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22 LR vs 22 Mag

bigmike23

bigmike23

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2020
Messages
2,972
Location
NE PA
One of my changes this year is dramatically less archery hunting in Oct. I have never ever had much success until late Oct getting on bucks. And another thing that happens is I hunted so much before Nov, that by the time rut comes in already feeling severe burnout.

So I'm taking up small game hunting to fill the void. I can put up some cameras while squirrel hunting.

I currently leaning towards a 22 Mag, but 22 LR is a whole heck of a lot cheaper to shoot...

Any preference either way?
 
Cool idea to get more into small game. I find myself wanting to do that more and more every year.

Just my opinion but if it were me and I wanted a little more punch than the standard 22 LR, I would look at the 17 HMR. That said I still would not be without a 22 LR in the arsenal regardless.
 
I know @Nutterbuster has a hog hunting thread where he details how effective 22wmr is. Unsure if you have them up by you or not.

Following for my own sake, too. 22LR is tried and true, but I’d be open to either 17 or 22WMR. Mainly curious how much louder either of those are and if the risk of hearing damage is elevated
 
I'd vote 22LR, and subsonic hollow point at that. Unless you are shooting squirrels at 200 yards, a 22 will reach up to the top of the tallest oaks with authority. 22 LR is cheap, effective, quiet, and accurate. You can also get it in any mom and pop store in the country.
 
If you reload, I will offer up a real classic. The 22 Hornet. You can load the 22 Hornet up to near 223, and you can download it with cast to 22 subsonic range. It's very versatile. It would also be legal for deer in MS, being centerfire, and with a 40 grain Barnes TSX and a steady hand, would do the job fine. So, if you were slipping along squirrel hunting and Mr. Big showed up, you'd be legal.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
I'd vote 22LR, and subsonic hollow point at that. Unless you are shooting squirrels at 200 yards, a 22 will reach up to the top of the tallest oaks with authority. 22 LR is cheap, effective, quiet, and accurate. You can also get it in any mom and pop store in the country.
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This is the answer. 22LR will kill coon, woodchuck, porcupine, beaver, etc just fine past 50y so it is fine on squirrel. Plus, you also want as little damage as possible. 17HMR and 22Mag are proven and deadly much farther at the expense of cost and damage.

The other is rifle vs pistol. For pistol, a Ruger Mark4 or Browning Buckmark are good choices though the Ruger is a Lego and is easily modified. For rifle, the Ruger 10/22 or Savage Mark II are the quintessential choices. The Mark II tends to be more accurate out of the box but the Ruger is again a Lego and can be turned into a tack driver. Personally, I like the Mark II better but for the woods, I use the 10/22 because you're less likely to lose the mag.
 
MNFarmHunter said:
This is the answer. 22LR will kill coon, woodchuck, porcupine, beaver, etc just fine past 50y so it is fine on squirrel. Plus, you also want as little damage as possible. 17HMR and 22Mag are proven and deadly much farther at the expense of cost and damage.

The other is rifle vs pistol. For pistol, a Ruger Mark4 or Browning Buckmark are good choices though the Ruger is a Lego and is easily modified. For rifle, the Ruger 10/22 or Savage Mark II are the quintessential choices. The Mark II tends to be more accurate out of the box but the Ruger is again a Lego and can be turned into a tack driver. Personally, I like the Mark II better but for the woods, I use the 10/22 because you're less likely to lose the mag.
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I sold my 10/22 for a savage mark 2 and love it. Bolt action is so much more accurate for me. Although not totally convinced there wasn’t something wrong with the 10/22. Almost like the breach needed realigned or something.
 
bigmike23 said:
One of my changes this year is dramatically less archery hunting in Oct. I have never ever had much success until late Oct getting on bucks. And another thing that happens is I hunted so much before Nov, that by the time rut comes in already feeling severe burnout.

So I'm taking up small game hunting to fill the void. I can put up some cameras while squirrel hunting.

I currently leaning towards a 22 Mag, but 22 LR is a whole heck of a lot cheaper to shoot...

Any preference either way?
Click to expand...

22 mag is usually higher quality ammo and is more accurate, especially at longer distances. However, you are going to do a lot more meat damage unless you are always pulling off clean head shots. I would research which loads to use, perhaps soft points and not hollow points.
 
