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Hey guys,
Considering a 22 WMR for the rabbits.
A good mate of mine started shooting deer when he was a young fulla with a 22 mag, shot about 7 fallow all under 50m.
Another cocky I know shoots most of his goats with one too.
Do any of you guys have any experience shooting goats or larger animals with this stuff?
Attachment 50358
Obviously I have suitable rifles and calibers for goats etc, cheers.
shoot anything in the head with that it'l kill it alright. great for rabbits and possums
I run a little 22 mag with me daily at work, lives on the bike. shot hundreds of deer pigs and goats over the years. between the eyes under 100m and they go down mate.
I have shot a few deer, pigs and plenty of goats, with my little pump action 22 magnum, along with thousands of rabbits and other small game,
I always liked the 50gr federal soft point for bigger game, The little 22mag is versatile workhorse, :)
When I used to regularly go pig hunting (mmm long time ago) it was my mate's rifle of choice for bailed pigs - never mussed a kill with it. Slightly kinder on the dogs ears than the 303s or even the 44-40s which were in vogue then.
On paper I think it will outdo a 17 HMR - I stand to be corrected of course. General issue with 22mag is a lot of them don't have the accuracy of a good 22 RF or a 17 HMR. Although I was out at a session a while ago and a Stirling was giving reasonable groups, better groups than a CZ also being shot.
it is one of those rimfire cartridges you either like or you don't . . i tried to like it, twice, first with a very accurate CZ American and later a heavy barrel for my sako quad that was a tack driver.
personally it wasn't a good fit for me taking into account cost vs performance .. the .17HMR out shoots it for accuracy and range on Rabbits n Hares . . .22lr Subs with a suppressor are better for cleaning up a mob of Goats . . i wouldn't even consider it for Deer, there are much better choices out there for that.
whatever i say about it someone else will have completely different views . .. sometimes you just have to try somethings
cheers R
Yep not quite the performance of a .17HMR, but you can get ammo with the same projectile as the 17 for them. Ive shot goats with them head shots, good little cartridge for smaller stuff, I toy with buying another
Are those designed with a hand gun in mind?Quote:
Originally Posted by 300_BLK
If so they are probably a bit soft for larger, harder (goats heads) targets at closer ranges. Just a guess
Got 2 of them, one is actually for sale ;)
Have shot goats, rabbits, hares, and a bush chicken in error...
I find the 30g Vmax or CCI 30g poly tips to be fantastic, drops everything, shorter range with 40h HP or those in the picture should do the trick nicely...
Attachment 50363
The newer light weight 22mag ammo has got me using the caliber again, a more versatile rifle than 17hmr to cary places where you are after rabbits but may see larger game.esp if you keep a mag of heavier ammo.
Still as it costs as much to use as a 223......
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I like my .22mag for the distant bunny shots over my .22LR subs, which I only use for closer, discrete shooting. I tried .22mag on wallaby but went up to 223. I wasn't confident doing head shots, and the 223 allowed me to aim for the main body mass and achieve an instant kill
I suppressed my .22mag too. Brings it down to an Unsuppressed .22. You certainly notice the very loud crack if you shoot .22mag Unsuppressed
I tired alot to like the 22mag , used it in a CZ semi , gun looked the business , and it should have been good , but it wasnt , the lack of consistant accuracy was what puched me to selling it , really wanted it to work , thats when rimfire ammo was available & reasonibly priced , back then the view was the accuracy was so-so , and one of the best rifles was the heavy barreled Marlin , and running 34gr jacketed ammo .
The best current for accuracy is the 30gr tipped ammo ?
Anyway , it makes sense if you can get the ammo much cheaper than centerfire , however in NZ , there it is cheaper to reload for a one of the hornets or 222/223 , and I know thats not apples/apples , the diferenc in range & killing power is vast , so as much as I want a 22mag or 17 hmr to work , for my use it has never stacked up .
I think you are better off , with a 22lr & a then one of the small 17/22 centerfire cals .
