22 Lr

[Marintime Mike]

Hi folks....
I just bought a 22 henry lever action in 22 LR for plinking and small game ...mostly rabbit.....for a bunny hunting gun would I have been better off getting it in 22 WMR ?.....Right now I have hollow point 38 grain high velocity ammo for it ....

 

[Kingcreek]

The bunny won't know the difference.

 

[eliphalet]

I've shot bajillion of em with a 22 and about all a 22 mag will do for bunny hunting is increase the range you can aim point blank.

 

[oklahoma caveman]

imho the 22lr is the best/cheapest round for small game hunting.

 

[ArmedBear]

With iron sights, there's nothing you can expect to hit that .22LR won't work on.

For jackrabbits, I think I'm going to move up in caliber, though, after my hunting buddy emptied a 10/22 before he finally killed one. Not ethical, in my book, to have to do that (he didn't think it would take that, either). Cottontails, OTOH, go down with birdshot.

I'm thinking 1894C loaded with .38Sp, next time I go for jacks.

.22WMR is a relatively expensive round for plinking; I'd have to have a known, specific hunting application to justify buying a rifle chambered in WMR. And you can always get small boxes of Stingers and Velocitors, and see how they shoot in your .22, if you want to push the envelope a bit higher than regular .22LR HV.

 

[koja48]

Harvested scads of cottontails & snowshoe hares with 22LR solids . . . a fine round for these. Can't hunt jacks in this state anymore, but back home in Montana, 22LR hollow points always performed well for me.

 

[ArmedBear]

Why can't you hunt jackrabbits?

Don't have 'em, or are they not a legal species for hunting?

Here they're fair game all year, no limit.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

A couple of #6's from a shotgun will do it, .22lr is almost on the point of overkill IMHO!

 

[MCgunner]

I have had more success hitting running bunnies with a shotgun, but the .22 LR hollow point is near ideal in a rifle. You don't need any more. Bunnies die easy. Do use hollow points on 'em, though.

 

[koja48]

Why can't you hunt jackrabbits?

For some reason, the state believes jacks are endangered. Typical WA State lunacy . . . the Feds took over a huge nearby public hunting area, put a wildlife management plan with several options out for public comment, then ignored the comments & established rules which, among other things, prohibit hunting anything other than game animals & game birds in season . . . coyotes in this area are now protected. The WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife recently rubber-stamped a bill prohibiting recreational shooting within 500 feet of campgrounds (even though 100 feet in 1 direction could be perfectly safe, but 500 in another would be hazardous). They also prohibit using a firearm in self defense in a campground & can prohibit all recreational shooting on DFW land by merely posting signs stating such. They waived proposed controls regarding livestock grazing rights, hikers, and other "special interest group" issues, but slammed the shooting fraternity. Such is life under the rule of Christine "I am God & I'll Sue" Gregoire. I sent off a flurry of e-mails, but don't expect a response in a timely manner (last time it took 6 months & wasn't worth the time it took to read it). Tree huggers are starting to rule in this state. Oh well, 2 more years & I'll be back home in Montana.

 

[koja48]

Do use hollow points on 'em, though.

Head-shoot a sitting bunny with a 22 solid & it's anchored, with minimal meat damage . . . always worked for me.

 

[TimboKhan]

all a 22 mag will do for bunny hunting is increase the range you can aim point blank

Well said, Mr. Berra!

 

[eliphalet]

Well said, Mr. Berra

Who's Mr. Berra?

 

[TimboKhan]

That would be Yogi Berra, my friend. Let me explain.

You said that a .22mag would "let you increase the range you aim point blank". By definition, point blank is immediately in front of the muzzle, thus caliber matters not at all. From a BB gun to a .50 cal, point blank is point blank. It was a funny thing to say.

Yogi Berra, former New York Yankee used to say funny, somewhat similar things all the time. In fact, he is possibly more known for his sayings at this point than his ball playing. A couple of his priceless sayings are:

"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."
"You can observe a lot by watching"
"It gets late early out here"
"It's like Deja Vu all over again".

Anyway, there is the explanation. It was not meant to be an insult, as your comment just made me laugh, so please don't take it as such.

 

[Chawbaccer]

By definition, point blank is immediately in front of the muzzle, thus caliber matters not at all. From a BB gun to a .50 cal, point blank is point blank

Uh, no Timbo, That definition is for the gun fearing media and popular culture. Point blank is a lot more complicated and has to do with the range for which the weapon is sighted in for.

From Wikipedia;
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm (see also gun). The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic characteristics, as well as the target chosen. A firearm with a flatter trajectory will permit a nearer minimum and further maximum point blank range for a given target size, while a larger target will allow for a longer point blank range for a given firearm.

 

[MCgunner]

For some reason, the state believes jacks are endangered.

 

[Eb1]

That would be Yogi Berra, my friend. Let me explain.

You said that a .22mag would "let you increase the range you aim point blank". By definition, point blank is immediately in front of the muzzle, thus caliber matters not at all. From a BB gun to a .50 cal, point blank is point blank. It was a funny thing to say.

Yogi Berra, former New York Yankee used to say funny, somewhat similar things all the time. In fact, he is possibly more known for his sayings at this point than his ball playing. A couple of his priceless sayings are:

"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."
"You can observe a lot by watching"
"It gets late early out here"
"It's like Deja Vu all over again".

Anyway, there is the explanation. It was not meant to be an insult, as your comment just made me laugh, so please don't take it as such.

This post made me laugh. Even though it was ==== WRONG!

 

[TimboKhan]

Huh. Well, I am man enough to admit that I am wrong. I would feel bad about it, but I wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything, so I guess it's not a big deal. I honest to god didn't know that about point blank. Chalk this one up to learning something new every day!

 

[Chawbaccer]

Yep, this is the internet age. Never pass up ut opportunity to learn. God knows I have learned my share.

 

[eliphalet]

MCgunner asks,

For some reason, the state believes jacks are endangered.?

In Eastern Wa. there usta be bunches of Blacktail Jacks and as Jackrabbits populations tend to fluctuate drastically for what I believe is an unknown reason. and that JR populations have been in a steep decline to almost nonexistent in that part of the country the last few years.
The powers that be have panicked and protected em. For good reason or because it is a way to stop or slow us murderous hunters I have no idea.
One of these days the Jackrabbit will return by the jillions in that area, and probably the law will be reversed.

Why?

Because,
"it ain't over till it's over"

 

[Eb1]

to post #18.

tell me about it. I am trying to learn how to modify this darn Report at work. Geezz.

 

[koja48]

In Eastern Wa.

Well stated, my Friend. Couldn't have a damn thing to do with all the housing developments, protected coyotes in certain areas, and the veritable cornucopia of vast areas on which hunting is prohibited, could it?

Washington hunting/shooting/land-use policy is best epitomized by my favorite Yogi-ism: "When you find a fork in the road, take it."