Smallest calibre for deer stalking

Umiq88

was coming up in the after hours thread just thought id see what everyone else thinks

By me wrote:

have to disagree with you there rovi my father used a .22/250 to hunt deer with and any deer he shot dropped i think its a mater of the shooters ability to hit where he's aiming the person he sold the rifle to dropped a deer at 475 yards with the gun

i dont think people should be using a high calibre powerful rifle unless they've used a smaller rifle with a curved tradjectory like a .17/.22/.22wmr once they're able to one of these and know where to shoot a deer a .22wmr could be used to shoot deer if you could get within 150 yards i know people who've done it

Ammoman

I wouldnt publically admit that , thats in contravention of the wildlife act and anyone shooting a deer with any Shotgun , or rifle smaller that 22.250 with a 55 grain bullet can be arrested and have not only their firearms taken but also any other equipment used , ie your car or jeep . It is a very serious crime and deserves even stiffer penalties . The reason that the 22.250 is the minimun caliber is that firstly , since 1971 it was the largest caliber available , secondly , It can produce above 1000ft/lbs of energy at a distance of around 150 to 200 yds which is the legal minimum required to effectively and humanely kill a deer . Since the re introduction of the fullbore rifles it is now seen as too small by many deer stalkers who regard the .243 as the minimum to come in line with the european standards and UK standards .

i think its a mater of the shooters ability to hit where he's aiming

Yes , I agree with this statement , but this should be true no matter what the caliber and no matter what the quarry , I have seen deer hit with .308 running out of sight , I have seen deer shot with 22.250 run never to be found . It is the responsability of every hunter to be proficient with their chosen rifle and to be competitant to hit the vital area on a deer every time , otherwise he has no business shooting at a deer or any other animal for that matter . Every hunter has an obligation to humanely kill his or her chosen quarry

the person he sold the rifle to dropped a deer at 475 yards with the gun

I dont know who that person is but to shoot at any Deer with a 22.250 beyond 200yds is stupid and iresponsible , certainly nothing to be bragging about , if his shot was off he could have blown off that deers leg or worse still gut shot the deer , which would have run off and died over a number of days . He obviously has no respect for Deer or any animal that he hunts , People like that give ethical hunters a bad name :mad: :mad: :mad:

lomb

Ammoman wrote:

People like that give ethical hunters a bad name :mad: :mad: :mad:

is there such a thing? i doubt if the situation was reversed and u were the hunted, u would b a happy camper that someone was trying to blow your head off for bragging rights.

Umiq88

Well it happened a long time ago and they'd have some job proving it. As for the guy shooting the dear at that distance he wouldnt have attempted it unless he knew he could drop it and is certainly not irresponsable wouldnt recomend it to anyone though and the advantage of being able to use a .22/250 for shooting deer is that a high quaility gun can be bought dirt cheap 400 or so euro

Ammoman

lomb wrote:

is there such a thing?

Yes there are ethical hunters that want to hunt properly , not eradicate species off the planet . Most deer stalkers try to be ethical , they try to cull deer and keep a balance in deer herds that allows the herd to survive in hard times and that allows the strongest in the herd breed and there by keeping the herd healthy . If Deer stalkers didnt cull deer numbers in a very short time there would be so many deer that food would become hard to find , there would be a massive increase in the number of deer causing traffic accidents , and the farmers would have serious competition for grazing on their land for their own livestock . You must remember that Deer in ireland have no natural preditors ( meaning other animals ) and if left un checked their numbers would grow rapidly.
You must also remember that all the Sika Deer here today came from a couple of escapees from Powerscourt , we are not talking about a couple of dozen deer here , we are talking about over 20,000 in wicklow alone .

Not all hunters are ethical , I agree , but the few that arent , unfortunately tarnish the rest of us. If you are going to do something right not like the individuals mentioned earlier in this thread , then do it right get involved with the deer societies and learn how to cull deer responsibly and correctly .

civdef

Yet another thread dragged into the mire.

Anyway, initial question has been answered.