22 mag

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22 mag

Post by bigrich » 17 Aug 2020, 1:31 pm

hey fellas , just curious as to whether any of you guys use 22mag , what you use it for and any opinions/veiws that you think are relevant . the ammo available these days has the potential to make the mag far more accurate than in the past from what i'm seeing , with proper jacketed projectiles as opposed to the old copper washed that were available when i was a kid .cheers

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Re: 22 mag

Post by bladeracer » 17 Aug 2020, 1:49 pm

bigrich wrote:hey fellas , just curious as to whether any of you guys use 22mag , what you use it for and any opinions/veiws that you think are relevant . the ammo available these days has the potential to make the mag far more accurate than in the past from what i'm seeing , with proper jacketed projectiles as opposed to the old copper washed that were available when i was a kid .cheers

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Never seen copper-washed bullets in WMR, though I think I recall a subsonic lead offering. Are you sure you weren't using WRF ammo? WMR were all jacketed when I was a kid, but I agree that modern bullet designs give better accuracy than I was used to back then.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bigrich » 17 Aug 2020, 1:56 pm

Yeah blade, you’re probably right. I remember generally 22 mag ammo was crap 30 odd years ago. Had power but no accuracy
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Blr243 » 17 Aug 2020, 1:57 pm

Roughly 6 or 9 months ago when I had a lot of pork visiting certain paddocks in the middle of the night I would shoot one with my 243 and of course the rest of the mob would scatter. But prior to the shot iv would be aware of other mobs or solo boars on the same paddock and I would be nervous that the rifle would scare the whole lot away. Sometimes if the wind was heavy and making a lot of noise and the mobs were a long way apart it would be ok ...often I would see mobs of suckers or slips and suckers ( a slip is what I call bigger than a sucker but not yet breeding adult ) .....I had an idea that I would use the Quieter 22 mag For the smaller ones so my 243 did not scare the paddock clean ....and I would use the 243 for everything else. So I bought a nice second had bolt action marlin 22 mag ....but I just never got round to trying out this system .....so now the 22 mag just takes up space in my safe. There’s a stack of variety of Hunting ammo offerings and I found CCI shot the best
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Blr243 » 17 Aug 2020, 1:59 pm

Winchester do make a 45 grain subsonic load but I’m sure it’s totally gutless and useless
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Blr243 » 17 Aug 2020, 2:00 pm

I can’t wait for this work to finish so I can spent two weeks straight in the bush
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Re: 22 mag

Post by eddievic » 17 Aug 2020, 2:21 pm

The 22mag is good for foxes and smaller animals. I had one honestly didn't really get used. The cost of ammo is near enough of 223. and like all rimfire need to test a lot of different types of ammo to find a good one... unless you get lucky.

Probably good for someone who is limited to rimfires.

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Re: 22 mag

Post by animalpest » 17 Aug 2020, 3:31 pm

I have used .22 magnums for over 40 years - still do. The new ammo that is available today is more accurate than the old stuff. It's not hard to get groups of 1" at 75 yards with most of it (5 shot groups), although some will be better than others.

I have found in my rifle that Hornady 30 gr V-Max will group under 0.5" at that distance. Best killers for me on everything bigger than rabbits is the CCI Gamepoint ammo.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bladeracer » 17 Aug 2020, 5:13 pm

eddievic wrote:The 22mag is good for foxes and smaller animals. I had one honestly didn't really get used. The cost of ammo is near enough of 223. and like all rimfire need to test a lot of different types of ammo to find a good one... unless you get lucky.

Probably good for someone who is limited to rimfires.

Thanks


I had a WMR as well and rarely used it. I had a .222Rem that shot reduced loads more accurately than the WMR.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by mickb » 17 Aug 2020, 5:50 pm

One of my mates has been using one for decades on his banana plantation for pigs. Shots are usually 80m or less, often over baits at night. Headshots work but he often kills with bodyshots as well. These arent massive pigs, the biggest push probably 90kg. I think he uses one of the standard weight softpoints at about 1875fps.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bigrich » 17 Aug 2020, 6:17 pm

bladeracer wrote:
eddievic wrote:The 22mag is good for foxes and smaller animals. I had one honestly didn't really get used. The cost of ammo is near enough of 223. and like all rimfire need to test a lot of different types of ammo to find a good one... unless you get lucky.

