MCgunner
Member
Well, under gunned, you're going to get lost game. Over gunned, you'll get the game, maybe some meat damage you'll have to cut away. A .300 mag is more forgiving of the less than perfect shot, too. Ever seen what's left of the lungs of a deer shot with a 7 mag in the ribs? I haven't either, they were gone, vanished. 
You're not going to get that sort of damage with a .22, not and have adequate penetration, not even on a TEXAS whitetail.
My point about that over gunned statement, though is that you prepare for the most demanding hunting you'll be doing. You can hunt whitetail with a .338 mag, no problem, there's no law against it and a .338 will kill deer. But, most places have laws against hunting elk with a .22 and it'd be stupid to do anyway. Even with just deer, you want a gun that will work in the most demanding situation you will ever see, maybe long shots across the plains of South Dakota or maybe cross canyon shots on 300 lb mulies. Even if there's no law against using the .22, it'd be foolish to use it there. Sure, 90 percent of your hunting may be stand hunting in heavy cover over a feeder 40 yards away. If all you have is a .22, you won't be ready for that other 10 percent, spot and stalking mulies in the desert mountains for instance.
You know, when I bought my Savage, I really like the 280 Remington and I thought about it. But, I got a 7 mag instead. Same rifle, same caliber, same price. I figured if I didn't like the 7, I could load it down to mimic .280 ballistics. If I felt the .280 need more grunt, I couldn't load it UP to match the 7. Why buy the lesser caliber? That just didn't make sense. I wasn't thinkin' about whitetail when I bought that gun, though, but about New Mexico elk.
You're not going to get that sort of damage with a .22, not and have adequate penetration, not even on a TEXAS whitetail.My point about that over gunned statement, though is that you prepare for the most demanding hunting you'll be doing. You can hunt whitetail with a .338 mag, no problem, there's no law against it and a .338 will kill deer. But, most places have laws against hunting elk with a .22 and it'd be stupid to do anyway. Even with just deer, you want a gun that will work in the most demanding situation you will ever see, maybe long shots across the plains of South Dakota or maybe cross canyon shots on 300 lb mulies. Even if there's no law against using the .22, it'd be foolish to use it there. Sure, 90 percent of your hunting may be stand hunting in heavy cover over a feeder 40 yards away. If all you have is a .22, you won't be ready for that other 10 percent, spot and stalking mulies in the desert mountains for instance.
You know, when I bought my Savage, I really like the 280 Remington and I thought about it. But, I got a 7 mag instead. Same rifle, same caliber, same price. I figured if I didn't like the 7, I could load it down to mimic .280 ballistics. If I felt the .280 need more grunt, I couldn't load it UP to match the 7. Why buy the lesser caliber? That just didn't make sense. I wasn't thinkin' about whitetail when I bought that gun, though, but about New Mexico elk.
. I bet you can stop a tank with that load.
