Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Reason(s) to get a 22 WMR

My inventory goes from .22 LR --> 9 mm --> 10 mm -->223W... Grendel
Lately I was considering a 22 WMR because an ornament is in that chambering, but the math doesn't make sense.
Do you have a compelling reason why I would proliferate my cartridges... what does the 22WMR offer that makes it worth the proliferation?

I don't see it but am willing to listen to arguments beyond 'bcause.

They will penetrate a bullet proof vest, when most other rounds won't.

I carried one for years in my 4 Runner on cross country trips... I've put down just short of 20 deer over the years, that had been hit by a car or truck.... from fairly close to out to 100 to 125 yards.. shot between the eyes or thru the ear, with a 40 grain SP or FMJ.

Before Biden got into office, they were also pretty economical to shoot..

if you handload, a 223 can be loaded down to 22 Win mag specs.

Just get one and find out for yourself.....

Yep.. the old 22 mag was a constant companion growing up.

Well..I just bought one.

Reason: I wanted it.

I MUCH prefer the 22LR,if only due to long range superiority,due the absence of a Transonic Slip. Accuracy/Precision of the 22LR is vastly superior,as is ES/SD and exceptional fodder abounds. Hint.

A Hummer will shoot circles around a WMR to boot. Hint.

Pass the Vudoo 22LR and hold The Fluff. Hint.

The punctuation is plum flattering ladies. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!....................

What are you going to do with it?

IMO, the 22 MAG is a niche cartridge with a pretty limited niche. That doesn't keep it from being a useful cartridge within the scope of its niche, but only you can decide it you're going to operate within its useful range.

Also, as with any rimfire, accuracy often depends on finding ammo that makes the best groups in your rifle. With a 22 LR you can buy match grade ammo from a variety of sources, but there is no source for match grade ammo for the 22 MAG that I'm aware of, so it is more of a crap shoot.

If you want to scratch an itch and have the resources to do so, what's keeping you from buying a 22 MAG? If you buy it and decide that you don't like it, you can sell it and recoup at least a portion of your investment. You will have gained some experience and experience is seldom free.

Everyone should have at least one 22mag. Great round. Fun to shoot…….

I sat here for a couple minutes and couldn't think of a good reason. GD

30 round capacity in that new S&W pistol seems like a good reason.

Owning a .22 mag will relegate any .22lr you have to tin can plinking duty.

It's superior at killing things in every way.

Buy one, you will like it fun to shoot. Look at the
CZ 512.

If you need a reason you probably don't need the gun! If I was a small game hunter still, my 22 mag would be my most used gun.

Raccoons,thousands of them. All the reason anyone might need.

“I want one!” is good enough. 😁

Exactly, have a Marlin stainless bolt, very accurate

Nice marlin 925. 22mag listed in the classified. Great gun

I bought them because it was the ultimate Jack Rabbit killer (had a H&K and still have a 10/22m and a Henry lever). Even though I no longer live in the west, the 10/22m is one of the last guns I would ever part with. It has underrated killing power and doesn’t require hearing protection. Although not match accurate, I’ve killed many a prairie dog and ground squirrel at 200+yards. It also holds sentimental value in our family as my boys killed their first hogs with them. The only downside is ammo cost/availability. If you’re diligent in looking for ammo, you can keep it fed. Cost is not cheap….but nothing is anymore.

I have had a .22 WMR for well over half a century. I've killed a lot of stuff (including deer) with one. Here is my take:

If you want a precision rimfire, .22 WMR is probably not the place to be looking for one. That's not to say that some of them don't shoot very well with some ammo. They tend to be ammo sensitive though, at least as much as rifles chambered for .22 LR, but without the incredible number of ammo options we have from which to find one that our particular rifle "likes." Also, they are too expensive do do much plinking with (at least for me.)

On the other side of the equation, they are much better at killing stuff up to the size of foxes, beaver, porcupines, coons etc than any .22 LR ever could imagine. I know, shot placement trumps all, the .22 LR is more accurate for said shot placement, etc etc, but under actual hunting conditions, for those kinds of critters, you don't always have the luxury of taking the time to set up a shooting bench, lay the gun across the bags, dope the wind.... The .22 WMR, IME, is one of those cartridges that just seems to kill all out of proportion to its size. I think that sometimes a cartridge design just seems to hit a sweet spot in that regard, and .22 WMR is such a cartridge. I've anchored woodchuck DRT at 150 yards with body hits. That would not happen with a .22 LR of any description at any distance. When I was young and we had many, many woodchucks, I learned very quickly that if you wanted to see them dead outside the hole, with a .22LR, it was head shots or nothing.

One place I don't much care for the .22WMR is in a handgun. It makes too much noise and you lose a whole lot of speed. I recently gave my youngest grandson a Colt New Frontier convertible I'd had around gathering dust for too long. I told him, the best place for that .22WMR cylinder is on a shelf in your bedroom. When I talked to my son the other day he confirmed that that's exactly were it is.

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Yep, to all of that.