.22lr vs. .22 magnum

[45pro]

I used to have a marlin .22 magnum and sold it. And now i want another .22 rifle. I was wondering how much difference there is between a 22lr and a 22mag. Is the mag any better at 100 yards than then lr? this will be for the occasional varmint and maybe a cyote. the .22 mag ammo is much more expensive(100 mini-mag rounds for $20) than then .22lr rounds (550pack for 18.95) How much of a difference are the ballistics/power between them? Is it worth the extra cost? Does the .22 mag group better at 100 yards? any info would be appreciated.

thank you

 

[RichardR]

I used to have a marlin .22 magnum and sold it. And now i want another .22 rifle. I was wondering how much difference there is between a 22lr and a 22mag. huge difference .Is the mag any better at 100 yards than then lr? yes much better this will be for the occasional varmint and maybe a cyote. for yotes you'll definitely want the .22mag the .22 mag ammo is much more expensive(100 mini-mag rounds for $20) than then .22lr rounds (550pack for 18.95) How much of a difference are the ballistics/power between them? huge difference Is it worth the extra cost? for hunting? yes, for punching paper? no Does the .22 mag group better at 100 yards? yes much better any info would be appreciated.

thank you

You're welcome.

 

[nova512]

richardr is right ,22lr to me is plinker/practice gun.22mag is pretty awesome.lr just doesnt have the muscle imo at 100 yards the mag does its very close to the 17 hmr but has alot more energy then the hmr . i have a win.9422xtr 22mag that is a tack driver hit a squirrel in the body once it pretty much destroyed it.also have taurus 22mag revolver that thing is a absolute blast to shoot.if you go mag you wont be sorry.

 

[snapping turtle]

If you want to hunt something bigger than a raccoon get the 22 mag. I got mine 22 mag after shooting a fox that pulled up a trap. I shot him 5 times and hit him 4 from about 40 yards to 60 yards and finally stopped him. The 22 mag is perfect for fox and work well on tree rats and rabbits also. Fox drop quick. If you are going to have it for paper get a 22 lr.

22 mag will kill a coyote but they will normally run a good 500 yards before expiring with a lung shot. Tough little suckers those coyotes. I still say something in the high powered rifle area around 17 rem/222/223/243/22-250 for yotes but that is me. If you don;t mind blood trailing a yote for 1000 yards then a rimfire would do well. I cant say all rimfires as If you could control the expansion on a 17 HMR it might do well on a yote.

 

[308jake]

Just go 17hmr and call it done.

 

[45pro]

ok thanks for the replies...I really enjoyed my marlin .22 mag. I could hit a quarter at 100 yards with a scope and my bi-pod. I wasn't sure if the .22 lr could do the same as a .22mag or close to it. I guess i will just buy the gun and everything all over again...i loved that thing.

thanx guys

 

[Joe Williams]

I love the .22LR, but IMHO it's a 75 yard gun for small game. It's fun to plink and punch paper further out, but I don't hunt with it out there. It's also not really a suitable round for coyotes. Sure, it can be used for them, but it's not really good for them.

.22 Magnum packs a bunch more punch. It's a solid 100 yard gun, and is good a little further out if you are up to it. I think it's a bit much for squirrels and bunnies unless you go for head shots.

For economical paper punching, the .22 Mag is much more expensive. As $11-$14 per 50 vs $2 per 50 expensive.

Frankly, I like the .17HMR a lot better than the .22 Mag. It seems more accurate to me, and is also a solid 100-125 yard gun. It shoots flat as a pancake, and out to 100 is less affected by wind. Past 100, though, the .17HMR really drops off compared to the .22 Mag. I would like to try some of the 30gr .22 Mag VMax rounds sometime, though. They are fast, and supposedly shoot almost as flat as the .17, while packing more energy.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I used to have a marlin .22 magnum and sold it. And now i want another .22 rifle. I was wondering how much difference there is between a 22lr and a 22mag. Is the mag any better at 100 yards than then lr? this will be for the occasional varmint and maybe a cyote. the .22 mag ammo is much more expensive(100 mini-mag rounds for $20) than then .22lr rounds (550pack for 18.95) How much of a difference are the ballistics/power between them? Is it worth the extra cost? Does the .22 mag group better at 100 yards? any info would be appreciated.

thank you

Power wise, a 22 mag at 100 yards is a 22LR point blank.
22 mag from a pistol = 22 LR from a rifle.

