22 WMR

[hammo]

Hi All,
I recently got my first 22 WMR, and initially found CCI 40gr gamepoints to be surprisingly accurate. I also tried Hornady critical defence 45gr which were about the same accuracy. Both are plentifully available from my usual RFD. I am working through a block of 500 of the gamepoints, but they dont seem to be expanding well, judging by carcass damage. Rabbits drop on the spot, but I had a runner on a fox the other night; thankfully quickly followed up.
I think the critical defence offer much better expansion, but has anyone else tried them, or do you have any other suggestions?
My rifle is a semi auto mainly for target use at the club but also occasional rabbit clearance and fox at 100m or less. 40gr is a minimum bullet weight, she does not cycle well with 30gr Vmax. It seems the 22 WMR had a poor reputation for accuracy, but that does not seem to be the case for me so far. While not the tack driver my 204 is, its perfectly good at sensible ranges.
Comments, abuse or suggestions welcome!

 

[Muir]

Hi All,
I recently got my first 22 WMR, and initially found CCI 40gr gamepoints to be surprisingly accurate. I also tried Hornady critical defence 45gr which were about the same accuracy. Both are plentifully available from my usual RFD. I am working through a block of 500 of the gamepoints, but they dont seem to be expanding well, judging by carcass damage. Rabbits drop on the spot, but I had a runner on a fox the other night; thankfully quickly followed up.
I think the critical defence offer much better expansion, but has anyone else tried them, or do you have any other suggestions?
My rifle is a semi auto mainly for target use at the club but also occasional rabbit clearance and fox at 100m or less. 40gr is a minimum bullet weight, she does not cycle well with 30gr Vmax. It seems the 22 WMR had a poor reputation for accuracy, but that does not seem to be the case for me so far. While not the tack driver my 204 is, its perfectly good at sensible ranges.
Comments, abuse or suggestions welcome!

What rifle? My autoloaders don't have any cycling issues with 30 grain VM.
The WMR, unlike the 17HMR, is not all made at one factory so people berate it's accuracy because the one box / brand of ammo they tried was one the rifle didn't like. WMR shooters should follow your lead and try all kinds. I have seven WMR's. I like it.
No telling on your runner but one time shouldn't cause you to change ammo..~Muir

 

[hammo]

Muir - great to hear from you, I really value your input.
Well, tin hat on and prepared for incoming flak, but....... I have an AR15 in 22 WMR. its the most powerful semi auto we are allowed in the UK.
It is a UK built gun by guncraft, and I absolutely love it. 16 inch barrel. Super easy to add bits to the pic rails. Guncraft recommend 40gr and up to cycle reliably, that is what the bolt/buffer spring is set up for.
I still have 300 of the CCI gamepoints, so not abandoning them totally, but if the hornady critical defence do better then the CCI will be used at the club on targets / gongs.

 

[Smellydog]

Shot a lot of fox's with WMR.

It's a great round.
Sometimes though a fox will run on a bit but not far.
Can you get different recoil springs??
The federal/Speer hollow point is a good one but 30gn. The olde CCI 30gn is a sizzler. Henry kranks had some.
Rws 40gn are the strongest WMR round going.
I don't like the 50gn offering by federal but did try 100rds of them. I decided not to get any more.
I found some old Winchester WMR and they were excellent.
Have you tried the standard CCI 40gn?
Long live the WMR

 

[hammo]

Shot a lot of fox's with WMR.
View attachment 282966
It's a great round.
Sometimes though a fox will run on a bit but not far.
Can you get different recoil springs??
The federal/Speer hollow point is a good one but 30gn. The olde CCI 30gn is a sizzler. Henry kranks had some.
Rws 40gn are the strongest WMR round going.
I don't like the 50gn offering by federal but did try 100rds of them. I decided not to get any more.
I found some old Winchester WMR and they were excellent.
Have you tried the standard CCI 40gn?
Long live the WMR

Cheers, lots for me to try but availability can be patchy. Really enjoying having a rimfire again.

 

[Smellydog]

I don't know about cycling your action but I also tried a box of Hornady 25gn ntx and to be honest it was quite good.

 

[Rake Aboot]

I could use one of these just now tbh. Been looking at it and trying the old "I've got a slot for rimfire so I'll have one of these please" route.

 

[kamyonsofor]

I recently sold my .22wmr Remington semi auto,I liked the accuracy the downside no matter what I fed through it they were all what I say dirty rounds ,lots of residue in the chamber and mag no matter what brands of ammo.

 

[Foxyboy43]

A wonderful little round, punching well above it’s weight and from memory more powerful at 100 than the 22lr is at the muzzle - delivering about 300 ft lbs muzzle energy. Plenty of stopping power for the bushy-tailed one but as said above some experimentation with different ammo might pay dividends in accuracy though my personal experience is that any round will deliver minute of fox accuracy if I do my job right.
First one I bought was a CZ - should never have parted with it, current one is a Winchester underlever, beautifully but sadly no longer, made so defo a keeper. Each time I go out it is a debate whether I lift it or the beloved triple deuce.

