How Instantly Lethal is .22?

[Drm50]

We eat young groundhogs all the time. We like them pressure
cooked and put in crock pot with Barbq sauce. The old ones we
don't bother with. Some people turn up their nose at the groundhog, it lives on vegetation. Same people don't give a thought about eating chicken, they will eat just about anything.
When there was a lot of groundhogs around here, the Sportsman
clubs would have a groundhog feed every summer. They would
have them cooked several different ways. Better eat'n than a
Big Mack.

 

[686-380]

It's a compromise

I'm sure my first shot would have killed it, but I wanted instant kill. As for the feeding them, my wife used to throw bread to a squirrel that was on our deck. I told her to stop but she kept doing it. One day, I come into the kitchen and the squirrel is on my screen. I popped it with an Airsoft gun at point blank range. It ran off and never came back.

The squirrel dropped and scrambled about 6 feet, before it died. It didn't suffer long. I'd rather get a certain kill than a wounding shot or clear miss. Aiming for center mass gives me better odds.

 

[susieqz]

i have never seen an evil bunny run after a center of mass shot.
you really don't need a head shot because a little 22 won't spoil meat.

 

[Duckford]

The good old boys brag loudly about all the times they poached things with their 22's, but seem to be a bit more quiet about all the animals they maimed and injured over the years by unethical hunting. I remember a quote somewhere about fate being "Claiming all of your victories but not any of your failures" and 22 long rifle hob nobbing is 100% the same thing. I know these kinds of people in person, many, many of them, who sit around and brag about every time their trusty 22 long rifle never failed them, except for all the times it did.

The whole thing is 1/3rd ego, "I'm such a great shot I can kill anything with just my rimfire", 1/3rd love of our old favorite plinking cartridge that we will go to any length to make excuses and lies for, and 1/3rd bigotry of soft expectation, "the 22 long rifle is looked down upon, so whenever it succeeds where it shouldn't, we over emphasize its victories".

Also the whole "22's bounce around in your body" thing is a complete lie and a myth, a hoax, an urban legend. Just like any old wives tale, its true because like any Big Lie, it has been retold enough to become "true", an such a fantastic story we just HAVE to believe it. The 22 has extremely poor penetration power, and does not have the ability to pierce very far in the body at all, certainly no where near the magical fantasy land ability to bounce around a torso. If the 22 is the most feared gun by cops, why aren't they carrying them? Sounds like someone was told a tall tale, is propagating a myth, or we can question this "sheriff" from Chicago.

Take a good long look at a list of logical fallacies and find "cherry picking", and read deeply into it. Without such a concept, the 22 long rifle doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

 

[susieqz]

well, i wouldn't shoot a big animal with a 22, except in emergency.
if i get hungry enow, i'll do what i must.
i do think the 22lr is underrated. it is deadly.
a well placed shot should do what you need.

i never heard about 22s bouncing around in a body. they don't in a bunny.
what i have heard is that mafiosos used them because the bullet would penetrate the skull n the brain, but would bounce back from the other side
of the skull, tearing lots of brain tissue.
i don't know that from experience but it sounds reasonable.
anyway, i just like my 22s n i'm more accurate with them.

 

[BC38]

.22 ammo is just as instantly lethal as your shot placement makes it.

 

[Biggfoot44]

In the context of squirrel hunting, there is debate on RN vs HP, in that HP allegedly destroys too much shoulder meat on body shots. But for the OP's situation that isn't an issue.

I get it about the OP's situation of wishing lower noise. I like the CCI Quiet, but you do need to be realistic about what it is. At rated rifle velocities, has 45 ft lb of energy. This is a lot closer to the 32ft lb of a CB Long than the 73 ft lb of .22 Short.

The CCI Quiet is also offered in a 3 piece segmented HP in addition to the RNL. For use on small game, the segmented HP would be the way to go.

In a coincidence, I also just finished reading ( listening) that Sanford book. Just now, I googled up some velocity testing of CCI Quiet from pistols. I found a blog post by the late Bob Campbell using a 5in Sig 1911 .22lr . He reported 675 fps. A small drop from rifle velocities, but in the absolute sense, only 29ft lb . Upon reading what ammo the BG was loading, my imeadate thought was to the effect of " Damn, that wouldn't penetrate a skull very well" , and the story bore that out. Not that I'm recomending.22lr for SD, but at least HV.22lr RN will penetrate.

