Keep or dump the .22 magnum?

[strakill]

A few years back I bought a used Savage in .22 magnum. The next week I bought a CZ 455 in .17 HMR. I shot the Savage once and it's been sitting in the safe ever since.

As I contemplate moving to Idaho next year I am trying to think if the Savage would have any viable use to me other than owning it. What role would it fill in between my plethora of .22 LR's and the .17 HMR? Would I be better off dumping it? I have nothing against the cartridge or the rifle just musing about why I have it.

[warbird]

trust me when you get rid of it you will probably regret it later on. If you do not need the money you are never going to be able to buy it as cheaply as you did way back when. the boys up in Idaho will give you more for it since it would make a quicker and cleaner small game kill than a .177 in my opinion and assuming you hunt. but the choice is yours. I have 1950's and 1960's 22 rifles and a couple in magnum and their biggest sin is they take up a little space. do what is best for you.

[newbie1234]

If you have more than one .22 Magnum riffle then sell it, if you have only one .22 Magnum then keep it.
Heck , I contradict to myself, tell you to do thing that I would not do for myself, I had whole punch of .22LR, 9mil, .45ACP but I never sell any of them. Keep telling myself I will sell some when my safe is full, when my safe was full I bought another safe
So if you still have room in the safe then keep it.

(Notes, for the last 10 years, I did not touch my 44 Mag, 357 Mag, 308 riffle).

[pennstater]

Naw, you won't need it. Send it to me.
Just kidding here! I'd keep it. .22 mag ammo may be a bit cheaper in Idaho, and you have more chances to use up there. Plenty of shooting opportunities in Idaho.

[stormvet]

I gave my father in law my only .22 mag rifle, he needed something for pest on his ranch. I’ve missed it ever since, thinking of buying a Ruger American to replace it.

[TMB 1]

Keep it and get a Single Six or Single Nine to go with it.

[strakill]

Keep it and get a Single Six or Single Nine to go with it.

Well with this response and all the others I guess I will keep it. I do have a single six with the mag cylinder (that I forgot all about).

I guess if nothing else I could learn to use a different cartridge for a new application or for the same application but learn how to use it.

I don't know what type of smallish critters I will run into that a .22 lr might not be enough but .22 mag might be the perfect poison over the .17.

Come to think of it. Maybe I need to do a little more digging on what the .22 mag is capable of.

The place I'm buying is 2 minutes from forest land and is pretty rural (Athol, ID a sneeze and a fart away from the wilderness). Up close coyotes come to mind considering I will be working in my shop late at night.

[Spyder]

I had matching rifles in 17HMR and 22WMR. They were both fun to shoot, but for MY purposes, the 17 could do everything the 22 could, but the 22 couldn't do what I wanted out of the 17...and ammo prices were better for 17, and lead free 17 shoots much better (and is easier to get) than 22mag.

So I sold the 22 mag for exactly what I bought it for, which freed up another scope for a different rifle.

I like the 17 better than the 22mag for just about everything, but I do still have a NAA .22Mag/lr, so I kept some of my ammo.

[RobG]

If you were a Commiefornia lifer, I would say sell. It is too expensive to just plink with and rimfire lead free sucks for hunting. But, since you are possibly escaping, I say keep it and enjoy blasting small critters when you get to ID.

[Carcassonne]

A few years back I bought a used Savage in .22 magnum. The next week I bought a CZ 455 in .17 HMR. I shot the Savage once and it's been sitting in the safe ever since.

As I contemplate moving to Idaho next year I am trying to think if the Savage would have any viable use to me other than owning it. What role would it fill in between my plethora of .22 LR's and the .17 HMR? Would I be better off dumping it? I have nothing against the cartridge or the rifle just musing about why I have it.

The 22 magnum was a good idea when it first came out, but I don't see much use for it now. Anything you can do with a 22 mag can be done with something else for less money. The last time I looked 22 mag ammo cost more per round than 223 ammo.



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[FeuerFrei]

Moving to Idaho and boonie close.
Save that 22mag for trade bait. If you don't already have a good chain saw you can get one for it.

Sent using a long string and 2 Dixie cups

[Calif Hunter]

Others will disagree, I am sure, but I like the .22 mag for larger varmints better than the .17 HMR. For coyotes around the homestead, I'd prefer the .22 Mag. It does not have as flat a trajectory as the .17 but does have a bigger bullet. The 30-34 gr bullet versions of the .22 mag are faster than the 40 gr loads or the 50 gr Federal load.

I shoot quite a few .17 HMR rounds at prairie dogs and ground squirrels, though.

[damon1272]

Dump it. You can get the 20 grn rounds that are tougher and will still do a better job than any 22wmr. The only reason the 22wmr came back from the dead was because of the introduction of the 17 hmr.

[Wordupmybrotha]

I would dump it. 22LR already has many ammo options ranging from subsonic to CCI Stingers.

[bluzman]

Well with this response and all the others I guess I will keep it. I do have a single six with the mag cylinder (that I forgot all about).

I guess if nothing else I could learn to use a different cartridge for a new application or for the same application but learn how to use it.

I don't know what type of smallish critters I will run into that a .22 lr might not be enough but .22 mag might be the perfect poison over the .17.

Come to think of it. Maybe I need to do a little more digging on what the .22 mag is capable of.

The place I'm buying is 2 minutes from forest land and is pretty rural (Athol, ID a sneeze and a fart away from the wilderness). Up close coyotes come to mind considering I will be working in my shop late at night.

The right choice. I've got my .22WMR Ruger American Rimfire paired with a Heritage Rough Rider in the same caliber - a nice combo.