Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Most accurate .22 Magnum ???

I must admit I thought the 17 more subject to wind drift over the 22 Mag. Do you think the 17 HMR kills as good as the 30 grn 22 Mag John?

Depends on the animal and the bullet.

I've known some shooters who tried the .17 HMR with hollow-points (probably because they cost less than plastic-tips) on prairie dogs and were less than satisfied, but hollow-points don't expand nearly as violently as plastic-tips. They do, however, penetrate deeper on larger varmints.

I would rather shoot ground squirrels and prairie dogs with a .17 HMR than a .22 Magnum, because in general .17 HMR's are more accurate, shoot flatter, and drift less in the wind. I would rather shoot jackrabbits with a .22 Magnum, because its heavier bullets penetrate better, and accuracy isn't as critical. But either cartridge will do the job on either prairie dogs or jackrabbits.

It's kind of like arguing over whether to use the .25-06 or .30-06 on big game. Both will do the job, though one might work better than the other in certain circumstances.

Not John, but have some experience with the .17.

To me it kills about as well as the .22WMR and at longer distances. Bullet selection for the task at hand is important.

It's a great hog killer with the FMJ bullet. I've seen a bunch killed with it, have killed a number myself.

I've posted this before. A good bud has a way of clearing a hog trap with his cheap little Savage .17. He eases up on a pen, not too close so they get to running around, close enough so they just look and stare. He finds a POI 1" above a line he visualized between their eyes and at midpoint. He lines up the POI to clear the pen wire and lets rip. Dead hog, eye's popped out on a stem. Weird looking. He waits for the next opportunity. He kills them so quick, the others don't seem to get that nervous. I've seen him clear a pen/trap holding a number of hogs, one at a time.

At that range, I'm not sure .22WMR .17HMR, or even .22LR would make that much difference, just that the .17 can be pretty versatile with the right bullet.

DF

My most accurate 22 Mag. was an older Marlin that had the pull back to fire safety. It was far more accurate than the Browning A-Bolt that never did shoot well. The CZ 452 FS I have now will shoot as well as the Marlin and nicer to carry and better to look at. It favors the 30 gr. V-Max load. I use it more in the fall for all small game than any thing else. I switch to a Sako Vixen 222 Rem. in turkey season. Here is my CZ doing what I bought it for.

Cut this stainless Marlin down to 18" and had the barrel threaded to take a TS AXION Ti suppressor. Can't remember what it is running for groups but I think it was .75-1.0 at 50...not overly accurate but will get the job done...

Bob

This thread got me curious about .22 Magnum Ruger American Rifles. Despite owning an Anschutz 54 in .22 LR, I am not about to pay well over $1000 for a top-line Anschutz in .22 Magnum. Yesterday afternoon was in an LGS and they had an American .22 Magnum on sale for a decent price, so brought it home. (Am now the proud owner of 4 Americans, 2 rimfires and 2 centerfires.) Will mount a scope and see what it does with various kinds of ammo. My other .22 Magnum is a Winchester 9422M that loves 30-grain TNT ammo, does well with 40-grain Winchester HP's (which seem to shoot more consistently in different rifles than any other .22 Magnum ammo, and scatters the 33-grain V-Max ammo into 5-6".

Mule Deer, I will be waiting to hear what your thoughts are on the American in 22 Magnum. I purchased one of those in the Predator configuration from the forum member SAS. My son has laid claim to it and shot quite a few groundhogs and other small pests with it. Accuracy is about 1 inch at 50 yards with most any 30gr to 33gr ammo.

I like it.

I've reworked several Marlin triggers. I assume that one has the same trigger as the 25N, 880, etc. It's easy to take the trigger out of the housing, clip a quarter coil at a time, cut a nail to fit inside the spring (becomes a trigger stop). With light honing of the sear surfaces and some tweaking, one can end up with a surprisingly good 2.5# trigger with very little overtravel. It's not quite a Shilen or Timney, but can be very good for a factory rimfire trigger.

DF

I'm getting ready to do the same thing John. I was just looking at one locally for $269.00 $249.00. I will also get 200 rounds of Hornady ammo with it so we'll see how she shoots. I'll probably end up buying some weaver bases (#12) for it and mount a scope on it. I really liked the way the RAR felt when shouldered. Pretty sweet little rifle with a 22" barrel and who doesn't love the Ruger rotary magazines???

That's a screaming deal! I paid $269 for mine, and buying it allowed me to also buy one box of ammo. Will be interested to hear how yours shoots too.

Where is it legal to hunt pheasants with a rifle?

my place.....

Only your place, or the whole state?

I been missin' out on some fun......

Dakota, Pa. has few rules for firearms for game. Rifles are legal for shooting pheasants there and turkey in the fall... Most of its regs center on spring turkey and the requirement of shooting them with a shotgun..
They have a few shotgun areas for deer.. But that is about the extent.. Any centerfire is legal for big game.

Same expreience for me! I own an Marlin 883S that will amaze you as to how accurate it is, and it's not particular about it's diet either! I shoot eggs with it at 100 yards....seriously!

The stainless marlin tube fed 22 mags are very nice..

When I was originally in the market, I was looking for a good used Marlin 25M. One of my co-workers had one and I was impressed with it's accuracy.

However, I ran across this stainless 883S with the tube magazine at a great price, so bought it instead. Have never been disappointed by it...

I have a 597 HB Laminate that shoots very well as well as a 94/22 XTR, but the most accurate Magnum I have to date, is my RAR Predator.

I did just pick up a Marlin 883 that may give the others a run for their money, but will have to shoot them to see...

Has anyone had much experience with the Fiochi WMR ammo?

My RAR loves it, but the others don't shoot it was well as the CCI or some old Winchester Super-X I have.

Never tried the Fiochi, will have to pick up some and give it a try..

Just tested my new RAR with four different loads this afternoon. So far it's the most consistently accurate .22 Magnum with various loads I've ever owned, and I've owned several, including but not limit to a Marlin 883, CZ 452 and two Winchester 9422M's. All together I shot eight 5-shot groups at 50 yards, two with each load, and the average for all of them was .75", which some people would call dime-sized.

The most accurate load was the Hornady 30-grain V-Max, which scatters all over a target from my 9422M. But I have a couple of other kinds of ammo that I didn't test today, which may shoot even better.