Caliber question

The only thing I used my 22 mag for was squirrel hunting. I set it up shooting eggs at 100 yards. My ratt terrier would run the squirrel up the tree then when the squirrel turned back around to chatter at my dog I'd put a cci through it's neck.
 
My uncle used to use a .22 mag for coyote and raccoon's. He was good to about 100 yards but he was a heck of a shot with it.
 
I've never understood the benefit of hunting with either of them. If it is small game I'm hunting, the standard .22LR kills them just as dead and costs a fraction of what .22Mag and .17HMR costs to shoot. If it is bigger than true small game, then I'll pull out a centerfire caliber. I just can't see the niche benefit of either caliber.
 
I shoot the following: raccoon, coyote and like sized game - 100yds max for .22WMR and 17HMR.

Anything bigger gets a centerfire cartridge. Anything smaller (rabbits, squirrels etc.) and I scale down to .22lr (and if we're really close even .22short).

All varmints that end up in my traps around the garden, coop and house leave by way of a single .22short from my Single Six.
 
A deer if its all I had and I never understood getting one either. They are both rather expensive and a 22 LR will do everything both of them will do and alot cheaper. I dont know maybe its just me.
 
fox or similar. the 17 and 22mag have there place. 22 starts to lose its sting at about 80m or so. 17hmr is a deadly accurate rabbit/ fox gun to 150m or so. great caliber. i didn't see there worth either till i tried one, defiantly worth a look :)
 
If it were legal, I'd consider taking deer with my 22 MAG. Brain shot at distances out to 75 yards or so would be lethal. But I'm a lawful sportsman and will not hunt deer with a banned rimfire cartridge such as 22MAG. It comes down to ethics and sportsmanship.

22MAG hits like a little grenade and kills far better than mere paper charts would suggest. Very deadly on coyotes, turkeys, etc.

Jack

Marlin22MAG.jpg
 
Coyote,groundhog & beaver mostly.And once or twice a year a Gator would be the biggest thing but only to finish him off.
 
If you watch the show, Swamp People, we learn that the .22 LR is the universal round for dispatching grumpy alligators. Now, skins are important to those hunters and they're killed at bad-breath distance, but all those folks wouldn't use that caliber if it weren't effective.
 
And people are talking about killing animals humanly and ethical? Coyotes with a 22 mag??? Yes it will, it will also kill elephants too but after a coyote runs off and dies 20 minutes later. For coyotes I like a 223 or bigger. But I'd have to question a 22 mag 9 out of 10 shots.
 
The Great Ross Seyfried said he used the .22mag on game up to 50 lbs. I cannot argue with that. Range is its enemy though. Past 125 yards it becomes the same as a 22lr at 40 yards. I've killed quite a few things with my automag II and I just adore that cartridge for hunting small game.
 
A .22 Mag on a coyote for a head shot within the accuracy distance of the rifle oughta ruin Wily pretty much right then and there. I'd stay close to my 50-yard comment, though...
 
yes a 22 mag would do a number to wiley with a head shot, humane kill? most of the times not but yes it would drop one. also how many people would make a head shot also at 50 yards? even a 22 lr would ruin wileys day at 100 yards also. Not saying you cant do a number on animals with that small caliber but just stating a 22 lr can really do the same and then we are also back and fourth about being humane or not. what is a box of 22 mag bullets run now? around 12 dollars or so, and same for the 17 and 22 lr bullets are around 2.50 or 3 dollars? I will continue to shoot the 22 lr. Sorry OP for getting off track!
 
The .22 mag will kill smaller varmint sized animals much more decisively than the .22 lr. I've shot big Texas jackrabbits with .22 lr's in nearly every kind of situation you can imagine, and believe it is marginal for them. I've seen many big jacks take multiple hits and keep on moving, sometimes up to 100yds.
I have also shot them with a moderate load in the .22 Hornet, which should be slightly better than the hottest .22 magnum loads. The Hornet just slaps em down, leaving a half-dollar sized hole out the back side.
I wouldn't hesitate to use the mag on a coyote, out to 50, maybe 75 yards. To say the .22 lr will do anything the mag will do is just wrong, in my opinion, of course.
 
Cotote/javelina/bobcat, choosing shots carefully. I stepped up to a 22 Hornet as a minimum caliber for these game though. 22mag is too big for small game but light for bigger stuff. Capable, but light. In my experience anyway. I killed my first coyote with a 22 mag. ~75 yards in the neck, did the trick.
 
Yes I'd shoot a coyote with a 22 lr even at 100 yards. I probably killed more whitetail than most and killed many out to 100 yards with a 22 lr and hit in the head they went down instantly. Not dead, just paralyzed them until I cut their throats. But yes it did get them.
 
coyote is the biggest thing i would shoot with a .22 mag. I don't own a .17 HMR but I don't like hunting anything other than squirrels with those small calibers. I ground hog hunt with a .223 and my normal coyote gun is my 30-30 lever action. The small caliber guns are deadly and not a toy by any means but I just prefer to use them to kill empty can, paper and the odd rodent. Leave the serious hunting for the bigger calibers. No point in risking wounding an animal if you don't have to.
 
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