Rimfire?

[clfergus]

Evaluating my rifles and I keep reading that the .22 is a good option due to the plentiful ammo, weight of ammo etc...

Would be good for taking small game for food. Someone suggested I scrap the rifle and look specifically at a Ruger Mark IV Target Pistol.

Just curious on some thoughts around that suggestion.

 

[jwamplerusa]

You still need a rifle. Doesn't have to be new, doesn't have to be fancy but it needs to be accurate.

If I didn't have any 22's I would either pick up a good used bolt or semi-auto rifle, and a 22 semi-auto handgun. There are plenty of options new and used for 22 handguns including the traditional Ruger Mark series Browning buck marks, Smith & Wesson victory's, and of course something like Colt woodsman on the higher end. For a more tactical type of 22 there is the Taurus TX22, Glock 44, Smith and Wesson M&P 22 compact, and others.

 

[indyjohn]

I agree with JW, you still need a rifle.

I wouldn't say that rimfire is any more plentiful than other calibers (especially now), but it is lightweight. There are so many choices for rifles in .22 LR, it's hard to go wrong. A bolt rifle with a basic scope will bring you more small game to the dinner table than the best target pistol. Hunting with a pistol requires a greater degree of skill than the average shooter has (without a lot of practices and especially with small game). Bolt guns in .22LR can be had for less than a target pistol and will give you more.

 

[whiskey6gun]

.22 rifle was the most fun I could have as a kid, and still is the most fun for the money.


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[DangerousDave]

If you are just interested in taking small game another option might be a good high quality air rifle. There are air rifles today that rival a .22 rifle. I have killed numerous rabbits with mine as well as garden pests. Can't begin to count how many pigeons I have killed with it. Pellets can be found most anywhere and are cheap. Also another factor in their favor is they are quiet. I have killed hundreds of starlings with mine. A well placed shot will take their head clean off. I have had mine for at least 30 years and it still shoots great.

 

[jerrob]

.22 rifle was the most fun I could have as a kid, and still is the most fun for the money.


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My 10/22 is the most versatile and fun to shoot firearm I own. Nothing puts a smile behind an old gray beard like shooting holes through one of the old lady's cookie sheets when I'm out of targets.

 

[Steve]

I have an old Savage model 6A semiauto .22 rifle that was given to me 50 years ago as my high school graduation present and a Ruger 10/22. When I take them both to the range, no one can believe that the old Savage will shoot every bit as good as the Ruger. Do yourself a favor. Take a look at the older .22 rifles. Not only will they cost you 1/2 the price of a newer rifle, but if they get scratched up in the field, it will just add a little more character to a fine old rifle.

 

[Hoosier49er]

It's easy to store a crap-ton of .22's. Another option is getting weapons that can be converted to .22. I have a couple of kits for my AR's and one for my 1911. I also have a Ruger Mark 4 and several accurate .22 rifles.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Here's a couple of current threads that have some good insights into rimfire firearms and ammo availability that you might want to check out ... be warned, there is the usual INGO banter and drivel layered in between the tidbits of good advice.




https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long-guns/483488-22lr-rifle-range-fun.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo.../466281-rimfire-madness-infection-begins.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...discussion/484172-22lr-ammo-availability.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/475056-22lr-range-fun.html

 

[johntheplinker]

Another big advantage to the 22lr is noise, or more accurately, lack of. A rifle shooting standard velocity ammo is fairly quiet even without a suppressor, and probably would be inaudible past a couple hundred yards in a wooded area. My old Winchester 67 with its 27" barrel is extremely quiet using SV ammo. If the situation is so bad that we're hunting small game to survive, the last thing I'd want to do is draw attention to myself.

 

[Megasaki]

Keep both. They dont take up room, and you'll have a rifle/ pistol combination.
The Ruger series of pistols are super IMO. I have had both the MK1 and the MK2.
I am looking for a nice MK4 at the moment.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Keep both. They dont take up room, and you'll have a rifle/ pistol combination.
The Ruger series of pistols are super IMO. I have had both the MK1 and the MK2.
I am looking for a nice MK4 at the moment.

Skipping the MK3? Does that make you a MKist?

 

[rarobertson33]

Keep both. They dont take up room, and you'll have a rifle/ pistol combination.
The Ruger series of pistols are super IMO. I have had both the MK1 and the MK2.
I am looking for a nice MK4 at the moment.

Both in .22 and 9mm, as you never know!

 

[GIJEW]

If you're planning on small game hunting, a rifle is y more effective than a pistol. On the other hand, if SHTF is so bad that you're subsistence hunting, you might go hungry due to over hunting.

Another reason for .22s is for practice/training during lower-case shtf, like shortages of ammo right now or or full blown apocalyptic SHTF where you'd want to keep center fire ammo for defense