[MarkDido]

In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, when you're hunting for food, what's the largest critter you would attempt to take down with a .22?

[Dksimon]

If I could get close enough to a fawn or small deer I would try for a few quick head shots. I know it's unethical but if that is what it would take to survive then I would try. I would much rather stick to grouse or rabbits tho.

[malakas07]

yes I've seen plenty of deer taken with a .22.

[P97]

For actually getting meat for the table in a survival situation, the .22 LR is probably the best you could have. In earlier times, when people had to hunt for their meat, more was taken with the .22 than anything.

[moooose102]

in the documentery movie "into the wild" it shows the guy taking a moose with a 22. it was a sad movie, the guy messed up, and didn't make it, but a good one to show the kids just before puberty hits. that way they will get the point (being, you HAVE to have a good backup plan) instead of having the "i am indestructible" mode going.

[doc2rn]

deer with well placed shot.

[308win]

My grandfather used to put domestic hogs down with a .22 when we butchered. I never saw one try to get up after one shot but then they were in a pen and stationary (he shot them between the eyes and a couple of inches than the center line of the eyes higher on the forehead). I am not suggesting a .22 is sufficient for wild game that size.

[PotatoJudge]

If I'm otherwise gonna starve, I'd shoot anything with a .22 if I thought I could get away fast enough after it decides to kill me. I'd have to be pretty hungry to try for a moose, buffalo, or Grizzly with a .22, but at some point starving to death vs getting mauled to death is academic. Above deer sized game you'd be just as well off with a spear, I'd imagine. Here in TX, you're pretty safe hunting with a .22.

As it is, if you see a feral pig and all you have is a .22 and a close tree to climb should things go wrong, I'd recommend shooting. It's not meant to be "hunting" or "humane," it's meant to decrease the number of feral pigs and nothing else. Otherwise, I limit the .22 LR to rabbit sized game.

Hunting is a sport, a game management tool, and a means of survival. Each aspect has it's own ethical standards, and it would do us well not to confuse them.

[marksman13]

Hunting is a sport, a game management tool, and a means of survival. Each aspect has it's own ethical standards, and it would do us well not to confuse them.

Probably the most logical comment ever made about hunting. Good post, PotatoJudge.

In all honesty, deer are quite easily killed with a .22LR. It doesn't take a head shot either. The neck and spine are good targets, but a .22LR behind the shoulder will kill them too. I wouldn't recomend a .22LR for deer hunting by any means, but if I had to survive in the woods for a while, my CZ 513 would be the rifle I carried with me.

[Dustinthewind]

Cattle used to be dispatched with a .22, now they use something that resembles a nail gun. I have seen horses put down with a .22 also. I suppose you could take a grizzly with a .22 if you had a high cap mag and a friend with a bum leg;)
I wouldn't want to try it, but my Grandfather took a water buffalo in Burma during WW II with a .30 carbine. He ran a pack train of mules packing supplies in and casualties out. He was ambushed by the Japanese and lost his mules and all of his supplies except a can of beans and his carbine. If you're hungry enough anything is fair game.

[MCgunner]

.22 makes a great survival gun. It can take some mighty big game with a well placed head shot. But, for hunting, I think raccoon sized small game is about the limit and under 50 yards. I've taken coons cleanly with body shots to 50 yards with a good hollow point. Coyote size stuff, I tend to want a .22 mag, though a .22 LR inside 50 will do it.

[glocker82]

in the documentery movie "into the wild" it shows the guy taking a moose with a 22. it was a sad movie, the guy messed up, and didn't make it, but a good one to show the kids just before puberty hits. that way they will get the point (being, you HAVE to have a good backup plan) instead of having the "i am indestructible" mode going.

You might want to put *SPOILER* before that post. Luckily I've already seen the movie and read the book.

