I like the .22mag round but is it practical?

[CoyoteSix]

Like in the title, I really like the idea of a .22 mag.

But how many more advantages does it have over the LR? At $8-$10 a box of 50( CCI Maxi-Mags) I could almost be buying 9mm.

As far as I can tell you have double the range of the LR, but body shots on small game wouldn't leave much left to eat it seems.

Still there's something attractive about the round, it kind've seems like a 5.7x28 without the .75cents a pop price tag.

The Henry lever in .22mag seems like a good buy.

As would the Kel-tec PMR 30 (Poor Man's Five-Seven), or the AMT Auto-Mag 2, but are they still in production?

Anyone have experience with this round much? Does it really give enough improvement to justify the ammo cost? Anyone used the Henry .22mag? and are the PMR 30 and AMT 2 even still available? I never see them in my local gun shops.

On a side note: I think .22mag would be perfect for zombies, Ex: The Walking Dead.

 

[Acera]

I have a Henry Golden Boy in .22 Mag (also one in .22LR) love them both. Fine shooting guns.

I've owned a Automag II, gave it away as a gift to a family member, he still shoots the heck out of it. Don't think they are made anymore, plus its a real PITA to properly clean the thing since you can't get it all the way apart easily.

I also have a dual cylinder Colt SA pistol, those are a lot of fun, big flash and boom from the magnum round. You can find a Heritage arms version new pretty easily these days, usually a black Friday special for about $100 at Academy.

I like the round, not a huge fan. It's fun to shoot and devastates game, but like you said it's not going to give you a big advantage over a .22LR for a lot of stuff. Come on really are you going to see, and shoot, a squirrel at a range where a .22LR cant take care of it? Might get some use on a larger animal like a coyote, but I prefer 5.56mm for those.

There is a little 9 shot double action revolver out there in .22 mag, can't remember the name. I shot one of those things, and it's got quite a pop. Maybe one of the loudest handguns I have ever shot, LOL. A buddies wife carries that in her purse, lower recoil, easy to handle, 9 shots, a gives her more confidence and firepower than a .22LR.

It's been around a while, so that says something.

 

[showmebob]

I've owned a 22mag since I was a kid many years ago. Love the round. It's excellend for jack rabbits and works great for long shots at ground squirrels etc. Very accurate in the right gun.
The round also has more power in a revolver and makes up for what a 22lr looses in a short barrel.
It's a keeper in my mind.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

The mag is great for hunting, but economically lousy for plinking.

 

[481]

I like the .22 Magnum a lot.

It's reach extends much farther than the .22LR and for hunting small game it will do the job- just stick with head wherever possible.

It might be nearly as expensive as the 9mm, but it is better suited for hunting (due mainly to the lack of a proper hunting firearm for the 9mm) than the 9mm.

 

[Sav .250]

When I buy something I look at all the variables. In the case of the 22Mag, I knew going in what ammo would cost. I see you point about the price vs some other round and you have a point.
Like a lot of things, you have to pay to play. My 22Mag loves tree rats so the price is just part of the price to get the job done.

 

[primalmu]

I've got a Ruger Single Six with a second cylinder in .22 magnum. About once a year I'll buy a box of the mags to run through it, just for a change. Personally, I think there are a lot more economical rounds for hunting (i.e. .22 LR or even the 17 HMR if you want a flat shooting round). If your hunting anything larger or further away than a .22 LR can take I would imagine a .223/5.56 would be a better choice.

 

[scaatylobo]

@ acera

The revolver you were thinking about = 9 shot was the High Standard Sentinel.

I had one w/a 4" barrel and it was a hoot,and would have made a great S/D gun for a woman or very small framed light person.

I really like the .22 Mag and have a Marlin S882 that is very accurate and will take a chuck easily at 100 yards.

It likes CCI's so I stocked up on them and I would have no trouble taking anything up to deer sized game [ if legal ].

