Thread: 22 wmr vs goats

How well does the 22 mag deal with goats at closer ranges up to 50mtrs or so.
I am looking for an all round rabbit , possum up to goat sized rifle.
I would expect to be making head shots rather than body shots.
will the 22 mag do the job ?
I have no experience with this caliber so would like to know if I am heading in the right direction for what I intend to use it for.
I think at the ranges expected to be used 223 is overkill and I do not want to be shooting possums in a tree with 223 for obvious reasons.
Thinking heavier 40-50 gr for goats and possibly down to light rounds or possibly subs for possums in trees.

Dreaming...or doable ?

those 45grain hornady rounds make a big hole going in and going out of hare. its a nasty looking jhp !!

Deadly in the right hands, well placed shots etc.

Shot thousands of stinkies as a young fella with 22lr using 40gr power points. As Joshc says shot placement is key.

Culled hundreds of goats with the 22 WMR over the years, does the job very well within 50m

"All that we see is but a dream within a dream"...
... but when using a .22WMR on goats at 50m, the dream is most definitely doable.

Definitely - you’re on the right calibre for goats.

Try different brands of ammo to see which suits your rifle, and take care with shot placement.

Good to 100m

Note: to my experience .22WMR is a tad under-powered for wallaby - head shots essential.

maybe a 17WSM if you're thinking a new toy anyway?
more energy at 50y than a 22mag - will give better range for rabbits / hares etc

22mag (40g) muzzle 1875 fps, at 50 yd 229 ft.lb
17 WSM (20g) muzzle 3000 fps, at 50 yd 335 ft.lb

As an indicator for knock down power I use 40gr jhp 22 mag ends for knocking over beef out to 25m. Place the shot right and it just sacks them

They go good once you are confident with your shooting you should be able to stretch it a bit past 50m as well

Select your ammo carefully for the task at hand, keep to realistic distances, place your shot correctly and you will do fine.

When I first bought my WMR for rabbit shooting, I tested all the ammo available at the time and selected the most accurate (Winchester Jacketed HP) and bought 2,000 rounds. Recently I came to the end of that batch of ammo so I retested what was available in the market and the CCI TNT came out best on accuracy. I decided to compare penetration between the JHP and the TNT with a water jug (milk bottle) test.
The Winchester would fully penetrate 4 of 2L bottles label face on with the projectile in the 5th bottle. The TNT's never made it through the first bottle, and I tried several times. All the energy was fully dissipated in less than 4"!!

Based on the water jug test I was looking forward to some explosive performance on rabbits with the TNT's. I was disappointed. Do the kill rabbits? Hell yes. Do they pop like they do with the .223 or .22-250? Hell no, the bullet doesn't fully penetrate so no exit wound for visual effect.

Would I use TNT's on goats? NO.
Would I use Winchester JHP? Absolutely.


Than Volquartsen is whispering to you isn't it .......??

Originally Posted by northdude

They go good once you are confident with your shooting you should be able to stretch it a bit past 50m as well

I have confidence in my shooting @northdude , but 90% of the goats we shoot are at 20 mtrs , probably 30 has been the furthest I have ever shot in the spots we go .
The last 3 , one the boy got in the weekend was about 15 mtrs uphill with his 30/30 which pretty much buggered the shoulder meat on both sides and before that my daughter nailed one right between the eyes with her 357 at about 6 mtrs , a second before I dropped it's pal with the 45 at the same range ....
but occasionally get asked to take out the odd wild sheep escapee which are at longer ranges.
just unsure of the effective range on larger animals such as goats and wouldn't want to be popping off at them at longer ranges just to find out we are merely wounding them .

why not the sweet little reloadable .22 Hornet?

An Aussie ‘roo shooter once said in a magazine “would you shoot a leopard with that calibre? After all they’re about the same weight.
If you wouldn’t because if you didn’t drop the leopard with the first shot it would probably make mincemeat out of you think on this”:
“So while a wounded ‘roo is less likely to charge at you and make mincemeat out of you at least have the courtesy to the animal of using a caliber that you would use on a leopard when shooting ‘roos”

He did have a point.

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

Than Volquartsen is whispering to you isn't it .......??

busted .....lol you know me to well already @hotbarrels