22 mag hunting ammo

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Freyr_255

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So my willpower broke down today and I picked up a Marlin 22mag (tube fed/stainless/laminate). Now my question is what kind of ammo is good for killing things where you intend to keep part of the animal intact...like a rabbit or grouse for example? Ammunition variety is a bit limited locally to it seems CCI Maxi Mag HP 40gr, Winchester Dynapoint HP(copper plated lead...rough looking ammo)45gr, Winchester FMJ(flat point) 40gr, and Hornady V-max 30gr.

I was kind of leaning towards the FMJ for things I wanted to eat and the V-max for things I wanted to explode and the CCI for larger stuff up to coyote. Thoughts and experiences with these ammunition types?

:cheers:
 
Vmax is very accurate in mu cz. I would just do head shots. I have a couple hundred of the bulk maxi mags that shoot pretty well also. Shot placement is key just like anything else. You can shoot a grouse with a 30 caliber and save all the meat if you hit the head.
 
hometownhero said:
Vmax is very accurate in mu cz. I would just do head shots. I have a couple hundred of the bulk maxi mags that shoot pretty well also. Shot placement is key just like anything else. You can shoot a grouse with a 30 caliber and save all the meat if you hit the head.
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Ever try and hit a ptarmigan in the head? Unless they are hunkered down hiding that thing never stops moving and is about 3/4" wide on a 3/8" neck. :p But yes if one stuck to head shots that works well but generally requires game to be sitting still and not moving which is not always the case.

:cheers:
 
Freyr_255 said:
Ever try and hit a ptarmigan in the head? Unless they are hunkered down hiding that thing never stops moving and is about 3/4" wide on a 3/8" neck. :p But yes if one stuck to head shots that works well but generally requires game to be sitting still and not moving which is not always the case.

:cheers:
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No, did hit a grouse in the head with a 30-06 though.
 
We head shoot ruffed and spruce grouse with pellet rifles and pistols and have for 40+ years... If you are making body shots then .22 Mag is too much anyway... You will loose a lot of meat... And FMJ's are generally not a hunting round as they don't impart enough energy in zipping right through... But it may work for you on Ptarmigan... You'll have to try them and see... Personally I would be either head shooting or shotgunning for birds... The maggie is a great gun though on fox/coon and up to coyote at shorter range. I like the Maxi-Mags best out of my WMR's.
 
Well, according to some people, they can shoot upland birds in the head on the wing, in the dark, blindfolded, with anything, up to and including an elephant rifle. A Prairie Chicken or Ruffed Grouse shot through the body with a solid .22 bullet isn't going far, nor will you lose much meat. Needless to say, a hollow point is..... well.....

But that's only my meagre 50+ years of shooting them with a .22. I can only recall shooting one grouse in the head, and I nearly missed that one! I only recently acquired a couple or three .22 WMR rifles, so I can't share any experience with that cartridge. Solids or FMJ should be okay.
 
"A Prairie Chicken or Ruffed Grouse shot through the body with a solid .22 bullet isn't going far, nor will you lose much meat. Needless to say, a hollow point is..... well....."

I don't know about a Prairie Chicken, but I do know that hitting a Ruffed Grouse through the body with a Federal 36gr HP will almost never plant them, I stopped shooting at them with a rimfire for this reason. The bullet zips through without any perceivable expansion. The only season I hunted them with a rimfire, I honestly thought I was missing them, the first one I shot after the snow was on the ground gave me an eye opening reality check, I wasn't missing, I was wounding them. However, on a Spruce Grouse, a body shot drops them like a rock with the same ammo, not exactly sure why the difference in muscle composition makes a difference to cause the bullet to expand on Spruce Grouse vs Ruffed Grouse. A 22WMR FMJ stops a Ruffed Grouse with minimal meat damage, Winchester 40gr JHP load practically explodes them.
 
V max in the head. (17 hmr scoped) Didnt have a single body shot last year, not to say I hit every single bird, probably only 2/3 hits at best, but the ones that go down are no mess, no meat loss, no looking. Thats the only way to go. I havent used a shot gun in two years for any upland game and wont go back. As for the coyotes, I dont usually use rimfires, but have used one of each before (.22lr, 17hmr, 22mag) and for the .22 mag, I actually had results with the Winchester H/S points in 40 gr. Took 3 with that so far, just convienece shots of no more that 115 yards. ( the rimfires are certainly not what I bring when I am looking for coyotes, but they have worked when I did my part)
 
kjohn said:
Well, according to some people, they can shoot upland birds in the head on the wing, in the dark, blindfolded, with anything, up to and including an elephant rifle. A Prairie Chicken or Ruffed Grouse shot through the body with a solid .22 bullet isn't going far, nor will you lose much meat. Needless to say, a hollow point is..... well.....

But that's only my meagre 50+ years of shooting them with a .22. I can only recall shooting one grouse in the head, and I nearly missed that one! I only recently acquired a couple or three .22 WMR rifles, so I can't share any experience with that cartridge. Solids or FMJ should be okay.
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I have almost as many years experience and I can only recall a handfull that weren't shot in the head... I don't get it??? You act like it is difficult to head shoot a grouse out to 30 yards... it is actually a very simple task, and I am inclined to think that you don't pay close attention to sighting your weapon before huinting??? We hunted with .20 caliber Sheridan C9 pneumatic air rifles and Benji .20 caliber HB20 pistols for 35+ years to the tune of 100-200 grouse and hares per season (on average)... 99% were head shots... when my son was 12 years old, he went 36 grouse in a row shot in the head without a miss (on the annual moose hunt)... we have had many such runs... no, we don't head shoot them on the wing... but it is usually no great task to get within 10-30 yards of grouse (here is where the poor folks in SoOnt call BS... I know, your birds are spooky down there)... from 10-30 yards we can shoot a nickel every single time... and so can you with a little practice. The beauty of the head shot, is the bird is either dead or unharmed, and they generally stick around until they are dead... also, in my experience there is significant loss of meat when breast shooting birds with LR and most certainly with WMR... anyway... all this is just our experience...YMMV.
 
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