can you kill a deer with a 22 rifle

it may be legal in some states but it is not ethical :no:

yes you can kill a deer with a .22 but its not a guaranteed kill nor like critter said an ethical way of doing it. chances are good you want kill it or you will just hit it well enough that it will die but it will take a long time to do so.


so yes your right a .22 through the eye thus traveling into the brain will drop a deer. just dont try it please. i have heard of deer shot this way and dont agree with it. for most makin a gauranteed brain shot is to difficult. and if you do miss and say hit it in the mouth. you can injure it to the point that it cannot eat and it will starve to death.

You bet you can. My dad and uncles took a trip down to Texas about 6 or seven years ago and they came across a deer with a broken back leg. They said they wanted to dead so they had my dad shoot it with his .22 ruger right in the forhead. I wasnt there but he said it didnt even flinch.Also 2 years ago i shot a ten point that was bleeding from it eye. I figured it lost it in a battle but when i took a closer look there was a small bullet hole behind it ear. It was a very small hole probably from a .22 of some kind of varmit gun. The buck was still chasing the does around when i took him. The wound was still bleeding so it was fresh, most likely caused by a poacher. So to answer your question it all depends on what anlge the bullet takes.

It is illegal to hunt deer in New Hampshire with a .22. It certainly has the velocity but the bullet would fragment very easily reducing the necessary penetration to provide an ethical clean kill. It also lacks overall kinetic energy to take deer down.
The absolute minimum caliber I would use on a deer is .243.

no go on the 22.

sure its possible to kill a deer with a 22 lr through the eye, but deer have rather small heads and even smaller brains, so the chance of an ethical shot is very small... some will argue that they are accurate enough but even so, there is no real point to trying that shot.

yes, but not legaly or ethicly. The smallest caliber I would use is a .243, but I think a .223 could take it with a very good shot

yes, but not legaly.

just to kinda clarify, i was against the shot with a 22... i reread it and it sounded kinda confusing.

CAN you? Yes.

SHOULD you? No.


It's most likely illegal (used to be legal in some places for Native Americans, but I'm not carrying around a lineage chart to show the game warden)

It's also a real possibility you'll just maim it.

i dont see why its worth possibly injuring a deer with a bad shot just to fill the tag... but i suppose a good head shot with a 22 is better than a bad shot with a 300 mag!

I know in the great state of alabama it is illegal to kill a deer with a rimfire.. But i do know guys that spot light using nothing but a 22 mag. so i guess ya can kill one with a 22 with proper shot placement. just dont get caught.. the fine is horrible...

yeah it'll work like what has all ready been mentioned a lot of jackers do this at night for racks.:no: poachers i hate em

yes you can

When i was about 12 me and my friend was foolin around and we seen like 4 does and at like 35 yards i killed it with a 22 LR.

Not saying a deer cant be killed with a .22 LR. Just dont think its a great way to do it.

Too Risky, And Too Inhumane

yes you could kill a deer with a 22 my friend did it but... i wouldnt as everyone said you may just injure it enough that it will die but not for awhile and why would you want to? .22 are for targets and small game...

you dont have to hit it in the eye

yes deer can be killed with a 22. easier than most people think but you fellas are right why make the deer suffer? if your goin to kill it KILL IT!