Oh, The Lowly .22LR

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amprecon

amprecon

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I was reading a thread earlier about only having a few firearms, you know, trimming the fat? Keeping it simple?
It got me thinking about the one firearm that would be the most useful to me under most circumstances. The one that could do most everything a person could want it to do. The more I thought about it the more I kept coming back to the lowly .22lr.
Considering how man has evolved technologically through the ages, from throwing rocks to using slings, spears and bows & arrows to gather their food and protect their homes I came to the conclusion that a .22lr rifle could do most of this and do it efficiently and cheaply.
If you figure that most of the daily routine was to harvest food back in the day, what better tool could you use? The shotgun would be overkill for some small birds and fur-bearing critters and its range is limited compared to the .22lr.
Of course nowadays, we don't have to go out and hunt our food, but its reassuring knowing that with just a lowly ol' .22lr rifle, you could pretty much do most anything you needed to, to survive.
 
Outside of neutralizing bipedal threats, a .22lr or .22mag is a great universal round. A well placed round will take nearly any quarry and will not let everyone within a 3 mile range know what you are doing.

Another consideration is the cost of proficiency. With the cost of ammunition being what it is, most people can better afford to practice with the low cost rimfire. This practice will result in greater skills and familiarity with the .22.
 
If i could only pick one gun, it would be some form of bolt action .22LR rifle
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Mine would be a lever action, but yes. For the non-defensive shooter a .22 rifle is probably the most universal and useful rifle. It took me getting one to admit this, too.
 
Much as I like my .22s, and consider a bolt-action .22 a "must have" member of the family, if I could only have one gun, mine would have to be a 12 gauge pump shotgun ... especially if I could have a couple of different barrels for it. But even if I could only have one barrel (28" vent rib), I think the shotgun is more versatile than the .22.

But I like my .22s a whole lot! Here's my favorite: Remington 541T sporting a Leupold VariX-III 6.5-20X fine plex EFR scope.

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Much as I like my .22s, and consider a bolt-action .22 a "must have" member of the family, if I could only have one gun, mine would have to be a 12 gauge pump shotgun ... especially if I could have a couple of different barrels for it. But even if I could only have one barrel (28" vent rib), I think the shotgun is more versatile than the .22.
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Yes, a 12ga shotgun is versatile but.... carry 500 rounds of 12ga shells for a mile, then do the same with a brick of .22lr. There is a slight difference in weight ;-) .
 
When I did my great downsizing some years ago, the .22's were the ones I kept, aside from a my old .38 revolver that see's bedside duty.

I gave up hunting many years ago. The better half and I are die hard target shooters and plinkers though. Being retired, we have the time now to go to the range twice a week, and we manage to burn up a bulk box of Federals every week. No way could we do that with center fires on a social security budjet.

I figure if things got hinkey, we could put more food on the table with our .22's, being able to take a wide range of game up to deer if very careful. Here in Maryland, the number 1 deer poacher gun is a .22 rifle with a light on it.

We get along shooting just our .22's just fine. More fun with less cost and noise for us old folks.
 
I am not going to be getting rid of my 5.56mm. semiautos, my lever action .30-30 and .44-40s and others, or my centerfire handguns ...
But I have three .22 rifles (lever, bolt, semiauto) and the last two handguns I bought are .22RF. I have developed quite an affection for this compact, inexpensive cartridge!
It is not strong enough for any really big game, but for plinking, informal (and some formal) target, and for small game, it's terrific.
It's the caliber I was taught to shooot with as a kid. I have re-learned an appreciation for it's utility all over again.
 
You can bring down anything you want with a .22LR. Man, squirrel, deer, moose, bear. Only exception I can think of might be the Elephant, Rhino and the Hippo. All you have to do is put the shot just where it needs to be and it's dead before it hits the ground.

The moral of this is: It's not WHAT you shoot but how accurately you shoot it.
 
A 22 rifle was my first gun and it will be my last. A 22 revolver would be my next to last to go. Have not really cleaned house yet, but that day is coming. Been thinking about it. A guy offered to buy a Blue 6" Colt Diamondback 22 from me and my immediate reaction was.... I bought that gun new (retail) and can't sell that. Attachments are formed. That may change.
 
Look at the 22LR this way: Each round is dinner for two to six. It's a great barter round for when TSHTF or the full blown EOTWAWKI as well.

Woody
 
My Ruger .22 bull barrel pistol bought in 1995 had about 23000 rds into it. From tin cans , to paper targets , to small games within 25 yd distance were hit with superb accuracy. I love this thing and had so much fun esp learning the basics of shooting skills. Mine will be pass on to my son .
One time i shot a skunk , it didnt die right away. I have to shoot more rounds into it like 15 more to finally put it to rest. Amazing !
 
"I am not going to be getting rid of my 5.56mm. semiautos, my lever action .30-30 and .44-40s and others, or my centerfire handguns ... "

I used to feel that way untill I got into my 60's. Then I started looking around at all the stuff in my life, and asked myself "What the heck am I doing with all this s--t!"

