Never underestimate the humble .22. In my time playing with wepons of all sorts, I have seen a few things that left me scratching my head. Like a .22 penatrating the firewall of an old truck (1950ish) and a .44 mag bouncing off of it. The thing of it is, surface area. think about it.......you can take an ice pic and push it through a 1" pine board with your bare hand. try that with a 20 penny spike. That being said, do I want to hunt large dangerous game with a .22 or a .44 mag? There is a real good chance I'll chose the big gun, but if all I have is a .22, I'll use it in a heart beat. What have i got to lose at that point?