.22 LONG RIFLE BALLISTICS COMPARISON

Americans annually burn some three billion rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition, mostly .22 Long Rifle (LR). Such volume makes the .22 LR one of varmint shooting’s most significant factors. The 133-year-old .22 LR cartridge is fun, affordable and deadly on small varmints (within its respective capabilities) and is arguably the world’s most popular varmint round.

- PATRICK MEITIN

When planning any varmint-shooting excursion, I’ll face the excruciating task of selecting rifles from my modest collection. I can relate with absolute certainty, however, that no matter the varmint-shooting destination, a heavily customized Ruger 10/22 will make that cut.

During an average Eastern Oregon Belding’s ground squirrel shoot, for instance, while friends and I are generally there to put our latest centerfire rifles and/ or loads through their paces, fresh .22 LR bulk packs – ripped open and set on the truck – are exhausted daily. We shoot the .22s between portable-bench setups. Thumbs develop blisters from loading high-capacity magazines.

Rimfire offerings in .22 caliber range from diminutive CB caps and Shorts to the nearly-defunct .22 Long, and the darling .22 Long Rifle. LR rounds are further divided into standard (around 1,150/1,250 fps), hyper (velocities beyond, say, 1,400 fps) and subsonic velocities (less than 1,050 fps). I’m most interested in faster hollowpoint loads – with some exceptions. I have shot small critters with roundnose .22 LR loads, but decisively anchoring burrowing rodents is preferable. Shoot a “gopher” or prairie dog, even terminally, with a roundnose bullet while it perches at a burrow entrance and odds are great it will reach its expiration date underground – they are hardwired that way. Hollowpoints just work better.