Gave some to the kids, grandkids, sold off some more. Loved giving them the stuff while I was still alive to see the pleasure they got from it. And my son takes my old hunting rifle out to use it like it was meant to be used. Now I just shoot for the sheer fun of it. It felt like I got rid of an iron ball and chain from my foot. Liberating!!!

Now the better half and I go on trips, and I don't worry about break ins. There's a couple of old junker yard sale .22 rifles on view, but the good stuff in hidden away good. No gun safe to worry about.
 
Yes, a 12ga shotgun is versatile but.... carry 500 rounds of 12ga shells for a mile, then do the same with a brick of .22lr. There is a slight difference in weight ;-) .
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Very true. But I can't think of any reason to need to carry 500 rounds of anything for a mile. My love of firearms developed while hunting. And while it may be true that a .22 will take almost any game animal with a well placed shot, and it will also serve in defensive situations, I still think a multi-barrel shotgun package is the better overall choice.

I am NOT knocking the .22! But a 28" vent rib with removable chokes is just a better implement for small game (including birds) hunting; a 24" rifled slug barrel is better than a .22 for big game; and an 18" smooth bore with slugs or buckshot is a better man stopper in a defensive situation.

Fortunately, I don't have to choose "only one," so I can keep my shotty and my .22!!
 
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Loved giving them the stuff while I was still alive to see the pleasure they got from it. And my son takes my old hunting rifle out to use it like it was meant to be used.
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A wise man, and a good dad. *applause*

Jan
 
Without any doubt, the only other round even comparable to the .22lr is a 12ga. The OP stated that perhaps the time may come for someone to thin the fleet or clean out the safe. In doing so, and retaining the most utilitarian firearms, a .22lr would be a great choice. A combination of a .22lr and a 12ga would provide a lifetime of game in most places.

The trouble of the 12ga is the cost of ammo, and the beating it is capable of handing out. Quite frankly, many folks can not tolerate 300 rounds of 12ga ammo in a day, from both a cost and abuse standpoint.

The 'Lowly .22lr' is it's polar opposite. While 12ga ammo is not the most expensive, it is not inexpensive by most standards. The recoil, depending on load and firearm, can be anywhere from exhilarating to brutal. The .22lr, loaded with even the most powerful rounds, is barely noticeable, even in youth sized guns.
 
Carl Levitian said:
"I am not going to be getting rid of my 5.56mm. semiautos, my lever action .30-30 and .44-40s and others, or my centerfire handguns ... "

I used to feel that way untill I got into my 60's. Then I started looking around at all the stuff in my life, and asked myself "What the heck am I doing with all this s--t!"

Gave some to the kids, grandkids, sold off some more. Loved giving them the stuff while I was still alive to see the pleasure they got from it. And my son takes my old hunting rifle out to use it like it was meant to be used. Now I just shoot for the sheer fun of it. It felt like I got rid of an iron ball and chain from my foot. Liberating!!!

Now the better half and I go on trips, and I don't worry about break ins. There's a couple of old junker yard sale .22 rifles on view, but the good stuff in hidden away good. No gun safe to worry about.
Click to expand...

Well, you're lucky enough to have kids; I don't have any. I may become an old crotchety guy in a rocking chair plinking at empty soda cans with my Buck Mark at 90, but those centerfires are going to still be locked away in my safe.
I may add a codicil in my will for them. Maybe ........
 
A few days back a friend and I went out to sight in and shoot his new Savage Mk II. I grew up shooting my .22 revolver which I put thousands of rounds through but had been a while since I had shot a .22. Shooting that rifle was such a blast and very accurate it was. I highly recommend that Savage. Going back to shooting it made me re appreciate the good 'ol .22. So I would definetly go for a Bolt action with a low powered scope and you can shoot shorts, longs, and long rifle.
 
I would not term the .22LR as "lowly." Probly the most popular cartridge ever in terms of guns sold.

As for 2 legged varmints, I would not want to be shot with a MiniMag LRHP. It would definitely make me lose interest in any untoward activity I might be contemplating...:cool:
 
Much like Legionaire's 22, I bought a CZ-452 American and since I was short a scope I bought a cheap Bushnell 3-9x rimfire scope. I had it out today and with match ammo it shot a five shot .143" group at 25yds and is well under 1/2" at 50 yds. CCI Stinger's shoot a bit high but are on the money at 75yds and still group about 3/4inch.

I used to shoot a Ruger Govt model pistol competitively and it had nearly 75,000 rounds through it after fifteen years of use. It broke the tiny recoil/rebound spring under the firing pin and never had any other problems.

You could do a lot worse than owning a 22 rimfire. If you aim it is the perfect thing for zombies and notsozombies that creep around in the coming socialist organized economic collaspe.
 
Along with the other advantages of the 22 already mentioned, another one I discovered quite by accident is that the guns themselves are inexpensive enough to allow one to start a rather nice "collection" for not a lot of money. There are a lot of really nice 22RF guns for $500.00 and less (in most cases, a lot less), both rifles and handguns.

I've got 22 rifles from Ruger, Stevens, Marlin, and Ithaca. Handguns from Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Dan Wesson, Bersa, and Colt. Not a fancy "collection" for sure, but a nice accumulation. :D
 
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