People say the minimum caliber for deer is .243, and lots of folks say the .22 centerfires are to small, but does the extra .023

[bonnier-admin_2]

Have you ever seen what a 22-250 does to a Jack Rabbit, it vaporizes them and does the same internally to a deer!

[huntnow]

sounds like if i am planning on getting any serious shooting done, i'm going to have to go back to school first.

[Drew Steven Knoop]

why does everyone keep saying 22 centerfire? A 22 caliber is rimfire, or are we talking a .223 caliber which is centerfire?

[Drew Steven Knoop]

why does everyone keep saying 22 centerfire? A 22 caliber is rimfire, or are we talking a .223 caliber which is centerfire?

[99explorer]

Correction: in my posting I meant to type "5.6X61"mm Vom Hofe cartridge (not 6.5X61). Sorry.

[99explorer]

Put another way, the direct answer to this question is NO. The difference in diameter should not make any difference in performance, if that is the only variable in the comparison. Given bullets of identical weight, type and construction (and moving at identical velocities) as being constant, the performance should be (almost) identical. The problem is availability of .223 and .243 bullets in identical bullet weights.

[deerslayer2]

yes it makes a difference.and no the 243 is not the smallest legal deer caliber. smallest legal is the 357 mag.

[99explorer]

I am sorry, Drew, for interruping your Q&A, but we are all talking about centerfire cartridges with bullets of about .22 caliber, give or take.

[99explorer]

I think deerslayer2 must be talking about the smallest overall length of the cartridge. Or maybe the smallest pistol cartridge.

[four-wheelin]

Ya Drew, we are talking about .223's and .22-250's .220 Swifts and stuff like that. NOT the .22lr.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

It's a line in the sand. The bare minimum that's acceptable. Maybe not the best for all conditions but the minimum. .22 is below that line in the sand. If we fudge it down to .22 then what's next? Fudge it down to .17?

[sgtrock]

It's all about the bullet selection. A lot of the bad rap a .243 gets is a result of selecting the wrong bullet. The Federal 85 grain BTHP or the Remingtin 100 grain core lokt ultra factory will drop them consistently. Not that those are the only two, but the point is that if you choose the same grain but wrong bullet, and you may have expansion problems and lost deer. These two are proven deer-droppers.

[WA Mtnhunter]

RANGE MONKEY ALERT!

LMAO!

[four-wheelin]

What is a range monkey?

[blackdawgz]

I guess the DC Snipers answered that question. The question becomes, "How well can you shoot when excited?" It won't matter if you have a cannon if ye can't shoot. To get longer range and give myself a better chance of making meat, I'd get the .243.