Probably good for someone who is limited to rimfires.

Thanks


I had a WMR as well and rarely used it. I had a .222Rem that shot reduced loads more accurately than the WMR.


this is my thinking as well . i've come across some good deals on 22 mags lately , so i've been giving the caliber some consideration . but in essence i probably can use my more flexable 222 . i guess i'm trying to come up with a excuse to buy another gun .......... :lol:

due to a lack of opportunity and bunnies in south east queensland i'm thinking about letting my cz 22lr go , i've got a silly accurate weihrauch 22 air rifle for plinking. very quiet plinking . which is a advantage for my location and conveinience

22 mag does hold appeal for me as something i don't have to reload for , that isn't overly loud and as a preivious poster said they can knock a pig with a well placed shot . they don't have the range of a 17hmr but they can tackle much bigger game . hmmm . i think a 22mag isn't a bad idea after all ....... :P

some of you guys are a bad influence on me :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: 22 mag

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Aug 2020, 6:59 pm

Mate, stick to the 222 and down load it. 22 mag was never known for its accuracy. But some AR2206H should do the trick
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Re: 22 mag

Post by boingk » 17 Aug 2020, 7:53 pm

animalpest wrote:I have found in my rifle that Hornady 30 gr V-Max will group under 0.5" at [75m].


I second this. You can get bricks of 200 rounds for about 70 bucks, too. The little 30gn's are zipping along at 2200fps so not hanging around. They always run well out of my old Mossberg New Haven. It shoots well enough that I can take rabbits and pea-hens out to about 150m pretty easily.

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Re: 22 mag

Post by bigrich » 17 Aug 2020, 8:06 pm

thanks for all the opinions guys :thumbsup:
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bladeracer » 17 Aug 2020, 9:03 pm

bigrich wrote:22 mag does hold appeal for me as something i don't have to reload for , that isn't overly loud and as a preivious poster said they can knock a pig with a well placed shot . they don't have the range of a 17hmr but they can tackle much bigger game . hmmm . i think a 22mag isn't a bad idea after all ....... :P

some of you guys are a bad influence on me :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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I did consider getting a WMR just for reloading :-)
I did some experimenting with jacketed bullets in .22LR with little success, the brass is not strong enough to push a jacketed bullet much above 500fps (and 400fps is more realistic to avoid case blow outs), even .223" bullets, so it offered no advantage over factory ammo. WMR is designed to use jacketed bullets already, so I could experiment with different bullets, but I don't see any practical reason for doing so. You could use it for subsonic .22LR-levels with jacketed bullet accuracy and ballistic coefficient, but lots of centrefires already let you do this, and are not limited by twist rate like the WMR.

Damn, now I'm also thinking of getting one again :-)
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Re: 22 mag

Post by mickb » 17 Aug 2020, 9:32 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Mate, stick to the 222 and down load it. 22 mag was never known for its accuracy. But some AR2206H should do the trick


My mate looked at this but they end up a bit noisier as 222 even with reduced load is 3x the powder. 22 WMR has only 5-6 grains in the case.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bladeracer » 17 Aug 2020, 9:44 pm

mickb wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Mate, stick to the 222 and down load it. 22 mag was never known for its accuracy. But some AR2206H should do the trick


My mate looked at this but they end up a bit noisier as 222 even with reduced load is 3x the powder. 22 WMR has only 5-6 grains in the case.


Not now that we have Trailboss, it's one-third the density of normal powders. If the .222 case holds 21gn of AR2206H, it'll only hold about 7gn of Trailboss, I wish I had TB when I was a kid, I did all my experimenting with IMR4198.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Aug 2020, 9:44 pm

mickb wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Mate, stick to the 222 and down load it. 22 mag was never known for its accuracy. But some AR2206H should do the trick


My mate looked at this but they end up a bit noisier as 222 even with reduced load is 3x the powder. 22 WMR has only 5-6 grains in the case.


