The almighty .22

I've probably shot close to a million rounds of .22LR ammo at various distance, some quite long, but for the life of me, I can't remember a very long shot that's memorable, despite having taken many. I guess it's because I consider any single successful shot with a .22LR on small targets beyond 100 yards to be more luck than skill, due to wind, ammo limitations and other factors.

Shooting .22LRs, I consider great benchrest scores, consistently small offhand groups, and 50 yard sporter groups to be the greater test of marksmanship, ammo, and rifle capability than extremely long shots.

However, I remember many long, great shots with centerfires, including a 500 yard shot, on a lying-down, half-visible woodchuck with a .30-06 and 2.5X scope to be right up there. An offhand, head-only-visible shot at a woodchuck at 200 yards with a .22-250 Rem was probably my best shot ever.
 
Years ago when I had more time on my hands I used to practice at 100 years with my Savage 87A and the best I could do was 2" groups at that distance but I could easily do .5" groups at 50 yards.

Tony
 
I once shot a bowling pin at 150 yards with a 1" barrel .22LR pistol. As I joke I fired off a round at the pin, it wobbled for a second and fell over. Naturally you know I claimed it was a simple matter of skill.:D
 
A crow at over 200 yards,,,

I was shooting .22 shorts out of my H&R Sportster,,,
Happily missing tin cans at 100 yard berm.

A grackle bird landed on the 250 yard berm,,,
I said to my self,,, "Self, why not."

I took careful aim and sighted way high,,,
No one was more surprised than I when it toppled over.

I'm usually doing good to hit 1 out of 2 tin cans at 100 yards,,,
And this with a pair of nice shooting sticks.

So I have to class the crow shot as well timed fortuitous happenstance.

Blind luck so to speak.

Aarond
 
For entertainment we would shoot flies at 100 yards......sprinkle a little Coke on the paper target, flies would be attracted by the sugar. Used Volquartsen custom barreled 10/22, 20X scope, and Eley Tennex ammo. You knew it was a hit when there was "bug blood" surrounding the bullet hole.
 
Did a ground hog one time @ 200yds. with a single six Ruger.
BUT it was after 4 or 5 warning shots does that still count. LOL.:D
 
Crow at 200+ yards

My situation is very similar to aarondhgrahm's:

A lonely crow flying very high heading towards me. I put my scope on him and moved until it was out of view and just shot. I heard a ricoche, it made an about face for a short distance, then fell straight down. It was dead from a hit in the chest.

True story from what I remember back in 1956 with my Remington 511 and a .22LR. A lucky, one in a zillion, shot.

(I lived in an area sparsly populated where shots like that were OK.)
 
My best .22lr game shot was a cottontail headshot at 85yds from prone w/ bipod. That cottontail made a ridiculously high series of complex backflips and landed stone dead. It was almost a Bugs Bunny level of death theatrics, which is what made it so memorable. I wish I'd had the prescience to do an Elmer Fudd impression at the time.
 
I have a friend who couldn't put rounds on target at 200 yards with his 30.06 and it put 5 out of 7 on a 8x11" paper with a .22. I was happy.
 
May not be impressive to others, but I was proud of it. First outing with my Savage MkII and I put a .223 case in the tread of a tire bout 50 yards off. About half of the case was still visible and I got it first shot. The things that made it most memorable for me was I was standing (no bench or sling) and I was using iron sights.
 
A shot directly to the jugular on a sprinting coyote from a 4wheeler at about 50 yards. I was leading and aiming for his head... But I missed his head and hit his neck.
 
Back about 30 yrs ago I shot a goose with a head shot while it was swimming on one of the farm ponds. It was about a 65 yard shot shooting prone from the dam of the pond. It was a stupid thing to do looking back on it. But as a teenager at the time it was just a challenge.
 
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