Accuracy wise a 22 mag has no advantage unless you get the soft pointed bullets with the tips like the 17HMR and that's only because they put more effort in to the amo to make it more accurate and it's another level of expensive.

You owned one before and don't know any of this?

I doubt any of it but the $$$ will make the slightest difference to you the way you use the guns.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

The .22MWR defiantly has more punch. If I, was going to be shooting out to 100 yards, that's what I would go with. They are more expensive to shoot. That's why, it's nice to also have a .22LR, that way you can get plenty of practice. At 25 yards, hitting a steel target, that can withstand up to a .44 mag. The .22LR just breaks apart. The .22MWR leaves an indent approximately 1/16" deep or slightly deeper. I know it's only 25 yards but you can see the difference. The highest velocity on a .22LR I have seen is 1,500 FPS. The highest velocity .22MWR I have seen is 2,200 FPS.

 

[Amishman44]

I have a bolt-action Savage .22 mag with a 4x scope on it...dead on at 125 yards.

My Ruger 10/22...is a total blast to shoot...cheap, fun, use it to teach my kids, etc...but I use the .22 mag to hunt with...squirrel, rabbit, etc.

 

[Gabriel]

Frankly, I like the .17HMR a lot better than the .22 Mag. It seems more accurate to me, and is also a solid 100-125 yard gun. It shoots flat as a pancake, and out to 100 is less affected by wind. Past 100, though, the .17HMR really drops off compared to the .22 Mag. I would like to try some of the 30gr .22 Mag VMax rounds sometime, though. They are fast, and supposedly shoot almost as flat as the .17, while packing more energy.

I agree about the .17HMR. I got the 22WMR in a trade (a Marlin 25M) and actually really like it, but still want a 17.

I actually went to Bass Pro today to look for some VMax ammuntion, but they only had it in 17 HMR (but they did have the Supe X on sale for $8.49 a box, so I bought a couple)...which is another advantage of the 17, ammunition is easier to find than the WMR (at least the CCI and Hornady with the Vmax bullet).

I like that Marlin so much I'm considering selling my .308, which I can't really afford to shoot, and buying a .17HMR.

 

[indyjoe]

I've looked at .22 Mag, but decided that the cost is similar to reloading .223. Although, .223 is much more powerful. It is a useful round for things that .22 LR isn't up to, like larger varmits, etc.

Both .22 Mag and .17 HMR are fun rounds, though. They aren't enough to justify firearm purchases from me and yet another ammo type to stock.

 

[Gabriel]

I've looked at .22 Mag, but decided that the cost is similar to reloading .223. Although, .223 is much more powerful. It is a useful round for things that .22 LR isn't up to, like larger varmits, etc.

Both .22 Mag and .17 HMR are fun rounds, though. They aren't enough to justify firearm purchases from me and yet another ammo type to stock.

I agree that the savings isn't there if you reload .223. I don't reload, so the rimfire calibers are fine for me.

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

ok thanks for the replies...I really enjoyed my marlin .22 mag. I could hit a quarter at 100 yards with a scope and my bi-pod. I wasn't sure if the .22 lr could do the same as a .22mag or close to it. I guess i will just buy the gun and everything all over again...i loved that thing.

thanx guys

Sure you can hit a quarter from 100 yds with a .22lr, but that isn't what you were originally looking for in your post. With a .22lr your drop and velocities are of course different but once you dial your scope in, it's not a problem.

But getting back to your OP, as others have said, the mag is prob better suited for coyotes...although I did shoot one once, but it was about a 50 yd shot.

 

[wag1911]

Both Zero'd at 50 yds here is what you get.

