.22 rimfire use, safety and limitations.

[yorksjt 0]

Hello

 

I am wanting opinions on the use of .22 rimfires please.

I have a Ruger 10/22 and consider myself to be safe but sometimes over cautions with its use compared to others, I have owned one for about ten years and have shot with other people that have used one for much longer than me. This is because I know the bullets are liable to ricochet. I also don't shoot without a back drop but I know others use them for shooting birds and squirrels from trees, these bullets arc and have to stop somewhere!

Also are there any bullets available with less chance of ricochets such as ballist tips like those on centre fires and even the .177.

 

Thanks

[Deker 3,491]

Hello

 

I am wanting opinions on the use of .22 rimfires please.

I have a Ruger 10/22 and consider myself to be safe but sometimes over cautions with its use compared to others, I have owned one for about ten years and have shot with other people that have used one for much longer than me. This is because I know the bullets are liable to ricochet. I also don't shoot without a back drop but I know others use them for shooting birds and squirrels from trees, these bullets arc and have to stop somewhere!

Also are there any bullets available with less chance of ricochets such as ballist tips like those on centre fires and even the .177.

 

Thanks

 

 

You should in principle NEVER shoot any rifle in an Upward direction!!!

 

Debate!!!

 

No such thing as being over cautious..the choice is yours when you pull the trigger nobody elses!!

 

.22LR does have a tendancy to Ricochet, the bullets available to reduce the chance of this are known as HMR and WMR..or centrefires!!!

Edited November 14, 2008 by Deker

[woz 260]

i bet this ones going to make me bloody popular

 

 

22lr is the most under rated and dangerous round ever made,youve got a 40g bullet travelling at low velocity which then dosnt have the power to disintagrate on impact,i hate the bloody things how more people arnt killed or injured each year i will never know.....and i think that semi auto 22lr's have no place in the hunting field..i have been out with so many lads that machine gun the field when they miss with the first shot.mach2 or 17hmr are far more safe...BUT any rifle in the hands of a tit is dangerous......

if you are using a 10/22 in the field it will take great disiplin and and self control to be safe with one.......this is from memory so may not be 100%......40g bullit in free fall makes 11ftp of energy on impact and a 17g (hmr) will do 4ftp...

[Fidgety 8]

Yorksjt, you are right to be over cautious, subsonic rounds do travel on.

I’d have a few words with those that shoot into trees, it’s just plain madness – how on earth would you be sure where the bullet would land some 1-1.5 miles away (as it says on the packet)

 

When I first got the rimmy, I was very surprised that I could not find ANY literature or guidance on ricochets, safe backstops etc. Is there any available? I do know that there are millions of variables as regards ricochet, but a guide would have been very welcome. Everyone I asked has a different take on it, and very diverse ideas about what is safe.

 

So, perhaps the experienced folk here, Deker, Mr Logic and the like could get together and put together some guidance on what they consider to be a SAFE BACKSTOPS, likelihood and distance of RICOCHET ……… maybe in the pinned topics?

 

In the meantime – Debate away!!!

[cbw 4]

I physicaly cringe when you fire and hear that twaaaang heading off at a bloody right angle, no backstop can help me with that.

 

Even rabbits skulls cause the odd ricochet.

 

As above I do wonder how far and with what velocity these travel.

 

CBW

[Deker 3,491]

Hi guys

 

Problem with the .22LR in pretty much ALL it's forms is that it "can" ricochet; hard ground, soft ground, water, stones, wood etc, etc, etc, it "can"...and I agree it is a frightening sound when you hear it whing away god knows where...backstops whilst always important will not help if it wangs off at 90 degrees to the original shot so it is important to be mindful of the whole area when using them.

 

Tremendous amounts of energy are usually lost in ricochets, but there is often more than enough left to do substantial damage. It is a problem to be aware of but hopefully not to lose too much sleep over, there must have been accidents but "personally" I have never heard of one!! Not to belittle the problem in any way, but put it in perspective, 3000+ people are killed on the roads every year and 5000 people die in hospital every year after contacting MRSA from the NHS!! How many people do you know who have been killed by .22LR Ricochets???? Just be careful!!!

