.22WMR gopher hunters~anybody out there??
- Thread starter .22LRGUY
- Start date
Hey B~care to expand on your experience? The 93FV is what I have, and the 30 grain (V-Max in my case) seem to be what it likes. What range(s) are you shooting them at, what scope are you using, etc. Really trying to talk myself out of an HMR, because my .22WMR is more useful in Ontario. If it shines in the gopher-blasting role, I can use the $ I save NOT buying an HMR to upgrade this gun's scope and stock.
Velocity has almost everything to do with it.
Calculate out the flight times to the 300 yard mark that is on that chart, and the wind drift of the slow moving bullets looks pretty reasonable by comparison.
In twice the flight time to range, the slower bullet does not drift twice the distance.
I'm not a WMR shooter. I can reload for pretty close to the cost of WMR ammo, and go that way when I want to step it up from the 22LR.
I do want a .17 Ackley Hornet though!
Cheers
Trev
lots of good people around there, some can be tricky though....
stubblejumper:
thanks for the chart
it's good to see it visualized out. However, a problem I can see with it is the gusts of wind (well out here in southern Alberta, where 20 mph is steady with gusts up to 30 or 40 at times.)I'm sure it's still steady in comparison across the board with drift, but it seems the .17 just slides a lot more than the .22.
I hear you on the reloading option. 22 hornet is cheap, but even cheaper is using range 223 brass (I formed it into .222, but using an actual .223 would be less work). Using the cheapest HP bullets I could find at a gunshow over a reduced load using a few grains of 4227 (I think) yields similar results to the Hornet, gopher-at-150-yard accuracy, and cheep cheep cheep shooting.
This year I cooked up some 44 magnum loads over Trail boss. Some dead soft lead bullets with massive HP's at about 900fps: about as loud and as flat as a 22lr, and ten times as much fun.
17's have a disappointing splatter factor - especially at any sort of range. Even the 17 rem at 4400fps MV is nowhere nearly as impressive as a 204 or 22-250 at ~3600ish.
Same with the WMR vs HMR - splatter factor is about the same in close, and much much more impressive with the WMR when you're out past 70 yards.
Personally, I find that the wind impedes my own ability to hold the gun steady, which is a far bigger factor than the external ballistics. Kind of makes the differences between them insignificant in the gusty south alberta winds
lots of good people around there, some can be tricky though....
stubblejumper:
thanks for the chart
I'm sure it's still steady in comparison across the board with drift, but it seems the .17 just slides a lot more than the .22.
OK re-loaders...what about my .22WMR question? 
I've ordered-up a few options to try-out. The Maxi-Mag+V looks interesting.
Maxi-Mag +V # 0059
Maxi-Mag # 0024
Maxi-Mag TNT # 0063
So, if I can read between the lines...some of you shoot them with .22WMR, but it doesn't seem as though it's anybody's preferred round. Right/wrong? Is .22lr the most preferred by the high-volume shooters? HMR considered best, but over-priced for the #s you'll likely be shooting? Obviously, some want maximum explosion factor and shoot them with bigger centerfire rounds. Tempted to go with what my buddies are suggesting~the .22WMR will be great, but likely won't be better than the HMR effect.
I've ordered-up a few options to try-out. The Maxi-Mag+V looks interesting.Maxi-Mag +V # 0059
Maxi-Mag # 0024
Maxi-Mag TNT # 0063
So, if I can read between the lines...some of you shoot them with .22WMR, but it doesn't seem as though it's anybody's preferred round. Right/wrong? Is .22lr the most preferred by the high-volume shooters? HMR considered best, but over-priced for the #s you'll likely be shooting? Obviously, some want maximum explosion factor and shoot them with bigger centerfire rounds. Tempted to go with what my buddies are suggesting~the .22WMR will be great, but likely won't be better than the HMR effect.
22 mag
Years ago, I used to go down into Montana for praire dog shooting. The first year that Ruger introduced their 77/22 in 22 mag, I bought one and took it down for back up to my 222 Rem. I took one brick of Winchester standard hollow points, there wasn't as much selection then. I wished I had taken 2 bricks. I enjoyed shooting it as much as my 222, anything out to 150 yds was a sure thing, if I did my part, 200 was do-able. It worked great and I went on to use it for gophers, I also shoot a 17HMR and love it, probably prefer it, and both take a back seat to my 17 Ackley Hornet, more range and very little recoil. If you want to try a 22 mag, go for it, you won't be disappointed, is it the best? that's up to you to decide,,,, after you've tried it.