34 gr Winchester Supreme .22 WMR Trajectory 16-20 cents per round

80 yds -0.4"
100 yds -1.3"
120 yds -2.9"

Typical .22 LR Trajectory 3-5 cents per round

80 yds -2.5"
100 yds -5.8"
120 yds -10.5"

 

[451_Detonics]

As far as ammo cost...you have to shop around. I am feeding my Marlin 57M Levermatic with Armscor JHP, 500 rounds for $70.39, that works out to 14 cents a shot.

I do consider the 22 mag to be marginal on coyotes. Any center fire is a huge improvement and if you handload then your options are even better. For example loading a cast 165 in 30-06 at 1100 fps using Trail Boss will knock the snot out of them with about the same amount of muzzle noise.

 

[kolob10]

22lr - plinking, squirrels, rabbits, starlings, & general good fun. inexpensive ammo

22mag - all the above plus coons, possums, coyote (out to 50 yards), crows, & fox

22 hornet (if you reload cheaper than 22 mag ammo) all the above plus coyote out to
150 yards.

I have all three and they all have their place in the field and on the range.

 

[AccuRat]

Ahhh, the Mag. Grew up shooting an old Mossberg that my dad carried around in the truck. Must have killed a hundred coyotes with that gun. It's always held a special place in my heart. BUT....along came the HMR. I was all set to buy a CZ 452 in .22 Mag and found out they had it in the (then) new .17 HMR. I decided to take a chance....glad I did. The HMR is a laser. I've made clean kills on p-dogs out to a rangefinder-verified 265 yards. It's more accurate than the Mag, flatter trajectory and simply more fun to shoot. I've shot 1/2 inch, 100 yard groups with the HMR, but that rifle will put 50 shots in a row inside a quarter all day long. Now, don't get me wrong, the Mag is a GREAT round. In fact, I just bought a Brno ZKM 611 thinking I needed a Mag in my arsenal. Truth is, though, I've found I have more fun with my bolt action 452 .17 HMR.

The HMR will do 95% of anything the Mag will do inside of 100 yards and everything it won't out past 175. I've killed coyotes at all ranges inside 125 yards with both and I'm fairly sure the dogs didn't wish they were shot with the other round. That said, the longest rimfire kill I've seen first-hand was on a p-dog with a .22 Mag at a verified 276 yards. No, neither will knock a coyote flat like a centerfire will, but with the right bullet placement, they don't go far.

So......I'm not helping am I?

For Indiana's rolling hills, open fields and woodlands, the Mag is an excellent choice and will kill the hell out of anything you want to shoot at reasonable distances...coyotes out to maybe 150 yards, coons as far as you can reasonably hit. For the wide open Wyoming plains, I'd pick the HMR for its extended range capabilities.

 

[snapping turtle]

Ever see what a 17 HMR will do to a rabbit at 50 feet. I will put it this way I did not have to skin it much. It nearly blew it in half with a chest shot. To explosive for small game at short distance, to wind driven for long range on windy days, to far traveling for tree rats at an angle in the heavily populated areas I often am forced to hunt in.

I am not saying the 17 hmr does not have its place it just does not fit into my hunting style. Now the other one the 17 mach II seems more my cup of tea. It is not as popular as the HMR but a better tree rat gun for long distance shots than the 22 lr.

 

[AccuRat]

You ought to see what it will do to a prairie dog! IIRC, the OP was looking to shoot "varmints and coyotes" with his rifle, i.e., vermin that you're not concerned with blowing up. I'd hunt tree rats with my HMR, but only with 20g XTPs and ONLY go for head shots. A solid .22LR bullet in a round that your .22 likes is the ticket for tree rats, particularly since I can't envision to many scenarios where you'd be shooting at more than, say, 50 yards. Doesn't take much to kill a squirrel.

Agreed on the wind bucking capabilities of the HMR.....zero to none. Gotta get right in line with the wind or hope it's not blowing too hard. That's the one area where the Mag really has an advantage: 17g Vmax vs 34g Win Supreme...double the mass.

The Mach is almost as explosive as the HMR inside of 75 yards.