Another option is fast shotgun powders like red or green dot. I'm currently using 7.6 gr of AS50 N in my 223 as a squib load. 55gr Sp doing about 2200fps. Noise is about a 22mag or a tad more
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Re: 22 mag

Post by mickb » 18 Aug 2020, 6:17 pm

Thats why I didnt say pistol/shotguns powders in 222 fellas. Comment was AR2206H

Trailboss for the record I dont think would get 22WMR speeds.

Red dot, bullseye, AP50 will all work in bigger cases yes and get the speed. But I'd be interested to know if they are markedly more accurate than 22WMR? Thats a small amount of powder rattling around in a big case. It will ignite safely but how stable is the velocity spread? Shot any groups with that one old bloke?
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Oldbloke » 18 Aug 2020, 6:44 pm

mickb wrote:Thats why I didnt say pistol/shotguns powders in 222 fellas. Comment was AR2206H

Trailboss for the record I dont think would get 22WMR speeds.

Red dot, bullseye, AP50 will all work in bigger cases yes and get the speed. But I'd be interested to know if they are markedly more accurate than 22WMR? Thats a small amount of powder rattling around in a big case. It will ignite safely but how stable is the velocity spread? Shot any groups with that one old bloke?


Fair question. From memory.

EDIT: For 7.6 grain load of AS-50 in my 223
Case is a little over 50% full. So should be safe.
1" @ 75 yards. About 4" drop @ 75 yards from normal 223 load. If your keen I have pics of groups some where.

Yes TB is an option but I understand may be limited in speed. No experience tho
Last edited by Oldbloke on 18 Aug 2020, 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by bigrich » 18 Aug 2020, 6:51 pm

i was giving some thought to reduced 222 loads , and considered projectile performance , or lack of ,in terms of expansion . then i remembered about thin jacketed hornet specific projectiles . but damn, my 222 was rebarreled with 1-12 twist . it doesn't like the light bullets that much . i'm thinking more about getting a fresh 1-14 twist for it .
40 vmax's shoot awesome one hole groups with that twist as well
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Shootermick » 18 Aug 2020, 7:48 pm

I’ve got a Ruger American, Winchester 9422M and a Henry Frontier all in 22 mag. I use the Hornady V Max 30 gr as well, they seem to shoot pretty nicely out of all the rifles. I put a few boxes of CCI maxi mag 40 gr through the Winchester and it liked them too.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Oldbloke » 18 Aug 2020, 7:59 pm

bigrich wrote:i was giving some thought to reduced 222 loads , and considered projectile performance , or lack of ,in terms of expansion . then i remembered about thin jacketed hornet specific projectiles . but damn, my 222 was rebarreled with 1-12 twist . it doesn't like the light bullets that much . i'm thinking more about getting a fresh 1-14 twist for it .
40 vmax's shoot awesome one hole groups with that twist as well


Don't assume. Try some loads.
What bullets do u have now?
Do you have any shotgun or pistol powder in stock?
What is the I ntended use?
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Re: 22 mag

Post by mickb » 18 Aug 2020, 9:37 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Fair question. From memory.
Case is a little over 50% full. So should be safe.
1" @ 75 yards. About 4" drop @ 75 yards from normal 223 load. If your keen I have pics of groups some where.



I was talking about the 7.6 grain load of AS-50.
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Re: 22 mag

Post by Oldbloke » 18 Aug 2020, 10:54 pm

mickb wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Fair question. From memory.
Case is a little over 50% full. So should be safe.
1" @ 75 yards. About 4" drop @ 75 yards from normal 223 load. If your keen I have pics of groups some where.



I was talking about the 7.6 grain load of AS-50


Yep that's what I'm talking about. Will edit the post for clarification.

EDIT: Duplicates one of the Hoernet loads in the ADI Manual
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Re: 22 mag

Post by womble » 19 Aug 2020, 4:52 am

Just my opinion, but probably a cartridge that’s had it’s day.
30 years ago it was a handy all rounder for farming. Comparatively cheap to run. It’s still a good choice for euthanasia in bad times.
But now people more commonly own different guns For different jobs instead of a couple of multi purpose.
There are some beautiful older levers out there chambered in it that are hard to pass up when you come across them.
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