That round in THAT gun hots a lot harder and faster than any .22 LR that I shoot out of a rifle.

 

[Mac's]

At one time, I was considering the .22 Magnum round as sort of a halfway between the .22 Long Rifle and the .223. I wanted one. Then I saw some .22 L/R ammo that would kick along at almost 1800 fps. Now that's not as fast as a .22 Mag round but it's quite a bit faster than the normal .22 L/R. I tried some and that's all I shoot now out of my .22's. The round is the Aguila Super Max in .22 Long Rifle. The bullet weight is only 33 grains but they have it in a solid lead or hollow point. I'm shooting it out of a modified Ruger 10-22 at 100 yards from a bench rest and printing a fairly tight pattern. At 50 yards, the bullet holes are all overlapping. It's not cheap as far as .22 ammo is concerned but at $3 to $4 a box, it's cheaper than .22 Mag ammo.

Just for personal interest, I did a comparison between that ammo and the same manufacturers sub-sonic stuff. It was really quiet but over a 100 yards, it was like firing an artillery shell. It dropped over 18 inches. I fired some Mini Max rounds at that range too. They weren't quite as accurate and dropped over 6 inches. Keep yer powder dry, Mac.
Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons.
http://www.shootiniron.com

 

[DNS]

My favorite round!

The new fast burn 22 magnum defense ammo like the Hornady stuff takes handguns to a new level and kind of rains on the 5.7s parade.

I've got several rifles in 22 magnum and its more of a light medium game cartridge for hunting plus its taken a lot of deer here too. Its my favorite coyote round but smaller game under a hundred yards just gets blown up.

 

[Acera]

scaatylobo, you nailed it. That is the gun she carries. Could not think of it. It's a cool little gun, big boom, and not that expensive.

Thanks,

 

[natman]

My favorite round!

The new fast burn 22 magnum defense ammo like the Hornady stuff takes handguns to a new level and kind of rains on the 5.7s parade.

Not much more than a drizzle. The 5.7 generates almost twice as much velocity as a 22 mag from a pistol and that translates to 2.5 - 3 times as much energy.

Regular rifle 22 mag ammo fired from a pistol generates a lot of noise and a truly amazing flash that's distracting even in full daylight. The new fast burn powders may make the 22 mag more pleasant to fire in a pistol but they don't generate any ballistic miracles. It's tough to match the ballistics you can get from the much larger bottlenecked case of the 5.7.

 

[Dr T]

I think that the 22 mag is a good hunting rifle round (I have 2 bolt actions for hunting). However, I like it a lot more as a handgun round (at last count I had 6). For me, the 22 mag handgun is an ideal companion arm for big game hunting, and I have used it to deliver the final, mercifully quick coup de grace a number of times with the solid jacketed bullets (perfectly legal in Texas, but not so in some other states that I could name).

As one poster mentioned above, the new self-defense ammo for short barreled revolvers have added a tremendous boost to its utility. The terminal ballistics with even a NAA Pug with a 1" barrel are comparable (for all practical purposes) with 380 self-defense loads with a Ruger LCP. My preferred carry gun is now a Pug with either the Hornady SD load or the Speer 22 mag Gold Dots.

The key to the utility of the 22 mag over the 22 LR is in the bullet design and construction. 22 LR bullets are cast and may be plated. 22 mag bullets are jacketed and can be tailored to a wide variety of hunting and SD applications.

 

[MIL-DOT]

Several years ago, I dropped by a freinds house, where he was sitting in the sun,having a couple beers after working 3rd shift, and casually sending the occasional 22 mag round out to the wood pile. He asked if I wanted to shoot one, and of course, I did. He filled a Coke can with water and walked out and set it on a stump. When I shot the can, from 50 yards, it nearly vaporized !! That can must've been in 7 different pieces, and not split along the seams as you'd expect. I was very impressed, and became an instant fan of the .22 mag.
Another freind that I shoot with frequently, has the same rifle ( a Remington semi-auto) and I shoot at ( and hit) fly-sized dots on the paper at 50 yards with his rifle. It's INSANELY accurate.
And I agree with what the OP said in post #1,and have said it to freinds many times, that the .22 mag would be the nearly perfect round for the zombie apocalypse .

