John Simeon, The 22 Winchester Magnum in Action

By John Simeone

If you intend to Squirrel Hunt in the great state of Louisiana on public land you have to contend with the regulations on wildlife management areas concerning Wild Hogs. You can’t carry a center fire handgun to protect yourself or buckshot or slugs for your shotgun if its not modern firearm deer season. Understandably this is suppose to protect the deer from poachers. However a wild hog may be hunted with small game equipment. This includes all rimfires and with shot no larger than #2 lead. I don’t think I ever went squirrel hunting that I didn’t run into a wild hog. Although a boar seldom gets over 300 pounds it happens and a 200 pounder can cut you to pieces. This is why in these areas I carry a 22 Winchester Magnum. A head shot on a hog at the base of the ear even with a 22 long rifle will kill instantly. Some have even done it with an air rifle. To me the 22 magnum is the bare minimum, but when its all you can carry its better than nothing. You can take a shoulder shot with the 22 magnum and knock down a 200 pounder but be ready for a second shot.

Of course the 22 magnum was never intended for big game and is at it’s best on small game like Squirrels and Rabbits as far as edible game while Woodchucks, Foxes, and Coyotes cover the vermin list. It is certainly more powerful on edible game than needed but the trick is to choose your ammunition wisely and you can do just about anything within the spectrum of the 22 magnum. When I squirrel hunt with it I generally use a full metal jacket for the first round in the magazine. This acts about the same as a 22 long rifle round and will not spoil meat. If I encounter a hog either a FMJ or a hollow point will do the job if needed. I prefer Winchester standard 22 magnum rounds as the Hollow Point and FMJ shoot to the same point of aim. With the trend toward suppressors, subsonic ammo seems to be getting popular. Now you can get sub sonic 22 mag ammo and this can be no different than regular 22 long rifle rounds on edible game. I suppose this is great for the individual that only owns a 22 magnum although in my minds eye I can see a rezero in order to accommodate the lower velocity.

I have tested the properties of just about all 22 long rifle ammo types while exploring the World Squirrel Rifle Match (Top Gun Challenge) which I invented at Fort Polk Louisiana. The 22 magnum was also explored as many wanted to know just what it would do. When you increase the velocity of a 22 long rifle round to 1500 fps you deal with the law of diminishing returns as far as accuracy due to the fact the bullet is not jacketed like the 22 magnum. The hyper velocity ammo seems to show this. Bottom line you can’t make a 22 long rifle shoot like a 22 magnum without the loss of bench rest accuracy. The 22 magnum, however, is an inherently accurate round, good on small game out to 200 yards. To be honest tree squirrels and rabbits are seldom engaged at more than 50 yards and 25 yards is the reality rule. But there are creatures that warrant a little extra punch. While stationed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico I discovered Jack Rabbit Shooting. It was nothing to shoot 3 to 4 hundred Jack Rabbits in one day with my Remington Speedmaster and a Bushnell 4 power scope. At first I used Standard Remington Long Rifle hollow points that I use for Squirrel Hunting. Ruark would have said that wasn’t enough gun. I then tried CCI Stingers, the results on impact were good but the accuracy was a lot to be desired. I then discovered Remington Yellow Jackets that made everything come together as it had the extra speed to really thump a big Jack, but

My vintage Marlin Model 25 in 22 WMR and new Vortex Crossfire II 3x9 scope

MAX’S

COINS & FIREARMS

“SEE THE ROUND MAN FOR A SQUARE DEAL!” GOLD & SILVER IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH... TURN THAT OLD JEWELRY INTO CASH! OPEN M-F 9-5 • SAT 9-2 or by Appointment 217-774-4748

141 E. Main Street • Shelbyville, IL

OPEN 7 DAYS • 20+ YEARS OF SERVICE EXPERIENCE

Service on most Outboards, Mercruiser Sterndrives • Minnows, Fishing Equipment & More in Stock! 2018 Tohatsu Motors are in!

This Gray Squirrel was not damaged when proper ammo is used for edible game.

January 2018

was slow enough to still be accurate. It looked like about 1350 fps was about it for a 22 long rifle as far as good accuracy. Switching to the 22 magnum after numerous running shots with the Remington, the Marlin could bing a Jack all the way out to 200 yards as long as it would hold still. With the running shots you learned the proper lead and with the still shots you learn range estimation and hold over. The Jack Rabbits themselves turned out to be cannibals and I never felt sorry for them. The coyotes would show the next day and with a little calling I tried a few shots on them. Coyotes are as tenacious as a Cape Buffalo and much harder to kill than a wild hog with a clean shot. Even at 2000 fps the little 40 grain bullet is marginal on Coyotes after observing this I brought out the 270 and the 300 Win mag to be sure. The 22 magnum on the range is amazing when put in the hands of a competent shooter. We ran several through the bench rest part of the Top Gun Match at 25 yards to 50 yards and found it to be 1/4 minute of angle in the Marlin and CZ rifles, using both CCI and Winchester ammo. That is just plain awesome hunting accuracy potential. Of course those rifles had custom triggers but a well practiced shooter can easily approach this performance. It’s all about how you use it in the long run, a 22 Winchester magnum has many uses when the 22 long rifle just won’t make it that far. Both are fine small game rounds and compliment each other. 22 magnum ammo is readily available from sub sonic to light fast expanding varmit bullets. Excellent rifles are built by many American and European manufactures that makes the 22 magnum available any way you want it. Pass it on.

There was nothing wrong with the Henry 22 LR, it just didn’t like Hyper Velocity ammo, lower target shows what it will really do. If this happens switch to a 22 magnum if you need extra power. “Only Accurate Rifles are interesting.” Especially the CZ-452, remember on flies, head shots only.