MN Deer Hunters...New Caliber Options

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dispatch55126

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The omnibus fish and game bill was signed last week. As part of the new regulations, they removed the minimum cartridge length and the bullet diameter can now be .22". Previously, the minimum caliber was .23".

I sent an email to the DNR to confirm and .223 is now a legal deer round. Too bad I'm still in the shotgun zone.:(
 
Seriously?

Thats not so good.

We have enough wounded deer running around out here without people shooting at them with too small of a caliber.

I know someone is going to mention that .223 will work if the shot is placed correctly but the problem is that we have a lot of folks up here that either can't shoot or that sight their rifles in only to "minute of deer".
 
One of the lines above says "except"

From what I see, it allows you to carry 22's and shotguns with bird shot. If you read, it talks about "legal firearms"

As with most rules and regs, it's confusing.
 
Essentially, any.22 caliber centerfire is now legal. Also, now that the case length requirements are gone, it may open up more pistol calibers. As walking arsenal mentioned, all legal/illegal cartridges will be posted on the DNR website later this summer.

The rimfire and birdshot line states that you can carry a rimfire or shotgun with birdshot in the woods during the week before and after the hunting season. You just can't carry a centerfire during that time unless you have a license and are in season.
 
Poachers don't have a problem harvesting deer with .223's and 22LR's.

But on the flip side with the right bullets a 223 will do. Look at it like this, you can actually use a rifle unlike us poor souls in Md.:banghead:

Im moving to Va:neener:
 
If it works for you and is legal more power to you. Will be a debate from now on about these calibers.
Will the .223 kill deer? Yea with the proper shot placement.
Is it as effective as a larger caliber? Maybe not.
Do you owe it to the game animal to take it(kill) in an efficient manner? You dang right.
 
Bring enuff gun. You owe it to whatever critter you may be pursuing to ensure: 1) a quick, B) a humane, and C) and an efficiently-as-possible termination. Also, bring ethics . . . it ain't a "challenge" . . . it's an obligation. Those who endeavor to harvest an animal with the "smallest legal round possible" should be shot squarely in the ass with the same. The previous statement is my personal opinion, but if you don't respect what you hunt, you shouldn't be described as a "hunter" . . . you would be more correctly categorized as a "slob hunter/indiscriminate, opportunistic shooter/thrill-seeker." We need no more of this particular cancer among our ranks.

Poachers don't have a problem harvesting deer with .223's and 22LR's.
Click to expand...

Regarding this particular breed of vermin, there should be a "No limit," No Tags Required," "Year-''Round Season". . . "Private Property Restrictions Are Not Applicable."

I need to learn to let my true feelings out . . .
 
Humane is essential, but caliber isn't everything. My neighbor accidentally gut shot a buck last fall and it took about 3 hours to flush it out of the woods before he got the kill shot...and that was with a 12 ga. slug
 
Think this will help my wife see why I need a AR :)

Now that's different . . . you can always get a larger-caliber upper for it . . . good plan!
 
Truth is - shotguns wound a lot of deer.

If someone knows "how/where" to place their shot they are more likely to kill a deer with a .22 centerfire than they are with a shotgun simply because the rifle is more accurate.

If a state would outlaw shotguns and any rifle caliber greater than .25 there would likely be a lot fewer wounded deer.

I've seen three deer (shot on crop damage permits) dropped like stones with a .17hmr at ranges of from 60 to 90 yards.


:cool:
 
My opinion from personal observation is that most deer are wounded from hunter shot error far more than caliber choice, but a larger bullet is more forgiving in that respect.
I do agree that larger calibers are a good idea. I have owned 22 centerfires decades and never seriously considered hunting deer with one. 150 grains at about 3000 FPS is far superior and as stated above we do need to be ethical and responsible.
It ain't like catching fish with light line, it is hunting, and we should use the proper bullet.
We don't hunt quail with buckshot or turkeys with #8 birdshot, so why hunt deer with 22 calibers?
Cause you can?
IMHO not a very good reason.
 
"My opinion from personal observation is that most deer are wounded from hunter shot error far more than caliber choice,..." AGREED.

"... but a larger bullet is more forgiving in that respect." IMHO - that's 95% Myth.

The only shots guaranteed to drop any quadruped immediately are the ones to the head or that disrupt the spine - and that doesn't take a lot except placement.
Lung shots don't often drop them on the spot and too, too often too many people think "shooting for the front half" is shooting for the lungs, and it isn't. Best "universal" shot placement technique is the "X" method, a la ...

Shotplacement.gif


...which is intended to wreck the spine at/near the shoulders or via demolishing the shoulders. The old saw about "saving meat" is apple sauce.


:cool:
 
I think this is a horrible change and have written letters about it.

personally I wish they would ban any thing under 25 cal, and anything over 3000 fps. Kinda like the slot rules for fishing.


Big cannon magnums do little to help, as most who own them are actually horrible shots with them in the field. JMHO, but the guys who are shooting 257 roberts, and 250 savages and 32 specials, and 8 mm mausers tend to do a better job than those who seem to think a 300 RUM is needed for a soft skin animal that weighs under 400 pounds.


Our deer run big, perhaps the biggest in the lower 48, and thinking because what works on a 100 pound texas deer or a 75 pound california deer is going to work on a big fat minnesota deer is folly.
 
In order to render a clean & swift kill:

1) A hunter MUST be able to place the round where he/she intends the round to go.

2) The round MUST impart sufficient energy to effectively and humanely dispatch the quarry. Immobilizing said quarry in the immediate vicinity in which the shot was made is highly desirable.

It's a rather simple concept. "Too small" obviously isn't enough and may be cruelly unfair to the quarry; "too large" often compromises one's ability to accurately & consistently place the shot. Bring enuff gun, but not more gun than you can accurately use.

Kind of like vehicles . . . a Yugo can get you across country or might get you into a prime hunting spot; an 18-wheeler will/might do the same. While more folks could readily handle a Yugo than could handle an 18-wheeler, there are more appropriate & practical choices.

If you wouldn't hunt some critter with a small caliber such as .223 when said dangerous game could harm/kill/eat you, then extend the same consideration to those more genteel game animals. There are ethical hunters, there are opportunists/thrill-seekers, there are magnum ego-maniacs who may believe "size matters" & counters lousy marksmanship . . . I'll continue to be an ethical hunter. The greatest challenge I'm seeking is being able to find my Jeep in the mall parking lot . . .
 
"...people shooting at them with..." Usually non-reloaders who buy whatever ammo is on sale and end up with a varmint bullet?
"...a larger bullet is more forgiving..." Not if it's placed aft of the lungs. Gut shot is gut shot. A long, slow, painful death.
 
If .223 is the legal deer size, would that include the .22-250? Or is it not included because it doesn't have a 3 after it?
 
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