Also, not that I condone such things, just reporting data points. : According to people who poached deer with 10/22 . CCI MiniMag HP, multiple shots to the lungs, shooting as rapidly as making hits. The deer usually dropped before the 10 shot mag emptied.

 

[kbm6893]

In the context of squirrel hunting, there is debate on RN vs HP, in that HP allegedly destroys too much shoulder meat on body shots. But for the OP's situation that isn't an issue.

I get it about the OP's situation of wishing lower noise. I like the CCI Quiet, but you do need to be realistic about what it is. At rated rifle velocities, has 45 ft lb of energy. This is a lot closer to the 32ft lb of a CB Long than the 73 ft lb of .22 Short.

The CCI Quiet is also offered in a 3 piece segmented HP in addition to the RNL. For use on small game, the segmented HP would be the way to go.

In a coincidence, I also just finished reading ( listening) that Sanford book. Just now, I googled up some velocity testing of CCI Quiet from pistols. I found a blog post by the late Bob Campbell using a 5in Sig 1911 .22lr . He reported 675 fps. A small drop from rifle velocities, but in the absolute sense, only 29ft lb . Upon reading what ammo the BG was loading, my imeadate thought was to the effect of " Damn, that wouldn't penetrate a skull very well" , and the story bore that out. Not that I'm recomending.22lr for SD, but at least HV.22lr RN will penetrate.

Also, not that I condone such things, just reporting data points. : According to people who poached deer with 10/22 . CCI MiniMag HP, multiple shots to the lungs, shooting as rapidly as making hits. The deer usually dropped before the 10 shot mag emptied.

You're saying that a .22 short has more lethality than the CCI Quiets? One thing Sandford got wrong was the gun cycling with the quiets. I know mine won't and I have heard of nine thst will. I believe it even says it won't cycle the bolt on their website.

 

[Coastie762]

I tried some CCI Quiets the other day in a CMMG .22 RF upper on an AR15. They would cycle the bolt far enough to eject the spent case and feed the next round. They would not move the bolt back far enough for the hammer to reset approx 75 percent of the time.

I could probably get the hammer to reset using a reduced power hammer spring, however that may impact reliable ignition. Still may be worth some experimentation...

Out of a bolt action Rem 541T-HB, they are surprisingly accurate, at least to the 35 yard distance I was shooting. According to my wife they are no louder than my Beeman .177 air rifle.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Well, a .22 Short has more ft lb of energy . Usually it is pointed that ft lb of energy is not a particularly good predictor of terminal effect on critters, but here we are getting close to minium floor levels. The other factor is bullet type. A segmented Quiet vs RNL Short would be an interesting comparison.

I read the linked thread on the other forum, which among other things reported a large string of one shot kills on wild boar with CB Longs ( from rifle). My take away was shot placement, surgical shot placement. The poster didn't just aim for "head shot" but for the ear canal, or specific vertabrae at base of skull.

The other take away for me, is with pest removal in a target rich environment, one can be selective for the perfect angle to present itself, and pass up any that don't. If one is putting down an injured animal, or dispatching one in a trap, you often have to take the shot , in narrow time window. This would call at minium for the ability to penetrate a skull from any angle.

CCI Quiets cycle fine in Rem 552, he he. For that matter just fine in bolt action and Single Six. I have read of tuning the springs in a 10/22 to cycle with Shorts, so it would be similarily possible to do so for Quiets. Interoperability with "normal" .22lr would be a different question.

 

[joebiker]

Ask officer Coats. I watched the officers dash cam video. Death was less than a minute.

Trooper Mark Hunter Coates, South Carolina Highway Patrol, South Carolina

 

[old tanker]

You're saying that a .22 short has more lethality than the CCI Quiets? One thing Sandford got wrong was the gun cycling with the quiets. I know mine won't and I have heard of nine thst will. I believe it even says it won't cycle the bolt on their website.

My Remington 550-1 will cycle CCI Quiets just fine. Remington used a "recoiling chamber," as they called it, in the 550's and they shot ".22 short, long and long rifle, interchangeably." The 'floating chamber' has been used in sub caliber kits for pistols for decades and works very well, as long as it is cleaned properly.