.22lr is my vote adding that you need a quality .22lr. Cz457 is the easy button for that. Since if I remember right you’re the Bishop broadhead guy I’m assuming you’re not against paying for quality. Then I’d use a high quality round. Sometimes guns like CCI standard or normal tac22 but I’m talking Eley, SK or lapua. Then picking several of those and finding whatever gun you bought likes.
 
I own all three (22LR, 22WMR and 17HMR) and for squirrels it’s 22LR all day, especially in October. Leaves are still on the trees and you won’t be getting 100+ yard shots. A 22LR will kill any squirrel in any tree you’re standing under. Ammo is dirt cheap so get accurate and shoot em in the head.
 
22 mag is much better for blowing up squirrels . Same for the 17hmr. I had to switch to FMJ bullets for the 17hmr. Varmint or HP tips just blew em up. If you're gonna try to snipe squirrels at 100 yards then the 22 mag or 17hmr tame down a bit more. Just gotta watch the wind a lot with the 17hmr as they get blown sideways easy.
 
Well, I ended up going with a CZ 457 Lux in 22 Mag. My thought process was you can get some heavy bullets in the 22 Mag, and really get that velocity down to minimize damage. And keep it to head shots, so I don't think the squirrels will get that vaporized.

My brother has a 17 HMR, and him and I went out hunting with it many times. That thing really vaporizes animals. Sometimes to a spectacular degree. Walmart had a carton of 125 rounds for the 22 Mag for 31$. Not horrible.

Even better, is Eurooptics had a huge selection of timney triggers, and they had one for the 457. And I have it set to 1lb. It's a pretty sweet rig.

Finally, I don't know what it is, but I don't want a scope on it. Wanna get back to some iron sights roots. Maybe if I wanna reach out a little, I'll take my Aimpoint red dot off my turkey gun and try it on this.
1000038468.jpg
 
NMSbowhunter said:
If you reload, I will offer up a real classic. The 22 Hornet. You can load the 22 Hornet up to near 223, and you can download it with cast to 22 subsonic range. It's very versatile. It would also be legal for deer in MS, being centerfire, and with a 40 grain Barnes TSX and a steady hand, would do the job fine. So, if you were slipping along squirrel hunting and Mr. Big showed up, you'd be legal.
Click to expand...
My father had 2 22 Hornets from 2 different manufacturers. One was a ruger, the other I can't remember. But both were the most inaccurate turds my father ever experienced. Muskets were more accurate. He threw ever powder and bullet combo in the book at them. Total turds. He bedded both too.

I also have a coworker that had one, and also said it was the worst shooting cartridge he's ever owned. So Im a bit sceptical lol
 
I'm just discovering as well you can do barrel swap outs with this gun. I'll probably grab the 22lr version in the future. 1000038469.jpg

380$
 
bigmike23 said:
Well, I ended up going with a CZ 457 Lux in 22 Mag. My thought process was you can get some heavy bullets in the 22 Mag, and really get that velocity down to minimize damage. And keep it to head shots, so I don't think the squirrels will get that vaporized.

My brother has a 17 HMR, and him and I went out hunting with it many times. That thing really vaporizes animals. Sometimes to a spectacular degree. Walmart had a carton of 125 rounds for the 22 Mag for 31$. Not horrible.

Even better, is Eurooptics had a huge selection of timney triggers, and they had one for the 457. And I have it set to 1lb. It's a pretty sweet rig.

Finally, I don't know what it is, but I don't want a scope on it. Wanna get back to some iron sights roots. Maybe if I wanna reach out a little, I'll take my Aimpoint red dot off my turkey gun and try it on this.
View attachment 120409
Click to expand...
That’s a pretty one. Love the stock on it.
 
bigmike23 said:
Well, I ended up going with a CZ 457 Lux in 22 Mag. My thought process was you can get some heavy bullets in the 22 Mag, and really get that velocity down to minimize damage. And keep it to head shots, so I don't think the squirrels will get that vaporized.

My brother has a 17 HMR, and him and I went out hunting with it many times. That thing really vaporizes animals. Sometimes to a spectacular degree. Walmart had a carton of 125 rounds for the 22 Mag for 31$. Not horrible.

Even better, is Eurooptics had a huge selection of timney triggers, and they had one for the 457. And I have it set to 1lb. It's a pretty sweet rig.

Finally, I don't know what it is, but I don't want a scope on it. Wanna get back to some iron sights roots. Maybe if I wanna reach out a little, I'll take my Aimpoint red dot off my turkey gun and try it on this.
View attachment 120409
Click to expand...
Single shot?
 
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