22lr first shooting help

[Davetyler 26]

Hi to whoever is reading. Collected a 22lr yesterday as my land is passed for it. Anyhow ive had a hmr for a few weeks and after a lot of playing woth it i shot a rabbit at 140 yards and what a mess. I have watched a few vids on utube and the angles people shoot, the distance and the ground. 

My fields are fairly flat only a few places i would shoot infront of a canal wall. 

What are peoples opinions on shooting on flat land. 

My fields are 300 yards wide and aroumd 800 long so in my opinion i dont know if its right but thats why i am asking before making a mistake. There is a farm yard at the bottom of the field and a couple of houses about another 1500 yards away to the left obviously i wont be shooting in them directions  so the bullet wont be pointed in that way.

I shoot off sticks so i will be 5ft5 off the floor. Higher than a landy window that some people do. 

Sorry if i might sound like i shouldnt have one but at the min i only shoot infront of a banking that is soft soil. All my land i have walked thousand times and only seen 4 or five stones in the field and the fields are soft. Not boggy but soft soil. Any info anyone could give please pm me thanks 

[walshie 2,804]

You don't need to hit a stone for a 22lr to ricochet. They will happily bounce of grass too. Shooting down like you are minimises the chance, but won't stop it 100%.

Just make sure you have a safe backstop with whatever calibre you are using.

[Davetyler 26]

Thanks for that walshie. I am not saying i will try it and see where the bullets go but at the angles i am shooting at into soft soil say yards away do you think it would ricochet more than 1000 yards. It is a fair way to travel. I have read on other sites and seen an explination vid on youtube by a certain shooter who shoots off a bipod on about backstops and he says that ricochets over egsadurated 

[wilbur foxhound 480]

It’s quite amazing the amount of people who think a bullet will only ricochet forward and not at an angle to the left or the right,but as Walshie says make sure that it’s safe

[walshie 2,804]

1 minute ago, Davetyler said:

Thanks for that walshie. I am not saying i will try it and see where the bullets go but at the angles i am shooting at into soft soil say yards away do you think it would ricochet more than 1000 yards. It is a fair way to travel. I have read on other sites and seen an explination vid on youtube by a certain shooter who shoots off a bipod on about backstops and he says that ricochets over egsadurated 

Now you're getting into science. In my opinion (so don't take it as science) a ricochet isn't very aerodynamic due to the fact it is probably deformed so will go a shorter distance than a perfect round and I doubt 1000 yards. Having said that, I have no idea how far one would go or in what direction, but I wouldn't ever use distance as my safety net. Always, always have a proper backstop.

[Davetyler 26]

Thanks walshie i think il stick to shooting the 17 infront of the canal wall. If i dont know where that little begger is going i aint pulling that trigger

[FLATTOP 3,665]

It’s one of the main answers Mr firearms officer wants to hear about taking a shot with a good backstop if in doubt don’t take the shot.

We all make mistakes I made a bad error of judgement once but I got away with it I couldn’t stop thinking of the consequences if I hadn’t, and no I’m not discussing it on here I’d get the piss ripped out of me lol.

Good on you for asking though there’s some very experienced shooters on here. 

[shovel leaner 7,648]

Wilbur foxhound is right when he says that a ricochet doesn’t just go forward. I got hold of some 22lr tracers and was very surprised at the angles they ricocheted  . For anyone inexperienced with this round , it would do them good to let off a box . You would be amazed where they go , it’s a bit disconcerting , but it will let you know what happens to the bullet after you pull the trigger. I admire anyone who asks advice because we can all learn something. And with shooting if you do make a mistake it may have serious consequences. 

[Davetyler 26]

This is why i ask questions. i know most are genuine people but in my eyes asking people for knowlage is better than risking everything i have by the pull of one finger. Some people might think i am being a wuss and there no way it can travel that far and people who have replied  i am gaining knowlage of all aspects and appreciate the advice given. If people wont share information then this sport will die. Think about it how did you learn, i bet it wasnt pull you rifle up and shoot at something.

