.22 Magnum

[yarcraft91]

I used a .22 magnum rifle to hunt groundhogs on my dad's farm. The 40 grain JHP round would usually kill them in their tracks inside 100 yards with a head or upper body shot. Typical animal size where I hunted was 5-15 lbs.

In response to an earlier question- I have never seen an un-jacketed .22 mag round. The rifles are very easy to clean, almost no jacket material gets deposited in the rifling. I never got a "blue" patch out of mine like I do with all my centerfire rifles.

It also appears the modern .22 mag is loaded down from the ones I bought as a boy. Back then, the 40 grain load was spec'ed at 2000 fps, today more like 1800-1900.

[zackblain]

http://s7.postimage.org/jravs1d6z/33...20530_1402.jpg

22 mag 115 yards. Head shot with 33 grain remington accutip (vmax)

Once upon a time and far away, I had a German .22 mag that could consistently print 10 shots at 150 yards, within a U.S. Quarter coin diameter. Never remember the guns you have sold. It can eat at you forever.

[Esoxchaser]

Originally Posted by zackblain

http://s7.postimage.org/jravs1d6z/33...20530_1402.jpg

22 mag 115 yards. Head shot with 33 grain remington accutip (vmax)

Savage 93F, right? Sweet shooting guns.

[zackblain]

Originally Posted by Esoxchaser

Savage 93F, right? Sweet shooting guns.

yeah the absolute cheapest 22 mag savage you can get, no heavy barrel or accu trigger needed to shoot straight

[AllenW]

Originally Posted by yarcraft91

I used a .22 magnum rifle to hunt groundhogs on my dad's farm. The 40 grain JHP round would usually kill them in their tracks inside 100 yards with a head or upper body shot. Typical animal size where I hunted was 5-15 lbs.

In response to an earlier question- I have never seen an un-jacketed .22 mag round. The rifles are very easy to clean, almost no jacket material gets deposited in the rifling. I never got a "blue" patch out of mine like I do with all my centerfire rifles.

It also appears the modern .22 mag is loaded down from the ones I bought as a boy. Back then, the 40 grain load was spec'ed at 2000 fps, today more like 1800-1900.

Wouldn't suprise me, I have reloading manuals from the 60's and they in many cases have hotter loads than the newer books.

Al

[High Ball]

I can tell you that after one whole summer and fall using a .17-HMR, the wife and I went back to the .22 Magnum caliber for the varmints and critters hanging around the bird houses etc.

I shot 2 foxes on two separate times, distance was at 45 yards with the .17HMR direct hits int he front chest, drop them but they got up and made it back into the woods. I later hit a big coon 3 times before he made it to the woods, first shot was behind the shoulder, 2nd shot was quartering away and 3rd shot inthe rear. Never found that particular coon.

2 months ago I shot 4 coons in 3 nights after they chewed through the roof of one of my pigeon lofts. I used the .22-Mag and 50grn bullet. It worked like a majic wond. I shot and killed a coyote at 35 yards from inside my barn last week with the same load backed up with a Winchester 40 grn solid FMJ. However I do NOT recommend the .22-mag for coyotes, your better off with the .204 Ruger or .223 Remington caliber.

The rifles we use are Savage model 93, mine has the bull barrel with a 3x9 Bushnell mounted on top. Now at 75 yards, I can put 3 shots into the size of a quarter circle. The Savage is a very accurate rifle period! My wife's rifle is even more accurate than mine. I hope this helps you out

[GreatWhiteNorth517]

If you really believe that a 17 grain bullet is LESS susceptible to wind drift then I have oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you. As for accuracy many of the guns that round is chambered for are semi-auto's. A semi-auto action is not the first ingredient in the recipe for an "accurate" gun.

I've seen this same discussion on other forums. Truth is, there are guys who lined up to buy a .17 HMR and think it can shoot around corners. Same thing with the .204 Ruger. Personally I'll take my .22 WMR and my .22-250 any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I just don't believe those calibers accomplish a task that another caliber can't do. Neck something down(or up), jack up the velocity, and oh my god, everybody wants it.

[GreatWhiteNorth517]

Originally Posted by Noah Cantell

Very good question. If you are right, the down range fp should be reduced by the number of 22's we could fit into an inch. That means if each bullet is 1/8th of an inch radius 8 X 8 = 64. 150 fp at 100 yards divided by 64 = 2 fp. That can't be right ? So maybe the mushroom effect comes into play. Maybe there is no exact answer considering bullets mushroom differently.

We have to get somebody smarter for this one.

The term "foot-pound" as a measure of force is derived from the amount of force generated by dropping a 1 pound weight from a 1 ft height. i.e. "99 ft-lbs" would be like dropping a 99 lb weight from 1 ft of height. If this doesn't sound impressive, think about putting your foot underneath that weight before you drop it.

When it comes to ballistics, the energy in ft-lbs at any given distance is measured as if all of the energy from the bullet is transferred to the target at the point of impact. This number does not take into account penetration (or lack thereof), bullet diameter, mushrooming, or other aspects of bullet design/performance. One example of this is that a high-velocity FMJ might not kill as well as a slower, expanding bullet. While the first round has lots of energy, it penetrates without expanding, goes right through the target and uses up the rest of it's energy beyond the target where it does no good. The second round has less energy, but by expanding it makes a larger hole, does more damage, and transfers all of it's energy to the target. Look at most of the "defense ammo" out there. They consist of better, expanding bullets and are not loaded to max pressure/velocity.

Sincerely,

Smarter Guy

[James Morris]

Originally Posted by GreatWhiteNorth517

As for accuracy many of the guns that round is chambered for are semi-auto's.

The only part of your post that I'll take issue with is the sentence quoted above. Pretty difficult to find semi-auto 17HMRs around here. Seems like most are CZ, Marlin, Savage bolt actions. The round was designed as a joint effort between hornady and rifle manufacturers to deliver the ultimate in rimfire accuracy. If you don't believe it, there are plenty of shot targets out there that prove the level of accuracy it's capable of.