Working on an article about the .22 LR cartridge and I’m looking for some input on the most popular cartridge of all time: What do you think is the coolest thing or most interesting fact with regard to this cartridge?
It's all about the shot.
Working on an article about the .22 LR cartridge and I’m looking for some input on the most popular cartridge of all time: What do you think is the coolest thing or most interesting fact with regard to this cartridge?
You can chamber it in about anything and shoot inexpensively, well the fully automatic versions will cost you in the current retail climate…
jim dodd
I have three cool things about .22s. The first is shooting my suppressed Tactical Solutions M-4 upper with iron sights off hand at 100 yards using a steel 8″ plate for a target. This duplicates the black of a hi-power 200 yard target in visual perception and allows me to walk out the back door and practice sight picture, hold, trigger manipulation etc without having to pack up all of my gear and go to the range with a partner and pull and paste targets all day. Excellent practice without all of the noise and trouble to shoot the centerfire hi-power course. I can also practice sitting and prone on reduced size targets and get a full days practice in just an hour or two.
The second cool thing is shooting my Sauer 3000 sniper rifle in .22 RF at targets out to and past 100 yards. The gun will shoot sub minute 10 shot groups with selected ammunition so all I have to do is look in the mirror for the reason in missing a target. Again, all the fundamentals needed to hit a 1,000 yard target with the centerfire calibers are necessary to be applied to hit the tiny targets.
The third is my Ruger 77-22 with a Pride Fowler Scope equipped with stadia lines in the reticle to allow hold on hits out to 200 yards with the proper velocity ammunition. It is right on from 50 to 200 yards with CCI Mini Mag ammo. Out of the box the rifle required a little tuning just as many centerfires do. So far I have been able to get ten shots at 100 yards with Eley 10X into 1 1/2 ” and I suspect that will be the limit. I use this rifle to keep the chipmunk population from taking over the flower beds and the living area of our property using improvised positions much like what would be required in the field on any big game hunt.
The coolest thing is not having to leave home to practice my perishable shooting skills.
Hope this will increase your word count a bit. I have written some things on .22s and I feel that it is often under rated for the benefits gained in honing one’s shooting skills.
All the Best!
George
There are three things I find interesting about the .22LR.
It’s a common baseline experience for most shooters. Just like military vets from any service and era can share stories about basic training, nearly all shooters can share stories about their .22s.
There are some gun owners who think a .22 is for “the little lady” or is a kid’s gun, and that “real men” should only shoot “manly” calibers. But every serious shooter I have ever met owns a .22.
And on a personal level, I can get a lot more practice within my ammo budget shooting mostly .22 along with a smaller quantity of larger-caliber ammo.
Beyond the stamens already said. The 22LR is surpringly acurate at long ranges. While visiting my gunsmith he took me out to his range with an Anchutz 22LR bolt action. He was able to coach me though shooting targets from 100yds to start and we worked our way all the way out to 450yds. Using Federal bulk ammo.
A recent thread on a online forum reminded me of something a bit beyond what’s posted above. Spent 22LR cases can be made to make bullets for .22 centerfire cartridges. That’s pretty cool, albeit there’s not many that do so anymore.
That is what my cousins and I learned to shoot on. My first rifle, Ruger 10/22 SN: 1719. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I could afford to shoot it. I could drill a dime with iron sites at 30 yards, and harvested many squirrels for dinner. Now days you can find any style or model weapon in .22 LR, and you can aford to practice your skills and techniques.
The price point is perfect for good target practice in this economy!