[Hobie]

In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, when you're hunting for food, what's the largest critter you would attempt to take down with a .22?
If I needed to eat, the one in front of me. :D

[glocker82]

I'd even rely on a nice RWS spring loaded .177 pellet rifle if I had to. I've taken out large coons with it.

[ArmedBear]

TEOTWAWKI implies no refrigeration, to me.

I would go after whatever was easy and available. Unless you're feeding a crowd, you won't get much more meat from a deer than a rabbit, if you can't keep it cold.

Unlike some other places, deer are scarce here, and the terrain where you find them is steep. Deer hunting around here is difficult, and consumes a lot of time and energy. You'd only want to shoot a deer for survival meat it you happened upon it; if you really had to hunt it, you'd burn a lot of calories trying.

[MCgunner]

Hey, Bear, you don't have a refrigerator, you can build a smoker pretty easily and jerk the meat. This is how it was done before refrigeration. Besides, maybe the end of the world scenario involves a global freeze over? :D I mean, I don't wanna argue with Al Gore or anything, but, heck, you never know.....:D I've jerked venison more'n a few times, though. I'd want something a little bigger than my smoker to do volumes of it in, but I could build it out of natural resources around here or just use that worthless refrigerator or ho water heater that doesn't work anymore.

[ArmedBear]

True enough.

Not a good idea if you don't want to give away your position, but otherwise that would work.

I've never tried it; I'll have to learn.

[MCgunner]

Damn, well, I forgot to put on my foil hat for this one. ROFL!

[malakas07]

I'd even rely on a nice RWS spring loaded .177 pellet rifle if I had to. I've taken out large coons with it.

You beat me to it. I was going to say I've taken my fair share of squirrels and rabbits with a pellet rifle.

In a TEOTWAWKI situation, I think I can take 2-3 small game animals a day just on a pellet rifle alone. Not counting all of my deadfalls and snares that I would also set up.

[ArmedBear]

Damn, well, I forgot to put on my foil hat for this one. ROFL!

Doesn't TEOTWAWKI imply "tinfoil hat"?:)

[MCgunner]

I live next to a salt water bay. I'd rely more on fish, but not exclusively TO fish. During cool months when there hasn't been too much run off of rain, the oysters are ripe for the pickin' and everywhere out there. I've stopped on a reef and shucked a few with a good oyster knife just for a snack. Best to wear a glove when you do that and good wading shoes. I can walk down to the bay to wade fish and hit the oysters and a crab pot or three, but in this sort of situation, too, the illegality of trot lines in salt water is a non-issue. Don't know what I'd do after my tackle is used up. Cross that bridge when I got to it, I guess, LOL! I most certainly can feed the wife and I from the bay, though, not a problem. Only thing I'd need a gun for is the people that try to rip off my catch. LOL

Okay, can I take the hat off, now? :D

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Although I'd prefer a .22 magnum (at least), I'd try deer with a .22 long rifle round - specifically, I would use the Aguila SSS 60 grain round, which has excellent S.D. (for a .22). It would easily drop a deer (penetrate the skull) with a head shot. If going for a neck shot, which I would not do - but if forced to, I'd want a hyper-vel .22 (30 gr) with a H.P. nose. Probably couldn't get a deer though because I'd start to smell after about 2 days, and I ain't got enough Indian in me to overcome that and get close enough for a head shot.

So I'd focus instead on berrys, nuts, & bark, small game (squirrels, rabbits, coons, beavers, tweetie birds, doves, turkeys, etc.), fish, and possibly grubs & insects. The best bets for easy food, in all honesty, besides insects, would be tweetie birds with a .22, fish with trot lines, and acorns. But I'd probably be dead within a week from eating poisonous plants since I don't know which is which.

