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

[raa-7]

I think it's a good rifle round.I own a Marlin bolt action .22 magnum and I'm happy with it.It has the smack down that it's lil bro doesnt have and the accuracy is good too.It's a matter of do you want more than a .22 long rifle but not too much like a .223? For hunting certain critters it's a good round for sure.Also some use it for a defensive round although I dont but everyone is different.I like the.22 magnum round and even shoot targets with it at 100yds it's alot of fun to shoot.I'ts practical if you like it.

 

[chicharrones]

I understand that rimfire ammo is not reloadable. Never said it was, but to me firing a round is firing a round, rimfire or not. I can download my .223 or taylor it for whatever I want, and still spend less than .22 mag.

I do understand that hand loaders have that option and an advantage over people that don't hand load ammo. Not everyone is going to invest the initial cost to get into hand loading, and not everyone has the time to invest into it either. Right now, my math still shows my yearly volume of rifle ammo fired isn't enough to get a decent "return on investment" just on ammo cost alone.

I would like to get into it in the future when all my kids are grown and gone, just for the sake of experimenting with target loads.

For now though, I don't fire enough .22 Magnum in a year (or any rifle caliber besides .22LR) to even compare to purchasing the equipment and supplies to hand load something like .22 Hornet or .223 Remington.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Reloading spent brass? Or loading into new primed factory brass like mentioned by John BT's quote below?

Loading factory new brass.

 

[J-Bar]

Many small packing houses use a .22 mag to stun large hogs and bulls when a .22 lr might be inadequate. In a USDA inspected packing house, if the animal is not properly stunned the business gets shut down. So the extra power of the magnum ensures that the business can continue to operate. Large packing houses usually use pneumatic captive bolts.

 

[krupparms]

I have been shooting since I was boy &have used both the .22LR. & .22 mag ..The mag. is a better hunting round & very useful. To those who do not believe that the .22,s are not S.D. rounds, I would point out more people are killed each year in the U.S.A. with them than any other round. Most will state it will not stop a person reliably for S.D. . As a P.O. I saw a few one shot stops with the .22LR. . One was a NAA. Mini rov.in .22LR. Yes most people don't fall down & die right there, but neather do fokes shot with bigger cal.s . I will use a bigger cal. for S.D. if I can, but the .22s will still be used if that's what I have at hand. JMO. Good luck with whatever you use . And if you do use a 22 practise as much as you can. Hitting where you aim is the key to getting the most out of both these rounds.

 

[doc2rn]

I would have to say it depends on your idea of practical. For varmit control I think its the ideal round, and what I use mine for mostly. Feral hogs and deer get the 30-30 treatment, but for yotes and p-dog its just plain hard to beat a .22 WMR IMHO.

 

[bracer]

I got a Kimber Mdl 82 22 WMR rifle some years ago. That 22 WMR round is good for shooting prairie dogs and jack rabbits but have not used it for larger varmints because I use a centerfire on youts. I dont know what varmint hunting you do , but any thing in the 20 pound range or less is the limit I would set for using it.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Personally, if I want a 22 for plinking then I just get a 22 LR. If I had a specific hunting need (and I personally don't) where I found a 22 LR lacking and I did it often, I might consider otherwise. It's a cost of ammo. I have a friend who runs a gun shop who purposely built one of those 0.17 caliber rifles to shoot ground squirrels that were causing some problems in a big way for him. He found for whatever he was doing (I didn't get all the specifics) the 22 LR didn't work as well.

I suppose if I had a farm and slaughtered my own hogs and cattle, I might want a 22 magnum just to ensure a humane shot.

 

[22-rimfire]

22 WMR is primarily a hunting caliber. If you do not hunt, then your need is probably zip except for a limited protection gun. But I consider it to be an excellent survival caliber that exceeds the 22LR without a tremendous ammo cost or size. Even though I do not shoot my 22 Mag often, I have it just in case. Not a real expensive rifle. However it is fun to shoot periodically.

 

[Remllez]

If you like the round personally then it's practical. $12.00 a box still nets you 50 rounds of pure plinking pleasure.....