Any Alaskan Hunters Use a .22 Magnum Rifle? (Eagle: buy, move)

[JMadison]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

I had this "discussion" with a slightly misled shooter at my gun range... he was convinced that his hand cannon was the better gun and my little 9mm was pretty useless. So I challenged him to a test... I put every single round in the kill zone; he put 1 in the kill zone, 4 in the extremities, and the rest were wild. ...

Gun control means hitting your target!!

Geez, talk about a flincher. Only 1 in the kill zone? Ouch.

What was the hand cannon?

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Originally Posted by JMadison

Geez, talk about a flincher. Only 1 in the kill zone? Ouch.

What was the hand cannon?

.50 cal Desert Eagle, chrome (of course)

[JessE86]

According to the native hunters in the Arctic. a .22 magnum will take down anything. Polar bear, Walrus, even a bowhead whale if you hit it in the eye.!!

.223 - will take down anything, you do not need a more powerful rifle than that for all the game in the arctic !! anything larger is overkill

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by JessE86

According to the native hunters in the Arctic. a .22 magnum will take down anything. Polar bear, Walrus, even a bowhead whale if you hit it in the eye.!!

.223 - will take down anything, you do not need a more powerful rifle than that for all the game in the arctic !! anything larger is overkill

Yes, it depends on how you hunt and where you hit it. But most people would rather have a more powerful round. I know an Indian man who said they always used a 22 for moose when he was young. One shot in the guts and then go home for the night. Come back the next day and track the moose to where it layed down and hopefully died.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Marty Van Diest

Yes, it depends on how you hunt and where you hit it. But most people would rather have a more powerful round. I know an Indian man who said they always used a 22 for moose when he was young. One shot in the guts and then go home for the night. Come back the next day and track the moose to where it layed down and hopefully died.

It is not just a matter of personal preference, it is the law. It is illegal to shoot large game with a .22 rimfire cartridge in Alaska. With one exception: It is legal to shoot swimming caribou with a .22 rimfire round, from a boat, in Game Management Units 23 and 26.

[JessE86]

Billy Weber of Point Hope ALASKA - was out on the ocean ice pack, a polar bear jumped out from behind a large piece of ice and started to attack.

Billy was armed with only a .22 - he ran, he only had one bullet in his rifle.

When I first heard this story, I admit I did not believe it, I have heard this story for many years in many villages from many people. I went over to Billy's house one day long ago and asked him what really happend.

With much laughter he recalled, he was running for his life, many people could see what was going on but they were too far away for the critical shot. Billy ran and while running, merely pointed that rifle back, and took the shot while running. That bear went down !! This is easily verifiable by many witness still living !!

[thegunsmith98]

I have been shooting for over 26 years, 300 rounds daily. I have owned everything from .17 to 50 cal springfield's

My favorite round to shoot is the 22 mag with Winchester X this is a half copper jacket and lead holow tip 40 grain, 2200 fps this is a devistating round out to 200 yards for deer, 300 yards for fox rabit yotes, and upto 450 for turkey, geese.

I have taken yotes at over 150 bullet passing compleatly through leaving a half dollar size hole

I shoot a marlin 22 mag 7 shot with a nikon 4x16x30 scope with BDC I this combo if you know what you are doing will allow you to send a bullet and hit the target at 400 yards. easily, and yes I comp. shoot.

If you think that at 100 -150 yards is all the effective range that a 22 mag has then you need to get you head out of someware.

I have used my marlin 22 mag to take my 10 point white tail deer here in wisconsin last year at 125 yards. hit it behind the shoulder, passing the left lung into the heart. and loging in the right shoulder.

The 22 mag depending on the mfg of the round has up to 3000 fps
I have hand loaded some rounds gaining up to 3489 fps with a 1.13" grouping at 200 yards

different mfgs have different weights on the bullets, the best is 38 or 40 grain rounds has as much stopping power as a 223 at 300 yards.

while true that a .17 is a flatter trag. it looses its knockdown force by over 68 percent after 110 yards due to its light weight. you can not take anything larger than a rabbit after 125 yards.

a 22 mag you will drop 7.29" from 100 yards to 200 yards. this is compensated easily with any good scope. and still has 75% knock down power I have personally taken snowshoe hare at 250 yards. not a problem for this I have used CCI FMJ it allows more penetration at a distance of 200 Yards +

those who say that a 22 mag crap, either has never shot one, incompetent in shooting, or are liers.

[bortstc37]

kids around here generally start successfully hunting caribou and moose with 22s at 10-12 years of age. i guess they'll use a 223 sometimes. but then, you can go hunting every day and take the time to do the job right when you already live in the wilderness, don't have a day job, don't have to drive out to some hunting spot, etc.

but then, they also practice some hunting techniques that go beyond mere marksmanship/shot placement. they know how to stalk game.

there is a guy in town who has killed half a dozen grizzlies, all with a 22.

my wife and i roam the area freely without any firearms, even though there are plenty of bears around here. the bears leave when they hear you coming. seriously, they do. sometimes we take a pellet gun for grouse. i don't use a 22 for grouse. pellets are much cheaper.

that's the bottom line around these parts, i guess: folks use the cheapest round that you can use that will get the job done. all you have to do is take the time to do the job right, stalk your game properly, place your shot, and then eat. either that, or just save your money/bullets. 22s will stay popular as long as people are poor and subsistence hunt, regardless of the animal.

[Homesteader]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

The .22 is the preferred gun of poachers in Vermont, probably elsewhere too because it's quiet. Usually deer, but moose too...it's all about aim. Though I would never use one myself on big game, I prefer a quick, humane kill...

Yep, other states too. The .22 mag will penetrate the skull of deer with no fuss or muss. Relatively quiet. Low cost.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

kids around here generally start successfully hunting caribou and moose with 22s at 10-12 years of age. i guess they'll use a 223 sometimes. but then, you can go hunting every day and take the time to do the job right when you already live in the wilderness, don't have a day job, don't have to drive out to some hunting spot, etc.

but then, they also practice some hunting techniques that go beyond mere marksmanship/shot placement. they know how to stalk game.

there is a guy in town who has killed half a dozen grizzlies, all with a 22.

my wife and i roam the area freely without any firearms, even though there are plenty of bears around here. the bears leave when they hear you coming. seriously, they do. sometimes we take a pellet gun for grouse. i don't use a 22 for grouse. pellets are much cheaper.

that's the bottom line around these parts, i guess: folks use the cheapest round that you can use that will get the job done. all you have to do is take the time to do the job right, stalk your game properly, place your shot, and then eat. either that, or just save your money/bullets. 22s will stay popular as long as people are poor and subsistence hunt, regardless of the animal.

If I see anyone using a .22 on large game, I will turn their criminal butts over to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. I don't care if they are subsistence hunting or not. Unless they are shooting swimming caribou, from a boat, in GMU 23 or 26, any use of a .22 caliber round on large game is illegal.