Gun experts, your input for a .22 LR

Don't sell the 22lr short, it is a good little round.
Like any other round, shot placement is what counts, and with a 22 you can practice more.

Lets just say I have some more than that already. The point for a .22 is to exterminate the hogs I have around the farm causing me a lot of damage to fences and patches.

It's infinitely better than no gun at all. Practically all gun owners have a 22. Because the ammo is cheap, it's accurate, it's fun to shoot, you can shoot it all day without hurting your shoulder, and yes of course it can be deadly.

The issue is with penetration. If you are behind a car and someone is firing .223 or .556 at you, well it's going to go through the door panels and hit you. Same if you are behind a wall. A .22 will go through a wall or a car door if you are close enough, but at range it may not, or the bullet coming out the other side will have lost so much speed and power than it won't end the fight even if you hit.

So yeah, it's infinitely better than no gun at all but it's an inferior weapon.

And frankly, you will probably only need to fire a warning shot at distance to keep would be raiders from entering your neighborhood. They will just go to the next street where no one is firing back. In that case a .22 is fine (of course a 22 makes a distinctive noise, they will know that you only have a .22, but if your first shot CONNECTS like it should, they will probably leave you alone at least for now).

And oh yeah, you can definitely kill larger animals than a squirrel. It's pretty much a myth that you can't kill a large animal with a .22. The issue is with "stopping power". A large caliber bullet, when it hits, it hits with force. It's like having Barry Bonds hit you with a baseball bat. It knocks you off your feet, it puts you into shock. That's why the .45 caliber pistol was invented, because the little .38 everyone was using wouldn't stop a guy hopped up on cocaine beans running at you with a machete. The small .38 round would go though the guy but wouldn't knock him down or put him in shock.

So when you shoot a deer with a .22, if you miss the vital organs the deer will probably survive. Or at least survive for a few days, and you'll never catch it. If you hit a vital organ, you'll still have to track the deer possibly for many miles before you can collect your kill. So you have to shoot it in the head, and if your shot isn't square the bullet might deflect off the skull injuring the deer but not killing it. When you shoot a deer broadside with a .300 it just falls over from shock, quickly dying from the massive trauma the shockwave of impact sent through the deers body.

Same thing happens with a human. A .22 won't knock a berserking man off his feet. If the combat is already in close quarters you may be severely injured or even killed before the man succumbs to your .22 shots.

Of course if you hit in the heart or brain then it's over. But with a big gun it doesn't really matter where you hit the guy, because he's going to get knocked off his feet and fall over.

Hope this helps OP. Get the .22, it's infinitely better than nothing.

Get a Hornet

Its absolutely not useless unless someone with skill and a better suited caliber is trying to kill you. Then its pretty much useless.

But squirrels. They tasty.

Ruger 1022.

The greatest rimfire in history. Perfect out of the box, and millions of aftermarket parts. Get one and buy a BX2 trigger set for $70 bucks, your preferred optic and some 25 rd mags and you are good to go.

Technically you can still run with 1000 rounds of .22 ammo in your pack. .308 is a different story...

:dadd:

Ruger charger loaded with yellow jackets. I have hunted for years using this and had Zero problems. Small to large game. Yes, you can hunt deer but you better be a good shot.
Don’t listen to the crap about .22 cal lol to all BS. .22 is the most trusted round and also the worst to be hit with. .22 bounce around whatever they enter. LOL! Now I wouldn’t use it in a zombie apocalypse.

You don't re-load .22Long rifle...It's a rimfire cartridge. there is no (easy) way to reliably prime the case.

Hmmm... gotta keep that in mind. Thanks!

Ruger 10/22 for sure. Bought my son his first one for Christmas a couple years ago. $30 for 500 rounds we are plinking away during ammo shortages.

Beretta ARX 160

Can vouch for the M&P Sport 15-22. Haven't tried using it against hogs though, I'd be reaching for my .223 in that situation. I guess with proper shot placement and rapid follow ups it could be enough for taking care of a hog problem.

I've got an ammo can full of CCI. Wish I had as much .223/5.56 in reserve as I do .22 lr.

Yeah, I mean, getting face to face with these fuckers is not something I would advise. The 9mm and shotgun can do the job but only close range, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid...

Get an SKS or Mosin. Dirt cheap and sure fire hog killers.

22LR works for me! As others have said get good higher velocity ammo!

[link to www.shootingillustrated.com (secure)]

If you're looking for a survival rifle, you need to consider the following scenario:

- You're on the move, you don't need too much weight.

- You need penetrating velocity for bigger game

- You need capacity, think 30 round mags.

This is why AR's are the most popular gun ever made. This is why they're used by the military.

However, .22 isn't bad either for survival. It meets all the above qualities minus bigger game. You need one with an extended mag

There are some cool 9mm rifles too.

For that caliber......This ^^^^^^^^ with several 25 round magazines and a reasonable scope. I'm not a gun person, and somewhat a minimalist. I'm not going to last long if it goes to full combat mode, I have numerous neighbors that are quite capable, but it is a nice easy weapon.

Most of these other folks, no matter how well armed would actually last long in a real firefight despite their internet blather, period.

You need a dependable food getter and gimme'dat runner offer and the ability to carry lots of ammo in the case you do have to bug out to the woods.

Ruger 10/22 Breakdown.

BoL 80% done. Self sufficient in electricity, water and almost all food. This is not a problem for me.

It is the Israeli sniper rifle of choice!

That's gotta count for some reliability then...

All I can think about is bacon while reading this thread. Mmmm bacon. I'll just take the dead hogs. Are they gamey tasting?

The marlin 60 has a ammo tube and holds 15 rounds.

Well....
1 - They are a NIGHTMARE to skin. Very hard thick leather
2 - The meat is infested with tons of parasites
3 - They are not that fat, so very little bacon
4 - Meat is chewy and kinda tasteless

Youre going to reload 22 ammo?

most, if not all, states outlaw 22's for
deer hunting because they don't die so easily with
that bullet. they run off to far to be tracked or
become walking wounded for days.

do you think that shooting hogs are going to be any better?

you have to be a dead aim with a 22. poachers like it
because it is pretty quiet, but you better be a dead shot.

Well, I'll try.

.22lr will kill anything on the North American Contenant