 

[crow juice]

Well , I don't shoot foxes but I regularly shoot Coyotes with my 22 WMR Rifles . About 75 yards is about as far as I will shoot with the vast majority of my shots under 50 . This is possible because most of the places I have available to hunt in West Tennessee are hardwood forest and small fields . We have a lot of rules about using rimfires only during bow (deer) season and other times of the year for hunting predators on state parks. So you about have to have a 22 mag or a 5mm rem Mag if you are going to be serious about hunting predators in this part of the country .My go-to round is the Fed 50gr HP and the old Winchester 40gr HP (Silver Box) . I have a Bruno ZKM611 auto , a CZ 452 Varmint, and a Ruger American Predator . I am in the process of experimenting with the CCI game point right now.

When not limited to Rimfires I use a 22 Hornet and 223's.

 

[The Grouse]

You may of seen it already, but Chris Parkin recently did a review of that exact rifle and tried various loads through it. Probably won't help from a foxing perspective but might be worth a look.

Chris Parkin - WMR Test

 

[Rake Aboot]

View attachment 282981

Good god, That's a stunner.

 

[Muir]

Muir - great to hear from you, I really value your input.
Well, tin hat on and prepared for incoming flak, but....... I have an AR15 in 22 WMR. its the most powerful semi auto we are allowed in the UK.
It is a UK built gun by guncraft, and I absolutely love it. 16 inch barrel. Super easy to add bits to the pic rails. Guncraft recommend 40gr and up to cycle reliably, that is what the bolt/buffer spring is set up for.
I still have 300 of the CCI gamepoints, so not abandoning them totally, but if the hornady critical defence do better then the CCI will be used at the club on targets / gongs.

If they recommend 40 grain, that's what you are going to use. Sounds like a great gun.
I have a BRNO 611 and a Kel Tec PMR 30. The BRNO seems to eat everything. ~Muir

PMR30 .22 Magnum Pistol | 30 Round Capacity | Specs & Details | KelTec

Need a unique and powerful pistol? The PMR30 is a semi-auto .22 Magnum pistol that holds 30 rounds. It's reliable and has excellent sights.

www.keltecweapons.com

 

[hammo]

Well, just got back from a couple of hours out. Three fox with the CCI gamepoints, faith in them totally restored. I am absolutely loving this AR15, have just taken delivery of a set of three hardox gongs 5, 7.5 and 10cm. cheap as chips on fleabay and should provide hours of fun - I mean serious marksmanship practice in a controlled manner of course.
I waited a couple of months for my rifle to be built, and it was well worth it. Its far from traditional rifle looks, and many on here will turn thier noses up at it; but as a primarily club target rifle, with the foxing as a secondary use - it really fits the bill for me. If centrefire were allowed I would snap up one in .223, but that is never going to happen in the UK sadly.

 

[hammo]

You may of seen it already, but Chris Parkin recently did a review of that exact rifle and tried various loads through it. Probably won't help from a foxing perspective but might be worth a look.

Chris Parkin - WMR Test

Yes watched with interest while waiting for mine to be built. Certainly changed Chris's opinion of that style of rifle.

 

[25 Sharps]

The game points are quite hard but are a cracking round. I use the CCI 30 gr TNT in mine and they are the opposite end of the spectrum, very soft. Mainly for rabbits but if I see a fox provided <100 yards happy to shoot it but I always send a second round just to be sure.

 

[Smellydog]

The game points are quite hard but are a cracking round. I use the CCI 30 gr TNT in mine and they are the opposite end of the spectrum, very soft. Mainly for rabbits but if I see a fox provided <100 yards happy to shoot it but I always send a second round just to be sure.

I too always get a second round in there when using any rim fire. Out of respect for the fox.

 

[hammo]

I have now switched to the hornady critical defence 45gr, gunshop kindly took back the 300 cci gamepoints and I got 500 hornady. There is definitely plenty of expansion, a real audible thump on impact. Accuracy is great, did a check zero this afternoon out to 130m and grouped around an inch. Out later in the evening and dropped two fox, the second at a paced out 150m. Will be interesting to try stretching it out to 200 or more either on a gong or paper. I think 150m would be my max for fox though. Most of my fox are around 100m due to the ground I shoot on; plus I always try and Stalk in closer, rather than take risky long shots.

 

[HonestJohn]

You may of seen it already, but Chris Parkin recently did a review of that exact rifle and tried various loads through it. Probably won't help from a foxing perspective but might be worth a look.

Chris Parkin - WMR Test

thought about investing in such a toy; however, I know we're probably just around the corner of a semi-auto ban in .22 so what's the point..the way things are going it's surely only a matter of a couple of years.,,plus, with the lead ban, alternatives will likely not shoot well, nor feed..and be expensive.

 

[Rake Aboot]

thought about investing in such a toy; however, I know we're probably just around the corner of a semi-auto ban in .22 so what's the point..the way things are going it's surely only a matter of a couple of years.,,plus, with the lead ban, alternatives will likely not shoot well, nor feed..and be expensive.

How do you know that? Cause you’re the first person I’ve seen mentioning it ?