Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires At what range do you site in your .22lr

I think too that assumptions have been made here concerning ammo and scope height above bore centerlines. We tend to view the world based upon our own approaches to mastering it. What is "normal" for me (generally a rifle shooting standard velocity or slower match ammo through rifles fitted with either vintage target scopes or precision aperture sights) won't be "normal" for a guy shooting high velocity stuff out of his squirrel rifle. And the remark about regional difference in needs, coupled with individual needs (classic position target shooting, benchrest, squirrel hunting, gopher shooting, tin cans and pop bottles, grasshoppers and dragon flies, etc.), makes for an interesting mish-mash of protocols for sight-in. This is a good thread!

My .22s are mostly just for fun and practice right now. Back in the Spring, I decided a nice midrange Hornet load would be my choice for any squirrel shooting, and at least some Fall turkey hunting this year. Not the most accurate load fir that gun, but comparable to my .22s and with more whomp. The LW deserves some field time too. Plus, every time I run into another hunter, it’s a conversation piece.

Yep. I plan to utilize a Hornet with cast loads in the neighborhood of 1600fps this year too, as I've done off and on in the past. Now to re-think my ideas about what constitutes "point blank range" with it again.

The thing too about selecting a zero for a dedicated squirrel rifle, no matter the cartridge, is how far the shots will typically be - and then memorizing bullet impacts at different distances, closer and farther. I don't own a scope with yardage points delineated on the cross hairs, nor a "modern" scope with quick access turrets. While my vintage target scopes have what one can call turrets, and I usually have a rangefinder in my pocket, I've yet to meet Br'er Squirrel who sits still long enough for me to fiddle with that stuff (let alone those days when armed with a fixed power scope and plain crosshairs), so it's pretty much a "guess the distance and hold over/under" scenario based on my knowledge of my gun/ammo system "du jour".

Sometimes I wish I still haunted the woods armed with a simple .22 with iron sights and simply "hunted" instead of "sniped". That, or a 12 gauge.....

I haven't run into another small game hunter afield since the '90's so conversation starters are a non issue. Back in the '70's and 80's it was fairly common for me to run into other small game hunters but nobody's much interested in anything but deer and turkey anymore.

How true. I don't personally know a single kid who hunts squirrels, but I know a whole bunch that can make their smartphones dance!

Yeah, sometimes I feel like the last dinosaur but I still enjoy hunting rabbits and squirrels. In fact, I still look forward to opening day of squirrel season like a kid looks forward to Christmas.

Usually this^^^. Marlin 25N is pretty damn good at 50. I really need to improve with .22 handgun tho.

Rabbits are scarce anywhere I can hunt them. My neighbor has a friend with land and gets a few every year. Squirrels are abundant in my WMA, but like you said, deer are getting most of my attention now that I have the xbow. Hoping to get at least one in the freezer early and then go after the rodents.

Today I readjusted the red dot on my Victory to 25 yards, down from 50, in anticipation of toting it afield next week.

It was set at 50 for shooting (mostly at) a spinner target.

Like the OP could "afford" a rifle or a fhuqking scope...the "lucky" kchunt. Hint.

Though in fairness,"site" is a BIG word for her. Hint.

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

This one...

With a 75 MOA rail(I had Bob build me a special run),40+ Mil's available on the erector,DOPE is factored in 10yd increments from 10yds to 720yds. Hint.



The OP needs a co-signer for the tape. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHINBG!.............

I hunt squirrels and occasionally manage to spot a rabbit, but I ain't a kid anymore. That's what my zeroing is for, tree squirrels in Alabama. Randomly a shot at a crow at around or a little further than a hundred yards might happen but not often. Not worth the effort of setting up anything for it.

Glass that tracks,repeats and holds zero,don't require any "effort". Nor does a reticle that jives same. GPS coordinates are fhuqking moot,if only obviously. Hint................

All are Tech-Sights aperture sighted...



W/ 36-40 gr. High Velocity ammo: (1200-1225 fps/muzzle)

25 yd. zero, 1/2" low at 50 yds., 3" low at 75 yds..




GR

I like having my rimfires zero'd at 15 & 60 yards....

I use 75 yards as that is the distance I find a lot of my shots for jackrabbits and rock chucks out here in the West. When the distances are greater than say 90 yards it's time for the 17HMR sighted in at 125 yards for the 17g ammo. That gives me less that an inch high at 100 yards and about 7 inches low at 200. Beyond 200 and for tougher critters its time for the .223

I would say that the range that you find most of your shooting would be the ideal for a least one .22lr rifle.

CZ 452 American with CMP surplus Remington SV LR: +1" @ 50 yds, 1.5" low @ 75 yds, 0 at top point of lower duplex reticle @ 100 yds. I only shoot at metal targets at known distances but could guesstimate POI and in-between distances. For hunting I would probably zero for 50 yds since I wouldn't be shooting off of a bench at known distances. If you zero for 50 see where it hits zero again at the point of a duplex reticle since it's another good reference point.

For a vintage Mossberg autoloader with a vintage Weaver K4 plain crosshair, same ammo, +1" at 50 yds, 0 @ 75 yds, -2" @ 100 yds. I don't know what accounts for the difference in trajectory at 75 yds. between the two rifles. Scope height? velocity with different barrel lengths?

SK Standard Plus zeroed at 25 yards--50 yard aim point is shown.

I have the Burris Droptime Rimfire scopes on a couple or three .22 rifles, and the Ballistic Plex reticle seems to work well with HV ammo, if you zero at 50 yards, you've got those tick marks at 75 and 100 yards. I don't shoot a .22LR past that anyway, although there are more tick marks on the reticle. Those reticles are pretty useful.

Leupold's Freedom rimfire scopes also have reticles designed for nearly the same thing, but cost twice as much. and aren't quite as practical as the Burris reticles for making meat. I've got a couple of those, too, but they're on rifles I mostly use at the range. That reticle is awfully fine for using in the squirrel woods.