# .222 big enough for deer?



## bowfish71

I have a .222 my wife loves to shoot because it doesnt kick.  She wants to go deer hunting this year but I dont know if the .222 is big enough.  Also I dont want her taking neck and head shots since she has never shot a deer before so would a shoulder shot work?  If it is big enough what is the effective yardage?


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## Buzz

Unless you can handload a bullet such as the 53g TSX - I don't think a shoulder shot would be good.   The .222 Remington factory loads are made to expand violently on small varmints.    I personally wouldn't want to use the fragile varmint bullets unless it was absolutely the only option I had and I was willing to have the patience to wait for a perfect broadside heart / lung shot.


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## short stop

yes  its good enuf --
 I have a  .222     that we  have used --
  Honestly I  could not  tell you how many deer its taken  between  our  friends / family . 
  I would  say  Hundreds  of deer have fallen to the gun  over the last 25 yrs .
 My son  who at the time shot the gun exculsively  from the time he  was  9-12  killed  15 at least with it .   Most deer  were shot in the  heart lungs  and  would  make it no father than 50 -100 yrds .  He was not very good at  head/ neck shots  as I  taught him not to take those  shots .
  Not a massive amount of blood trail   but  typically   very easy to locate  the deer after the shot .
 my favorite  ammo  was   cheap factory  Rem Corelocs --  My gun held  submoa  groups at 150 yrds  .
  dead deer dont lie --  you dont need handloads  in a .222 

good luck to your wife


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## take em

My father killed several with a .222 and to my knowledge never lost one. Shot placement is key and proper bullet construction is a must. Don't want to use a thin walled varmint bullet on a deer shoulder shot. Just make sure to use the proper ammo and if she enjoys shooting the rifle she will practice more. You just don't need a 300 mag to kill deer efficiently. Good luck to both of you and remember making it enjoyable for her is the key.


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## bowfish71

what kind of bullets would you guys recommend?


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## duckcrazy

Just an option if you still don't feel comfortable with the .222. Remington makes a managed recoil load for some of the more popular calibers out. My mother shoots a 30-30 with these loads and they do not kick. They make them for 30-06 and .270 if I'm not mistaken. If you have one of these guns that she could use then it may be an option.


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## Buzz

short stop said:


> dead deer dont lie --  you dont need handloads  in a .222



He specifically asked if it's good enough for a shoulder shot and that's what I answered.    Do you count on the .222 with a varmint bullet penetrating the shoulder and reaching the vitals?    

Remington does not currently make a CoreLoct load for the .222 Remington - they make a PSP load and a PowerLoct - both of which have much thinner jackets than CoreLoct bullets.   The smallest CoreLoct bullet listed on Remington's web site a 100g loading for the .243 Winchester.


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## bowfish71

My response to her is I dont feel comfortable with it but that was just my gut feeling.  I figured someone on here would be able to tell me


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## short stop

Buzz said:


> He specifically asked if it's good enough for a shoulder shot and that's what I answered.    Do you count on the .222 with a varmint bullet penetrating the shoulder and reaching the vitals?
> 
> Remington does not currently make a CoreLoct load for the .222 Remington - they make a PSP load and a PowerLoct - both of which have much thinner jackets than CoreLoct bullets.   The smallest CoreLoct bullet listed on Remington's web site a 100g loading for the .243 Winchester.



 Please forgive my ignorance as to not keeping up  to date  with Rem  factory ammo production 
      Right now  Winchester currently makes a 50 gr  X point soft  core  load  thats  suitable  for me --   and Yes  Ive killed countless deer with the little gun  on shoulder   kill zone shots  .  I can honestly say we have never lost a deer with  it  . Even in the hands  of  a  child   of 10 yrs  old  or less .  
   Growing up   on a farm / land managing for sevral other folks  -- Ive killed countless #s  of deer /  hogs  / yotes   with the .222  and 50 grain bullet combo  . 
  I feel very comfortable  with what you call a varmit load   dropping deer  .  It does not take a  handload  to kill a deer  with a shoulder shot  with a .222   imo   ,  but   Im sure your bullet recommendation   Tsx  53 GR  would do the job nicely  and is good advice . 
 The  factory  load  is a light load  and  it  will require more essance on shot placement vs  a larger  caliber

 btw   nice  southpaws in  the AVT


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## Buzz

Well it's not just ole Buzz that calls it a varmint load, so do the manufacturers.   While it's certainly hard to argue with your great success, I suppose Remington and Winchester wasted a lot of money developing and field testing their loads since they came to the conclusion they are varmint loadings   

You've killed way more large critters with your .22 centerfires than I have with mine - and like I said, it's hard to argue with success.   It seems like I end up having to take a lot of quartering shots in swampy / dense places and I have more confidence in something that I know will penetrate and exit because it seems that  moderate quartering shots are frequent.     I certainly am not an advocate of using cannons for deer hunting;  my favorite deer hunting rounds are the .250 Savage, 6.5x55, 7x57mm, and .308 Winchester.   I hope to add a third rifle to my avatar soon which will be a lightweight left handed .250 AI (.250 Savage Ackley Improved).    

I certainly hope that thing continues to be a game hammer for you and you keep bagging some wonderful deer like the one in your avatar


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## tyler1

I have an older friend that uses one and he kills a lot of deer with factory ammo.  I do not know what he uses but he takes nothing but high shoulder shot and it puts them to sleep right where they stand.  In this case I would not worry about the size of the gun as much as making sure that your wife can put the bullet where it needs to go.  

You asked about shot distance, well if she is hunting in woods or a food plot and  not hunting a field or clearcut that should not be a problem.  Good luck.


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## short stop

Buzz , thanks for the   props ,  and yes  majority of the   shots Ive taken  at game  were   in broad open fields  .   These days  I find myself  handing more off to the  kids   to handle  with the  guns .   Shamelessly I chime in on a post refering to  guns  and various calibers and deer  --  and then  I refrain from even  hunting with one  now  .  These days  I sit and watch  more , and  shoot less   while  holding  the   real slow ammo -- 300 fps  or less    with  at least 100  grain  blade on the end of the stick , by   choice only   

 good  luck with  the  southpaw  .250  AI 
 one day Ill  dig out my  .257  BOB    but thats another   thread   for  another day.


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## Hit-n-Miss

My son will be shooting 53 gr TSX in the morning. I can't wait, could be the morn for his first deer. I have killed many deer with that caliber, but they have all been neck shots.


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## GSUJake

If it wasn't capable it probably wouldn't be legal


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## dj5play

You see this is why I love these forums, I bought a .222 Sako this year and put a nice Mark IV on it and It has to be the straightest shooting gun I have ever owned. I could drive nails with this gun at 100yds all day long, but I know it does not have much knock down power at all, I have been itching to hunt with it, and now I will feel much more comfortable in doing so, thanks to all who responded.


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## trckdrvr

bowfish71 said:


> She wants to go deer hunting this year but I dont know if the .222 is big enough?



No,it's not.


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## boothy

in my opinion its a little on the light side.  you will only be able to take perfect broadside shots and if shot placement is off the slighest you could be in trouble.


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## austintm1991

simply put i have shot at 2 deer with my 222 and dropped one in its tracks and the other ran about 20 yards. both were descent bucks.


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## Hit-n-Miss

My son got a nice 7pt sunday with his.


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## merc123

I'd rather err on the side of caution.  I don't know anything about the .222 but I wouldn't want to shoot a deer with anything smaller than a .243.  

Why not get her something like a 30-30 or a .270?  The .270 kicks more than the 30-30 I think, but my 30-30 has a butt pad on it.  The girlfriend loves shooting the 30-30.  It doesn't bother her too much unless we shoot about 10 shots.  Besides, when shooting a deer I never feel the kick and it's only 1 shot...  Let her shoot it just enough she doesn't develop a flinch and it should work perfectly.  Plus, with the 30-30 or larger caliber she can take a bear if she wants (or worse, NEEDS) to.


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## hevishot

wouldnt even consider it in the hands of an inexperienced shooter...but thats just my opinion. Good luck.


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## Slings and Arrows

It's allways best to have the right tool for the job.  Can you hammer a nail with a cresent wrench?  Yes.  Would you want to build houses with it?  It's your choice.  The tiny calibers with small grain bullets can take down deer.  I shoot some with my 25-06 with 118 gr bullet but I wouldn't take it bear hunting.


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