FWIW, although my foil hat is not on as tight as it once was, I do have still mostly for spits and giggles, a "survival gun" - it's an NEF "Survivor" which has a rifled barrel for .45 colt, and a "choke tube" which will supposedly "un-spin" the shot if shooting .410 shotshells. With the .45 colt, you can take deer or any other medium-large game, and with the shotshells, pretty much everything else. In the hollow buttstock of this rifle, I can (and do) pack in (a) six .45 colt shells, (b) twelve .410 shells, 2.5", 6 shot, for small game and small birds, (c) twelve .410 shells, 3.0" mag shells, 4 shot, for larger game like turkeys and jackrabbits and such, and (d) the "choke tube" key. I deem this gun to be pretty much the ultimate backpacking rifle, if you're planning on an extended backpacking trip through the wilderness (say, more than 1 week), and need to supplement the food you bring with game killed. If this was the only purpose, I'd still stick with a .22lr, for the lighter ammo. But the dual purpose is, the gun, as a backup, can be used for extended survival in the event you get lost or trapped out in the woods due to weather. If you could get a deer, one deer is all you would need for a looong time (long enough to find your way back to civilization), and that only takes one .45 colt shell - so I figure six shells is more than plenty for the rare occasion when you can get close enough to a deer. If you can't get one deer with 6 shot opportunities, you ain't gonna get one, and better focus on the mainstay of the twenty-four .410 shells, for the everyday hunting of birds, squirrels, and such. I might want to swap out some #4 shotshells for .410 slugs or more .45 colt shells, for things like beaver, raccoons, etc.

In fact, I get a kick out of survival guns and combo guns (and drillings if I could afford one). I also have a Springfield/CZ M6 Scout in .22lr/.410 bore, a Savage 24f in .22lr/20 ga, and a Baikal/Spartan combo gun in .223 rem & 12 gauge.

[Ron James]

A long time ago in another life I have taken Deer with a 22 LR. No, it wasn't for sport, it was on our land, our cornfield and our larder. In a long term survival situation, if I had a choice of only one rifle, it would be a bolt action .22. In a situation such as food for survival, 99 and 9/10 percent of your substance will be small game.

[Savage Shooter]

I personaly have seen a deer taken with a .22 one shot right between the eyes dropped like a ton of bricks my father has seen a cow taken with one and a neighbor shoot large pigs he is going to butcher with a .22 works just fine most people don't realise just how deadly a .22 is at the appropriate ranges they can take just about any animal with a well placed shot.

[Atla]

I personally know of a feller who got a whitetail with a .22 mag shot through the heart.

Personally, I'd stick to larger calibers. I don't want anything I shoot to run off wounded.

[mlw332]

Before my great grandfather passed away the only gun he would deer hunt with is a Rem model 514 .22 he would kill more deer than most of the people around here. Most of his shots were either to the ear or eye.
While hog hunting with dogs here we all use .22 pistols and within a few feet it will bring down nice size pigs.

[Thor Bloodax]

When I lived in Canada, I heard matter of fact tales about the 12 year old Indian boys sneaking up on moose and taking them with a single shot .22 bolt action through the ear hole. Also saw young Indians out horse riding in weather that would have killed me.

[T.R.]

Western coyotes can be taken with 22LR with a chest shot and plain round nose lead tip ammo. Winchester SUPER X hollow tip is even better. But most of the time we hunt in pairs, one guy with .223 and the other with a 12 gauge. 22LR is very useful, indeed.

I read about a crime ring of bear & deer poachers in California that took several dozen animals with 22MAG rifle with neck shots. Certainly an unethical way to make a living, but the effectiveness of their rifle can't be ignored.

I watched Into the Wild also. The young man knew nothing of trapping or snares which is BEST way to gather meat with minimal effort. Sadly, if he had simply made a large SOS on the ground and kept three widely spaced smoky fires going he would have been rescued.

TR

[qajaq59]

If I'm starving? The first thing that walks by me. I don't care how big it is..

[Pat McCoy]

In the mid-60's I watched catttle being slaughtered at Armour's packing plant with .22 shorts. In MN at that time the .22 long rifle was the poacher's choice for deer.