'Splain to me the .22 Magnum

[2152hq]

I always saw it as an alternative cartridge to the 22Hornet, the smallest CF beyond the .22RF for those that didn't want to reload, or couldn't.
Plus the bolt and single shot rifles the 22Mag were generally offered for sale in were much less expensive than the .22Hornet's.

This going back to the 60's when the 22Mag was becoming very popular.
I didn't have the extra money needed to spend per box of magnums vs .22lr's.
For me that was instantly the drawback of the round.
Next was that for what I used a .22 for (squirrels, occasionaly rabbits and some woodchucks),,the LR version worked just fine.
I didn't feel a need for the extra power.
Any extra range woodchuck shooting was attempted with $10 or $25 milsurp rifles and $2/100 fmj ammo.

The .22mag rifles seem to be very accurate as a whole. That I've seen for myself test shooting them during repairs at shops and factory.
I've never really noticed much of a terribly unpleasent noise about them. But these were rifles, not handguns.
Can't say I have much of any experience with 22Mag handguns.

I don't hunt anymore and haven't for many years.
So I continue to find no personal need for a .22Mag

But plenty of people like 'em and find a lot of use for them.

I guess you could take 98% of all commercial cartridges in production at any time and scrap them. Just keep the other few and they'd do everything needed in field, target and SD.
But that'd be boring.
That's why there is the .22Mag and all the others so we can pick and choose to our personal likes.

 

[double-dipper]

Back in the late 80's 90' I shot many, many Coyotes with a .22 Mag. (I didn't have money for a 22-250) and very few when hit hard ever got away. I use a 204 Ruger these days for coyotes. The .22 win mag will get the job done for less $$$ than a center fire rife at a closer range of course!

 

[Gene L]

I reload .22 Hornet and while I haven't priced reloads against .22 Mag, I know the price of reloads is pretty low and bullet choice is greater and velocity is higher. I used to shoot varmints (very few, though) and admit to being a Hornet fan. My childhood Hornet was a cheap Savage one, seldom shot because I couldn't afford the ammo. For a step up over the LR, I highly recommend the Hornet...not for eatables, though.

 

[.38SuperMan]

It's very accurate in the right gun. Here's a recent target shot with Hornady V-Max 22WMR from my Ruger precision rifle. It's at 100 yds shot from a rest with 7 mph gusting crosswind. It's 5 shots in a 7/16" group. I'm new to the rifle And expect it to tighten up on a calm day.

22LR will do tight groups but not as well at 100 yds.

 

[Rifleman harris]

I have a Ruger 10-22 mag with a Lilja barrel that will hold about a minute at a hundred yard. It's death on turkey and both my son and I have used it on hogs of about 150 lbs with great results. Not a round to underestimate.

 

[Rpg]

Seems like the 22 mag IN A RIFLE is a pretty good round.

 

[Walter Rego]

I have several sixguns with the spare .22 Mag cylinder and they don't get shot much. Also have an S&W Model 48-4 that is quite accurate.
But for sheer fun, my Automag II in .22 WMR is a great gun. It is quite accurate and a real flamethrower. It would be just the ticket for running desert jackrabbits or skulking coyotes trying to make a getaway.

 

[BAM-BAM]

My Ruger American Compact in .22mag would be my choice for a non-AR utility/side by side take along/survival rifle.......at 36" and 5.3 lbs (7lb for a basic Mini-14 ranch) .... 18" barrel and 9rd rotary mag.(X3)

Small 1-3x20 Weaver scope, paracord sling and ...........100 rds of ammo about 14 ozs vs 41 oz for .223.

 

[joe44va]

It takes all kinds of folks to fill the freeways. I'm glad that we have a choice and I'm glad that I have both.

 

[Buford57]

My first cartridge handgun was a Colt Frontier Scout in .22 Mag. I got 2 bricks of .22 Remington Special (aka .22WRF) ammo with it. These were a lead bullet load that fell somewhere between .22 LR and .22 Mag and the case was a shorter version of the Mag. I used the "Specials" for meat hunting until one night when I went out to remove nuisance raccoons from a corn field and found that they didn't penetrate the quills of the porcupines who were the real culprits. On that basis I conclude that the proper use of the .22 Magnum is exterminating porcupines.

 

[Deceasedeye]

IMPEACH 22MAG!

 

[hkcavalier]

It's an excellent rifle round for pests and coyotes.

