# .22 Magnum vs .22 LR



## biggamehunter69

i was wondering wat the difference between these two calibers are.


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## Gohon

Power and down range performance. Using centerfires as a comparison it is about like a 30-06 to a 30-30. The 22 mag is roughly 65% improvement over the 22 lr.


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## Remington 7400

> The 22 mag is roughly 65% improvement over the 22 lr.


On paper it may be, in real life it is more like jumping from a .308 to a .30-06. My opinion anyways. Now the .22 and the .17 HMR, that is like jumping from the .30/30 to the .30-06.


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## Gohon

> On paper it may be, in real life it is more like jumping from a .308 to a .30-06. My opinion anyways. Now the .22 and the .17 HMR, that is like jumping from the .30/30 to the .30-06.


More than just on paper. Average 22 lr is around 1200-1300 fps, average 22 mag is about 2000-2100 fps. Since they both use the same bullet that translates into increased fpe also. You do the math.

I know you have one but the 17HMR will not match the 22 mag for down range killing power. A little flatter shooting and a little faster at a slight greater distance but the 17 is no match for the 22 mag for killing anything larger than a squirrel or rabbit with consistency , and yes I own both also. Actually you can load the magnum with Remington 33 grain V-Max Premiers and give the 17 HMR a run for it's money in the trajectory field and still come out ahead in the killing power. For sheer fun and shooting I reach for my 17 HMR for most game up crow size. But when it is time to get serious such as raccoons, opossums or maybe a fox the 22 mag is the obvious choice.

Here is some comments from the Chuck Hawk site on this subject.......

"There have been many systems devised to compare the killing power of rifle cartridges, most of them by people with a pre-existing bias of one sort or another. The best and least biased of such systems of which I am aware is the Optimum Game Weight (OGW) formula devised by Edward A. Matunas and published in the Lyman 47th Reloading Handbook. Matunas tried to account for a variety of factors, not just caliber or kinetic energy or momentum, the major failing of most killing power formulas.

Like all such systems, OGW is not perfect. I find that it seems to be most reliable when dealing with mainstream centerfire rifle cartridges on the order of the .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, .30-06, and .338 Win. Mag. Since we are dealing with much less powerful small bore cartridges in this comparison, I suggest that we view the following OGW information as a comparative tool, not as an absolute guide. That, in any case, is usually the best approach when dealing with killing power formulas.

The OGW figure estimates the optimum live weight of the animal for which the cartridge is best suited at any given range. Note that the OGW weight is not the biggest animal the cartridge will kill, merely the optimum size animal for that range. Also note that individual bullet performance is not a factor in calculating optimum game weight; it is assumed that the hunter will choose an appropriate bullet for the job at hand. And it is also assumed that the bullet will hit the heart/lung area of the animal; brain or spine shots would obviously result in much higher OGW numbers, but they are not considered. Here are our two best long range loads for OGW comparison:

* .17 HMR, 17 grain = 7 pounds at muzzle, 5 pounds at 50 yards, 3 pounds at 100 yards, 2 pounds at 150 yards, 1 pound at 200 yards.

* .22 WMR, 40 grain = 17 pounds at muzzle, 9 lbs. at 50 yards, 5 pounds at 100 yards, 3 pounds at 150 yards, 2 pounds at 200 yards.

The OGW figures indicate that the .22 WMR has superior potential killing power at all ranges. We could summarize by saying that the .22 WMR has about as much killing power at 100 yards as the .17 HMR does at 50 yards. Since its MPBR is limited to about 125 yards, the .22 WMR is probably the better choice for large varmints and small predators within the limit of its MPBR".


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## Remington 7400

> I know you have one but the 17HMR will not match the 22 mag for down range killing power. A little flatter shooting and a little faster at a slight greater distance but the 17 is no match for the 22 mag for killing anything larger than a squirrel or rabbit with consistency , and yes I own both also. Actually you can load the magnum with Remington 33 grain V-Max Premiers and give the 17 HMR a run for it's money in the trajectory field and still come out ahead in the killing power. For sheer fun and shooting I reach for my 17 HMR for most game up crow size. But when it is time to get serious such as raccoons, opossums or maybe a fox the 22 mag is the obvious choice.


So true, but all I hunt with a rimfire is squirrels. .22 LR in early season, .17 HMR when the leaves come off.

The .22 Mag is alot of gun, one I have a great deal of respect for, I killed my first coyote, groundhog, crow, squirrel, and **** with a .22 mag. But since I own a .223, .22 hornet, and .22-250, the .22 mag is almost useless to me now.

For the type of hunting I do with a rimfire, the .22 mag won't do anything that the .17 HMR won't do.


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## Gohon

> I hunt with a rimfire is squirrels. .22 LR in early season, .17 HMR when the leaves come off.
> 
> But since I own a .223, .22 hornet, and .22-250, the .22 mag is almost useless to me now.


Good point........ as I discover that reloading the Hornet up and down I may find my 22 mag collecting a little dust...... just a little.

17 HMR is just a little to destructive for me on squirrels. Besides as long as I can head shoot them at 50-60 yards with the 22 lr, provided I have a rest to use, I'll just stick with that. If no rest I can still get them through the shoulders at that distance with little meat damage.


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## Remington 7400

> 17 HMR is just a little to destructive for me on squirrels. Besides as long as I can head shoot them at 50-60 yards with the 22 lr, provided I have a rest to use, I'll just stick with that. If no rest I can still get them through the shoulders at that distance with little meat damage.


Unless I can get a perfect head shot with my .17 HMR, I hold dead center of the ribs, that way I do no or very little damage to the good eating parts (legs). I've shot tons of squirrels this way, and have never had one get away after being hit, just don't try it with a .22LR unless you are shooting Stingers or Yellow Jackets.


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## Bore.224

Biggamehunter69 to adress your question the .17 HMR is a 22 mag case necked down to .17 cal and fires a 17 to 20 grn bullet at around 25 or 2600 FPS. You get a flatter shooting gun than a 22 mag but pay for it with less killing power on larger varmints.


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