.22 mag. ammo? Newbie Needs Help!

B

Big Show

New member
i have a question for those who use a 22 mag, for fox and coyotes. i was wondering what type of ammo you are using? i went to the local hunting supplies store and they had 22 mag wincester supreme, cci maxi mag, maxi mag v. i don't reload so i am looking for your thoughts on the best factory loads for the 22 mag. i know that most don't recommend the 22 mag for coyotes. but i am just getting started and it is either my 22 mag or my 30-30 lol. i just purchased a js prey master caller and am really anxious to try it out. next fall it will be a new 223. but for know the 22 mag will have to do. i would appreciate your thoughts.
thanks,
Big Show
 
Welcome Big Show,

Like you, when I first became hooked on coyote calling all I had was a Remington 597 .22 Magnum. I searched for, bought, shot and thoroughly investigated every high power magnum ammo on the market. I decided through trial and error that the 34gr Winchester Supreme is without a doubt the best choice of rimfire ammo for coyotes for shots "70 YARDS AND UNDER". I'm not saying you can't kill a coyote at longer ranges with a rimfire but you owe it to this great predator to offer a clean quick kill. Others on this board will testify to using different rimfire ammo and I'm sure it worked for them. The ballistic info on the Winchester Supreme is as follows:

Bullet weight - 34gr
Muzzle velocity - 2120fps
Velocity @ 100yrds - 1435
Muzzle energy - 338lbs
Energy @ 100yrds - 155lbs
Mid Range Trajectory @ 100yrds - 1.4"

The 33gr Remington Premier also has high velocity and high energy and I have used it extensively. However, I have heard to many reports of the bullet disentigrating on impact on larger game. Moral of the story: Use what you have for now with close, accurate shots and upgrade as soon as possible. I hunt mostly woods with some open fields here in Ohio and don't get the opportunity for 200+ yard shots so I use the wonderful ,22 Hornet. Good luck to you and enjoy the board.
 
Thanks WMR Crazy,
i too will be hunting the majority of the time in woodland type terrain, and old grown up fields. in these stands if a coyote is much more than 100 yards out i probably would never see him.
thanks for your reply,
big show
 
Big Show, the first thing you have to do is find one that shoots in your gun. I use Federal Premium with 30gr HPs. The CCI +V ammo won't shoot under 3" at a hundred yards in my gun. The CCI standard maxi mag shoot almost the same as the Federal. Standard winchester ammo won't shoot under 2" at a hundred yards. The Remington Premier will shoot about 1 1/2" at a hundred yards, but I have experienced some problems with bullets expanding on the surface, they also don't like to cycle through my Ruger 10/22 Mag and will either not fire or stovepipe about every third round. Federal is supposed to be coming out with an "experimental" bullet. Haven't seen it yet so don't know what it is. At any rate, find one that your gun likes and stick with it.
 
I agree that you should shoot what your gun like, but if it happens to like the Federal Premium 30 grain like my 10/22 mag does you won't be disappointed. Make sure it's the premium, they have a much better bullet than the classic 30 grain.
 
Bowyer, My 10/22 mag loves the Federal Premium ammo also, maybe a pattern developing? However, I've only shot the old style with Sierra 30gr HPs. Have you been shooting the newer ones with Speer 30gr HPs? I'm hoping they shoot the same, I'd hate to loose any of the accuracy I have now. I can put all nine shot in an inch at a hundred yards, and I just don't think you're going to do better than that with a short barreled automatic. But, I'm not complaining.
WMR crazy, I was at a manufacturers shoot at our local gunrange, and the federal rep was talking about it, but said he didn't have any with him so I never had a chance to see them. I'm with you on new ammo, but I'm keeping my eyes open for any info about it and will let you know what I find.
 
That's a big 10-4 grumpy. Thanks for the feedback. As I was reading your post, I remembered I have some of the old Federal 30gr left too. As I remember, they shot really well in my 597. I don't know if they changed th product # when the changed the bullet or not. The ones I have are # P765 and say's 30 Grain Sierra JHP. I would like to try some of the new ones though. Thanks and have a good day.
 
I have used the 22wmr for small game extensivly last year. Tried CCI, Winchester, Remington. Dunno what rifle your using but I shoot the 25mn (Marlin) it has a 1:16 micro-grove twist. If you 'zero' in @ 50-75 yards almost anything you shoot will seem accurate. However past 75 is a different ball game, consider your target size - squirrel, possum, racoon etc. I have found that the supreems @ 34 gr. are still accurate, many a possum and critter fallen tell no lie. However the v-max 33 gr. will shoot almost 1" high at 100. I would not recomend any of the 50 gr 22wmr ammo past 50 yards.
Once I parked 4 thick soaked phone books equaling 12" mass at 50 yards to do a penetration test. The results were interesting. The supreems went in 1/4 of the way and then just shattered, or splintered. The Winchester 40 gr hp's went in about 1/2 way and actually mushroomed very well. The Remington 40 gr psp's went at least 3/4 through and held together. I should have done the test with cci's hp but didn't have any at the time, although I know they are devestating on squirrel.
Well whats my point? I think once you find the ammo your rimfire likes you can be very sucessfull with it, and it still cheap to shoot. If you keep switching back and forth with different brands and grains then 75-100 yard accuracy becomes a chore. Good luck and good shootin'!
psp squirrel hunting
40 gr hp squirrel destruction
fox hunting
happy (1 brand) shooting
 
Hey guys I use a Fedral 50gr HP for coyotes . This round shoots well in the Marlin 25mn I use to have and my current Bruno ZKM611 auto .Accuracy at 100 yards is better than anything I've found when there is wind . The Win. 34gr is the best no doubt if it's calm. The 50gr Fed.'s penetrate better than any other load I've tried in 22mag .I have hunted coyotes with a 22mag for about 10 years because of the strange carry laws we have in Tennessee during Deer season.The only 22mags I haven't tried are the 40gr RWS loads because I was never able to get them .The RWS loads are suppose to opperate at a couple of hundred feet per second faster than any of our domestic loads .Any body got any experience ?
 
Hi Ramjet,

You mentioned in your post you have had very good success with the 50gr Federal magnums. What yardage do you shoot at? Do they kill quick? I've been wanting to try some 50gr rounds on coyote but haven't yet. Have you tried the CCI Gold Dot 50gr yet? Sorry for all the ???? Thanks
 
Crazy ,I don't take any shots greater than 75 yards .Most of my kills are less than 50 .I have not tried the 50gr CCI because I have found CCI ammo not to be 100% reliable but its been awhile since I shot any .As far as stopping power goes 22mags don't kill like centerfire cartridges . The 50gr Fedral expands and penetrates deep and usually through Eastern coyotes at reasonable ranges. I use an auto just in case they need another shot .
 


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