Is 22 mag the dumbest round going? ?

[prescut]

Ammoseek.com has the lowest price at $.30 a round and wikiammo.com has lowest at $.28. Local BP is regularly at $.40 a round. I really love shooting the 22 mag, but I can shoot 45 acp at those prices. I see the 22 lr at $.08 a round and that still makes sense to me although it is 3 times what I paid three years ago. I find myself asking the question about why I shoot what types of calibers. Is price part of the equation? I don't have a ready answer.

Is it for defense? Is it to target shoot for practice? Is it plinking cans with your buddies for fun? Is it for hunting?

Seems like there are 4 types of shooting: Defense, Practice, Fun, Hunting.
Defense cartridge at home involves wall penetration concerns. Defense in the backcountry involves carrying the biggest hitter I can handle. Practice cartridge should be cheap and representative of what you shoot. Fun cartridge should be cheap and accurate enough to not embarrass yourself. Hunting cartridge should be accurate and matched to the game.

Where does the 22 Mag fit? I don't think it's good choice for defense. Yes, it can kill, but would you choose it? Too much speed to shoot in the house, and not enough knock down power. Defense is out. It aint cheap so practice is out. It aint cheap so plinking is out. Killing coyotes might have an application, but that's not hunting to me as no one seems to want the meat.
Would you really choose the 22 mag as a coyote round of preference?

So, please tell me guys, what the hell do I do with my 22 mags now?

lost

 

[Mgderf]

Can't help you, but if you think .22mag is expensive, take a look at .22 Hornet. THAT'S ridiculous!

 

[prescut]

hey mgderf,
I don't really know the Hornet much. Never had a chance to use it or a friend who had one. Is it in the same quandry about calibers as the 22 mag. I have started to see 22 Mag rifles sitting for sale for months at give away prices. Does the effectivenes and attractivness of a caliber change when the price and availability go bad. Seems like a decent round with high velocity and little drop over distance. I have recommended it in the past for seniors who had recoil issues. The 22 shot shell hardly penetrates paper and spread so rapidly as to require shooting rattlers around the barn at less than 6 feet. The 22mag shot shell keeps a nice tight spread and does massive damage to rattlers. Shooting did not occur often enuf to worry about ammo prices. practice was with 22lr. Seemed to work for the two ranch senior women i taught to shoot. Regardless of this, there are so many options in 38 spl with cowboy loads to hold down recoil that I can't see recommending this anymore. Can a caliber just run out of life and meaning and fade away? Is your Hornet in this same questionable status.


Lost

 

[DRob]

The .22 WMR has been a part of our prairie dog battery for years. Out to 100 yards the terminal performance is impressive. I suppose if a person just became aware of the round it might not be as attractive due current prices. However, before the .17 HMR came along and the great ammo stupidity set in, the .22 magnum was the only thing in the gap between the .22lr and centerfires. It was hailed as a great round when it was introduced and still is IMO. All three of my .22 WMR rifle are easily capable of 1 MOPD (minute of prairie dog) with any ammo I feed them.

 

[Mgderf]

hey mgderf,
I don't really know the Hornet much. Never had a chance to use it or a friend who had one. Is it in the same quandry about calibers as the 22 mag. I have started to see 22 Mag rifles sitting for sale for months at give away prices. Does the effectivenes and attractivness of a caliber change when the price and availability go bad. Seems like a decent round with high velocity and little drop over distance. I have recommended it in the past for seniors who had recoil issues. The 22 shot shell hardly penetrates paper and spread so rapidly as to require shooting rattlers around the barn at less than 6 feet. The 22mag shot shell keeps a nice tight spread and does massive damage to rattlers. Shooting did not occur often enuf to worry about ammo prices. practice was with 22lr. Seemed to work for the two ranch senior women i taught to shoot. Regardless of this, there are so many options in 38 spl with cowboy loads to hold down recoil that I can't see recommending this anymore. Can a caliber just run out of life and meaning and fade away? Is your Hornet in this same questionable status.


Lost

Yes, and no.
My Hornet is a single-shot pistol.
A Thompson Contender, 10" barrel.
It's deadly accurate out to 125+ yards on smaller stuff, including coyote. It may not "drop" a coyote, then again it might, but a well placed shot will bring it down in short order.

