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Anyone else out there like shooting their .22 at "extreme distance" (for a .22LR cartridge)? If so, share your experience!
I haven't been doing it very long (I've shot .22 all my life, but never to seriously see how much distance I can milk out of it with any sort of consistent accuracy), but it's quite fun and I can burn through 500 rounds for the price of 20 rounds in my .308 .
My setup is the exact rifle (Savage Mark II BTV) and scope (different brand, but 6-24x50) as this guy's:
I find shooting silhouettes (typically gong style 8-inch plates or 10-inch at longer distance, or different small animal shapes) at various distances at my local long-range rifle range is easy at 50 and 100 yards (of course) with virtually 100% hits, consistent at 200 yards (maybe 90-95% hits), and fairly doable at 300 yards--say 70% or so, that will improve with practice, I'm sure.
At 400 yards, it gets quite challenging and is heavily influenced by crosswinds (or really any wind), midday heat (yeah, I live in a desert), humidity, etc. I'd have to say that 400 yards is about as far as it goes without once-in-a-blue-moon luck. Most long-range scopes won't adjust enough in elevation to handle the bullet drop. I had to buy Burris scope rings with 20 MOA worth of down-slope inserts to give the scope enough MOA adjustment to handle it. For 400 yards (for the ammo I'm using) I need -50.5 MOA. Even at that, I have to go to my scope's limit and use the mil dot reticle to get the last few MOA's out of it. BUT, with good conditions, I can actually hit enough to know it's not just luck. Keep in mind that a .22LR bullet is dropping about 211.4 inches at that distance. It blows my mind that with a decent rifle and modern optics/ballistics calculation it can even be done with any consistency. In less than optimal conditions, of course, you may as well forget it. That .22 slug is heavily influenced by it's surroundings as it lobs in there to that target.
Anyway, it's a hoot. It's cheap. It's good practice for shooting much longer distances with a larger caliber. And it's definitely more challenging than hitting with my .308 to even twice or three times that distance (my .308's drop setting on the scope is -8.6 at 500 yards and only -29.5 MOA at 1000 yards, and is actually easier to make a hit).
And YES, I know I'm not going to do much of anything as far as damage with a .22LR at 400 yards. That's not the point. It's just fun and a cheap way to practice with the charts and scope. And not jerking the trigger or flinching!
So is anyone else interested in "stretching" their .22? Do share.
Anyone else out there like shooting their .22 at "extreme distance" (for a .22LR cartridge)? If so, share your experience!
I haven't been doing it very long (I've shot .22 all my life, but never to seriously see how much distance I can milk out of it with any sort of consistent accuracy), but it's quite fun and I can burn through 500 rounds for the price of 20 rounds in my .308 .
My setup is the exact rifle (Savage Mark II BTV) and scope (different brand, but 6-24x50) as this guy's:
I find shooting silhouettes (typically gong style 8-inch plates or 10-inch at longer distance, or different small animal shapes) at various distances at my local long-range rifle range is easy at 50 and 100 yards (of course) with virtually 100% hits, consistent at 200 yards (maybe 90-95% hits), and fairly doable at 300 yards--say 70% or so, that will improve with practice, I'm sure.
At 400 yards, it gets quite challenging and is heavily influenced by crosswinds (or really any wind), midday heat (yeah, I live in a desert), humidity, etc. I'd have to say that 400 yards is about as far as it goes without once-in-a-blue-moon luck. Most long-range scopes won't adjust enough in elevation to handle the bullet drop. I had to buy Burris scope rings with 20 MOA worth of down-slope inserts to give the scope enough MOA adjustment to handle it. For 400 yards (for the ammo I'm using) I need -50.5 MOA. Even at that, I have to go to my scope's limit and use the mil dot reticle to get the last few MOA's out of it. BUT, with good conditions, I can actually hit enough to know it's not just luck. Keep in mind that a .22LR bullet is dropping about 211.4 inches at that distance. It blows my mind that with a decent rifle and modern optics/ballistics calculation it can even be done with any consistency. In less than optimal conditions, of course, you may as well forget it. That .22 slug is heavily influenced by it's surroundings as it lobs in there to that target.
Anyway, it's a hoot. It's cheap. It's good practice for shooting much longer distances with a larger caliber. And it's definitely more challenging than hitting with my .308 to even twice or three times that distance (my .308's drop setting on the scope is -8.6 at 500 yards and only -29.5 MOA at 1000 yards, and is actually easier to make a hit).
And YES, I know I'm not going to do much of anything as far as damage with a .22LR at 400 yards. That's not the point. It's just fun and a cheap way to practice with the charts and scope. And not jerking the trigger or flinching!
So is anyone else interested in "stretching" their .22? Do share.
Nice,
Reaching out past 100yrds with a 22lr is accomplishing something in my opinion! I don't have a rig like that but I can reach out to 100 yards no problems. 200 yards is about 75% and 300yrds some where around 40%. 400yrds is just to much for my setup.
I love my .22 Mag, but it wouldn't have much more energy than a .22 LR at 400 yards. Even a .223 has lost a lot of energy (and drops considerably) at that distance. That's .22-250 and .220 Swift country IMO!
That being said, it's fascinating to shoot at extreme long ranges with lower-powered cartridges. You get to play with lots of bullet drop and "Kentucky windage"! Fun.
I used to do this when I lived somewhere that one could actually target shoot without people hearing it and calling the SWAT team.
I didn't do extreme ranges but 75 to 100 yards was standard.
Open sights on a 1940's vintage Remington. That thing was/is a tack driver. My oldest son didn't believe me but he found out the old man knew what he was talking about. Eyes are bad enough now that doing it are just memories.
For me, I consider 300 feet a max range for a .22lr.
I have taken some 20 deer with a .22. Most were with a old Montgomery Wards .22 bolt action rifle. I dropped each deer I shot with a .22. I will only take the eye shot.
400 yards with an LR.....lol that's a fair stretch for a 223. Leastways if your looking to do more than just hit. My 22 is far from being set up for anything past 100 for yote or jack rabbit size targets and a tote I would want inside 100 ifn I was going to take a poke with a22.
I agree completely. But I wouldn't try to down anything at 400 yards with my .22 Mag! Maybe 125 yards. I think my .223 might work out to 250 or 300 yards.
Yes, keep in mind I'm only talking target shooting here. I wouldn't even consider hunting or shooting an animal at 400 yards with a .22LR even if I were 100% positive I could make the shot. It just doesn't make sense. As someone said, that's what a .308 is for--and it's going to be far easier to do it. A .223 could handle it as well for certain critters.
As I said earlier, it's just the challenge factor of hitting with a .22LR at those distances (on a target). Not practical, but fun! Plus it's so much cheaper to shoot. It allows me almost limitless practice. Can't say that about my .308 -- I can burn a lot of money up fast with that. Speaking of burning up money, wait till I get that .338 lapua... if Savage would ever release the damn thing, rather than teasing everyone by putting it on their websight when it's not even available (Model 111 LRH .338 LM). That'll shoot 400 yards and ensure a kill on that rabbit.
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That'll shoot 400 yards and ensure a kill on that rabbit. 
