IT'S AN AMERICAN!

[JimT]

Ruger that is. .22 Magnum

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I am just now getting used to this little gun and I have to say, I like it! Testing some different ammo in it so far it seems to shoot loads of the same bullet weight into pretty much the same place.

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I have it zeroed at 50 yards. Shooting at 130 yards it hits 3 1/2" low. For now I will live with that. Most of my shooting is closer.

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[gamekeeper]

Nice the.22 magnum is a very capable round, it punches above it's weight and can be quite accurate.

[JimT]

Nice the.22 magnum is a very capable round, it punches above it's weight and can be quite accurate.

It is a different round when fired from a rifle vs. handgun. I have used it in handguns a lot and like it, but it is in another realm when fired from a rifle.

[AJMD429]

I remember as a kid growing up poor and anything Center fire was out of the question for most of us my friends and myself. A few kids did manage to save up some extra money and get 22 magnum rifles though, and Even though the ammunition was 3 times as expensive the rifles were definitely better at longer range or with bigger critters. The kids who really depended on small game for food or keeping coyote from the livestock they lived off of tended to be the ones who upgraded to 22 WRM.

[GunnyMack]

I have a 10/22 magnum. It was a decent shooter with the factory barrel. I got a bull barrel carbon fiber tension barrel and a Hogue over mold stock. After shooting a few different brands of ammo and finding what it liked best the first critter I shot was a crow about 80 yards in the brain pan. The .22 mag is no slouch at rifle velocities.

[Pete44ru]

.

I like Rugers, and I like the .22 Magnum - mine's a 1985 Model 77/22RM that I've had for about 20 years.

It works very well on the called red foxes & coyotes hereabouts.

.

[Bill in Oregon]

Speaking of Ruger rimfires, I happened to stop at the Sportsman's Warehouse in Las Cruces today and asked to handle a Ruger Precision Rimfire. After reading of issues with triggers and rough bolts, I was pleased to find this one smooth and the trigger very crisp. I also liked the solid heft. Kind of half-expected a repackaged-with-plastic-and-"wunderstock" reconfiguration of some same old gun, as seems to be the marketing pattern these days. This looked and felt like a "whole new rifle."

[marlinman93]

Being frugal, I've never been a .22 Magnum fan. But that one seems to have potential as a great shooter!

[piller]

I like my 17 WSM, but it is more expensive than the 22 Mag. 3,000 fps with a 20 grain bullet is fast enough and the rifle isn't too loud. The 40 grain bullet from a 22 Mag rifle hits hard, and in my opinion it hits harder than the 17 WSM. Having only shot 1 coyote with the WSM, I don't have much information to give. However, that coyote dropped like a sack of wet cement. It was a head shot and it was lights out. The 22 Mag is good for coyotes. In the Spring when they have pups in the den, they become aggressive. A 22 Mag stops that immediately, and sometimes even sooner.

[wm]

Rimfires in gun collections are like Irish families …… always room for one more.

Nothing better then a rimfire for relaxing.

Wm

[JimT]

Rimfires in gun collections are like Irish families …… always room for one more.

Nothing better then a rimfire for relaxing.

Wm

I was just thinking the same thing. When I go shooting I have all this brass to collect .. clean .. resize ... deprime .. neck expand ... prime ... and then the entire process of loading. I don't really mind doing it all ... but shooting the rimfires I somehow feel like I am having a FREE DAY!!

It makes me grin.

[Catshooter]

I have one just like yours Jim and really enjoy it. I shortened (16 inches) and threaded the barrel for my 9mm suppressor. Works very well and quietly.


Cat

[Nath]

Another wise choice. So much good ammo choices in wmr again. One of my favourites is the Federal with the 30grn Speer tnt up front. Takes no prisoners that one!

[JimT]

I have one just like yours Jim and really enjoy it. I shortened (16 inches) and threaded the barrel for my 9mm suppressor. Works very well and quietly.
Cat

The picture I posted above of the rifle is an older one. I shortened mine to 16 1/2". The 22 Magnum achieves maximum power in about 12" and I have always shortened mine a bit .. makes them more 'handy' also.

[JimT]

Latest picture ... Barrel 16 1/2"

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[piller]

That does indeed look handy. How is it for out walking in whatever wilderness happens to be handy?

[JimT]

That does indeed look handy. How is it for out walking in whatever wilderness happens to be handy?

So far I find it easy to carry .. it balances well. I have yet to try it with a sling.

[piller]

Jim, do you have Javelinas or Peccaries in your neck of the woods? Just curious if the .22 WMR using solid bullets or good quality HP would kill a Javelina?

[JimT]

Jim, do you have Javelinas or Peccaries in your neck of the woods? Just curious if the .22 WMR using solid bullets or good quality HP would kill a Javelina?

Not right here but close... yes. And yes, the .22 mag is great on them from a rifle. In Arizona the .22 magnum rifle is legal for Javelina. When my oldest daughter was 11 I built her a single shot .22 magnum on an old Stevens Marksman break-open action. I used a Mossberg barrel and rechambered it for .22 mag. She took her first with it at about 40 yards. It was running across in front of us and she hit it a little high ... took out about 2" of spine just behind the front shoulders. It rolled down the hill and by then she reloaded and popped it in the head to finish it.

The CCI Maxi Mag JHP .22 magnum round worked well. I would not hesitate to take heart/lung shots.

[piller]

Good to know. I am not planning a trip to Arizona, but if I do go that information could be valuable. Thank you.

[JimT]

Good to know. I am not planning a trip to Arizona, but if I do go that information could be valuable. Thank you.

I believe the .22 WMR is legal in Texas also.

The website on hunting regulations ( https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outd ... nd-methods ) says:

Game animals and non-migratory game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, except:

Rimfire Ammunition (of any caliber) may NOT be used to hunt white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, or pronghorn.

[Rusty]

It seems like there are a lot of people thinking the same way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zaU7La ... ucwHJp8FzY

If some of you remember BRUCE that used to post here he was an officer in the Florida Fish and Game Commission, now known as the FWC. He once stated here that if he were regulated to one rifle to do it all in N.America it would be a .22 Mag. The more I learn, the more I become dedicated to the .22 Mag.

[JimT]

It seems like there are a lot of people thinking the same way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zaU7La ... ucwHJp8FzY

He has a nice setup with his.
That's the thing about a survival rifle ... you gotta have "backup sights". I am thinking of some kind of aperture sight for mine.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

My favorite rifle in .22 WMR is the HK-300. It loves those 34-grain Winchester JHPs. I've also got a Smith 648. For some reason, the .22 WMR out of a revolver is disturbingly loud. Cases tend to stick in my 648 as well. I've got a hone and oil for it but have never taken the time to polish it out.