Shortly after I bought the pistol I went on an ammo buying spree.
I bought a couple hundred rounds, and if I had known I would start reloading, I would have saved my cases.
Anyway, I still have about 100 to 125 rounds or so. I don't shoot it often of late because of the ammo prices. but I won't get rid of it.

The .22 Hornet is a hot little round in my opinion.

 

[USMC-Johnson]

Wow...ammo prices around you suck. The most expensive ammo i have in stock right now is 40 cents a round most is about half that.

 

[hooky]

The .22 WMR has been a part of our prairie dog battery for years. Out to 100 yards the terminal performance is impressive. I suppose if a person just became aware of the round it might not be as attractive due current prices. However, before the .17 HMR came along and the great ammo stupidity set in, the .22 magnum was the only thing in the gap between the .22lr and centerfires. It was hailed as a great round when it was introduced and still is IMO. All three of my .22 WMR rifle are easily capable of 1 MOPD (minute of prairie dog) with any ammo I feed them.

This.

It's a nice little varmint round. As a kid, I plugged a lot of groundhogs with a 22 mag. It's a hoot on starlings too.

 

[Cameramonkey]

This.

It's a nice little varmint round. As a kid, I plugged a lot of groundhogs with a 22 mag. It's a hoot on starlings too.

I agree. I had a marlin bolt action as a teen. Took out quite a few varmints with it and it was VERY effective. I dont recall ANY shots that didnt drop the animal in its tracks. Heck, I had one racoon that I hit that it disemboweled it a bit. I was shocked.

Would LOVE to have a PMR30, but given today's availability, I just cant justify it.

 

[nipprdog]

I see the 22 lr at $.08 a round and that still makes sense to me although it is 3 times what I paid three years ago.

22lr was not less than 3 cents a round three years ago.

 

[Twangbanger]

I've used it quite a bit, in a Ruger 77 bolt gun, and it's a great cartridge, you just have to understand what it's for. It's a pointless cartridge in short defensive pistol barrels ("snubbies"). I know a lot of younger guys who are just getting into guns, and some of them have wasted stupid money on 22WMR guns they later realize they have no use for, and the ammo cost kills them. But they're not using it for its proper purpose. They're using it for high-volume range shooting, and that's a waste of its potential.

The main use is varmint control. The 22WMR in a rifle has the same power at 150 yards that a .22lr rifle has at the muzzle. It's like adding 150 yards more range onto the end of your .22lr rifle. In a pistol, it gives a 6" barrel the same performance as a .22lr rifle. Another way of thinking of it, is to say that it puts 38 special energy levels behind a small .22 rifle bullet that shoots flat as a laser out to 100 yards. If you zero your rifle at 150 yards, your mid-range trajectory is about 5 inches and you are only down a foot at 200 yards. This means you can kill anything coon-sized or smaller to 200 yards with less than a foot of correction, if you know your rifle and check your distances carefully. If you don't reload and/or don't have need for a centerfire rifle, this is a god-send.

At closer ranges on your property, it will blow through both shoulders of a dog-sized animal, so it will handle coyotes if ranges are close.

If you're a prairie-dogger, you may shoot more dogs with 22WMR than you do with your centerfire gun. In areas where you get a lot of shots under 200 yards, there is no sense burning up your centerfire barrel when the WMR hits them so good, and it's easier to dope than a .22lr.

Knowledgeable people have sent a _lot_ of critters across the Rainbow Bridge using the 22WMR. It's a great cartridge, within its element.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Growing up in the country presented countless feral cats. .22 mag through a Ruger Single Six did short work of those pests and definitely honed my marksmanship.

 

[Iroquois]

22lr was not less than 3 cents a round three years ago.

Actually, in 2012, 500 rounds was $20...4 cents a round. I've seen it $80 for 500 recently. ..The numbers may be off but the point is still valid.

 

[Broom_jm]

You listed four reasons for shooting, but left out a VERY important fifth reason: FUN!

