa 518]

Theoretically speaking. What size rifle could drop a, say, roe deer?

Im not condoning in any way the shooting of deer with an under powered rifle, but was wondering what the pro's on here would think a deer could be felled without problem.

I know that north of the border a .22 centrefire suffices ( why its different to south i dont know), but would a correctly placed shot from a .17 hmr or a 22.250 take one down ( illegaly obviously), or would an even less powerful one drop one at close range.

Once again, emphasis is on not condoning it.

[Deker 3,478]

This is a whole hornets nest!!! The calibres are what they are due to official idiots AND the desire to kill quickly.

 

Put simply, the authorities want the deer to die quickly (quite rightly) even when you shoot it up the arse..so overpowerd calibres are directed. Bullet placement is, and always will be the key, I have known a red to run over a mile with a .308 hole through him!!

 

An accurately placed shot from MUCH smaller calibres will "instantly" kill even a Red Stag!

 

Discuss

[SportingShooter 0]

A .22 r/f will quite happily kill a fallow deer, i have the unfortunate knowledge that on one of the large estates around here, that deer are being shot with these guns and the poachers are just taking the bits they want,

unfortunate the way that i know of this information but it answers your question.

As Deker says, a bullet from a very small and not very powerful gun could and can easily kill when the bullet is sent into a vital area.

[garyw 0]

i know for a fact a 17rem will drop roe deer when head shot.helped a farmer out with some rogue deer once.took out 3 in one night[i know its not legit before you all jump up and down]

[Night Hunter 109]

Hi mate, i use a 22-250 for roe and it drops them on the spot no problem,but it is legal here

[Mr_Logic 5]

22LR will do the job with the right placement. It's all about penetration and wounding. If you use a 22LR and expect it to punch a hole right through the tough bits, it's not likely to happen. But put that shot right, and it will whizz through lighter tissue right into the vitals, and over goes the deer.

 

The idea with the bigger calibres is that you CAN go straight through the hefty stuff and still get to the vitals. To say 243 is the minimum is daft though, 223 will work, as will 22-250, they have penetration and expansion to do the job.

[trappa 518]

22LR will do the job with the right placement. It's all about penetration and wounding. If you use a 22LR and expect it to punch a hole right through the tough bits, it's not likely to happen. But put that shot right, and it will whizz through lighter tissue right into the vitals, and over goes the deer.

The idea with the bigger calibres is that you CAN go straight through the hefty stuff and still get to the vitals. To say 243 is the minimum is daft though, 223 will work, as will 22-250, they have penetration and expansion to do the job.

So a smaller calibre will drop a deer if it was to miss bone (ribs) and muscle- sounds logical i suppose.

So head shots would be a theorhetical no-no because of the skull?!? is this correct.

[alimac 882]

22LR will do the job with the right placement. It's all about penetration and wounding. If you use a 22LR and expect it to punch a hole right through the tough bits, it's not likely to happen. But put that shot right, and it will whizz through lighter tissue right into the vitals, and over goes the deer.

The idea with the bigger calibres is that you CAN go straight through the hefty stuff and still get to the vitals. To say 243 is the minimum is daft though, 223 will work, as will 22-250, they have penetration and expansion to do the job.

So a smaller calibre will drop a deer if it was to miss bone (ribs) and muscle- sounds logical i suppose.

So head shots would be a theorhetical no-no because of the skull?!? is this correct.

no id say it was the other way around.. head shot only

[Mr_Logic 5]

22LR will do the job with the right placement. It's all about penetration and wounding. If you use a 22LR and expect it to punch a hole right through the tough bits, it's not likely to happen. But put that shot right, and it will whizz through lighter tissue right into the vitals, and over goes the deer.

The idea with the bigger calibres is that you CAN go straight through the hefty stuff and still get to the vitals. To say 243 is the minimum is daft though, 223 will work, as will 22-250, they have penetration and expansion to do the job.

So a smaller calibre will drop a deer if it was to miss bone (ribs) and muscle- sounds logical i suppose.

So head shots would be a theorhetical no-no because of the skull?!? is this correct.

 

No, that's not what I'm saying. If you place a shot accurately for the heart, 22LR has enough grunt to get through a rib and penetrate the heart. But that's pretty much all it will do if it has to go straight through a rib. Head shot accurately placed will work - the skull is actually relatively lightly armoured.

 

What 22LR will IMHO struggle with is if you get the shot slightly wrong and ask it to go through leg muscle, leg bone, rib and into the heart. It might just about do it, but by the time it gets to the vitals there won't be much energy left. 223 and 243 etc will happily punch straight through that lot, through the vitals and keep right on going.

[dickyboy 1]

headshots are very dodgy to take even with calibres up to 243(in lighter loads), from front on the nasal cavity can deflect a bullet past the brain not killing it quickly, from the side you can take the jaw off even with heavy loads, the slower the expanding the bullet the more likely to deflect as well, i personally do not take headshots as a rule as if you miss the brain(which is relatively small and quite well protected) there are no other major vessels to ensure a quick death, neck shots don't always kill quickly but do paralyse as a rule so at least they can be dispatched very soon after

 

Before people starting jumping on it, yes all bullets will penetrate the skull if perfectly placed but i am talking about the real world where you cannot guarentee hitting a bullseye every time, deflections and woundings do happen, I don't take the risk!!!