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

100% lethal??? Maybe a supersonic telephone pole. Everything else falls to a simple rule..Penetration and placement...........Period...........

 

[moongoon]

.22 killing power

Back when I lived in Alaska, we went rabbit hunting in the wintertime. we all used .22 rifles and usually it only took one shot in the head or the body to kill them cleanly. These were big arctic hares and we would take dozens of them. Boiled with spices, pick the meat off the bones and make stew or pie. Hey , when you're hungry and poor, they're not bad. Also, a friend had me dispatch his pigs for him at slaughter time. One shot behind the ear with my old Star .22 target pistol, they would go down like a sack of potatoes.

 

[Mulebuk Sam]

So do I need a head shot on a critter to put them down fast? I'm not looking for anything to suffer.

That squirrel may have had rabies, better if you can nail it with a shotgun of some sort. But I would think if it did you need to get 'em in the head then with that .22. Good thing you didn't get to close ya never know. Them and raccoons notorious rabies carriers.

And a raccoon will come after you and they are viscous and highly intelligent.

 

[Jingles]

I carry a 351PD around my little ranch and have used it to dispatch many injured critters up to Coyote size. Granted it's a 22 mag, but a head shot works every time. Just my $0.02, but something small like a ground squirrel or rabbit is more humane to just put the heel of your boot or shoe on it's neck and step down hard and quick. No miss - no mess.

 

[M E Morrison]

That squirrel may have had rabies, better if you can nail it with a shotgun of some sort. But I would think if it did you need to get 'em in the head then with that .22. Good thing you didn't get to close ya never know. Them and raccoons notorious rabies carriers.

And a raccoon will come after you and they are viscous and highly intelligent.

If rabies is a possibility, then try to avoid a head shot. The brain is needed to confirm a rabies infection. Tough choice, huh?

 

[Mulebuk Sam]

Tough choice, huh?

If they try to attack you they got rabies. If you get bit and don't die or go insane within 48-72 hours you should be good to go. However if bit it may still be a wise precaution to seek medical attention. Of course they'll probably still recommend the battery of shots as a precaution.

Best thing to do I would guess is to keep your practice to paper targets only.

 

[DWalt]

Back in my youth, deer poaching was a fairly common practice in the hills of Southern Ohio (in fact, at that time, Ohio did not even have a deer season), and I knew some of those poachers, one being a close relative. They universally used .22 rifles, primarily because of the low noise level. Those guys were real marksmen, and seldom missed a head shot on a deer, mostly at fairly close range.

 

[allthumbs]

The good old boys brag loudly about all the times they poached things with their 22's, but seem to be a bit more quiet about all the animals they maimed and injured over the years by unethical hunting. I remember a quote somewhere about fate being "Claiming all of your victories but not any of your failures" and 22 long rifle hob nobbing is 100% the same thing. I know these kinds of people in person, many, many of them, who sit around and brag about every time their trusty 22 long rifle never failed them, except for all the times it did.

The whole thing is 1/3rd ego, "I'm such a great shot I can kill anything with just my rimfire", 1/3rd love of our old favorite plinking cartridge that we will go to any length to make excuses and lies for, and 1/3rd bigotry of soft expectation, "the 22 long rifle is looked down upon, so whenever it succeeds where it shouldn't, we over emphasize its victories".

Also the whole "22's bounce around in your body" thing is a complete lie and a myth, a hoax, an urban legend. Just like any old wives tale, its true because like any Big Lie, it has been retold enough to become "true", an such a fantastic story we just HAVE to believe it. The 22 has extremely poor penetration power, and does not have the ability to pierce very far in the body at all, certainly no where near the magical fantasy land ability to bounce around a torso. If the 22 is the most feared gun by cops, why aren't they carrying them? Sounds like someone was told a tall tale, is propagating a myth, or we can question this "sheriff" from Chicago.

Take a good long look at a list of logical fallacies and find "cherry picking", and read deeply into it. Without such a concept, the 22 long rifle doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.

"Complete lie and myth" ? I wonder if I'll believe a guy that worked 25 years in the murder capitol of the USA and over 20 years working a smaller dept, and has been shot at and seen autopsies and coroner results or some "forum expert" ? I think I know which way I'll lean