Gentlmen,
Has any one used the Norma 62 grain ammunition on deer? If so, what were the results?
Just as important, is the 222 with its' 1 in 14 twist able to stabilise the heavy for calibre/rate of twist bullets? In theory they might tumble, what's the reality?
Thanks.

The best thing for you and your rifle is to buy some and try them!!!
Try them on paper first and if they tumble then thats as far as you have to take it if thay are ok then i think you will be fine, as Norma IMO are a brand to be trusted.
B

Scratcher,
Thank you for your post.
I would also like to hear how effective, or not, these rounds are on deer.
A few years ago, after spending time stalking a Red stag with a 222, I decided not to shoot since I felt the 50 grain bullet could not be relied upon, given the conditions; dense bush, to bring the animal to grass.
It's not a big increase in weight, but I assume the 62 grain bullets are designed for taking Roe deer.

oldun...
I do not mean to sound critical, but where I live, the 222 Rem is concider marginal for roe.
It´s legal, but hardly.
The mimimum legal caliber for red deer is the 6,5 Swede.
A well placed tripple duce can sertanly kill a red deer ( I have read that the inuits use it both for moose and caribou ), but you sertanly don´t have any measures for error using it for reds...........MHO

Arild,
Thank you for taking the time to post.
I am not seeking opinions as to the suitability of the round for the taking of deer I want to know how the 62 grain bullet "performs" on deer.

Cheers.

Yes I see that oldun
Unfortunately I have no personal experience with th 222 Rem, I just found it sort of strange mating it with red deer.
Hope that you get the information you are seeking.......and a Happy Easter by the way

The 62gr "performs" quite well when you put it in the ear on a broadside shot, either on deer or wild boar, any size.
Put in the boiler room, the wound is really small, no blood anywhere but inside the animal, which may not die so quickly (red stag in europe may weight 250Kg). Makes me think of a very noisy bow: no room for error, and a dog may be necessary to follow the path, as the animal will be more stressed than with the noiseless bow...

oldun
People IMO seem to mis understand bullets and velocity.
The faster that you drive a bullet the more it is going to expand, in this age of short mags and ultra mags this has created a whole new direction for bullet tech the tsx is a very good example, if you are using standard non mag calibers then in most circumstances standard cup and core bullets will serve for 99% of all your requirements as for small caliber game cartridges this is were it can go horribly wrong
for your needs i can think of nothing better than either a Nos partition or Hornady Part no:-2265 in 55g as the 222 is a "slow" round compared to somthing like the 224 weatherby/220 swift/22-250 which is going to seriously stress i lite framed bullet, in these chamberings i would opt for a TSX.

These are my views and open to debate!!!
kind regards B

If you're going to shoot larger deer with a 222rem you couldn't get a better factory loading.

I have a VERY experienced Swedish hunting friend who used this load a lot as a game keeper. Gamekeepers being what gamekeepers are around the world it got used for more than fox He swears blind that given a perfect broadside he would not hesitate to shoot a moose.

My work with 222rem is that in good conditions it works very well on smaller deer. The wound channel can be quite small so pure lung shots take longer to go down. Great care needs to be taken with near frontal shots - it is quite easy to put a bullet between the shoulder and the ribs giving a nasty non lethal wound.

For the experienced wanting a change/challenge it's fun but there is a tendency for the best buck to show himself at an angle that you would shoot with a bigger rifle whenever you venture forth with a 222....

Gentlemen thank you for your imput.
I should tell you that countless thousands of Red deer have been shot here in New Zealand with the 222.

oldun....that being the case...I am guessing that local opinion and experience...tips the 222 as a highly suitable calibre with bullets that have proven that they perform well...no?

Personally I love the 222 for roe deer...especially in relatively populated areas...like some of the areas I have hunted in...chest shots seldom exit...brain shots are what brain shots always are...(perfect)...and with time and practise the calibre is effective to ranges of up to 200 mtres...in good wind etc...its cheap to practise with and the noise factor is negligible compared with even a small up in size...say to the 6.5

I have a friend that culled Fallows here last year...and they invited guys to hunt - mostly other gamekeepers and such - and they were not overhappy about using it on the fallows - brain shots were the first option and hunting-shots(body shots) only for wounded animals. One guy had a perfect brain shot placement which deflected off the side of the skull and exited under the ear above the top jaw...not nice...luckily the animal was recovered.

What is the preferred shot placement on Reds with a 222 then...and what weight/construction

quote:

Originally posted by oldun:
Gentlemen thank you for your imput.
I should tell you that countless thousands of Red deer have been shot here in New Zealand with the 222.

We should perhaps add, that the use of the .222 Rem for the larger deer species (including reds), primarily harks back to the day of the professionel deer cullers in NZ. These hardy individuals practically lived in the bush year round, and were paid a premium based on the number of tails they brought in (in earlier days, they had to carry out the carcass...). They used just about any available caliber from the .303 over the .308, .243 to the .222.

In all honesty, and as much as I admire the bush skills and hardiness of the New Zealand deer cullers, I don't think their use of the .222 Rem in any way makes it a good caliber for red deer. Certainly not, if you are looking for clean kills, and (in contrast to the cullers) have to care about the deer that got away, wounded but unretrievable.

Quite apart from suitability of various calibers for various game, it was sad when the deer cullers were largely replaced by mass slaughter (shooting and poison) from the air. They were tough guys and first rate outdoorsmen.

- mike

Tiger,
My prefered shot with the 222 on deer is the neck shot with Remington 50 gr psp in my Husqvarna, they are accurate.


It was not my intention to open a debate on the suitability or otherwise of the use of the 222 on deer, I know what it can do and what its' limitations are. All I wanted to know was about the performance of the Norma 62 grain bullet. One of the local gun stores has 3 boxes of Norma in stock and before buying any I thought I might get some advice here on how they perform.

I don't take the 222 down the bush very often these days, my favoured rifle is a Tikka in 6.5x55. It's probably the most accurate medium bore rifle I have ever owned.
What do I shoot in it? Norma Vulcan bullets.

I've just come back from a few days in the bush where I met up with an old buddy of mine (actualy he's not quite 60 yet, so he's only a young'n ) He said that the best cartridge he has ever used was the 6.5x55, but these days he uses a bow and arrow.

I have used the 62 grain Norma's in my old Tikka m55 and there was no trouble as far as them stabiliseing goes . In fact they are the most accurate factory load I have used by quite a margin .I dont know what twist the barrel is but its the original one . I have shot a couple of medium sized pigs with with them and the results have been adequate but personally I wouldn't use them on reds .