Is the .22-250 going to be outlawed for deer?

Keelan

I have been offerd a good deal on a second hand .22-250.
I am in the process of applying for a deer permit and have got an appllication form to fill out.
It states the minimum caliber is .22-250 using a 55 grain bullet.
I have been told by some people that this caliber is going to be outlawed for deer hunting and that the minimum is going to be a .243.
Is this true? As if this is true, then their is no point in me going for it.
The rifle is a great peace of kit though . I dont think i will get a good deal like that for a while.
What do you all think, will I go for it?

Ammoman

Keelan wrote:

I have been offerd a good deal on a second hand .22-250.
I am in the process of applying for a deer permit and have got an appllication form to fill out.
It states the minimum caliber is .22-250 using a 55 grain bullet.
I have been told by some people that this caliber is going to be outlawed for deer hunting and that the minimum is going to be a .243.
Is this true? As if this is true, then their is no point in me going for it.
The rifle is a great peace of kit though . I dont think i will get a good deal like that for a while.
What do you all think, will I go for it?

No , duchas dont have plans to outlaw the 22.250 as a deer stalking caliber in the near future , I was talking to them this week and they are quite happy with the ability of that round to shoot any of the irish species of deer . They have set the 22.250 as the minimun caliber and there is no upper limit . The only stipulation is that you must use a 55 Grain bullet , these bullets tend to cause a lot of damage to the meat on the carcass , considerably more than a heavier bullet , say above130 grain weights , when the shot is placed in the same place . The 22.250 is a versatile rifle and can be used for long range varminting ( it is widely used in the US ) and it is a great fox round .

Happy hunting

Flattop 15

Sounds like somone is just trying to con you into buying a more expensive rifle.

Keelan

Thanks for that.
So ill go for the .22-250 then.
Do you think it will be outlawed in the long turm future, say 5 years down the road?

macnas

Dunno,my crystal ball is on the blink

Keelan

Very Funny :rolleyes: .

Sparks

It is nearly impossible to predict Keelan, but with the Dail now on summer holidays, we won't be seeing the CJB until probably near the end of the year. And until the CJB is through, I can't really see them modifying the Wildlife acts to make a certain calibre illegal for deer stalking, since they won't know until the CJB is through what is and isn't illegal to hold in terms of rifles. But that's just a guess - everything's a bit up-in-the-air at the moment (or more accurately, what the situation will be in a year is a bit up-in-the-air. Right now, legally speaking, it's clear-cut, though the implementation of that legislation is running very roughly as everyone's waiting on the CJB).

Keelan

Thanks Sparks .
What do you think of certain garda districts, including mine (Roscommon) that are not licencing calibers more than .220 at present?

civdef

Has anyone tried challenging this policy?

Sparks

Keelan wrote:

Thanks Sparks .
What do you think of certain garda districts, including mine (Roscommon) that are not licencing calibers more than .220 at present?

I think it's something that will have to be looked at after the CJB goes through. Unfortunately, doing so now wouldn't be easy (and probably very counter-productive in the long run), as there's no law that says a superintendent must grant a licence and no authority that can order him to do so, thanks to Dunne v. Donoghue, and even cases where the super gives out preconditions on the licence would be difficult to challange because of the rulings from the High and Supreme courts on that case.
And given the position of the supers involved (ie. arses in the bacon slicer with no backup or support and no training for the job), their actions are not wholly beyond understanding. It's definitely wrong, mind. But picking your time and approach would be needed for this - push hard now, especially in the courts, and you could well find that the Minister signs a few orders after the CJB goes through and fullbores could become legally unlicensable (one amendment we keep hearing about is one that would give the Minister the legal power to deem certain firearms unlicensable with an order in the same way he can deem certain firearms to be legally classed as dangerous firearms, as was done in '72).