Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Is the 22 Mag DEAD and Replaced with the 17 HMR?

Was in the back of the gun cabinet yesterday and saw several of my beloved 22 Mags... a Marlin bolt action I bought in 1980, a Ruger 77/22 and a couple more.... They've been collecting dust for quite a while now... lack of ammo availability..

had me wondering, if Hornady, which makes this rimfire mag ammo for both, along with a few others.... are not just making 22 Mag anymore except for a small seasonal run....

not long ago, I saw a place stock quite well with 22 Mag ammo... at $25 a box of 50.... no thanks....

I just wonder if the round is being made obsolete by ammo manufacturers.....

thoughts?

You can shoot .223 for the same price.

Nope

yeah, except they won't CHAMBER in my 22 Mags....

No.

For some odd reason I never bought a 22 mag even though I always wanted one. Then I discovered some guy on the internet who was loading .223s with Blue dot and I could duplicate from 22 short loads up to well past 22 mag and everything in between AND reload them! Ever since I can't walk past a shelf with 35 grain VMaxs on it without snatching a box or two. A Lee collet neck sizer and brass lasts forever! Life is good.

I no longer even think about 22 mags. Thanks John!

It might as well be since you can't find a box of ammo for one anywhere in western North Carolina. I actually spied one box of 22wmr behind glass in a pawn shop. When I asked "how much"? They told me the ammo goes with the gun. They have to include a box of ammo in order to sell a 22 mag.

22 mag ammo can be ordered on the net almost every day that I"ve looked....

I know a place in AK, that has it on the shelf too almost every time my friend stops by....

I sold mine years ago. I would not buy one again, after having a 17 for long time. That being said, there are lots of 22 mag rifles out there and there is some real good ammo now. They used to be so-so on accuracy, but I know of several that are aa accurate aa anything can be.

I doubt that they are going away any time soon.

I've had an off/on relationship with the 22 mag for many years. I recently picked up one of the black plastic Ruger Americans.
I am impressed. Put a decent scope on it and got a few boxes of the 30 gr. CCI's. Shot it at 25 50 and 100 yds. I was again impressed. Took it with me to the stand the other day while I was hog hunting. Got bored and started shooting cow-birds. Got 4 out of 4 at +/- 50 yds. I'm liking this little jewel. I like it so much that I just sprung for a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor. May even do a 1 in 8 223 int the RAP.

Best,


GWB

My 22 mag ain't goin nowhere! Some yrs back I bought a brick here and there and wound up with a decent stock. My rifle is a 94 22M in the <<Wincam stock>>. All the accuracy I expect from a 22 M and a LOVELY rifle.

I've talked with a few friends in the past couple of years and NONE of us are going 17 and are not leaving the 22 M.

That is a small sample but....
it is what it is.


Jerry

I tried a couple: a 9422 and a CZ 455. The best either would do was about 3/4 to 1 inch at 50 yards with their preferred ammunition; good enough for the larger critters the round is appropriate for, but kind of un-inspiring for group shooters. With ammo availability still kind of iffy, getting the ammo a rifle prefers is tough. I decided that handloading my Hornet to mag levels was a better idea for me. Stingers and the like are also an option for those who want a little more power than regular .22s without buying another rifle.

The mag is a good option for those who don't require the finest accuracy or don't reload, and is a great handgun load, essentially providing .22LR rifle power in a handgun.

JB has a thread on the rimfire forum about the great performance he's getting with a Ruger American .22M. Maybe things are looking up.

There's no doubt the .17 HMR has bitten a big chunk off the .22 Magnum's former market. The HMR is now so popular ammo is easily available all year round, while much .22 Magnum ammo does appear to be produced around .17 HMR's.

But as Rost pointed out, .22 Magnum ammo can be pretty easily found on the Internet. I've only purchased 150 rounds at local stores in the past few years, mostly because it's scarce or much higher priced than I've found on the Internet. Have purchased several bricks off the Internet for an average of about $125, so am always puzzled when people complain here that .22 Magnum ammo isn't available in local stores. You're using the Internet anyway, why not have ammo delivered to your door?

However, the other day I was in what passes for the local "big city," and checked three sporting goods stores for anything I might need. Didn't need any .22 Magnum ammo, but found it in all three stores--for $15-18 per 50-round box.

Another factor for some shooters (like me) is the .17 HMR's better for ground squirrels and prairie dogs, my main use for a rimfire varmint round, though once in a while a jackrabbit gets in the way. The average .17 HMR not only is far more accurate with a wider variety of ammunition, but shoots flatter and drifts less in the wind.

Many .22 Magnum shooters won't believe the part about wind drift, because they believe (like most shooters) that heavier bullets don't drift as much, but in reality the only two wind-drift factors are ballistic coefficient and velocity. And most .17 HMR bullets beat the .22 Magnum in both.

The best use I've found the .22 Magnum is larger varmints at closer ranges, whether jackrabbits, rockchucks, foxes or whatever. But a smaller centerfire works even better, and the .17 Winchester Super Magnum is taking over where a rimfire is required. Ammo's about as cheap as most .22 Magnums these days, accuracy as good or better, and ballistic far better.

