New territory for me & I need some direction

[*Kemosabe*]

I'm going to be new to hunting with a .22lr rifle and I wanted to get some opinions on what would be the optimal sighting in range for point blank shooting ( + or - one inch???) using either the CCI Standard Velocity or CCI Mini-Mag 40gr. solid .22s. I really don't see any advantage in using hollow points on squirrels, or even the Mini-Mags... am I wrong here?

FYI - Rifle: I just bought a solid used Ruger 10/22 fitted with Butler Creek bull barrel in a Hogue overmolded stock with the Volquartsen trigger group and a 3x9 Tasco scope. I was planning to dump the scope, but when I test fired it at 50 yards at 3, 6 & 9 powers it made one ragged hole in each power using CCI Standard Velocity .22s. This is more than meets my needs for a small game (squirrels for now) rifle, so I'm not going to fix what isn't broken.

I would appreciate any advice... thanks, Sabe

 

[yzguy87]

My advice: practice. I have found that 50 yds sight in kills most everything I need. There's a tad bit of hold under when I shoot shoot closer but it works great for me.
Also I do recommend shooting hollow points. My experience has been that hp's are more effective than sp's at killing.

 

[der Teufel]

Your question is one of ballistics, and I don't know the answer. If it were me I'd set up targets at 25 & 50 yards and see where the rounds hit. As for hollow points v. solid point bullets, you're probably right that for squirrels it won't matter. These days, however, it's sometimes a matter of what one can find available.

 

[*Kemosabe*]

@ the devil - You are right about finding ammo. I have 1,000 of the CCI Standard Velocity and 100 of the solid Mini-Mags, so that's what I'll be going with... Semper Fi from the "teufel hunden".

I can chrono those bullets to get the muzzle velocity and if someone can come up with published balistic tables for those bullets I can make an educated choice instead of guessing or wasting .22s experimenting.

Without the tables I still would like to hear from experienced squirrel hunters about the optimal sighting in distance.

 

[MutinousDoug]

I zero and practice at 50 yds when I shoot my 10-22 with a 4x Burris. I also shoot the CMP rimfire sporter match with it at 50 and 25 yds w/o changing the zero so the difference on target is less than an inch between those ranges when using Winchester SuperX HPs. When I fool around at 100 yds the drop is about 6" which is where the duplex reticle goes from narrow to wide so it makes a convenient aiming point.

 

[1911 guy]

As others have stated, I find a 50 yd zero to be very good with a .22LR.

 

[Blue68f100]

Every 22 likes different ammo, just need to find the one it likes. As for distance you need to know the ballistics for what your shooting. You will have Zero at 2 points normally 25 and 55 yrds depending on ammo. Between 25-55 you will be high and before 25 low. Surprising most miss the closer range since they don't know the short distances off set with their scope. So what ever you shoot shoot at 5yrd increments to learn what the correction will be. Since your trying to hit a target the size of a quarter there is not much room for error.

Good luck.

 

[*Kemosabe*]

@ MutinousDoug - "When I fool around at 100 yds the drop is about 6" which is where the duplex reticle goes from narrow to wide so it makes a convenient aiming point."

My scope also has a duplex reticle, so I'll give that a try... thanks.

@ 1911 guy - "As others have stated, I find a 50 yd zero to be very good with a .22LR."

It looks that way, so that's where I'll start.

@ Blue68f100 - "... shoot at 5yrd increments to learn what the correction will be. Since your trying to hit a target the size of a quarter there is not much room for error."

Good advice, I'll be doing that too... thanks.

 

[Davek1977]

I've never found any reason to zero a .22 at anything other than 50 yards for small game hunting

 

[witchhunter]

Sight in at 50, it should be 4-6 inches low at 100, depending on ammo, scope, barrel, elevation, humidity and the curvature of the earth! Shoot it at 100 after you sight it in and see.....

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Find the ammo your rifle likes the best and buy as much as you can. Hollow points do make quicker kills, but also ruin more meat. Practice shooting until you are proficient and you will kill anything you want within range.

 

[*Kemosabe*]

@ Davek1977 - Okay consider yourself added to the 50 yard list... thanks!

@ witchhunter - Got a link to the curvature of the earth tables for the 100 yard range?

@ 351 Winchester - Finding the ammo that my rifle likes the best is probably not going to happen with what I have on hand and what's reasonably available. Until supplies open up I'll just have to make do. I'm thinking that I won't be at too much of a disadvantage... things could be worse.

 

[1911 guy]

Kemsabe, try this on for size:
http://stratus.ssec.wisc.edu/courses/gg101/coriolis/coriolis.html

Curvature and rotation of the earth. Called the coriolis effect or force.

 

[*Kemosabe*]

@ 1911 guy - Wow, that gave me a headache! I remember most of it and maybe I'm being nitpicky, but we always differentiated the outward force caused by maintaining a radius as centrifugal force and the inward the force necessary to maintain the radius as centripital force and the author doesn't do that.

The acceleration of gravity at different latitudes will further complicate these calculations because the Earth is an oblate spheroid. It's thicker at the equator, hence more mass and therefore a greater acceleration there than at higher latitudes. Now i'm thinking about the application of calculus to sove theses problems and I'll be expecting nightmares tonight!

The bottom line is at a maximum distance of 100 yards all this isn't going to matter, so maybe sweet dreams tonight are still a possibility.

 

[double bogey]

Sight at 50yds. You will be about 6"low at 100. With most bulk high velocity you will start around 1250 fps or so. around 75 yds. your bullets will go transonic, and you may lose accuracy at 100.
None of my .22's are accurate at 100, but a couple do less than 1/2" at 50, this with bulk ammo. With subsonic ammo to start they do better, but drop more. And my eyes don't do as well as they used to. Good luck, and shoot whatever ammo you can get. My bulk preference is federal.

 

[po boy]

I doubt you will be shooting many tree rats at 100 yards. Most of my shots have been inside of 30. I think any where between a 25 and 50 yard zero will work. As far as solid vs hollow points go, I only use hollow points. I have shot too many squirrels with solids that I knew I hit and they hit the ground running. Never to be found. Squirrels are tough as nails. Good luck.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Every 22 likes different ammo, just need to find the one it likes.

AND THEN..., buy about 300 rounds of the stuff, store it, and buy another 100 rounds for hunting in the coming season or two. If you can find that much, and as a hedge for another "run" on .22 LR ammo in the future.

LD

 

[splattergun]

It's been a long time since I did much small game hunting with a 22lr, but when I did, I found 50 yards to be the optimum zero range for my Marlin 60. PBR is 25 to 70 yards, but as of right now I'm struggling to remember the cartridge I used on pot guts 30 years ago.

 

[Bull Nutria]

Hollowpts will richochet less in theory. Hp will kill better.use hollow pts if you can
Bull

 

[Glockula]

Hollow points will bloodshot your meat something awful in .22. I prefer a CCI minimag solid or the Remington high velocity solids. The only reason I like the extra speed is because I get a lot if 75+ yard shots on squirrels and rabbits. .22 shorts are fine at shorter distances and pretty quiet.