# .22 rimfire richochet?



## HectorHunter (Jul 30, 2007)

I intend to hunt squirrel and rabbit on my property in upstate NY, and was hoping to use my .22 LR rimfire rifle. But I'm a little concerned about ricochet.

Most of my property is on a forested hill, so I can shoot uphill and have plenty of "backstop" where no houses will be. The problem is that across the valley about 1000 yards or so are several homes on the opposite hillside.

Since the soil in the area has a lot of rock outcroppings, I'm concerned that a bullet could potentially reach one of the homes if it ricocheted off of a rock. Is this a realistic concern? Will certain types of .22 LR ammo ricochet less than others?

Thanks for any advice!


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

I don't think it would carry nearly enough power at 1000 yards but just to play it safe I would just get about an 800 fps pellet gun and it won't be a problem and you will be able to harvest a rabbit quite easily. If it feels dangerous to you then don't do it. I would think that a hollow point wouldn't richochet as bad because it breaks apart but I don't know. Or you could get some sniper subsonic .22 shells. They aren't quit as loud as a hollow point and they won't shoot as fast so they probobly wouldn't make it 1000 yards at all. They are about 60 grains I think and go about 900 fps. If you are shooting in the 15 yard range like I do they would be just fine.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Those sniper 60 grain sub sonics aren't worth a hill of beans unless you have a rifle that has a faster twist rate than most 22's have. Every 22 rifle I own will key hole at around 30 yards with those things. They're also dirty and will lead up a barrel pretty fast. Having said that there are other sub sonics on the market such as Remington's subs that are cheap and effective. Still yet, Murphy's law is Murphy's law and though I wouldn't think a ricochet would travel 1,000 yards, you never know. The ideal thing to do would be to buy a 17 HM2 if you don't mind getting another gun. The little 17 grain HM2 will fragment as soon as it hits anything and they are deadly accurate on rabbits and squirrels out to 80-100 yards. If a new gun is not in the picture then the regular sub sonics by Remington or CCI will help reduce the possibility of ricochets or maybe take a look at using the CCI CB longs which are only about half the power of regular 22 LR's and will work out to about 40 yards on both game. Another plus for the CB longs is they are quiter and don't seem to spook the game as bad as the crack of a regular 22 round. They won't cycle a semi automatic but you can manually rack each round into the chamber.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

Didn't know that they dirty up your barrel. I just read that they were slower and quieter.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Gohon is correct about the keyhole. The only thing they have shot well in, for me, was a revolver with a fast twist.
The longer heavy bullet carries up better and at 100 yards they have more energy than the high speed 22's. What this means is if a 22 is going to ricochet 1000 yards, this is the one that will do it.
One of the lowest velocity 22's (other than CB caps) are the old Winchester Dynapoint. I find them at KMart in boxes of 500 for $13.88. They are about the most accurate round I have found in many of my 22's. As far as a 1000 yard ricochet I have no idea. Considering they will travel about a mile (1760 yards) I doubt they would ricochet 1000 yards as most often a lot of energy is used up when the bullet strikes a surface. Also the one mile is with a perfect bullet. A soft 22 bullet would deform some on impact thus greatly reducing it's maximum range.
However, when in doubt play it safe.


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## diggity (Jan 26, 2007)

http://yarchive.net/gun/maximum_range.html

This pretty much sums it all up folks. Season's about a month away, I am so excited I can SPIT!


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