What can you do with a .22 rifle?

[1911 guy]

I understand your concern, but...

Rest easy, Glockfan, there's a method to the seeming madness of using a .22 rimfire on livestock, and it will drop them DRT. If you make a cross (chalk or imaginary line) from an animals left ear to its right eye and left eye to right ear, the intersection of those two lines is the shortest path to the brain.

Commercial slaughterhouses use a thing called a "captive bolt", basically a spike powered by a .22 blank, same as commercial nail guns. Even large livestock will hit the floor in a heap.

Back before federal regulations, many slaughter houses had a "chalker" and a "hammer". Chalker would make the "X" as the cattle went by in a chute, the hammer was the biggest guy they could find to hire and hand a sledge hammer. That was my Dad's first job out of high school.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Be careful because unlike posted above, the .22 LR is effective up to 1 mile, not 150 to 200 yds. Be very careful where you shoot a .22 LR.

You misread my post. I didn't say the 22LR wasn't dangerous beyond 150 to 200 yards. I said it was hard to hit your target beyond 150 to 200 yards because of the ballistics (mortar-like trajectory and brick-like ballistic coefficient). Here's what I actually posted, and I stand by it:

A long way. "Effective range", meaning the range at which you can hit anything, is around 200 yards, because the ballistics are such that bullet drop becomes very difficult to compensate for beyond that range. Practical max range for most people is closer to 100 yards, but I bet most 22LR shooting is done at more like 50 feet.

Thats not to say they can't cause serious injury well beyond 150 yards. Always have a safe backstop.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Glockfan 45

I think several of us would like to know precisely how many head of domestic livestock you have personally dispatched. I’d just like to know what experience base you’re working off of. I could be 100% wrong but based on your comments I think the answer may be 0 or you would know that a well placed 22LR solid to the head will drop a full sized steer so fast it seems to multiply the force of gravity. There is nothing in the process that’s inhuman and in my expereince prehaps less so that some of the scenarios we face as hunters. I think your sense of respect for the animal is laudable but not directly applicable.

DRT as 1911 guy describes the process couldn’t be more apt.

I’ll pass on responding to the styling content in your last post other than to say it was somewhat offensive. Perhaps you can work on some better ways to make your point and win others to your POV than analogies structured in this manner:

If I were going to kill you via gun shot to the head

Not very THR.

Best,

S-

 

[Steel Talon]

Hello CJ....

Be careful because unlike posted above, the .22 LR is effective up to 1 mile, not 150 to 200 yds. Be very careful where you shoot a .22 LR.


Effective no, dangerous yes.

Pretty much all has been touted on the benefiets/enjoyment of shooting of the 22lr. Now its going to be a choice of single shot, bolt action, lever action or semi auto or wheel gun (revolver). Open sights or scoped

My advice (FWIW) would be to find an affordable bolt action 22lr. with open sights. If you like Mil surp. The Romanian military trainer can still be found for under a $100.00.

Also as stated,it is useful on the ranch ,but again can cause damage to outbuildings, equipment ie. "unintended targets" I have also seen ranch animals put down with a 22 mag.( Hogs) However my grandfather would use his 30-30 for anything larger.

Many trappers(myself included when I trapped many years ago) tend to use a 22lr. to put animals down with. I believe it was 1911 above that identified the "sweet spot" for the brain shot. However; when I was young I came upon a badgar when I was checking my trap line (today, I believe he was rabid) I had a old Glenfield 22lr. semi-auto. This badgar was making a meal of a Marten, when he (badgar) saw me he came at me. He finally fell after taking 12 hits, now both of us were moving simultaneously but none the less he took 12 hits, after that years fur buy I purchased a 22magnum.

Peace
Steel Talon

 

[SamTuckerMTNMAN]

.22's are great

It's a logical step up for a kid who has been safe and responsible with his air rifle. I shot a .22 and .22 mag for a long time before getting into larger calibers. There is a fun to shooting this rifle that others don't quite match in some way. When I was younger I'd just range around the fields and woods, and safely/alertly, practice hitting all sorts of little things; stumps, dirt, leaves on water (beware of glancing the bullet, where i was it was relatively safe with mountain backdrop and hardwoods). The .22 is how I always help someone learn to shoot a powder rifle.
Also, for survival, you can carry/stock lots of ammo, it is useful against someone tactical masters be damned (you just might need to aim more and hit them more times ). Really, at close range, more people have been killed by assassination with the .22 than any other caliber.
My grandpa always killed the pig with a .22 lr or mag. I use a 7.62x39 but the .22 does just fine. It's knowing how to use the tool, not just the tool itself.
.22 ammo is so common it is also a good trade item, pre or post SHTF
The bullets are easy to pull out for other fun hobbies.
Be careful with storage I had a lot which was mostly airtight but went through wild temp variations, after 5 years or 6 it had a high failure to fire rate