There are so many .22 Magnum rifles around I doubt ammo will ever become really scarce, like the 5mm Remington or (possibly) the .17 Mach 2. But the two "big" .17 rimfires are sure taking away a lot of the .22 Magnum's market.

my reason for posting, is that I have a couple of 22 Mag rifles that I always loved... the old Marlin 25MN that I replaced with a laminate stock from Marlin when they were like $59....its been an accurate rifle with the old 40 grain FMJ or HPs... was my traveling truck gun for a couple of decades..

the other is a beloved 22 Mag in a Ruger 77, that belonged to a dear friend, who passed away back in 03... one of his favorite rifles...

they are two I'd love to keep shooting... but ammo under the Obama Admin has been spotty at best... and no way am I paying $25 for a box of 50.. and we can't blame that on the ammo hoarders...

While Miles 58 points out, that I am a guy who shared making 223 handloaded round equivalent to the 22 Mag, and Hornet etc....I do have a couple of these old rifles in 22 Mag I'd like to see have more of a life than just waiting in the closet collecting dust, waiting for ammo availability...

Don't see ammo, but the rifle manufacturers sure keep making the rifles... don't sell many of them around here tho due to ammo availability...

I have bought like 4 boxes of ammo over the last couple of months when I found it for $12 a box...but shooting rodents, 200 rounds doesn't last long...

have to chuckle.. this sounds like a "Dear Abby" thread, doesn't it?

John,

So, as I already asked in my post, why don't you look on the Internet for .22 Magnum ammo? Or are you like Varmint Hunter, who insists on driving hundreds of miles around Montana looking for rimfire ammo in local stores, when he could be stocking up with a lot less money and effort by logging off the Campfire and logging onto Internet sites that sell rimfire ammo?

If you want LOTS of rimfire ammo, the Internet is where to get it, and I don't mean buying it off an auction site. I usually check about 4-5 sites every day, after answering my e-mail. It takes maybe 5 minutes, and doesn't require gasoline. I know gas is much cheaper than it was, but is still far more expensive than cruising the Net.

I've got two 22 magnums.

A 94-22 mag. with a peep sight for Jackrabbits, and a Ruger American Predator with a 10X scope for yard "rodents".

That being said, My all time favorite rimfire is my Cooper 17 HMR. With it's oil finished stock, it doesn't come out of the house in damp weather.

My 22 mags get used more!


Virgil B.

I still love the 22 Mag, always will. I shoot a bunch if 17 HMR but would rather shoot my 22 Mag if the ammo was as available.

I can find it locally, but it's not easy, and I haven't seen any on the usual websites for quite awhile (Midsouth, Midway, Graf's, etc.)

I've scrounged some ammo at the local Academy, and at another local shop, but it wasn't cheap, and there's no variety, it's the Hornady 30gr. or CCI Maxi-Mags, and maybe some Aguila from time to time (@ 18/box for Aguila, they can keep it).

I've got a Hornet, so it's not a real priority for me, and I've got a couple HMRs, too. I'm not suffering for lack of ammo, but I have alternatives that some folks don't.

For me, the WMR has been a PITN, it's not really worth the effort to chase it down, since my 455 barrel doesn't shoot all that great anyway.

Hmmmm. I'm used to the 22 magnum shooting pretty damn good. My dad gave me his Chuckster that he used when he was a kid. The rifle is older than I am and iS still a shooting machine. I liked it so much that I bought a newer rifle to preserve the little chuckster for when my kids have kids...Here's how the Mossberg chuckster shoots. I guess I'm getting the same kind of accuracy. About "3/4" groups at 50 yards", maybe even a little better. Of course those are 10 shot groups though. Good enough for the vermin around here....:




My RAR isn't quite as accurate, but it shoots just fine. With the ammo it likes, it averages a little less than 3/4" with 5 shot groups at 50 yards. The thing I really like about the RAR is how well it functions and the rotary mag is the best on the market. The Hornady 30gr. v-max ammo can be found here locally most times. The store I frequent the most has it for $13.00/box. They also have the CCI's and Remington accutips if you want to pay out the azz ($18.00/box). I'm glad mine likes the slightly cheaper stuff. My buddy just bought a RAR in 22 mag, because it gives a slight edge in potency over the 17 HMR when shooting coyotes. Another buddy of mine also bought the same rifle in 22 magnum for the same reason. Both of these guys gave up on the 17HMR after wounding coyotes. They often go to coyote competitions in southern Oregon, so they know what works and what doesn't work. They no longer own the 17 for anything. However, I will be the first to admit that the 17 is generally more accurate than the 22WMR and it surpasses the 22WMR in range for the smaller critters. If I were just wanting a small vermin (sage rat, ground squirrel, tree squirrel, etc. etc.), I'd opt for the 17, if coyote hunting was on the list of priorities, I'd choose the 22WMR.

I just checked the Sportsmans Guide and they are sold out of 22 wmr.