.22lr vs. .22wmr

[PisnNapalm]

I'm in the market for a rifle. I can't decide if I which .22 I want to go with.

How much more accurate will a .22wmr be at 100 yards as compared to a .22lr? Is there any major difference other than the cost of the ammo?

I will be target shooting with this rifle. I shot a friend's Marlin this past weekend and enjoyed it a lot. The trigger pull seemed a bit high though. I've been looking at the Savage model 93's with the accutrigger. Do any of you have experience with them?

I will want to mount a scope on it as well.

[Rule10b5]

The inherent accuracy of a given cartridge is, for the most part, the same as any other cartridge.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Sure, but they're damned far and few between.

Accuracy turns on the firearm, bore, throat, crown, barrel, lockup, -- any one of a thousand physical factors about the firearm -- but not the cartridge. As long as the cartridge is loaded in such a way that it will ignite the powder in a consistent fashion, shot to shot, you're going to have a baseline from which you can build a rifle as accurate as you'd like.

Everytime I read a gun rag where someone talks about a new cartridge and how he was interested to learn that the cartridge had a high potential for inherent accuracy, I giggle to myself. Of course it has potential for accuracy -- every cartridge does.

When people talk about accurate cartridges (and I mean people who aren't writing for a gun rag), they're often talking about the way that a given bullet behaves in response to factors outside the gun (wind, pressure, humidity). That's different.

For example, the ballistic coefficient of any given caliber (basically being more streamlined) will vary based on the bullet shape -- the higher the BC, the flatter (relative) trajectory the bullet will have at a given speed.

Sorry to give all this background, I should have just answered your question:

.22LR and .22WMR are both capable of the same level of accuracy. The .22WMR is capable of more velocity, which means (in brief) that it is more useful at longer ranges because it will retain more energy over a longer distance. The "drop" of the bullet at any given range will also be less because it is traveling faster than .22LR and, thus, gravity has less time to act on the bullet before it passes a given distance.

It's just a question of which you want to shoot.

I would suggest .22LR. I, absolutely, would not buy .22WMR unless you're going to be hunting small game/varmint at extended ranges, or unless you have a bug for the caliber.

Why?

You're shooting at 100 yards. Drop isn't an issue when you have a defined distance, because you zero your scope and you're done. The bullet will hit where you aim at 100 yards -- who cares what the drop is at 200 or 300 yards? You aren't shooting that far? Who cares what the rise is at 50 yards? Not you

You're target shooting. That means volume. .22LR is MUCH cheaper to shoot than .22WMR. A "brick" of 500 rounds of .22LR can be had for $10-$15. You'll pay $10 for 50 of .22WMR.

Greater ammo variety. Every company makes .22LR, for whatever use you can imagine. You'll get much better target grade ammo in .22LR than you'll get in .22WMR. You're going to have to test a bunch of loads to see which your gun likes best. You can also find .22LR anywhere -- a lot of places don't carry .22WMR.

Variety. You can shoot .22 Short, .22 Long, .22CB our of a .22LR (though automatics won't cycle the other rounds). You can only shoot .22WMR out of a .22WMR rifle.

The accutrigger is great. I have nothing negative to say about them -- and Savage makes nice, accurate rifles.

[PisnNapalm]

Thank you for the great post. I'm sold on a .22lr. Now I just need to figure out which one.

The consistancy of the ammo is going to be the major factor in accuracy other than the shooter.

Thanks again!

[manyplews]

I agree with buying the .22LR,especially if you don't have a .22.
I have 5 .22's - 2 old Winchester bolt actions,2 marlin 39A's and a Marlin 56 lever action.
I;m about to buy another one,mainly for bench shooting.I believe the best available at a decent price($330 or so) are the CZ452 American or Varmint and for about $450-the CZ453 American or Varmint.The 452's need a Brooks trigger kit installed (about $15) and you can do it yourself. The 453's have an excellent factory trigger that is fully adjustable and includes an optional "set" feature.
You can look at these and other CZ's here:
http://www.cz-usa.com/products_rimfire_rifles.php?m=1

For a lot of info on all makes of rimfire rifles,including the expensive match rifles,go here:
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/

The guys will be happy to answer all of your questions.
Have fun !!

[Holleta]

Great stuff above. A 22 LR is.....well.....a 22 LR!!! Perhaps the greatest cartridge ever invented. It's cheap, the guns are cheap, they are fairly quiet, no recoil, ammo and guns for it are abundant and everywhere. Get one...or two or three!! A 22 LR probably introduced more people to shooting than all other calibers combined.

Before I would consider a 22 WMR (I had one but sold it because of ---> consider the 17 HMR! The 17 HMR is a fine cartridge and very accurate. It shoots flatter and longer than the 22 mag and cost for ammo and guns are similar. There are some very nice rifles chambered in it (bull barrels, good triggers) that are very, very accurate and priced quite reasonable too (around $200).

[st.marys]

Regardless of which caliber you buy, my preference would be for the WMR, but that's because I would be hunting with it. CCI has some amazing ammo coming out for both calibers.

[manyplews]

Regardless of which caliber you buy, my preference would be for the WMR, but that's because I would be hunting with it. CCI has some amazing ammo coming out for both calibers.

Depends on what you are hunting.For squirrel,the added noise of the magnum is a negative.For varmints,fox,or turkey,it is a 100 yard gun and shots have to be placed carefully.
For anything I'd need more than the .22lr for,I'd rather use my .218,a hornet,or the .223.
The centerfires named can be reloaded cheaper than you can buy the .22 Magnum rimfire ammo.
Jusy my 2 cents...

[fullauto223]

"Before I would consider a 22 WMR (I had one but sold it because of ---> consider the 17 HMR! The 17 HMR is a fine cartridge and very accurate. It shoots flatter and longer than the 22 mag and cost for ammo and guns are similar. There are some very nice rifles chambered in it (bull barrels, good triggers) that are very, very accurate and priced quite reasonable too (around $200)."

I would have to agree with HOLLETA on the .17 I have two one Marlin one Savage they both shoot 5rnds in a nickle size group at a 100yds scoped and sand bagged. But that does get boring. The WMR also has my vote if staying with the .22



thats my .22 cents

[Tomcat088]

You have gotten some great advice here, if you're shooting paper, you need to be shooting .22lr. You can get in more trigger time, just have alot more fun because you're having more trigger time, and aren't gonna see any differences on the paper. As Rule10B said perfectly, if you're shooting targets at known and set distances, it doesn't matter how flat or unflat the bullet shoots, you dial it in and you're good, acceleration of gravity is constant, so they'll all fall close if you start them out that way. There are alot of good .22's out there, and if you give us a particular price range that you're looking to shoot, we might can suggest rifles that will fit your budget best. Best of luck to you, and you'll love your .22

[PisnNapalm]

You have gotten some great advice here, if you're shooting paper, you need to be shooting .22lr. You can get in more trigger time, just have alot more fun because you're having more trigger time, and aren't gonna see any differences on the paper. As Rule10B said perfectly, if you're shooting targets at known and set distances, it doesn't matter how flat or unflat the bullet shoots, you dial it in and you're good, acceleration of gravity is constant, so they'll all fall close if you start them out that way. There are alot of good .22's out there, and if you give us a particular price range that you're looking to shoot, we might can suggest rifles that will fit your budget best. Best of luck to you, and you'll love your .22

I will be going with a 22lr. I'd rather spend more time behind the trigger than pulling money from my wallet.

As for cost... I'd like to stay around $300 for the rifle and scope.