Any rifle that is accurate and capable, as most 22WMR rifles are, is simply fun to shoot. There is no recoil to speak of, yet you get more range than you would from a 22LR.

Also, 30 cents a round is still cheap, compared to many factory centerfire rifle loads, so the 22WMR is still perfectly suitable for trigger time prior to hunting seasons. Your main point seems to be that 22WMR is expensive, but serves little purpose. Well, if you start looking at things that way, there are few rounds you can really justify shooting at all. Don't go there!

As the guys above mention, the 22WMS is a very good choice for hunting, in certain conditions.

 

[ol' poke]

You listed four reasons for shooting, but left out a VERY important fifth reason: FUN!

+1

My first handgun was an AMT Automag II. 22WMR out of a 3 1/2" barrel at low light is IMPRESSIVE! The pistol misfires too often to be considered for self-defense, barrel is too short for target shooting or hunting, but the FUN factor is outstanding!

ol' poke

 

[Sniper 79]

I agree it is a nice little vermin vaporizer. I had a old Marlin bolt gun I picked up for a hundred bucks. Tack driver and really had the power compared to 22 long rifle. I know guys that sold their center fires down in Tennessee and this is all they use now to hunt deer and coyote.

Not sure what they cost now. Last I recall I paid around eight bucks a box for good flex tip stuff and seven for plinker fodder.

I may get another launcher for this round.

 

[prescut]

I actually really like the 22mag as well. I started this thread looking for someone to go after that varmint connection and it was done in spades by several of you who know your gun, caliber, and usage. I learned a lot when trying this caliber for a 22 mag shotshell.

and CameraMonkey you are terrible for bringing up that PMR30. My lust is running away with me. Rarely do I see an new pistola that so captures me as that piece. As I recall it's 30 rounds of high speed nasty in a nice sized package. Second mag gives you 60 rounds. That seems like a lot. When the price comes down, I think I'm ready to jump in.
I hear they are getting good speed and accuracy out of that pistol barrel. That's kind of a surprise given the comments on here about developing velocity with barrel length, which I absolutely agree with. I'll see if I can find some numbers.

Lost
PS 2011 I got a case of Blazer 22lr from JG in Prescott and it was $170 and that's 3.4 cents per round. my new math had a lot of rounding going on. Seems like some sensitive fellows out there about the price of 22lr. I got some of that sensitive stuff myself on that issue. I shoot a lot of 22.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I actually really like the 22mag as well. I started this thread looking for someone to go after that varmint connection and it was done in spades by several of you who know your gun, caliber, and usage. I learned a lot when trying this caliber for a 22 mag shotshell.

and CameraMonkey you are terrible for bringing up that PMR30. My lust is running away with me. Rarely do I see an new pistola that so captures me as that piece. As I recall it's 30 rounds of high speed nasty in a nice sized package. Second mag gives you 60 rounds. That seems like a lot. When the price comes down, I think I'm ready to jump in.
I hear they are getting good speed and accuracy out of that pistol barrel. That's kind of a surprise given the comments on here about developing velocity with barrel length, which I absolutely agree with. I'll see if I can find some numbers.

Lost
PS 2011 I got a case of Blazer 22lr from JG in Prescott and it was $170 and that's 3.4 cents per round. my new math had a lot of rounding going on. Seems like some sensitive fellows out there about the price of 22lr. I got some of that sensitive stuff myself on that issue. I shoot a lot of 22.

Right there with ya prescut. The '30 is on the top of my list if the ammo frenzy ever dies down.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I keep chickens, therefore I have predators. I use it for coon, possum, fox, and the occasional ultra-brave squirrel (going for feed). They hit harder and are more accurate past 100yds than 22LR.. Fun too, but not as fun as my .308s!

 

[johntheplinker]

I have permission to coyote hunt in a few places where the landowner doesn't want centerfire rifles used, not only safety but noise. Shotguns are out due to noise also. Also a few other places I can use a shotgun or c.f. rifle, but don't want to disturb the owner or his neighbors. A 3" 12 ga. or a 223 going off at 2:00am could cause some levitating to occur. A 22 mag fits the bill.

 

[dooshie]

I own a .410 under a 22mag and it's one of the sweetest little gun I have.