Anyone else think the .22 is a good all-purpose round?

[clarkford]

I should clarify that I mean the .22 CALIBER, sorry for any confusion.


A lot of people say the .22 can`t stand up to larger calibers as far as power goes. That may be, but anyone can do with a .22 as much as a .30 caliber or larger. People often put down the .22 as an inferior weapon for hunting and self defense.
My father grew up dirt poor on his family`s ranch. The money they earned from cattle would go tools to make their life easier on the ranch. They ate the food that was grown as well as the meat they hunted, just to give you an idea that hunting was necesary. Well, poached would be a more accurate term, my father now strongly advises not to poach nowadays, this was back in the 50`s.
Anyways, they often took down deer and elk with a .22 magnum and a .222 and in some cases, even a .22LR (to the eye of the deer). When my father was in special forces, he had a personal side arm in .22 LR.
With my experiences, I believe the little caliber is an excellent all-purpose round. It may not go far, but if you need to hit a deer 200 yards away, I suppose you aint a good hunter either. It is cheap, light enough to carry comfortably, a handfull will last you a while, and is quiet (compared to larger bullets).
So does anyone else think the .22 is a good all-purpose round?

 

[Pax Jordana]

...





yes.






Added, later: It would be hard to quiet my conscience carrying a .22lr to shoot a deer or elk in the eye. I place my survival over that of the animal, but it'd be hard to get THAT hungry

Also, it is proven fact that all the SF types carried .50 Desert Eagles!

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

All-purpose? Nope, I wouldn't say that. Regardless of stories of taking deer with a .22 LR, there are better choices out here. But it a very versatile round.

For me, I'd say the 12 gauge shotgun is about as all-purpose as you can get in one gun.

 

[461]

I think it's one of the all time great cartridges as well as one of my favorites. As to all around, I have to agree with Jorg on the shotgun but if I have a shotgun for a long gun then I'd like a .22lr for a sidearm. A 22lr belongs in every gunners rack.

 

[Hemicuda]

All purpose? No!!! though I have shot deer with a .22 LR in the past, with good success, it is NOT a good deer round... and I would NEVER attempt it on Elk...

do you REALLY believe that anyone shooting Deer at 200 yards is a poor hunter? IF you really believe this, then I believe that YOU are an idiot... (we all have our own beliefs, eh?) I'm insulted... I'm NOT a poor hunter, but I am a good shot!

I whitetail hunt in the middle of an 80+ acre field... as in open farmland... with NO bait... I often shoot deer as close as ten yards... I ALSO shoot them at 300 yards... and even finished off a wounded deer that the neighbor hit too far back, from a MEASURED (by laser rangefinder) 325 yards, with a bolt action 30-30, and spire pointed homeloads, and I did this with witnesses...

I got a VERY nice 10 point buck with a 30-06 at 275 or so yards once, from that blind, that I could NOT have gotten without reaching out, and a .22 would NOT have allowed me to take...

I also do not really want to trust my life to a .22, (though I have and do occasionally carry a NAA Black Widow...) my .22's are GREAT fun for small game hunting... but not well suited for "all purpose"...

All around best caliber? my 12 Ga. Remington 870 Marine Magnum, and it's extra 28" Remchoke barrel. it can take a deer, defend my home, get me a squirrel for the stew, or a duck for the oven...

 

[daysleeprx]

When my father was in special forces, he had a personal side arm in .22 LR.

Why?

 

[Ala Dan]

Versatile = YES, cure for all fix'es = NO

But, a fun caliber too shoot~!

 

[Optical Serenity]

If money was extremely limited, then yeah, .22 isn't bad..but...

I think there is a huge difference between .222, .22 Magnum, and .22LR.

My biggest issue with .22LR is that rimfire is many times very unreliable.

 

[cloudcroft]

Also yes.

-- John D.

 

[clarkford]

to those i have insulted...get over it. this topic is not limited to the .22LR itself but all .22 calibers.
just an interesting little fact here, i`ve read israeli assasins use the LR up close and personal with two shots to the head.

 

[RKellogg]

I think Hemicuda has some issuses ....

 

[ArfinGreebly]

.22 good all-purpose round?

Well, It's certainly versatile.

ALL purpose? Nah.

I wouldn't want to have to short-stop an assailant with a .22 LR, although I know that with magic shooting it's possible. I'm not a magic shooter and I need more latitude.

I wouldn't want to have to protect myself from cougars or bears with a .22 LR at any range.

Hunting? Maybe game up to the size of a raccoon.

Could I survive using only a .22 LR? I suppose. I'd have to get better at stalking. I'd have to gain a better understanding of animal (and human) anatomy. And I'd need way more practice.

As it stands, I'm a whole lot more comfortable trusting my self defense concerns to something in the .355 calibre range and up (.355 is 9mm for those wearing that puzzled look).

I'd also much rather do my varmint hunting with something with a little more striking power and range. If I'm hunting varmints I'm generally not worried about eating the kill and it's not worth my time to creep up on the critter.

Finally, for medium-to-large game, while I MIGHT be able to bring down a deer with .22 LR, I'd have to be desparate or deprived to want to. A .223 might be viable, but if I'm looking for the most humane kill with the least muss and fuss, I'm stepping up into the .30 calibre range and cranking up the bullet weight a bit.

In summary, I'd have to say that there's probably a good reason we have more than a dozen major calibres. People find that there's no rabbit left to eat after a round of .30-06, so they look for something a little kinder and gentler. Others find that they weren't able to stop a water buffalo with that same .30-06, so they look for something closer to tossing a bus at the dangerous game.

