Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters rimfire .....analysis/paralisys

It's like this.....I find myself with far far too many firearms and have decided to divest myself of about twenty of them..
Among them are six rimfires; two are .17 Mach2 rifles two are .22 long rifle shooters; a semi auto and a bolt action; one a fine .22 magnum bolt rifle and one a Smith & Wesson revolver .22 rimfire.

The idea of living without a .22 rim fire never occurred to me until now.....why?!!!! The .17 cal rifles furnish all the muscle I'd ever ask from a rim fire and with excellent accuracy......I have stocked up on .17 Mach2 ammo with over 6,000 rounds......a lifetime supply for this old hunter....when I find it, I'll post a link to one of my .17 Mach 2 rifles

So my question is:.....does one really need a .22 rim fire now-a-days?

Yes. In a prime gopher year I will go through 5000 - 7000 rounds, that would get expensive with any other rimfire. I picked up 1600 of the 36 gr Federal Hollow point 22's around Christmas for $49.99 shipped after rebate, that's around 3 cents per round, there is nothing else that cheap to shoot and they work great out to 100 yds. If one wants to just shoot paper or plink PSA just had a case (5000) rounds of Aguila Standard Velocity on sale for $174.99 shipped.
So yes - even as good as some of the 17's are they will never replace the 22 LR.

drover

What does "need" have to do with owning 22 rimfires? Or any firearm for that matter.....

I got a 77/17 HMR for Christmas. Easy to see why you love the 17’s. I always thought the .22 LR will be easier on meat, which it will for small game meat hunting, but if I can’t shoot the rabbit in head, I just won’t shoot it anyway. My days of burning a brick of .22’s in an afternoon of shooting are over. I could easily live without a 22 for as long as that .17 holds up but I sure hate the thought of that. For a grown man, absolutely. I sure wouldn’t suggest it for any kid coming up...

Todd

Boring answer... just keep what you use, and use it well. 17 sounds fine. I’m happy with my 22LR.

You may not, but others do. If you don't need or want a 22 rimfire anymore, that's okay. We all go through phases, and buying certain firearms is part of the continuing change.

I'm just thinking out loud, but do you have someone that you can pass some along to? I don't use mine much anymore either, but I have grandkids, so they get to use them. Eventually, they will get them and more. I hope they keep a few because I know that they won't like every one.

The gift of a firearm is a wonderful thing. I know there have to be some deserving individuals out there.

Like said, a lively ground squirrel spring might consume 5 to 6000 rounds, and that's loading and shooting in single shot mode. Also, one should always have a spare and probably and extra should company come around.

I wouldn't want to be without a few dozen .22 firearms.

I could probably get by without a .22 revolver, as I prefer S&W 41s, 46s, and 2206s, but I can't see where any 17HM2 or 17HMR rifle would be a fully acceptable substitute for my 52 sporters, 10/22s, etc.

I'm a big 17HM2 fan, by far my favorite fox squirrel cartridge, but the loss of match grade ammo from Eley without an equally good replacement from CCI/Hornady means that the 17HM2 may never reach its potential. I understand that CCI is introducing a new 17HM2 load, but I haven't seen it anywhere.

I also believe that marksmanship requires regular practice and having an understudy rifle chambered for .22 LR seems like a more logical/practical option than a rifle chambered for any of the other current production rimfire cartridges, particularly so if the understudy rifle is a lever, pump, or semi-automatic.

If you do any target shooting/competition you sure do.....I can ( and do sometimes) literally go to a .22 shoot every day/evening in a given week and I shoot around 2 cases of ammo (10,000 rounds)/year in these events. I also do rimfire silhouette from April through October and like 260Remguy I have lots of .22 rifles and pistols to do this - I will never be without them (until of course that choice is not mine to make!). Hunting tree squirrels wouldn’t be the same without them either........of course this is just me😊

PennDog

I`m just down to a single 22lr now.. a .177 air rifle does most of what I need out to 30-40 yards.

The 22lr lives between 50-200 yards before my centerfires takes over.

Go slowly here. We're all subject to changes in our points of view and notions, and sometimes it's just a phase in our mood. It would be unfortunate if you were to act rashly and sell off some stuff you really like. At least, don't be in a hurry to get rid of ones that might be hard to replace if you do "come to your senses". I know myself that there have been times when I sold something, then almost immediately regretted it, but it was too late. Perhaps there's someone you'd like to "bless" with the nicer ones so they are at least going to someone you know. You can visit them.

On the practical side, prices on almost everything are down now, so you might want to "bank" some of the better ones until the market turns, and it will turn in time. It's also wise, I think to have a certain amount of diversity in your firearms because of shortages in ammunition and components that occur from time to time. I'd not want to be without at least one .22 rifle and a handgun, as they are so useful and cheap to feed, under normal circumstances anyway.

I could live without most of my CF rifles if you put one of them to my head and gave me the choice. If you did the same thing with one of my .22's I would beg you to pull the trigger.

One of my all time biggest regrets was selling a S&W model 18. It was the perfect 22 handgun for me, small, easy to carry, and went everywhere with me. Accounted for more grouse and rabbits than I can remember.

.22’s are my favorite rifles. Of the last 10 rifles if purchased, 8 were .22’s.

I love my .22's. Most of my rifle practice is with .22's and airguns. Great fun and a good way to keeps skills up. So no, I wouldn't get rid of any .22's. As a matter of fact, if I buy more rifles they will likely be .22's.

My first rifle was a 22 and my last rifle will be a 22. When deep winter passes and it is time to retrain shooting muscles a 22 rifle is the place to start. In fall a 22 is relied upon for camp meat. What does it mean to be American? 22 and 30-06.

Vapodog: The answer to your "keep or dispose of 22 rimfires" question is: keep some!
They are great for high volume shooting whether plinking or Ground Squirrel Hunting etc.
I think the various 17 rimfires are more accurate and more lethal than a 22 L.R. with Hunting type hollow-point ammo.
I own LOTS of them and enjoy them immensely.
But again costs of ammo must be considered - 22 L.R. vs 17 HMR, 17 WSM or 17 Mach2.
I advocate you keep a couple of 22 rimfire Rifles - one never knows what the future may bring in the way of "hildabeasts" or barrack hussein obama anti-Second Amendment type politicians and judges!
Now as for that 22 Smith & Wesson revolver I would probably be "a playah" for that one.
P/M me or post here if interested in selling.
Best of luck to you what ever you decide to do.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I "need" a .22lr rifle and a .22lr revolver just like I "need" .a 30-06 bolt, a 6.5X55 bolt, and a .30-30 lever; I would not feel complete without them.

Life without a .22 would be just as empty as life without a dog.

It costs nothing to keep your .22’s

I like firearms.

I don't like pets.