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Love the little .22 mag round. It is the only round smaller than .380 that I consider to be a SD round as a backup weapon. Hunting wise I like it more than the .22LR. .22Mag is great for knocking off snakes, squirrel, raccoon, possum, and coyote. If you have a weapon that can chamber both .22Mag and LR then that is a very versatile weapon for small game and plinking.

Kel tec still makes the PMR, it is new so not many stores have a stock of them yet and they are being bought as fast as they are made. My local gun store got in 4 and they were all bought inside a week. So you just might have to wait awhile to get one.

AMT are notoriously picky about ammo and cleaning. And that is if you can find one that works. QC wasn't too stellar at the AMT factory so they made lots of weapons that are lemons. I lucked out big time when I bought one that worked.

 

[22-rimfire]

From a rifle, it is a great hunting round for game up to coyote size, mountain lion, and perhaps small to medium feral pigs. For me, it is in fact my "zombie gun" and I will keep a rifle in that caliber specifically for unpredictable future situations. It would be adequate in the situation for taking white tailed deer if food was the reason for taking one. Not certainly an ideal caliber for this, but we are talking about the walking dead here.

It is not a plinking caliber. As with most rifles, you can sight it in at an acceptable range and let it set if you are comfortable shooting rifles. But people plink with 9mm and 38spls and the price is about the same.

In a handgun, it certainly gives you a lot more power than a 22LR. Muzzle blast is substantial, but it works as a defensive caliber if you choose to use it that way. I have a couple dual cylinder revolvers and one revolver chambered specifically for 22 Mag.

For years, I considered it not particularly useful for my needs. But of late, it has become my preferred woods "zombie killer" for hypethical situations involving survival especially in a rural area.

I would be seriously tempted if Ruger brings out their LCR in 22 mag. Just have to wait and see on that one.

I personally have little desire to get a semi-auto pistol in the caliber as I suspect there will be reliability issues. I will have to be convinced that I am wrong.

 

[almherdfan]

Funny, I was just thinking about this topic this morning. I'm a big fan of the .22WMR, but I couldn't quite say why. 22mags are just dumb fun to shoot, I guess. I just purchased a Taurus Tracker 992 which is a DA revolver with .22LR & .22WMR cylinders. I've also owned a Ruger Single Six and NAA Black widow that had .22LR & .22WMR cylinders, as well as Savage & Marlin .22WMR rifles. I'd like to snag a KT PMR-30.

 

[mgkdrgn]

22 Mag is a particularly nasty little round that has never really quite gotten it's due, particularly in the SD realm.

It's much more than a 22lr on steroids. You are now into a fully jacketed, seated bullet, with a LOT more velocity than a 22lr. It will deliver a pretty serious thump to anything that is on the business end of the barrel. For small game (Woodchucks in particular) is a true DRT (daid raight thar) round, where the 22lr is really calling for a double tap, and even that ain't a sure thing.

And it's LOUD!

 

[FROGO207]

I have 7 handguns and 5 rifles that use 22 MAG and I love the things. Aim well and the 22 MAG round is a stellar performer. For deer on down it will get the job done when needed. Also you can use the 22 WRF ammo for a softer shooting alternative in your revolver with less muzzle flash/recoil. I have a Automag II and it will work well with several different brands of ammo. About the only thing it will not shoot well are the Winchester Dynapoints. I save those for the revolvers, and use the CCI, Federal, Remington , Hornaday, Winchester Super-X and PMC .22 MAG for the Rifles and Automag II.