In recent years, it's gotten a lot of buzz as a defensive pistol round (the Kel-Tec PMR-30 in particular), but with a price around 9mm and lots of noise and flash, it doesn't make much sense, though it's very light recoiling of course. Kind of a poor man's 5.7x28. I don't consider it to be a good pistol cartridge. Like most high velocity cartridges, it needs at least 8" of barrel to become efficient. One reason I'm searching for an old 48 8-3/8" gun...

 

[Pondoro]

I actually sat down and read "Cartridges of the World." The 10's and 20's and 30's had a plethora of low power 32 and 25 caliber rifle cartridges, some center fire and some rimfire. Apparently farmers and others considered these cartridges "enough" for varmints and self defense round the homestead. They are all mostly gone now. The 22 magnum seemed to take their place. The 22 hornet could have. The 32 magnum could have if it had been 30 years earlier. I thought that the 17HMR would kill the 22 magnum, all it lacks is "switch cylinder" capability. Switching cylinders is seductive. (Yes I have one. Don't need it. I had to have one.)

 

[mauser9]

My Ruger American Compact in .22mag would be my choice for a non-AR utility/side by side take along/survival rifle.......at 36" and 5.3 lbs (7lb for a basic Mini-14 ranch) .... 18" barrel and 9rd rotary mag.(X3)

Small 1-3x20 Weaver scope, paracord sling and ...........100 rds of ammo about 14 ozs vs 41 oz for .223.

Same here Bam Bam. Was looking for a 18 inch barrel in 22 magnum for woods varmints. Figured I would be better off with the heavier bullet of the 22 mag over the 17 for varmints like coon and fox. Slapped a Vortex Crossfire 2 scope 2x7-32 and it suits me very well. Nice and light plus the stock does not feel chintzy. Only cost me $279 couple years back new.

 

[LittleCooner]

I have to agree with Gene L. I have never used the 22 WRM and have no desire for one. I do not see where it fits in the gun world. I have several 22 caliber rounds and if a rimfire LR is not sufficient, then I am going to use a centerfire. Reloadable, so I can tune the accuracy, and if shooting varmints, the centerfire has so many options for bullets. Never owned one and never will, I do not see any use for them.

 

[.38SuperMan]

I bought a stainless convertible single 6 about thirty years ago. I agree with others 22mag really doesn't shine in a short barrel. Just for giggles I need to chrono some 22 wmr out of the single 6 5-1/2" barrel and then out of my RPR and see how they compare. My guess is out of the single 6 there's little gain over 22LR.

Ammo is quite a bit more expensive but how much do you shoot in an afternoon out of a single action revolver or bolt action rifle, 50 rounds an hour? I found Hornady V-Max to be the best in my rifle so far and CCIwith the 30 gr V-Max bullet a very close second. I think I'm paying $14 for the CCI and $13 for the Hornady. Not bad in my view. When I'm at the range I see guys burning through $200 dollars or more of 5.56 in thirty minutes so $13 bucks, no big deal. I'm not into mag dumps anyway.

 

[Gene L]

While I've never owned a .22 mag rifle, I had a auto pistol for a short time. It would fire out of battery and shot very high, and I'm talking feet at 25 yards. Not the round's fault of course.

 

[diyj98]

On average, the 22 WMR won't shoot with the 17HMR, 22LR, or 17M2 accuracy wise, and I've owned them in Anschutz, CZ, and several other manufacturers. In my opinion it's a better cartridge for small to medium sized varmints though. When I growing up it was a popular poachers gun due to having more power than the 22LR, but not as much noise as larger centerfire rounds.

 

[Mule Packer]

I'm not sure I can add anything to what has already been said, but I'll toss in my two cents for what it's worth.

A .22 magnum shot out of a pistol is really nothing more than a souped-up .22 LR. When shot out of a rifle, however, it's a whole 'nother breed of cat, capable of taking down animals such as rabbits, groundhogs, prairie dogs, foxes, raccoons, and even coyotes out to around 150 yards. The 40-grain .22 WMR at 100 yards still has 50% more kinetic energy than a 40-grain .22 LR at the muzzle.

My .22 magnum rifle is a Winchester 9422M with a Leupold 4x scope. To be honest, it's definitely one of my favorite rifles.

 

[CH4]

I know when I shoot rabbits and other similarly sized critters with my 648 .22 magnum out to about 50 yds, it seems to smack with much more authority than my 17-6 shooting .22lr. The damage is significantly more too.