Thread: 22 Magnum Killing Power?

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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Originally Posted by clickbang

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?

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.

Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

The 22 mag has a slight edge over the HMR in regards to wind drift

This is one persistant rumour . . . in this age of chronys n balistic calculators it still manages to survive

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.

Originally Posted by rossi.45

This is one persistant rumour . . . in this age of chronys n balistic calculators it still manages to survive

short answer . . . Not even close, an extra 400fps does matter and makes a big difference

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 223

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.

Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

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 223

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.