Any Alaskan Hunters Use a .22 Magnum Rifle? (living, stores)

[fletchman1957]

Here in the lower 48 it is one of my most used rounds for everything from squirrel to coyote. Just curious. Thanks

[Wanderer818]

ttp://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/

This site will give you a lot of info

[fairbanks101]

.300 magnum

[quakinator]

Originally Posted by fletchman1957

Here in the lower 48 it is one of my most used rounds for everything from squirrel to coyote. Just curious. Thanks

ROFL, squirrel would be about the only thing I'd want to hunt with a .22. I wonder how many .22 rounds you have to pump into a moose!?

No, .22 rounds are not good hunting rounds for anything other than rodents.

[mal_flisk]

I've killed a bunch of paper targets. Does that count? I mean they looked pretty tough when I was pinging away at them. Not one of them critters got away.

[fairbanks101]

ughh in that movie about the kid in the bus, he killed a moose with a .22

[BudinAk]

Common guys...he's talking about a 22 Magnum...not a 22LR. Huge difference. The 22 Magnum uses a copper-jacketed 40gr slug at roughly 2000fps. And they make an even higher velocity load these days, employing a special lighter bullet. The OP stated it was his most-used round, not that it was neccessarily the "best" round.

Some 35 yrs ago, I used to own a Savage bolt-action 22 Magnum when I was a youngster. Pretty punchy for a 22 rimfire. I'd say it would be fine for up to coyote-sized game, as long as the range didn't exceed 100 yards or so. No, it would not be fine for a moose, or any other big game, but I don't think that scenario was implied.

That said, I can remember when I was about 10yrs old (circa 1958): we had recieved a phone call from my uncle (who lived about one mile away), for all of us to come over right away and "see something"
When we got over there, I was just totally amazed to see this huge dead black bear hanging in my uncles garage. It had been raiding his garden. So he shot it. With a 22. A 22LR....eight shots. My uncle said it dropped instantly on the first shot, but the 7 others were for "just in case". He said his first shot was in "the ear", so the little slug apparently had entered the brain.
So...why did he use a 22? I don't know...I never asked him. I do know (for a fact) that he also owned a 12ga shotgun, and a Winchester 30-06. Either would have been WAY more suitable...

Bud

[fletchman1957]

Originally Posted by BudinAk

Common guys...he's talking about a 22 Magnum...not a 22LR. Huge difference. The 22 Magnum uses a copper-jacketed 40gr slug at roughly 2000fps. And they make an even higher velocity load these days, employing a special lighter bullet. The OP stated it was his most-used round, not that it was neccessarily the "best" round.
Bud

BudinAK - good bear story. Thanks for jumping in with your input. Yeah, there are a lot of offerings to choose from in today's .22 magnum line. Anything from a 50gr at 1550fps to a 30gr v-max at over 2200fps. I've shot them all but I keep coming back to the original Winchester 40gr JHP. This is one tough round! I also shoot a .22 Hornet and a .223, but usually the .22 mag is the first one off the gun rack!

[fletchman1957]

Originally Posted by quakinator

ROFL, squirrel would be about the only thing I'd want to hunt with a .22. I wonder how many .22 rounds you have to pump into a moose!?

No, .22 rounds are not good hunting rounds for anything other than rodents.

- From your reply, it would seem you have little or no small game/varmint hunting experience?

[spleenificus]

I know that out here the Yup'ik use .22 mag and .223 for seal hunting.
In fact, .22 mag ammo is available in most all small village stores I have visited, and they only tend to carry what local folks use.
And they should know, seeing as they rely on their firearms for subsistence living.

That being said, I used to have no real use for the cartridge, but am now considering getting a .22 mag rifle just to see what it's all about.
You can never have too many firearms, right?