Do you regard the .22 as a hunting rifle?

Like king and DFC said it is often used here to drop animals at slaughter time.

I rate it one of the best hunting calibers for fun and technique developement there is.It goes without saying buy an Anshultz.

Macca

Deaddog;

Forty gophers a day?  You've got to come see us in Great Falls.  If the sun's out & the gophers are up, it's not at all unusual to burn a brick in a day.  I don't bother to keep count of the bodies, nobody's paying bounty on them here.

As for the accuracy being good out to 35 yards.  Hmmm, not to be disparaging, but that's just not good enough.  We normally shoot from 25 to perhaps 125 yards with .22 rimfires.  That's not to say that I haven't shot them literally at my feet, but for the most part, your 'out to' is real close to our starting point.

If you'd have trouble bringing a gun along, that's no problem, I've got spares.

900F

CB900,

We drive around and many shots are less than 15'. I like those blunt nosed bullets because we need to stop the gophers from getting back down the hole. If you use just a standard HP too many get away. You need the tail to get paid. We have small rolling hills and they like to hang out just over the crest on the leeward side. The long shots just aren't there. I agree that the .22 is good to well past 100yds on crows and such and would love to see the kind of game you have in MT.

DD

When i was in high school, some time ago, we shot the "standard velocity" Remington  green bricks.  These were pretty close to the accuracy of 'target' loads of the day and a lot cheaper.  I also used it on small game because I always think accuracy is more important than velocity.  When the high velocity stuff poped up i tried them on small game, and i found I lost accuracy and on squirrels they blew up lots of flesh.  On ground hogs (6-14#) they never killed even on head shots the hogs made it to the hole shaking and dizzy.  I'm sure those hogs were dead in the den, but the lighter bullets with higher velocity, just didn't anchor like the old std velocity 40 gr stuff.

Years later when my son was hunting small game along with my nephew (two 12 year olds then), they loved the hype of the stingers et al.  Remington doesn't seem to make those old std velocity green box anymore.  Now for hunting I buy target 22rf I still prefer the extra accuracy to the extra velocity.  Old farts don't change, and i only hunt a few boxes of 22rf a year so cost is no problem.  If I was hunting range rats and shooting a brick a day, I'd probably give in on a $ issue.

I'm restricted for a few months.  BUT me thinks that the doctor and my wife will not notice if I shoot a 22 and 22 rfm.  So today I'm trying to hitch a ride to Gander Moountain to get a couple hundred 22rf and rfm.

BEAR 

900f,

I'm on my way to Gander Mountain in 5 minutes, I'll buy a brick on your recommendation.

how is the bike...haven't hear much about your wheels lately?????

My Kawa is in the shed....needs an inspection...but I can't drive it for another 2-3 months.  I want my brothers to load it on a trailer and I'll take it to get state inspection so it will be 'ready' when I am.

BEAR

Yes, the .22 is a real hunting rifle. Actually there have been times when I took more game with a .22 pistol than I did anything else; that might have been opportunity though, more than hunting. A .22 will prove the most useful hunting arm you ever own in the long haul IF you are into mixed bag small game hunting and foraging for the skillet while you work in the woods or on the farm or ranch. Heck, I've even taken small game birds with a .22 rifle once or twice in my more opportunistic youth. They fried up nicely, and guess what? No birdshot to pick out. I don't think I could live in the woods without a .22! AW

while plowing fields I use to carry a S&W k-22 revolver.   Often pheasants would forage in the plowed furrows for bugs.  I dropped a lot of ring-necks with that 22.  I'd like to say I was shooting them in that ringed white eye.  But most were body shots with 40 gr solids, those std vel Remingtons.  they would just sit down whne hit.  Next pass with the tractor, I'd raise the plows, stop and pick up the bird.

They made a nice dinner. 

Sitting grouse i low branches are not real sporting with a 12 guage, but with a 22 rifle or pistol they are a challenge.  I do remember shooting at one in a branch of a wild crab-apple about 4 foot of the ground.  First shot missed and it stayed.  Second shot broke the dead branch and it jumped one branch higher, third slot cut some tail feathers, and it jumped down to abranch about 3 foot high.  Fourth shot was a head shot.  Practice makes perfect.  I've seen  grouse hang there tight for long periods.  I often thought they were drunk on fermented berries.

BEAR

BEAR

Bear;

I'm shooting the P-P's outta either my Ruger 77/22 or the Volquartsen.  They'll chrono in the high 1100's over the Oehler 35P in my world.  Which because I'm either egotistical (wife) or drunk (wife) constitutes the real world for me. Ah hell, if it weren't for tabasco, it'd all be bland.

900F