Testing the lethality of 22 LR standard velocity round

[DMac]

I thought this was an eye opening read and worth sharing:

Lethality of the 22 LR standard velocity round (http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=503007#Post503007)

[JJ.G0ldD0t]

Wow that was interesting...

Expect this to be poo pooed much. :)

[Dogman]

Shot placement is everything!

[SLV^GLD]

I'm not here to poo-poo, the 22LR kills more civilians in gun accidents than any other round because A) it is cheap and popular and B) because it penetrates.

What it does not do is create much of a wound channel. It is basically equivalent to being run through with a BBQ skewer. Shot placement, therefore, is key.

[DMac]

Wow that was interesting...

Expect this to be poo pooed much. :)

No doubt.

While (resounding yes) shot placement is key, I think the 22 lr is an overly crapped on round. Given the fire sale price of 22lr rounds compared to other calibers, it is an awesome piece of weaponry.

Cheap, fairly reliable and deadly. I love my Ruger, the first weapon I ever bought.

I was impressed at the penetration the author of that post demonstrated at 300 yards. I never thought that would be the case.

[madfranks]

Excellent read, thanks!

[midnight rambler]

Back when I was doing ride-alongs an incident was related to me about how some homies were playing dice and one of them having felt cheated went to his crib and retrieved a .22 rifle which held 16 rounds. He came back to the scene of the dice game and shot the party he felt was cheating him, emptying the full magazine on him. The shootee survived, and was not much worse for the wear when the cops arrived, up and walking around.

Now I'm not at all pooh-poohing the venerable .22LR, only emphasizing that shot placement is key* and the .22 does little more than what a bbq skewer does as was noted.

*you could ask Spider Sabich what he thinks of the .22 rimfire, but oops, he's no longer one of the living due to a single .22 round to the heart as a result of a negligent discharge when his gf was asking him, "is this how it works?" directly after he showed her how to shoot the .22 pistol - or so the story goes.

[LuckyStrike]

I remember seeing that thread a few years ago, interesting for sure.

Th .22 round is bar none my survival round of choice, I have killed my first deer and turkey with the round and dropped both like a rock. Yeah shot placement is key, but when you can easily carry several thousand rounds on you at a time it's not like you have to be the worlds best marksman if you got into a firefight.

To me the .22 can kill anything I would ever need to kill and is by far the most portable round.

[hoarder]

.22 LR is a great cartridge, I have several firearms chambered for it. But 150 yards? It's great out to 75 yards and then DROPS LIKE CRAZY.
I realize people shoot centerfire rifles of moderate velocity like .308 out to 800 yards, having to calculate bullet drop carefully. I think most who do it shoot at known ranges and only a tiny minority are capable of guessing range close enough to actually hit anything at that distance without using a rangefinder.
Most people who shoot at coyotes at over 500 yards do so with FLAT SHOOTING CARTRIDGES because they know they don't want to dilly dally around with rangefinders and memorized calculations when a coyote presents itself at those ranges for a few seconds.

The appropriate cartridge for a given task is one which does not require extreme skill and extra time involved in calculating distance and remembering bullet drop over a couple inches.

[Libertarian_Guard]

Someone needs to flame this thread, so I’ll step forward. The 22 is great for learning & practice, to a point. But enough is enough. My 22 days are long, long behind me, even though I have a 22 magnum rifle, which I favor over everything else at the rifle range. One fact alone, that no military has ever issued the 22 is telling. And being on a budget doesn’t justify having a substandard rifle that you might consider a battle weapon. If weight and distance are your primary areas of compromise, you might as well rely on a pea shooter. Just remember to fully load the straw up with peas, and since you’re close enough, one should hit them in the eye.

Now for a ruger pistol, as a back-up, in a worst case scenario, I might agree. But for a rifle, NFW!

[Awoke]

I shoot my Henry AR7 survival rifle with the kids at the range. (.22LR)

At 50 yards with iron (plastic) sights, I can maintain a 2 or 3 inch grouping, depending how many beers I drank the night before. It's an amazing little rifle, considering the size, weight and assembly.

But at 100 yards, it groups at around 8 to 12 inches, and about 16 inches low, if memory serves correctly. It's beena while since I bothered trying to shoot at 100 yards, so forgive me if I'm not remembering it right, but I know it was a remarkable drop.

[Dogman]

I would hazard to say, more game has been put in the pot with the .22 than any other caliber.

That would be hard to prove wrong! Any takers? ;D




1607

[Awoke]

No doubt Dogman.

Anyone here have any experience with the 177 Hornaday? How does it perform ballistically?

[hoarder]

But at 100 yards, it groups at around 8 to 12 inches, and about 16 inches low, if memory serves correctly.I zero my .22LR rifles at 72 yards. That is "the ideal point blank range". You can hit a squirrel in the head at any range at or below that with it zeroed at 72yds. At 100 yards it will be about 6" low.