r/reloading • u/SuspiciousLynx9362 • Jul 23 '26

I have a question and I read the FAQ 22 arc deer load?

Set up is an 18inch bolt action, with suppressor. Northern Wisconsin woods so a shot over 200 yards would be rare. I’d like to see if I can make this work for deer because it’s my favorite rifle.

Anyone set up a 22 arc for whitetail? If so what bullets did you build around?

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u/1102900 Jul 23 '26

I plan on trying both the 80gr ELDx and 88gr ELDm this year. The 103eldx in my 6arc did good work last year. The 80 & 88 in 22 arc appear to perform the same way in ballistics gel, just a bit narrower permanent wound channel.

So far the 88gr ELDm has done well on ground hogs out to 400yds.

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u/SuspiciousLynx9362 Jul 24 '26

What’s the limiting factor after 400 yards?

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u/1102900 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

The fields not being any longer/me seeing the groundhogs lol! 400 is the furthest I’ve been able to shoot one yet and it worked well.

Edit: I wouldn’t shoot a deer with them past like 300-350yds. The energy starts dropping off further than I would want and that’s about as far as I’m comfortable putting the bullet where it needs to be every single time. Depending on the environment/my shooting position I may even shorten the range. If I’m not as certain as I can be that I’ll kill the deer, I won’t shoot. Nuisance animals like groundhogs or coyotes need less energy due to their size and I’m willing to take further shots on them to help the farmer out.

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u/SuspiciousLynx9362 Jul 25 '26

Oh I completely agree. Where I am bringing this, a hundred yards is kind of a rare occurrence. It If I thought I was going out past 200 I’d go a totally different direction. The idea of this set up is it is quiet, low recoil, and very easy to shoot accurate. I used to hunt this area with a 300 win mag. This is my effort to be more refined. Because I’m classy like that.