22mag hollow points

[varminter]

fellas, I just got this new 22mag savage md93 stainless its really a beatiful gun but i cant find any shells that it likes so far i have shot CCI TNTs and they shoot groups about the size of a basketball at 100yds and the most accurate ones were the remington ballistc tips they shoot about the size of a quarter at 100yds but heard that ballistic tips out of a 22mag just dont have the power they need to fragment is this true? I have shot pop bottles filled with water and they have about 10-15 little BB sized fragments at the bottom i just dont think that would be good enough for ground hogs and fox if anyone has shot varmints with 22mag ballistic tips let me know what happend. So if i need to go with a hollow piont bullet i was thinking of trying federals 30gr hollow point or winchester supremes which ever one shot the best at 100yrds so fellas if you could help me out i would really be thankful!!

[Rocky Raab]

Only your own rifle can tell you that, varminter. They are as individual as people. Some like asparagus, some like broccoli, and some hate both.

If you're getting quarter-sized groups AND the bullet is fragmenting in water bottles, I'd say you've already found as good a load as you might. But try the others, too. You never know.....

Personally, I think the 22 Mag is a bit light for 100-yard g'hogs. Those are really tough critters to anchor - with ANY bullet from a 22 Mag. Fox are much easier to topple over, and you are fine for them.

[Evan03]

a big caliber wont exsplode a gallon jug of water thats 3/4s full at 100yds. just somethn about the geometry of hitn water with an air pocket. a gallon jug chuck full with very little are in it will explode.

[dodgercat]

I am somewhat of a coinsurer of the .22 mag cartridge. I have an Anchutze and a Marlin 882 SSV – both very accurate. I have done a lot of ammo testing and have found the Winchester Supreme to be the most accurate round out there for my rifles. The CCI and the Remington are not “ inaccurate “ however the Winchesters do group noticeably tighter. I think the .22 mag cartridge is far superior to the new .17 Hornady cartridge. There is all of this hype out there that it has a flatter trajectory, however this is only slightly noticeably past 125 yards, the .22 mag shoots a bullet that weighs nearly twice as much, almost as fast – just look at the energy comparisons – that’s where the advantage shows - the .22 mag makes about 300 ft. lbs of energy and the .17 Hornady doesn’t even make 200. I think once all of the hype it is receiving because it is new goes away, the .22 Mag will go on to significantly outsell the .17 in the future.

[jon lynn]

Varmiter................I have the standard barrel 93 (and I installed a EZ-Pull sear, works great), and found that the heavier the better. I use the Federal 50 grain HP, just a smidge less than 1" @100m.



The Winchester 40 grain gives me about a 2 1/2" spread,
I tried the CCI Gold-Dot (also 50grain) and got a 4" spread, but goodie for me, because the Federal is cheaper here in Nuernberg Germany. Almost anything else flys groups the size of a '68 Buick.

[DON WALKUP]

i've found that my NEF will shoot solids more accurately than HP's.

perhaps the miniscule weight difference between HP's and solids?

the "critters" that we take with the 22 cal rimfire firearms are normally not what would be considered as "tough" (squirrels, rabbits, prarrie dogs etc) and the 39/40 grain bullet they're hit with is somewhat akin to that of a human being that's been hit with a 35mm film cannister filled with lead traveling at approxmately 1000fps.

in my youth, many prarrie (sp?) dogs fell before my .22 singleshot using the .22 short. i learned to be patient until the correct shot was presented.

it's been my experience you have to "experiment" with all name brand and bullet designs until you find the one most accurate from your firearm. i believe accuracy along with bullet placement are the critical components of a successful humane taking of an animal no matter the size of animal or bore size of the firearm. all factors are relative and must be assessed before going afeild to hunt. (ie: i wouldn't use a .300 winmag to hunt rabbit with nor a .22 rimfire to hunt moose, etc, etc ...)

[Calif. Hunter]

While I like the higher velocity of the 30 and 34 gr bullets, my Marlin seems to like the cheaper Winchester 40 gr HPs as much as any other cartridge. Since they are cheaper, and I can shoot a whole lot of ammo at ground squirrels, I tend to shoot those the most. My gun did not like the CCI Maxi Mag +Vs at all, for some reason.

[DON WALKUP]

remington now makes a .22 mag in a jacketed soft point 40 grain bullet.

[jmarriott]

Originally posted by jon lynn
Varmiter............... I use the Federal 50 grain HP,

Try the Federal 50's. I get my best 75 yards groups with them and if I have to shoot 100 yards I step up to my .222.

I love my 9422M. As far as fox goes it is perfect, G-hogs I shoot in the head if I want to retrieve the body.

[TERRY8mm]

I have good groups from the ballistic tips also.
I recently tried the ARMSCOR 40 gr. sp and hp loads and both grouped very well.

BTW, the Armscor solids took a big ground hog the other day at 100 yds. 'course it was a head shot, so an hp probably would have worked too.

[jon lynn]

So, what did you decide?

[BigEn]

has anyone used the 22mag pmc ammo?

[gumpokc]

I've tried most of the .22mags out there (ammo wise) and i always go back to the winchester standard loadings in either hp or solid. they aren't quite as fast, but nice accuracy.

i've tried the pmc as well Bigen, and while they worked fine, they weren't anything spectacular either.

[gregarat]

Winchester Supreme ammo shoots the best from my Ruger.