Swampdonkey - The Barnes bullets IMO are the best you can buy. They are fairly expensive though. The problem is that they are grossly overpowered for deer. I shot one deer this past hunting season with a 150 grain Barnes
x triple shock and it didn't even look like I hit him. My only indication of bullet impact was a falling branch directly behind the deer. He took about three strides and dropped flat. The bullet actually
went through the deer, and over halfway through a tree about a foot thick. I used my kukri to chop the bullet out and kept it. There was a bit more meat damaged by the Barnes bullet than I liked so I switched to Hornady SSTs in 150 grain for Deer. These work wonders and I ended up
getting 4 more deer this season using SSTs. The Barnes x bullets Excel at taking larger game where the bullets energy can be optimized. The bullets are solid copper and when the pre stressed petals fold back after impact they form a razor sharp metal star shape. Twice the original diameter with 100 percent weight retention. I think they ripped through my deer before full expansion
could take place. I know I could tweak this by lowering my powder charge to try and lower the impact velocity, or maybe dropping to a lighter bullet but the SSTs worked so well that I stick to them for deer
and the Barnes bullets for anything larger.
I shot a Moose a while ago between the front quarters with a 168 grain Barnes x and the Moose dropped like a sack of hammers. I have never seen a more effective, clean killing bullet than the Barnes x triple shock for larger game.

These are bullets recovered from game. 168 grain Barnes x triple shock on the right and the Hornady 150 grain SST on the left. Notice the difference in expansion.


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BillLiptak – I have fired the .500 before. I was shooting holes through ammo cans filled with sand (2 deep) with a friend’s S & W . What a MONSTER of a gun. You are right about the glove. I am no wimp when it comes to recoil but I don’t care who you are when it comes to this gun you better hang on to it cause it kicks like a pissed off mule. In Canada I cannot legally own the 4 inch barrel. It must be at least 6. I want this model, but with the 10.5 inch barrel. OH YA!
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Hacksaw – The bolt action is the most reliable of any gun for sure, and the most accurate but they fetch a much higher price in .22 cal. A semi-isn’t a bad choice but they do jam on occasion when they get gummed up after a day’s firing so if you take it afield be sure to take a field cleaning kit. Most semi auto.22 cal rifles will not shoot subsonic ammo either,(unless you load each one manually) as the lower powered bullets do not have the power to cycle the action . At this time of year if you take the semi-auto out to play keep in mind the action will freeze if you aren’t carful. A bolt action is a lot less likely to freeze in these temps. As well some bolt actions can fire .22 long(rare) .22 LR and .22 short ammo where a semi auto can’t. Where you are left handed you may want to consider a pump action .22 cal (more rugged than a semi auto but with a tubular magazine usually) The tube mag poses a whole new problem in cold weather though. The break down models are nice, I had a crack barrel version which was a 410 bore/.22 survival gun. I sold it because anything that is designed to break down usually fits looser when assembled than a fixed model and accuracy suffers, also, I like to have mine at the ready in case something tasty hops by so I have little use for a break down model. As always YMMV. Just a few more things to consider. Have fun looking and keep us informed on what you decide to buy. The Ruger 10/22 Stainless synthetic in my picture retails for about 300 bucks at Wholesale sports in Edmonton. Drop down there if you get time and get a few different models in your hands to play with. You won’t be disappointed with a Ruger though. It has never failed me and many a critter has been added to my freezer or a stew pot in its honor. It just requires a little extra TLC in this cold.

Swampdonkey – don’t apologize for steering this thread in a different direction. I do it enough to other people I am sure. I love to talk guns as much as survival.