A grizzly experiment.

milkerman

Following on from several threads here regarding the effectiveness of the .22lr against foxes I thought you might be interested in the outcome of an experiment I carried out last week.
I went out after a bunny or two last week during the fine weather. When I arrived at my favourite spot I found a road kill fox on the verge. A young animal and a bit 'flat' from the impact or passing cars. There were no bunnies around so.....
Mr Fox's remains were brought into the field and his head propped up on some sticks. I walked back 100yds and fired a head shot with Federal HVHP (value pack rubbish). I missed but fired again and hit high on the head just above eyebrow level. When I checked I found an absolutely awful wound, the top of the skull had an entry & exit hole. The exit wasnt that much bigger than the entry but both were awful and I am sure would definitely have killed a living animal. I dont know if my first shot missed or struck the neck or torso,but saw no obvious wound.
Lessons learned? No amount of power can make up for missing the target! & My newly purchased .22 needs respect.

Vegeta

milkerman wrote: »

No amount of power can make up for missing the target! & My newly purchased .22 needs respect.

Good post.

Yeah, the .22lr is often talked down as a small calibre.

I think the problem is, it is not forgiving. You miss by and inch or two and you wound, not kill.

With most centerfire rounds, you miss by an inch or two on a boiler room shot and there is a very high chance it will still drop on the spot.

On a side note, who got the job of picking up the road kill :pac:

fish slapped

(Banjo music in the background)
Boy- "Whats for dinner Maa?"

Maa-"Roadkill, YUM":D:D

I' have to agree with Vegeta.

ivanthehunter

Before the boom!
People around this neck of the woods used to use the 22lr to kill deer and TBH their shot kill ratios were prob a fair deal; higher than people with larger calibers.
22lr hunters told me that if they shot a deer between the eyes at 60 yards with a yellow jacket (rem) it would just drop with out a kick or a sound. 98% of the time. ( i was told how two fell after being shot and then they got up and ran!)

They did insist that 60 yards was the max range for guaranteed success and this is very true when you consider the size of the target. But as other have said before, the lack of hydrostatic shock means that the hunter must be on the money.

How many shots are taken each year at crazy ranges with so called deer calibers that result in sever wounding ?
Reduce the range and increase your chances of success.


Anyway milkerman thanks for a good study, if anything it helps to put the 22lr back in the lime light with all the other boom sticks and away from the airrifles

Rew

ivanthehunter wrote: »

People around this neck of the woods used to use the 22lr to kill deer

Isn't that illeagle?

Vegeta

Rew wrote: »

Isn't that illeagle?

Ohhhhhh yeah.

One could go on for quite a bit about the ethics of shooting such a large animal with that calibre, it could be considered immoral as there is practically zero margin for error.

Then again not everyone sails by the same moral compass.

Mellor

Rew wrote: »

Isn't that illeagle?

He said used to use it.
Its not common practice now.

As for .22lr on foxes at 100m.
Of course it can kill, but the kill zone is quite small. Low head shots (jaw area) won't kill. And te fact that you missed first time on a stationary also proves the point thats its tougher to land a kill shot.

J.R.

ivanthehunter wrote: »

How many shots are taken each year at crazy ranges with so called deer calibers that result in sever wounding ?

How do you safely despatch a wounded deer safely & humanely? Is there a danger of ricohet if using high calibre at close range to perform the 'coup de grace'?

meathstevie

J.R. wrote: »

How do you safely despatch a wounded deer safely & humanely? Is there a danger of ricohet if using high calibre at close range to perform the 'coup de grace'?

If you have to do that I suppose using your common sense is the way to go. I wouldn't go for a head shot from 3 yards with a .243 but from the same distance a shot through the chest that'll take out the heart should be quite safe.

milkerman

[QUOTE= And te fact that you missed first time on a stationary also proves the point thats its tougher to land a kill shot.[/QUOTE]

Firstly, I missed the shot - not the rifle. I would have missed that shot regardless of the calibre of the gun - I can hit nothing from standing position! Second, a .22lr in the jaw will not kill a fox but I equally doubt that a .223 so badly misplaced will do the job either - or would it?

Mellor

milkerman wrote: »

Firstly, I missed the shot - not the rifle. I would have missed that shot regardless of the calibre of the gun - I can hit nothing from standing position! Second, a .22lr in the jaw will not kill a fox but I equally doubt that a .223 so badly misplaced will do the job either - or would it?

Probably not, but a .223 dosn't have to hit the head, it can aim for centre mass.
Read my post again, the part you didnt quote. The killzone for .223 is much larger. You don't need to aim for the head, and increase chances of missing.
you missed the shot, but the rifle restricted the target