Years ago, I used to go down into Montana for praire dog shooting. The first year that Ruger introduced their 77/22 in 22 mag, I bought one and took it down for back up to my 222 Rem. I took one brick of Winchester standard hollow points, there wasn't as much selection then. I wished I had taken 2 bricks. I enjoyed shooting it as much as my 222, anything out to 150 yds was a sure thing, if I did my part, 200 was do-able. It worked great and I went on to use it for gophers, I also shoot a 17HMR and love it, probably prefer it, and both take a back seat to my 17 Ackley Hornet, more range and very little recoil. If you want to try a 22 mag, go for it, you won't be disappointed, is it the best? that's up to you to decide,,,, after you've tried it.
My Marlin 22mag loves Federal Premium's loading with the Speer 30gr. hollowpoint. Without a doubt the most destructive thing i've seen next to my .223. Plenty accurate and still a little cheaper than HMR as well. My only problem is my local gun shop never gets enough in at one time and they sell out quickly. If you try them, i promise you'll like them.
I'm trying to make the .22wmr my most used rnd after the .223, but seeing how I don't have gophers around here, & just started hunting foxes/yotes, my opinion is pretty useless.
I prefer .22wmr. It's just how I am, I have a personally hate for the .17 rimfires. I like big slow rounds. It doesn't need to make sense.
I prefer .22wmr. It's just how I am, I have a personally hate for the .17 rimfires. I like big slow rounds. It doesn't need to make sense.
kinggeorge168
CGN frequent flyer
I got hundreds last summer, using mine Savage model 93BVSS in .22WMR, also used 22lr target model and .17HMR....I like the .22WMR the best...Why? very simple...the wind factor...for 22lr closed shots (50-75 yards) and the .17HMR long shots (80-150yards) both on a windy day the hit ratio is down to maybe +/-70%. The rim fired just drift too much....using just superX .22WMR HP, I found it is very effective at the range appox +/-100yards on a windy day...and said nite nite in just one shot.OK re-loaders...what about my .22WMR question?
Maxi-Mag +V # 0059
Maxi-Mag # 0024
Maxi-Mag TNT # 0063
So, if I can read between the lines...some of you shoot them with .22WMR, but it doesn't seem as though it's anybody's preferred round. Right/wrong? Is .22lr the most preferred by the high-volume shooters? HMR considered best, but over-priced for the #s you'll likely be shooting? Obviously, some want maximum explosion factor and shoot them with bigger centerfire rounds. Tempted to go with what my buddies are suggesting~the .22WMR will be great, but likely won't be better than the HMR effect.
I hope this helps.
King
I got hundreds last summer, using mine Savage model 93BVSS in .22WMR, also used 22lr target model and .17HMR....I like the .22WMR the best...Why? very simple...the wind factor...for 22lr closed shots (50-75 yards) and the .17HMR long shots (80-150yards) both on a windy day the hit ratio is down to maybe +/-70%. The rim fired just drift too much....using just superX .22WMR HP, I found it is very effective at the range appox +/-100yards on a windy day...and said nite nite in just one shot.
I hope this helps.
King
It does, thanks! For some reason, even in low-wind conditions, I don't seem to shoot HMR as well as I do .22WMR or .22lr. I have no explanation as to why. Also, when groundhog hunting here in Ontario (they're WAY bigger than gophers of course) the .22WMR is much more effective than .17HMR. I've shot plenty with both, head and vitals shots, so I feel confident saying that. Anyhow, while I'd like to have a reason to buy another rifle, I'm going to stick with playing around with various loads on the .22WMR, maybe throw a scope on there with a little more magnification. That's the plan anyway. Still pricing-out some HMRs, but knowing I'd only be using it once a year, that idea holds less appeal.
BTW, the gopher in that photo looks like it died of natural causes. My buddy's 17grain HMR V-Max rounds seem to re-arrange gophers!
Not helping my decision process!! 
