22 mag opinions

[verge]

I want a rifle for target and chucks. I think I'll get a 22 mag. Cheap to shoot, but powerful enough for chucks. Or do you think a 223 is better? opinions please.

Given your choices I would go with the .223. If anything were on the table, I would purchase a .22 LR for cheap shooting and a .223 for longer range work. The cost difference in ammunition will pay for the .22 LR in short order.

[DavidTM]

I have all three in rifles. The 22LR, 22-Mag, and the .223. All three are vastly different from each other.

1) The 22LR is the lowest performer\hitter of the bunch. However, buy bulk ammo and you can shoot cheap with a low report (noise) and no recoil.
2) The 22-Mag is a bit priceyer to shoot than the 22LR. It's report is more than the 22LR, but much less than the .223. With the right ammo (I prefer the new Hornady 30gr. red tip) it is a one-shot dead groundhog out to 125-135 yards!
3) The .223 is a centerfire caliber and really not fair (as an above poster correctly stated) to compare to a rimfire. My longest kill on a groundhog with my .223 was 330 yards and I would have no problem putting one in the crosshairs at 400 yards. There is no way a 22-Mag could kill one at that distance. Now, when you pull the trigger you will know you are shooting a centerfire rifle. The BOOM is a loud crack!!!

Each caliber has it's purpose. You need to determine what purpose you want to fill, and then buy the caliber to fill it. Maybe you need all three? That's why I own several calibers.

Dave

[Noah_Zark]

I want a rifle for target and chucks. I think I'll get a 22 mag. Cheap to shoot, but powerful enough for chucks. Or do you think a 223 is better? opinions please.

I own rifles in 22 Magnum, 22 Hornet, and 223 Remington / 5.56x45 NATO. For woodchucks, IMO all three cartridges are interchangeable out to 100-150 yds. I've used all three on 'chucks, and from post-mortem examinations, IMO I do not believe the 'chucks would have been able to tell the difference.

As for the 22 Magnum, my rifles include four leverguns: Marlin 57M "Levermatic", Marlin 1894M, Winchester 9422M, and a Ruger 96M; and one boltgun, a Mossberg 640K "Chuckster". Every one of them is scary-accurate and can hit better than I can hold. Clay pigeons laying upright on edge on the 100-yd berm are in mortal danger, and I rarely miss. I buy 22 Magnum cartridges for between $9.50 and $10.00 for 50 rounds, or an average of $0.195 per round.

As for prices on 22 Hornet, a local shop has Prvi Partizan 50-rd boxes for $25, and Winchester for $32. That's $0.50 and $0.64 a round, respectively if not reloading. Choosing the right powder, primer, and bullet you could reload 22 Hornet for around $0.15-$0.16 per round, not counting time at the bench.

Regarding 223 Remington, a case of 1000 rounds is about $279 in my area now, or almost $0.28 a round. Reloading costs for .223 are about the same as those for 22 Hornet, give or take. Say you save a nickel a round for reloading a centerfire 22 cartridge compared to the cost of purchase of 22 Magnum ammo; that equates to $2.50 a box of 50 cartridges. It takes about an hour to fully process 50 fired cases into reloaded cartridges with a single-stage press. There are days when my time is worth $2.50 an hour to load 50 cartridges because I have the time and enjoy the solitude of reloading. However, most days my time is worth 25 times $2.50 an hour.

Conclusion? The 22 Magnum is a capable woodchuck cartridge, no question. And while you CAN reload 223 or 22 Hornet for less money that you can buy 22 Magnum cartridges, you need to look at owning and shooting the 22 Magnum sort of like buying stuff at WaWa, Sheetz, or Snappy's -- you pay a bit more for the convenience.

JMO, as usual.

Noah

[Hog Sniper]

I think it would depend on where you are going to do most of your shooting. I have a bunch of guns for different areas where I shoot. My go to ground hog gun is a Rugerr 77 in 22 MAG. It shoots great and isnt very loud. Most of my shooting is done on horse and cattle farms. The farmers often times dont even know I'm out there. The 223 is a different story..Very loud and will bring attention from the animals, neighbors, etc. Now if I'm hunting open fields where the noise is not a problem, the 223 will do everything the 22 mag will do but farther and faster..