Became a believer in the 22LR

[matt_3479]

This morning me, my best friend, my neighbor, my dad and my little brother headed out to do some coyote hunting. Now My best friend was shooting a 223. rem, i brought a 12 gauge thinking a 22LR wouldn't do much, and so did my brother and dad. My neighbor decided to bring a 22LR. We heard a dog bark and my buddy instantly jumped on the howler. About 5 minutes later a couple coyotes came charging out of the bush. The First one ran along the bush line and then darted back into the bush and we never saw him again. The second one came out from where the first one did and came straight across the field. My buddy took a shot with the 223. and missed and the coyote took off towards the west side of the bush and fence line where my neighbor was sitting. My neighbor gave a yelp and the coyote stopped at 87yards and the 22LR dropped him right in his tracks. **** nice shot. We took our 22LR's out that day and put water bottles out at 100, 150 and 180 yards and the 22LR's were plinking them off and doing pretty good damage. Wont hesitate to take the 22LR next time.

 

[winmag]

Gotta love a .22lr. Chaep and fun! and sometimes more effective than we think, depending on the situation.

 

[Forester]

capable on a perfect shot? sure

Zero room for error? yeah that too.

Seems like there are a lot of better, and still cheap to shoot choices than a 22LR for Coyotes. The last thing you need is crippled up Yotes running around causing more destruction.

 

[Eaglet]

I grew up around single shots 22LR. Not everyone could afford one. In Nicaragua was legal to hunt deer at night, using spot light on your head and
iron sights. I figure 40 years ago 22LR ammo was not as good as is today, yet we killed anything from rats to deer. Remember Nicaragua deer is not even close to be as big as a mule deer or white tail; still you had to hit them right, and ammo was so expensive you could not afford to miss. I remember the local gun shops would break open a box of 50 and would let us buy them by units. If my memory serves me right, a box of 50 round ran at about 9.80 Cordobas per box; back then 9.80/7=$1.40 per box (Dollars) and of course buying less than a box (by units) would be more expensive. My first kill ever was a large cotton tail about 12 yards away, shot him on the head because that's all I could see and my dad was so proud. He had only given me one round and said: "Young man, that's all you have!".
22LR brings lots of memories, laughs, stories... just a great little cartridge.
Sorry for making it so long!

 

[topbrass]

I like the .22 magnum rimfire because it shoots flatter and has more energy. It is a great dog gun as long as the round stays supersonic it has great accuracy. And it is cheaper too.

.22lr is just fine under 100yds. It becomes marginal on accuracy past 100 or 125yds, and drops like a rock.

YMMV.

 

[winmag]

Thanks for the story Eaglet. I remember when I was a kid, and daydreamed about saving the world with my 22(and my bb gun for that matter). Then like most of us I got caught up in the bigger/faster/=better theory. Do you remember the confidence you had with your 22?..... anyone?....... My goal is to get that confident with my hunting rifles. How great would that be?!? Youd know just what you could do at any reasonable range and be able to repeat it consistantly ALL DAY LONG.....
Kind of along the same lines, its sure nice to have a place like L/R/H, where guys can shoot whatever theyre proficient with to thier max effective range,and not be judged on caliber.

 

[Eaglet]

winmag, I know what you mean, I hear you!!!