 

Yes ..I go white sometimes..but the .22LR is still my favourite calibre and the most popular civil round in the world!

[SportingShooter 0]

I think it would be either virtually impossible, or impossible to put a guide to Ricochets into words because as has been said, the amount of variables and other factors that are involved are just too varied.

 

They do say that a .22LR fired at the right angle will go over a mile and that it has enough energy at that distance to kill.

 

I have heard two stories of the LR killing from Ricochets. How true they are I don't know.

 

One of them, a spectator at a rural football match was hit in the head by a .22LR after it had either ricochet'd or been fired in the air and was killed outright.

 

The other was a shooter was out carrying out vermin control during the summer and the ricochets were bouncing next door and one of them injured a horse which had to be PTS.

 

Again, I have been told these, not seen them.

 

But as Deker, says, try not to worry too much about it and make yourself aware of your local area and what is to the sides of the shot.

 

Some of my permission is bordered by roads, and I use a HMR anyway, but I wouldn't shoot there when I get my .22 with it.

 

SS

[Fidgety 8]

Interesting! I think the core question is; How much velocity(?) is left at a given range when a ricochet is produced on average soil (no stones) or the bullet passes through quarry. Will the bullet have the energy to travel 100, 300, 600yds?? Its a question of quantifying the potential hazzard, and from the replies so far, it seems like good old practice and experience is the answer.

Keep it coming!!

Edited November 14, 2008 by Fidgety

[SportingShooter 0]

I know this is reiterating the same point but it would depend entirely on the variables present for each shot. I don't think making up the "Perfect" situation is going to help as out there it will be completely different!

[yorksjt 0]

Thanks for all the input, I will continue to be "over cautious".

Regarding deaths by .22s I read in the Shooting Times a few years ago of a man in Scandinavia that killed his brother around a mile away when shooting black game from trees. They tend use non hollow points to minimise meet damage.

[Deker 3,491]

Thanks for all the input, I will continue to be "over cautious".

Regarding deaths by .22s I read in the Shooting Times a few years ago of a man in Scandinavia that killed his brother around a mile away when shooting black game from trees. They tend use non hollow points to minimise meet damage.

 

Well, if it was a mile away it was indeed unfortunate, this just illustrates the point though, any accident or fatality with a gun is terrible but fortunately they tend to be few and far between...Due Diligence!!!

[artic 595]

i bet this ones going to make me bloody popular

 

 

22lr is the most under rated and dangerous round ever made,youve got a 40g bullet travelling at low velocity which then dosnt have the power to disintagrate on impact,i hate the bloody things how more people arnt killed or injured each year i will never know.....and i think that semi auto 22lr's have no place in the hunting field..i have been out with so many lads that machine gun the field when they miss with the first shot.mach2 or 17hmr are far more safe...BUT any rifle in the hands of a tit is dangerous......

if you are using a 10/22 in the field it will take great disiplin and and self control to be safe with one.......this is from memory so may not be 100%......40g bullit in free fall makes 11ftp of energy on impact and a 17g (hmr) will do 4ftp...

 

 

Why not the semi auto's "Woz"?

 

I find it much easier as i dont have to take my eye away from the scope if i miss, also

my breathing remains the same, and i can keep my eye in.

Used sensible they are a fine tool of the trade. If your "lads" are "Machine Gunning" the fields (Trigger Happy) then they should not have a rifle in their posession, or they should learn to respect their rifle, people who they are with and the surroundings that they are shooting in.