Big prob for me using reloaded cartridges is capturing the spent case, a pain in the rectum!
Put a brass catcher on then, looks ugly but works wellQuote:
Originally Posted by Maca49
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well im not gonna shoot it in the tounge am i, that parts tasteyQuote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
22mag fan here. Got a marlin heavy barrel one that loves hornady 30g vmax rounds. Rabbits dont love it so much, have also used it on wallabies.
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Yea was wondering how they would go on the Ozzy hoppers, what range were u shooting them?Quote:
Originally Posted by clickbang
I've owned one, great calibre however the draw back I see is the price of 22lr being what it is it makes more sense to have a regular 22 and use the money difference on Ammunition between that and the magnum to buy a 223 and that way your covering a lot more bases. Just my thoughts and yes my 22lr upper kills hares at 120y.
The 22 mag has a slight edge over the HMR in regards to wind drift(more so than the next point) and bullet selection.
And for up close it works really well on possums over the HMR.
In regards to using one on Deer? Well I certainly wouldn't but that's just me, if you don't get quite the right spot then all your doing is maiming a animal and that's not what a fit and proper person does(we have all had the odd fuck up on shot placement) and it's not fair on the animal.
Perhaps for a slight edge you could go for a 22 hornet whilst staying small for around lifestyle properties?
The accuracy problem with a.22 Magnum is easily solved. The copper jacketed projectiles are travelling at about 2000 fps, so will foul the barrel quickly, thus affecting accuracy. I scrub my barrel out about every 20 rounds. Sorted.
This is one persistant rumour . . . in this age of chronys n balistic calculators it still manages to surviveQuote:
Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter
short answer . . . Not even close, an extra 400fps does matter and makes a big difference
i had one for a while in a zastava nice rifle an shot pretty well but ended up selling it and useing a 22hornet now
i had one for a while in a zastava nice rifle an shot pretty well but ended up selling it and useing a 22hornet now the magnum handeled goats but i wouldnt use it on deer
My .22LR is for me, my subsonic load where discretion is required for bunnies etc. my .22mag is to me a good flat varmint shooter giving reasonable range for little cost
Goats? Yes
Deer? Nah
Wallaby? Gotta be head shot
My 5c worth
.22 mag is my small game weapon of choice and .22LR for use where noise is a problem. Both are CZ and both are suppressed. I really like my .22mag for rabbits. By choice I wouldn't use it for anything larger than Wallaby's. A humane kill is most important to me. I am surprised at the damage the .22 mag does compared to the same weight projectile from .22 LR. Velocity rules. Both my CZ's are tack drivers.
The 22 mag should have a higher BC thus negating the wind. Small projectiles going fast don't well in the wind. Just the same as 204 vs 223Quote:
Originally Posted by rossi.45
Wouldnt wind drift be dependent only on time of flight, momentum and projected area (perpendicular to wind direction)? If that is the case the HMR should have less, higher BC, and higer kinetic energy past 150m?
Growing up as a kid my neighbour used to use a .22 magnum Marlin bolt and come back with pigs, deer strapped to his Suzuki 185 motorbike and we would climb over the fence Sat mornings to see what he had. Was also permanently in the back of his logging truck.
This was when hunting was pretty tough. He was an ex Westcoast culler so knew his shit. Unfortunately he died before me and my brother were old enough to go out with him. Yes so can be done.
I've shot heaps of goats with .22 & subs as it was all I had at the time, you really need to know your zero, pick your shots and shoot right in the top of the head and they drop straight away, otherwise it's not much better than an air rifle.
Don't think shooting at deer such a good idea, have taken bad shots with a 243 and they've kept going, now days always prefer heavy over light.
should be is'nt good enough, lets deal with facts and not opinion . . .. get a balistic calculator with decent velocity n BCs for both and do the math . . .. the .22mag comes off second best on paper and in the field with wind drift . . not saying either are good in that regard just the HMR is better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter
