Anyone use a 22 Hornet for deer?

Shot placement is key.
Oh, and "use enough gun".
Both cliches, but very true.
There are many anecdotes of .22 rimfire being used to kill all sorts of game back in the "Dirty '30's". Same goes for the Hornet, although I would lean towards a head shot.

- for the sake of clarification: Historical accounts motivated by survival or desperation are not to be misconstrued as an endorsement. -
There are dozens of cartridges that I could recommend for deer hunting but a .22, centrefire or otherwise, isn't on the list.
 
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Let's really recall that the OP was asking from Ontario...not asking about miniature coastal deer.
There is always an exception to the rule. Gotcha, coastal deer are within a Hornets capabilities.
Meanwhile in the rest of Canada...it's a tad minuscule for effective deer hunting.
Maybe I should ask if my 32-20 has enough power too?
 
tokguy said:
Let's really recall that the OP was asking from Ontario...not asking about miniature coastal deer.
There is always an exception to the rule. Gotcha, coastal deer are within a Hornets capabilities.
Meanwhile in the rest of Canada...it's a tad minuscule for effective deer hunting.
Maybe I should ask if my 32-20 has enough power too?
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When I was a kid me of my stepbrothers Hunted mule and white tail deer all the time with 22lr and we did just fine mind you if we had 30-30 or 243 we would've gotten a lot more deer
 
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carverk said:
When I was a kid me of my stepbrothers Hunted mule and white tail deer all the time with 22lr and we did just fine mind you if we had 30-30 or 243 we would've gotten a lot more dear
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Oh, my Dad shot lots with a 22lr in the day. But they never talked about the bad kills or the ones that got away with a 40 grn pill in them to die slow.
Just too small for the masses. Maybe a good hunter could make it work well. Anyone here ever met anyone who admitted they weren't descendants of the 'Mighty Nimrod'? Ever if they ' Couldn't hit a bull.is the *ss with a scoop shovel'?
It's a stopgap measure; hunting undergunned. Why do it?
 
Myself personally the only Real advantage to hunt with 22 hornet is it's quiet which is nice when your hunting deer and small game at the same time or wen hunting on Haida Gwaii wear your Allowed more than one deer

When it comes to wounding Deer I bet far more deer are wounded by guys shooting to far across fields then a guy sneaking up 60 yards and making a shoot with a 22 hornet
I think the decline in moose population in BC is from people shooting too far
I bet wen a Long range hunter wounds a moose he's not punching his tag instead he goes and look for another opportunity
So who knows for sure how many animals are would each year by guys shooting too far with their high-powered magnums
I would bet money that long-range hunters on average probably kill at least two or three Moose each season and lucky if they recover one
 
A-zone said:
Shot placement is key.
Oh, and "use enough gun".
Both cliches, but very true.
There are many anecdotes of .22 rimfire being used to kill all sorts of game back in the "Dirty '30's". Same goes for the Hornet, although I would lean towards a head shot.

- for the sake of clarification: Historical accounts motivated by survival or desperation are not to be misconstrued as an endorsement. -
There are dozens of cartridges that I could recommend for deer hunting but a .22, centrefire or otherwise, isn't on the list.
Click to expand...

:agree:
 
I cant speak of the area of Ontario of the OP. Lots of pistol caliber lever carbines used for deer in some areas. I would imagine that rounds like the 44 mag or 357 would have a much larger projectile and much more energy.

Personally even if the typical shot is very short and it could be done, i would still want enough terminal performance for a humane one shot kill at double the typical range. To me the Hornet doesnt fit that.
 
I know for a fact that a 22 hornet kills deer instantly .
But with so many hunters I would not want to us a hornet mor then a couple days into the opening
It don't take long for the deer to realize what's going on and start getting jumpy
It takes longer for this to happen on Haida Gwaii but ove the length of the hunting season they to get jump after while too
 
5 or 6 years ago I shot a big whitetail doe in the neck with my 22 hornet at 50 yards, with the same gun I could easily pick off crows at 250, so I knew how to shoot it and I was very confident. Like a few folks on here I thought a head or neck shot would do the trick, I hit here in the white patch under the chin as she looked at me, I never did retrieve her. Lots of blood, I let her lie down for 30 minutes after she ran away (which surprised me, I thought she would drop right there), she bedded down, bled some more. I tracked her for a full day but she was gone. I know she had to have died, she became an easy meal for the local wolf population. I no longer have the hornet. OP wanted actual experience, there you go, I would back up my story with pics but.....
 
Neck shots can be very tricky. My friend almost lost a moose after shooting it in the neck with a 7mm RM. Chased it for a whole day and +5km until he, fortunately, got another shot at it.

You've got to hit them well, regardless of the chambering.
 
What it really boils down to for me with minimalist chamberings is, yes they can work and well in skilled hands, but why? If it's to hunt somewhere a standard chambering's report could get you kicked out of, alright... If you're deathly afraid of recoil.... alright. If you're doing it to be special, I'd suggest picking a different way to accomplish that.
 
That's the thing about these discussions - what is a minimalist chambering? In my view it depends on the circumstances. Maybe just shooting a deer is too easy. The hunter wants to get close, and enjoys the challenge - much like a bow hunter. Maybe the hunter has one trip per year, is an excellent marksman, and is capable of taking shots at long ranges and wants something that will do the deed from any angle because, in addition to time constraints, the opportunities are few and far between. Minimalist will be defined quite differently for these two hunters.

It is not a black and white proposition. I've shot a deer with a load that has less energy than a .223 with 60gr Partitions. The damage was incredible. Now of course energy is like statistics, it can be used to hide things so I will tell you the bullet was an .243" 85gr Partition. Having seen the results I think, given the circumstances, the results with a .223 would have been no less effective.

Now this is the perfect opportunity to link to the almost Pulitzer Prize nominated thread of the decade.... Flat Tops and Fireballs by the illustrious T. Bartell:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/278294-Flat-tops-amp-Fireballs?highlight=flat%20tops%20Fireballs
 
Ardent - have you by any chance read Gregor Woods' article on 6x45 for Bushveld game? I know I have a copy of it somewhere at home, but can't for the life of it find it on the web. He writes about the effectiveness of a 100gr bullet at 2300-2400 fps at typical Bushveld ranges.
 
My experience with the .22 Hornet ends with critters the size/weight of coyotes and beaver. That's because it seems fully adequate for beaver, but coyotes, hit thru the ribs and both lungs, seem to run about twice as far as the same shot taken with the marginally more powerful .222 Rem. I have made shots with both cartridges on different coyotes on several occasions and at various moderate ranges and the results seem consistent to me. The Hornet is just about the bottom of the list for me as an "adequate coyote cartridge". I only use one for hunting coyote any more at bush ranges under 100 yards. I would not use a .22 Hornet for deer unless I really needed the meat, as in a survival situation.
 
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