Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Why I gave up the .22mag.

When I had the time and the space to hunt squirrels, I
had a Marlin 22WMR bolt action that I used with solid point
bullets for headshots, hollow points were very destructive.
Ah, those were the days.

The problem with the 22LR and the 17HMR is that neither are legal for turkey hunting here. The 22WMR is......as for me I like the cartridge!

Camp meat with a 22 MWR 651.....and yes hens are legal here in the fall. We are overrun with them!

Norm, this isn't a testament to the WMR, or even the LR. It does illustrate penetration in "big" game with .22 RF ammo though.





Personally I'm of the opinion that the WMR serves two purposes well. It is short to mid range effective on a wide variety of varmints with soft nose ammo. In competent hands it will take much larger game with proper placement but FMJ bullets may be called for due to its higher velocity than standard .22 RF ammo. Not addressing the legality, just lethality. I don't think most shooters dwell on the point much, but the .22 RF, in all iterations, is much under rated in that department.

If you want more pictures of different hogs I've got about 25-30 or so..........I don't do deer with RFs but could if I desired. I'm guessing if it will kill a hog it will kill a deer or a....bear?

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/LandOwner/misc/Grizley1.html

I have heard, but can't cite a source, that a 22 MRF round fired from a revolver with a 6" barrel has more muzzle velocity than a 22 LR High Velocity round fired from a 20" rifle barrel. My experience with the 22 Magnum fired from a revolver is that it is both effective and efficient, same/same from a rifle.

Jeff

the north american revolver in either 22LR or 22Mag is a BELLY gun a last resort weapon in a bad situation stick it in the other guys belly or better yet his ear- neither of these rounds are any where near the advertised velocity from this length barrel they won't drop a bad guy except if applied directly to the forehead- but they will get him off you. if we are talking personal protection then no neither 22's are good if we are talking small game, varmints I rank um 22mag=larger animals200 yds.or less. 17hmr= smaller animals@ 150 yds. or less.too much wind effect-22LR= rabbit squirrels smaller stuff@ 100 yds or less

After seeing the penetration qualities of this little revolver first hand, I have no doubt a person would be much better served with a very short pocket knife!

Terry

Terry thank you for posting that picture. I have one of them but have always known that they were very poorly acurate. Now as Paul Harvey says...the rest of the story. I will not sell mine but I am sure going to leave it home...

LMAO... My only 'test' so far on the .22mag is the fact that I can't hit zip using it in my Ruger Single Six Convertible..

I've had a couple of 22mags over the years and never got the hots for it.. Sold the only rifle I had (Marlin 922) and just keep the Ruger because of the .22rf cylinder.. Topped with a small red-dot sight, it's a gopher-killer..

That sure looks like a LR lead projectile stuck in that board.

I've chronographed Magnum ammo from a NAA years ago and it was hitting more than 1,100 fps; equivalent to most std velocity .22 LR rounds.

The fellow with the Ruger Single Six needs to try a variety of loads. Mine never shot worth a poot till I tried WW Supreme 34 grain loads, which shoot into .75 @ 25 yards with iron sights. Recently tried WW Dynapoints (cheapest .22 WMR at Wally) and it shoots into 1-inch.

Getting ready to finally get both .22 WMR and a .17 HMR rifles; each is great for what they need to be shot at.

In order to duplicate your "test" I would like to know the brands of ammunition you used. You mentioned using the same bullet weight but you did not mention bullet construction. While most .22 LR ammunition is more or less some lead alloy, there is a difference in plated and unplated bullets as to pentetration. Likewise, there is a great deal of difference in the composition of .22 Magnum bullets. There are full metal jackets, Jacketed Hollowpoints and then plated bullets.

Also, there is quite a bit of difference in weight and toughness of what is considered "hardwood." Aspen for example, is much softer than white oak or hickory.

Scientific method depends on being able to repeat the experiments of others. Without the exact components, repeatability is out of the question.

While on the subject of testing medium, gallon milk jugs filled with water are also interesting as they may give an idea of bullet expansion as well as penetration.

All of this is good fun.

Yeah, I made up the entire story and faked the pictures. (sarcasim)

Everybody knows the NNA mini revolver puts the "M" in magnum (more sarcasim)

Terry

For a test to be valid, it needs to be repeated a number of time, with everything kept the same, so that the test will be representative of the universe. It has been 25 years since I was in grad-school, but IIRC, my probability and statistics prof taught us that the minimum number of repetitions to get a representative sample was 30.

If your test has a sample size of 1, it isn't statistically relevant.

Besides, since I'm not shooting any 22 MRFs with barrels shorter than 4", I'm quite sure that a 22 MRF bullet fired from any of my rifles or revolvers will penetrate better than the same bullet fired from a 22 LR, assuming all other factors are equal.

Jeff

The problem with the barrel is it's smooth (no rifling) and probably over-bored. Nothing more than a guide for the bullet to bump down until it reaches the end. The barrel does absolutely nothing to increase velocity.

Terry

I'm calling B.S. I have shot my NAA 22 mag at 2X4s and it blasts right through. I think maybe 2 of them. I don't know what kind of ammo you used ,but that is a B.S. test you did. I am going to test several diff. types of ammo and post results. All I know is that I don't want to be on the other end of one, and its better than standing there with just your rod in your hand. Mark.

It wasn't a "test." There was a target stapeled to that 1"X2" stake and I was shooting at it from about 5' back. I honestly don't care what you do or what "results" you manage to come up with when you do your test. I already know what the little gun will do. I happen to have a picture or the results and shared it with the more open minded here.

Why in the hell would I even need to make up something like that? Not my gun, I've never even owned one. My brother in law had the little gun and I shoot it, took the pictures and you see the results. Some of you need to grow up a little.



Here's an idea, go buy a real gun.

You don't like it? Who cares.

Terry

I am officially puzzled. A .22 WMR from a snubby sticks in wood like a dart and CB shorts fully penetrate a 250# boar's skull, front to rear. The Gods must be crazy.

One has a barrel and the other doesn't. It makes a huge difference in velocity. Take the skull and move it to 10ft out and the test becomes null and void because you wouldn't be able to hit it with the NNA revolver.

Terry

I'll see if I can get one to stand still for that. They usually get skittish around 10'. Or maybe it's me?

I take it these aren't city hogs eh? (joke)

Oh...

Mini Master .22 Magnum at 5-10-25 YARDS...not feet.



5-10 yards groups...



25 yard group...




Black Widow... .22 Magnum

5-10-25 yards





Those targets were all 5 shots at each listed distance...this was 15 shots raid fire at 25 YARDS...14 on target one just off.



Somewhere I have all the chrono results with several different brands of ammo that I will try and find and post but do remember that even the NAA guns were better than a grand with some rounds. A High Standard Derringer broke 1200 FPS with CCI TNT and a 4" M48 made 1400.

Terry I am not saying you made the story about the board up but that bullet in no way looks any .22 Magnum bullet I have ever seen...do you know what brand it was? Sure looks like a cupped base lead .22 LR bullet to me...

Bob Makowski