 

Oh and yes you are popular writting off the semi's in the "Hunting Field"

[Guest JohnGalway]

i bet this ones going to make me bloody popular

 

 

22lr is the most under rated and dangerous round ever made,youve got a 40g bullet travelling at low velocity which then dosnt have the power to disintagrate on impact,i hate the bloody things how more people arnt killed or injured each year i will never know.....and i think that semi auto 22lr's have no place in the hunting field..i have been out with so many lads that machine gun the field when they miss with the first shot.mach2 or 17hmr are far more safe...BUT any rifle in the hands of a tit is dangerous......

if you are using a 10/22 in the field it will take great disiplin and and self control to be safe with one.......this is from memory so may not be 100%......40g bullit in free fall makes 11ftp of energy on impact and a 17g (hmr) will do 4ftp...

 

I agree with that. I also know of machine gunners, if they miss (which is usually) the blood rises and it's bang,bang,bang,bang... usually missing as well. Whent hings like that happen backstops don't come into it because the little head is doing the thinking.

 

Trying to exchange my .22lr Quad barrel for a HMR one now because I'm sick of hearing ricochets. SS and Sounder will tell you what the ground is like around me, even when you think you're 100% safe there's a rock 2mm under the soil. It makes me not want to shoot the rifle.

 

Interesting! I think the core question is; How much velocity(?) is left at a given range when a ricochet is produced on average soil (no stones) or the bullet passes through quarry. Will the bullet have the energy to travel 100, 300, 600yds?? Its a question of quantifying the potential hazzard, and from the replies so far, it seems like good old practice and experience is the answer.

Keep it coming!!

 

I don't think anyone can answer that question for you. As far as I am aware there's no way of measuring that reliably. I'd imagine if there was someone would have published it long ago.

[SportingShooter 0]

When we shot with you John, there were a few pings off, and I'm glad that where you are, it is relatively "safe" apart from the Sheep of course. But I agree it makes you think twice about shooting it as you simply don't know where the bullet is going, albeit against a backdrop. I did think to myself when one of my shots pinged off , "Where is that going?" as I didn't know the ground at all.

 

If I remember we set up against a backstop, in front of it were rushes, so the ground is wet, and yet there were still ricochets. It's a fact of the calibre, it ricochets!

 

I think you'll do well with the HMR up there John, be a relief to have virtually non-existent ricochets, the ballistic tips are so frangible and light, just so much safer up there with you.

 

SS

[woz 260]

i bet this ones going to make me bloody popular

 

 

22lr is the most under rated and dangerous round ever made,youve got a 40g bullet travelling at low velocity which then dosnt have the power to disintagrate on impact,i hate the bloody things how more people arnt killed or injured each year i will never know.....and i think that semi auto 22lr's have no place in the hunting field..i have been out with so many lads that machine gun the field when they miss with the first shot.mach2 or 17hmr are far more safe...BUT any rifle in the hands of a tit is dangerous......

if you are using a 10/22 in the field it will take great disiplin and and self control to be safe with one.......this is from memory so may not be 100%......40g bullit in free fall makes 11ftp of energy on impact and a 17g (hmr) will do 4ftp...

 

 

Why not the semi auto's "Woz"?

 

I find it much easier as i dont have to take my eye away from the scope if i miss, also

my breathing remains the same, and i can keep my eye in.

Used sensible they are a fine tool of the trade. If your "lads" are "Machine Gunning" the fields (Trigger Happy) then they should not have a rifle in their posession, or they should learn to respect their rifle, people who they are with and the surroundings that they are shooting in.

 

Oh and yes you are popular writting off the semi's in the "Hunting Field"

 

 

 

youve just answered your own question!!! and by what you have just put up you shouldnt have a semi auto in the field..quote.."i find it much easier as i dont have to take my eye off the scope" your field of vision is very smal looking through a scope and your depth perseption is even more limited!!!! if the rabbit moves just a few feet when you miss everything changes and looking through a scope does not give you enough of a veiw to make an informed desision to pull the trigger a second time......i have had alot to do with semi auto's,i have a semi 22 which is used for pp1 and pp2 and also a remi shot gun which is used for practical shot gun compitition...out of all the shooters iv ever met i have never met one that would admit to either being a bad or dangerous shot......