gun dreams

[CharlesHarris]

Agree that while any gun is better than no gun, just because many deer are killed by poachers with .22LR and many people are killed by them, when shot placement is exact, does not make them a "good" choice for personal protection, or shooting small game larger than about 3kg.

I have used .22 LR to dispatch trapped coyotes and racoons, using head shots, but as often occurs with a trapped animal, thrashing around, precise shot olacement is not a sure thing. After several noticeable failures of .22 LR I began carrying a large forked stick to pin the head, and a baseball bat, which dispatched trapped animals positively, without poking holes in valuable hides.

Low power, cast bullet loads for the hunting rifle, which approximate the energy of an old blackpowder rook rifle, or modern pistol or revolver cartridge, are viable small game rounds, which are more effective than any rimfire. A soft lead 7.62 bullet of 7-10 grams, at a velocity of around 300 m/s is ideal.