Best .22lr round for Gophers? Stingers?

Suputin said:
IMO it is not quite as simple as that. If it were we'd all be using Lapua Midas or Eley Tenex. The problem is that solid round nose match bullet isn't as effective terminally. While gophers aren't big game I think we still owe any game the respect to use an effective expanding bullet in order to produce as lethal a wound as possible.

I did an awful lot of testing with my rifles and came to the conclusion that Winchester HP offered the best compromise of accuracy, velocity (for distance) and terminal performance. With this stuff in a high quality target rifle we can routinely headshoot gophers out to 80+ yds and have lots of one round kills out to 150+ yds. It is even possible to routinely reach out and kill at 200 yds with this ammo.

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There are rounds that are more accurate and rounds that are faster and more explosive but I have not found any that are as good all around.
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^ I agree with your choice Suptuin. In my 10-22, Mauser Es 350, and the TOZ-8, I find these all around, very good performing as well.
Nothing beats Quik-Shok for close up terminal performance, but these are the less than 50-60 yard maximum use only on preferably standing & visible targets. IMHO, not much beats out Power Points for long range accuracy on a smaller target and resasonable expansion.
 
I lucked out in that my 10/22 shoots Win 555's fairly well. They are inexpensive and, while they do not leave chow mein all over the prairie, seem to anchor gophers quite well. When I'm not feeling like a cheap bastard, I've yet to find a rifle that doesn't shoot Win Power Points well. They are a great gopher round with a full 40gr weight but with a truncated cone profile and a large cavity in the nose which drop gophers reliably
 
midnightpossum said:
What can you guys suggest for urban deer.... mostly mule deer... oh wait I can not discharge a firearm in city limits .... good thing too.... My cedar trees have been devoured and my lawn is full of Sh*t.. the herd in my neighbourhood is 14+ strong.
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I can testify that a 165gr cast gas-checked round nose bullet over 4.5 gr of Bullseye will exit the other side of a whitetails head at 45 yards and will be undetectable on the other side of the house (when fired from a 29" M96 Swedish Mauser). It will also shoot through an 8" live spruce at the same distance.

For those of you shooting RN lead in the .22 - get your hands on (or make) an SGB tool and put a flat-point on the bullet. You'll be amazed at the difference in lethality and you can actually hear it "whack" when it hits...

YMMV...
 
BrotherRockeye said:
oh ffs lads...they're gophers.

the best 22 round for them is the one that hits em!


:p
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We have different gophers here in Ontario. Actually, we don't really have "gophers", we substitute them with ground hogs. For ground hogs, you can't kill them with just any .22LR. These phukers are huge and don't go down without a fight. I have seen them keep running after a dozen stingers hit'em. These ground hogs are often so big, they have their own postal code. 10KG is not unusual for a big ol Ontario ground hog. I actually prefer to advance against them with a .223REM to ensure complete destruction. Overkill is better than underkill...
 
Ditchdogger said:
The right ammo for gophers is the Hollow point ammunition your gun likes best. I have a box or two of every hollow point on the market.
When I get a new .22 I shoot groups until I find the ammo it likes.
The best ammo is the one you can hit something with.
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I have to disagree here as HP isn't always the best answer for the bigger Ontario ground pigs, you need sufficient penetration and you get that (along with excellent transmission of shock) with a HV flat point bullet. Like I stated earlier, I haven't had anyone use an SGB profile and go back to HP unless it was on smaller animals and for pure volume shooting.

I do agree with the "hitting them" part...
 
i used to use cci blazers religiously, always found them super accurate. last year i started getting tired of all the lead fouling, so picked up a box of 333's.

Completely sold me. I bought one of those plastic ammo cans you see at C Tire and filled it to the brim with 555's and 333's.

Just as accurate I found, and the hollow points do kill the gophers harder. Plus, my 10-22 can digest over 1000 of them before it starts jamming. On busy days with blazers I used to have to bring patches out to the field and give her a quick cleaning after about 400-500 shots.
 
I too have had great luck with cheap Win ammo. The larger hollow points expand better and that means fewer get back down the hole. Plus, and perhaps more importantly, my current gun likes them.

I had a Kimber bolt action that loved the CCI Velicitor ammo, 3/8" @ 50 yards, very effective gopher medicine.

Really whatever your gun will shoot most accurately is best. A solid bullet that hits true every time is far more humane than a fantastically expanding hollow point that patterns more than groups.


Even gophers deserve a clean kill.
 
I like solid points, doesn't destroy the hide as bad, so they skin out better. Hollow points of any sort destroy the value fast.
 
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