[Alsone 789]

Shooting downwards will help as it gives you the field as a backstop but still don't shoot towards houses, roads or footpaths just in case, as a flat field is far from an ideal way to backstop a bullet. It also pays not to take targets close to the edge of your permission as the closer they are to the edge, the greater the risk of a ricochet leaving the land. Wherever possible shoot from the edge of the permission back towards the centre.

So far as ricochets go, the 2 main dangers apart from stones are shallow angles and wet grass, especially combined. Shallow angles come from the taking targets in the scenario you mention at range - ie the further away they are, the shallower the angle from your stick position to the target and the increased risk of ricochet. Pretty much the same with the wet grass. A shallow angle of attack is your enemy with wet grass as well here. Wet grass tends to be slick and can be deflective to .22 especially if short or compacted.

At the risk of being slightly controversial, although my views are well known on here, although .22LR is the most used calibre in the world, I'm not a great fan of it, especially as I nearly once got hit by a ricochet from someone else. The issue with .22LR is the bullet doesn't have sufficient velocity to be frangible and so instead of breaking up into small pieces that fly relatively short distances, a .22 LR bullet tends to just expand and if it fails to penetrate the back stop or passes through the prey, will remain in 1 piece and due to it's weight, retain enough energy to travel quite large distances. For that reason, I'm not it's greatest fan. The Police like you to have .22LR as they see it as the least threat being the lowest powered of the commonly used rounds on paper, but in my opinion, that's a noobs view. It's far more dangerous from a ricochet pov than something like HMR simply because HMR tends to fragment. That said, shoot without a backstop and hmr will go further! 

As for HMR and destruction, the greater power combined with the fragmentation will cause a lot more damage to prey. If you want to eat rabbits shot with HMR, headshoot them. 

[Davetyler 26]

Thanks for the information alsone, my land doesnt have any grass on it its all ploughed and i have been wondering about with my 12g yesterday and looking at different parts of the field, in a rut where the tractor has been how its raised up on one side i noticed a rabbit 76 yards out i noticed behind the rabbit was mud  about 6" above the rabbit, in my eyes that is a backstop, can anyone share some light and agree with me or tell me i am wrong. 

[shovel leaner 7,648]

41 minutes ago, Davetyler said:

Thanks for the information alsone, my land doesnt have any grass on it its all ploughed and i have been wondering about with my 12g yesterday and looking at different parts of the field, in a rut where the tractor has been how its raised up on one side i noticed a rabbit 76 yards out i noticed behind the rabbit was mud  about 6" above the rabbit, in my eyes that is a backstop, can anyone share some light and agree with me or tell me i am wrong. 

Don’t get too worried about taking shots or you won’t shoot anything. As long as there are no houses behind the target or nearby, or public footpaths with walkers on them , or livestock near the target . Common sense will tell you a lot and if in doubt don’t shoot....simples !!!

[Deker 3,453]

Nobody can give you a definitive answer, the answer will depend on position, weather, temperature, shot height, time of day, specific ammo, distance, etc etc etc, and change virtually daily. 

Don't forget, your best way of avoiding ricochets or collateral damage is to actually hit what you are aiming at, so spend time getting used to the gun/ammo and check zero.

Many have suggested not taking the shot unless YOU are confident, and that is about the size of it.

As for .22LR being likely to ricochet, anything can/does/will given the right/wrong circumstances.     .22LR is the most popular civil calibre in the world by miles, how often do you see headlines of ricochets injuring/damaging things?!

[Rimfireboy! 1,463]

Many years ago, a friend of mine was zeroing at fifty yards with Winchester subs. The bullets passed through the target and skimmed along the short wet grass behind before bouncing up to around a couple of feet above the ground, where they slammed sideways into an 8’x 4’x 3/4” plywood sheet a further fifty yards away. The bullets embedded into the ply by around half their sideways depth and could be picked out with a pen knife. It seemed that after skimming along the grass and toppling through the air for fifty yards after passing through a paper target, they’d already lost most of their energy. If they’d have traveled another hundred yards, I’d have been surprised. Obviously there’s no room for complacency though.

[zx10mike 137]

i gave up hunting with a 22lr a long time ago for this very reason.my ground is just not suited to that cal.i have a 17 hornet now and only head shoot rabbits and the more i use it the more i like it.safest round i have had and quieter than a hmr's i have had.if your asking the question i think you know the answer.