.22, .22lr, .22wmr

[Hookeye]

LOL pops has some old Norma I think, .357 mag............ran a round with that. 8" Python.
Yes, steel will scream when hit with that crap!
Sticking chickens into the dirt backstop..........hard to shoot and laugh at same time.
No need for that power. .22 mag and field pistol.........pretty sweet match IMHO.
Probably ideal would be an old Smith 8 3/8" in 32 H&R mag. Reload for that............probably perfect for that game.
Haven't seen one of those guns in forever.

 

[Hookeye]

Still have a soft spot for an 8 3/8" Smith 48.
Loved my 6" 648...........but don't shoot IHMSA anymore and chucks are rare around my neck of the woods. My old spots are built up too.
I'd go 8 3/8" .22 mag as a primary gun, if calling in fox or yotes.

Did pop some chucks with pistols and rifles with hyper V .22 lr ammo.

Have not shot a coyote with any.

Folks here done it? How'd it work? What ranges?

FWIW best hyper V I ever shot was the old WW Supermax. They dropped it and went with Velocitor IIRC.
Yellow Jackets did OK in a rifle, ran them in a couple of 572's.

Stingers sucked back when I was younger. Now they're pretty good. No more BANG BANG POP BANG.
Pretty common back in the old days. Bad enough to avoid them.

Last 10 yrs all Stingers I bought were fine.
Think a couple of chucks and a couple of coons all I ever shot with em.

LOL.............I popped 2 chucks, one at 50 yards. Went to fetch him..........dead by his hole, shot right in neck (was standing in profile when shot). I was admiring my kill when another 50 yards down the fence did the same thing. Aimed the same, result the same.

Rifle? My kids Chipmunk.

She was maybe 3 back then (goodness, that's over 20 yrs ago).

But with such shot placement (spine) any .22 lr HV would have done same.

Just wondering the effects of hyper V on fox and yotes...........since I have zippo experience with them.

 

[Hookeye]

My 10/22 does not have a match chamber, so I could run Stingers in it for fox.
if that's a good matchup.
Or just buy a .22 mag.

 

[tomylee0123]

What good does it do for .22wmr round anyway? They are hard to find, as same price as .223 and 5.56 but has less power. I'll get the rifle chamberred in .23 instead of .22wmr, but that is just my personal opinion.

 

[Hookeye]

I found .22 mag today, $15.50 to $16.50 a box of 50.
.223 was $7.99 for 20.
So the mag is cheaper.

Less power is not a bad thing.
Might even be ideal (the .22 mag) for popping red or grey fox inside of 100 yds.

 

[Hookeye]

Rechambering soft steel .22 lr bbls to .22 mag is doable per the person I contacted.
No way he or anybody else would do the lesser steel barrels in high pressure stuff.

 

[oldpink]

I found .22 mag today, $15.50 to $16.50 a box of 50.
.223 was $7.99 for 20.
So the mag is cheaper.

Less power is not a bad thing.
Might even be ideal (the .22 mag) for popping red or grey fox inside of 100 yds.

My beef with .22 WMR is that it tends to tear up bushytails too much, unless you're able to make head shots every time, not the easiest thing to accomplish with the average BT being notoriously nervous.
Good old .22 LR works as well for headshots, but it doesn't wreck the meat much, if any, for body shots.

 

[Hookeye]

.22 mag IMHO is for larger ground dwelling rodents.

Have heard of folks using .22 mag for squirrels.

Strange people they were.

 

[Hookeye]

Been shooting only Pineys the last decade or so.
Did pop some fox squirrels doing damage to a bud's house (ate hole in garage).
Other houses nearby.
So I used CB...........Anschtuz 1403 w Leupold 12X.
Trees at back fence (nothing for a long ways off behind that)...................shoot em behind the shoulder and they'd run like lung shot deer, off to the end of the branch, fall and spin on the ground......dead.
Pop..........whop!..........boogity boogity.........plop.

 

[Hookeye]

Intend to zing some pineys with shorts, or CBs..........out of my TC.

 

[natdscott]

Have heard of folks using .22 mag for squirrels.

Strange people they were.

Dunno about that, Capt. Hook. .22WMR works just fine for Fox Squirrel. I used one exclusively for a number of years due to increased range, and for the accuracy of that particular rifle with a particular ammo.

Headshots are a 100% requirement, and it is best to keep it forward of the ear. If you don't, the bullet jackets will still end up fragmenting into the upper neck, occasionally into the tops of the shoulders. I've shot them with Speer TNT, CCI Maxi-Mag+V HP and standard HP, but MOST were hit with Remington Premier 33.

I shot one in the chest, and that was a once-ever mistake.

The biggest problem with WMR is that you are looking at a minimum of 20 minutes after a shot before you will see another squirrel out, even during feeding times. Only chance you have for a double is to drop the first squirrel, and run another round in with an immediate transition to a known second squirrel. All you can do is HOPE the 2nd squirrel has frozen at the shot and hasn't moved yet, or that it will stop somewhere on the race back to it's nest...which is not awfully likely.



But it's still on-topic to say: WMR is not the cartridge needed by the OP, for the purpose illustrated.

-Nate

 

[Hookeye]

Pitchforks and torches...........the safety thugs

at the mention of .22 lr used to take squirrels from trees.

Not sure how brutal they'd be against those advocating .22 WMR

 

[tomylee0123]

what is the advanatage of 22wmr anyway? .22lr can do almost as same as damage as the 22wmr but cost about half. 17wmr is a better cal but the cost is about the same as 22wmr or maybe less. I really dont see the meed for 22wmr.

 

[Hookeye]

I killed a fair number of groundhogs with .22 mag.
The guns are lean and the round is mean, esp inside of 75 yards.
The heaver bullet (mag vs HMR) might be better at longer D or when punched into bigger critters.
Buddies hunt with HMR, say inside of 100 it's a hoot, but wind drift is wicked past that. And...........they want more bullet weight for yotes.
So even my HMR fans, still love the .22 mag.

 

[natdscott]

what is the advanatage of 22wmr anyway? .22lr can do almost as same as damage as the 22wmr but cost about half. 17wmr is a better cal but the cost is about the same as 22wmr or maybe less. I really dont see the meed for 22wmr.

Well, close to 100 yards of effective range, for one. That's even comparing the fastest, heaviest .22 LR commonly available.

I hope you don't have to shoot something 'serious' with either one, but I can tell you from experience that the difference in terminal effect between .22 LR and a .22 WMR is significant on 40-70 lb animals-with-teeth.

Since you brought it up: the discussion between the 'better' 17 HMR and the .22 WMR is not even a fight. 17 is flatter and faster, but hits more like a kitten (little-known fact: the 17 HMR doesn't extend the ENERGY range of a rimfire more than about 30 yards past that of heavy .22 LR). 22 requires more lob to get it there, but hits more like a half-grown cat. Both have kinda sharp teeth at close range, but neither one is a .223.

-Nate

 

[ckyoursix]

OK. Picked up a Savage .22WMR bolt action at gander this last sat. Nice rifle good price, and cabelas received some .22 WMR in stock online. Put my order in.

 

[natdscott]

How long until your suppressor comes in?

-Nate