People discover that a little less mass and a little more velocity is just the ticket for some specific task (like the coyotes that raid their chickens), and the .204 is born.

We get threads from time to time that invite gunnies to figure out which three or four calibres they could "get by" on ("if you could only keep three . . .") and occasionally the extreme "if only two" postulates.

Certainly there have been frontiersmen who have gotten by on just one rifle or just a revolver and carbine. It's worth noting, however, that these were not .22 cal weapons.

I'm pretty sure there's a good reason for that.

It's not like the .22 LR is a latecomer that solves a bunch of problems the larger calibres can't. The .22 LR was introduced by Stevens Arms Co. in 1887, well ahead of the introduction of the revolutionary 1894, 1895, etc. rifles that have served with such versatility ever since.

I think, if I had to choose an "all-purpose" round, I'd need to pick something with more size and punch.

YMMV.

 

[JWarren]

As a landowner of wooded land, I have seen some interesting things that steeled my convictions. Sure, 22 is a good round. I have one myself. For larger game, it is completely irresponsible. NO ONE in the USA goes hungry enough to do that!

When I was in high school, I was out our our land where I came across a terrible scene. A mother doe was dead on the ground still full of milk. Her two fawns actually bayed at me to defend her body. I could tell from the way the ground was torn up that her death was a long and suffering one. Later, I found a 22 rimfire bullet in her. I remember hoping serveral times that whoever did that would just got to hell....

If there is a brighter end to the story, I finally gained the two fawns trust and fed them first with a bottle and then a mixture of oatmeal and milk until they were adult. They turned into a beautiful doe and a large buck. The doe would often bring her young to eat off our fruit trees in time to come.

22 rimfire is NOT a responsible caliber for anything beyond small game. Period.



John

 

[Soybomb]

When my father was in special forces, he had a personal side arm in .22 LR.

Mine used spit wads and a straw.

Seriously I love .22lr for cheap fun but its quite low on my list of choices for defense, and hunting large animals with it seems like an equally bad idea.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

One of the best guns on the planet bar none. Puts food on the table. Light and easy to carry.
If you don't think that a 22 isn't powerful go to your favorite home depot and buy the cheapest power hammer made, power nails and color coded charges. All three color codes. ORANGE, BROWN, and GREEN and go sink those nails into concrete with those 22 short cartridges. They are a bit more powerful than the average 22 short bullet but they will convince you that 22s are nothing to play around with.

 

[Long Knife]

The double tap to the head is another reason the Brady's want to ban the .22 short, long and long rifle.

 

[GunGnome]

Anyone else think the .22 is a good all-purpose round?

GunKid does.

 

[EricTheBarbarian]

as far as rifles go I would say itd be an all purpose round and a good. Its not the best for most big game but for one round all around it should get the job done. What I would argue is the most versatile gun around would be a 12ga. You can hunt squirrels to deer to black bear. Ive never hunted black bear but Id assume you can. Also, nothing makes me sleep better at night than knowing I have mossberg 500 within arms reach loaded with 00 buck. Such a large variety of ammo for a 12 ga its the best all around firearm. As far as rifles, a .22 is good for alot of stuff and so cheap to own and shoot everyone should have one.

 

[Brian Williams]

I would rather put a 357 mag as a more all purpose round, load it down with round ball and a pinch of powder for some cat sneeze loads up to 200 gr LRNFPGC and a bunch of 110/296 and make some fire breathing hellanddamnation full tilt and bogie loads. Can be used in both handgun or rifle.

22lr has taken a lot of different game and is a lot of fun to shoot. I would not sneeze at a good 222 rem either.

 

[pacodelahoya]

Gungnome, that there was right funny!

 

[Bruce H]

If in the slim possibility that you can have only one the .22 would be it. Very versatile. Shorts are quiet and will do a very acceptable job feeding you. Carry lots of ammo if the need arises. Remember you aren't out there to take on the whole world. Keeping yourself alive and protected is what it is all about.

 

[mp510]

When my father was in special forces, he had a personal side arm in .22 LR.

Why?

During the Viet Nam war it's a known fact the special operators used High Standard .22's that were suppressed for executing NVA sentries and dogs. IIRC the Israelis use supressed 10/22's for the dog killing purposed. Due to the stopping issues, many preferred supressed .380's or even 9x19 (model 39's w/ supressor nicknamed 'hush puppies'). This all according to an article in one of the gun magazines a few years back.

 

[strat81]

this topic is not limited to the .22LR itself but all .22 calibers.

Um yeah, a Ruger MkIII against an M4 is not a fair comparison. Kinda like saying the 4 cylinder engine from my '83 VW Rabbit is just as versatile as the 4 cylinder engine in a Mitsubishi Evo. Same can be said for .380ACP, 9x19, .357sig, and .357 magnum. The diameter of the bullet is pretty much the same in each, but performance is vastly different.

 

[Zundfolge]

Look, when the balloon goes up, all you need is a suppressed .22 and a wheelbarrow to lug your SHTF gear around in and you're set.

 

[Kentak]

clarkford

I think most people thought you were referring only to the .22LR. I got that impression because you used the term .22 *round* in your title. There is a hell of a difference between the .22LR round and the .222 or .223 Rem, or the .223 WSSM with a muzzle velocity of 3800 fps. These are all different rounds. Even a .55gr .223 is a different round from a .62gr .223.

Clarity is your friend.

You should have said .22 *caliber."

K