have fun take care
st

ps - recommendation; even though its less accurate and burns up your ammo, a semi auto .22lr is good stuff, or a bolt action .22 magnum. Don't spend more than $150! If a pistol you want, 9 shot revolver by high standard, double action....or any wheel gun .22 is good. i don't prefer auto .22's because with the reduced recoil power of some loads you run higher risk of not feeding correctly and jamming. Dealing with jammed weapons all the time is NOT fun and can be dangerous. just my .02 c

 

[CZguy]

Selfdfenz

I’ll pass on responding to the styling content in your last post other than to say it was somewhat offensive. Perhaps you can work on some better ways to make your point and win others to your POV than analogies structured in this manner:


Quote:
If I were going to kill you via gun shot to the head

Not very THR.

I would just like to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Selfdfenz. I would really like to hear a moderators views on this.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

You can do a lot more with a 22 magnum. The downrange energy is about double at 100 yards.

 

[de]

The question of what can you do with a 22 rifle, could be asked, what can't you do with a 22 rifle. My Grandfather would be over a hunderd if he were still alive. He (and my Dad) were full blood Cherokees from Ok. and in the fifties we were poor as church mice. We just didn't know it. But anyway, my point is that Grandpa had an old Winchester leveraction 22 with an octagon barrel he found in a clay cave along the Verdigris River in the early 1900s and a single shot 12 gauge. It was all he needed. He knew what each one would do, and used each appropriately.
Today I watched on the Outdoor Channel, a man kill a 150lb hog with a stock pellet rifle in Ok. I live in the middle of feral hog country (north central Tx.) and they along with other big game ain't that hard to kill. It's the marksmanship that counts the most.

 

[telomerase]

I

OW, can it serve a functional purpose on the farm that other guns do not?

Farmers where I grew up never used anything else (i.e. were too cheap to use anything else). They'd kill feral pigs with .22 rifles (!) Definitely don't try this at home.

Of course, since they never used anything else they didn't miss much.

 

[Tylden]

The hidden benefits of the .22

I have an old Marlin 39A leveraction .22 that I love dearly. Out of all my guns (and I do have a few ) that little .22 without a doubt gives me (and my son) the most fun and enjoyment, and more importantly, great memories. I don't know about you all, but when it comes to having some REAL FUN, it's awful hard to beat a day at the farm plinking with .22's. Also, this usually means my 12 year old son just may want to come along with his CZ 452 Scout and have a good time with his old man .....and this is something that a centerfire just couldn't have provided for us (at least not yet ) Every time I see our .22's in the safe together, I remember all the good times we've had together with them, and look forward to the next opportunity to go again. Come to think of it, I have quite a bit of .22 ammo that needs to get shot up and replaced with fresh .....I feel a day of plinking is definately in order while he's out of school on Christmas break !!!

 

[CZguy]

Tylden,

That was particularly well said.

I grew up in rural Missouri in the fifties. I have very fond memories of shooting tin cans off a fence rail from the back porch with my Dad and brothers after Church on Sunday afternoons.

 

[MCgunner]

All around fun guns for plinking tin cans (builds character, you know?)

Great utility around the house gun if you live out of town. Powerful enough for marauding coyotes, but won't PO the neighbors like a big caliber gun.

The number one tool for serious squirrel hunting. Shotguns don't count, that's cheating.

Great for sitting rabbits and if you get really good you can hit running ones.

Great in the truck out on the farm where you won't be shooting at anything big.

I own five, myself. My first one I acquired for my 9th birthday. Still have it and it's my most accurate .22 LR. I have a bunch of .22 handguns, also. I couldn't live without a .22 rifle.

You can do a lot more with a 22 magnum. The downrange energy is about double at 100 yards.

That's good because a box of ammo is about quadruple. I have one, though, and it's quite accurate.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

The ammo cost of the 22 magnum comes from the fact that it uses real jacketed bullets, plus the case is much stronger. I'm not shooting thousands of rounds a month out of it, I think the extra cost is worth it.

I've found 22 mag ammo on the internet for as low as $5.60/50. That's not too bad.