 

[chicharrones]

As much as the hyper velocity .22 LR ammo reaches into the speed realm of the .22 WMR out of a rifle, I have had much less accurate results with the hyper velocity .22 LR whether fired from handguns or rifles. Enough so that I don't bother with buying hyper velocity .22LR anymore, I just stick with high velocity or subsonic.

Considering the above, one thing I like about the .22 WMR over the .22 LR is that I really don't have to make elevation changes with sights or scopes with the .22 WMR to go from 50 yards to 100 yards.

Comparing my Marlin 39 in .22 LR to my friend's Henry in .22 WMR, I have to bump up the rear sight in the Marlin to reach 100 yards from 50 which is a pain with an aperture sight with nearly fixed settings. The Henry just keeps nearly the same point of impact at 50 or 100 yards. Provided the ammo isn't slow as molasses Winchester Dynapoint.

I have the same experience going between a pair of bolt guns I have in .22 LR and .22 WMR. The .22 WMR is great for the "lazy" shooter that just wants to get on with shooting at these ranges without worrying much about holdover that obscures the target.

Price is higher for the .22 WMR as we all know, but when I shoot .22 WMR I usually never get past a box of 50 before I'm done shooting a rifle. With a revolver, I tend to shoot up two boxes of .22 WMR. I don't know why, it just works that way for me.

I'm a fan of both the .22 LR and the .22 WMR. Some of the .22 WMR ammo out there is pretty dang consistently accurate. Especially the Hornady and CCI VMax, in my experience.

 

[Bushpilot]

I used to be a fan of the 22 mag but my admiration for the round has diminished somewhat. It has too much power for small game, is too expensive to just plink with and doesn't really have the power or trajectory for the larger varmints or longer range shots. While it does a little better on the larger varmints than a 17 hmr, the 17's trajectory makes it more fun to shoot in my opinion. I still have a 22 mag rifle (and revolver) but with a 22lr a 17 hmr and a 22 Hornet in the rack, there just isn't many jobs for the 22mag that one of the other rifles isn't better suited for.

 

[chicharrones]

I used to be a fan of the 22 mag but my admiration for the round has diminished somewhat. It has too much power for small game, is too expensive to just plink with and doesn't really have the power or trajectory for the larger varmints or longer range shots. While it does a little better on the larger varmints than a 17 hmr, the 17's trajectory makes it more fun to shoot in my opinion. I still have a 22 mag rifle (and revolver) but with a 22lr a 17 hmr and a 22 Hornet in the rack, there just isn't many jobs for the 22mag that one of the other rifles isn't better suited for.

You got it covered, Bushpilot. I might migrate away from the .22 WMR too if I had that selection.

 

[witchhunter]

The main reason I am a fan of the .22 mag in a revolver is the fact that it is a small game gun. It has much more power than a LR but will not ruin something like almost any centerfire. I have a S & W 651 kit gun, I can carry it all day with 50 rounds and not notice it's there. It is on my CCW as it lives in my backpack when not on my belt. Very accurate, enough power to do any job. Probably my favorite pistol, in the woods, fishin, campin, cuttin wood, it is with me. Just my opinion.

 

[JTHunter]

KDD - like Dr. T, I have 3 .22 rifles (and will inherit a 4th), a LR bolt, a LR semi, and a Mag bolt. I pair these with a Ruger Convertible SA that has both cyliders and have enjoyed hunting and plinking with them all.
It does get a bit pricey for the .22 Mags to go plinking but the loud BANG with little recoil is pretty doggone nice!

 

[RJTravel]

The OP asks "...how many...advantages..." over the LR. If talking rifle it is considerably more powerful with much greater range. If talking a short bbl handgun the answer is - not much. Reference the NAA site for s/x/s velocity/energy from equal short bbls. With same wt bullets it is only marginally better that the LR, and comparable to a .25acp. Some posters think it is a powerhouse, even equal to a .380!. In reality it is anemic in these comparisons, hardly useful for SD in anything less than approx 4" bbl. Lots of noise and blast but little velocity or fpe. In a rifle it comes into its own.