Hirtenberger made a 55 gr "Nosler" Partition in their 5.6x50 Magnum ammunition. I tried in a "Franconia" branded double rifle 42 years ago. .22 Magnum and 5.6x50 barrels. Only shot targets with it. Owned by a part time German immigrant who left it here if needed when visiting.

I guess the Hirtenberger ammunition was designed for roe deer hunting.

Some of these new bullet types Daryl mentions have probably been designed for AR15 .223 hunting needs. Monometal petal type bullets and Partitions probably work fine given the calibre limitations and the very low sectional density.

As I don't have any wild deer on my farm or neighbourhood when hunting small game I don't need similar bullets. Could be used for kangaroos I guess. If I had tags. My normal bullets work fine for most brain shots, maybe lung shots. The same bullets I use to head shoot fallow deer. Haven't hand loaded .222 or .223 for years. Using Remington 50 gr and 55 gr SP ammunition. I used to use 45 gr Hornady SPs. Hares, rabbits, foxes, crows, wallaroos, roos. Need to source a different bullet now to handload. The bullet needs to be fragile enough to have minimal fox fur damage, rabbit meat, using headshots. Even .222 will blow half a rabbit away at closer ranges. At 150 metres slow enough to be fine. A .22/250 is useless, way too fast.

In early days I used my .222 to hunt feral goats by the hundred. However too many wounded goats, needing to be followed up. Wasted effort and wasted time in rough arid rocky mountain country. When I lost my best ever set of horns on a billy which ran off after a chest shot into scrub and trees, never found, I traded up to a sensible decent rifle, in my case a .30-06. Never looked back. No wounded escapee feral goats, even less than perfect shots, dropped the goats and feral pigs. The difference between and more than adequate choice and a sub standard choice.

I wonder how many deer in NZ get lost to .22 Hornets, .222s, .223s and never are bothered to be followed up, if venison hunting? Plenty more to shoot without bothering .... It's like the sub standard water buffalo hunting "experts" shooting from their LandCruisers with .308s and the like. "No need for a big bore!" they claim. Yet can't be bothered to follow up inadequately shot and wounded buffalo. Left to die somewhere in pain. Too ffffing lazy, cruel and stupid bastards.

Hunters owe it to the animals and their own souls to shoot well, accurately, adequately and when not, make the effort to despatch the wounded animals. A larger calibre reduces the risk.

Back to Bell. He from the story, felt the same way. In the sense hecwas upset at the other hunters wounding and stag and after three days, still not having finished it off. So his friend and himself, set out to do so.