First time out in a long time with .22wmr

[revrat]

My wife came home from visiting some of her horse friends the other day, and she told me their property was overrun with ground squirrels, and that they asked if I would come out and do some shooting. I was kind of surprised, as the lady who runs the stables there is a total hippie, and generally frowns upon this kind of thing. I guess she dislikes the idea of shooting less than the idea of poisoning the little guys, which is my good fortune. I hadn't been to this property before, so I didn't know how it set up, and I also didn't want to make too much noise that close to a bunch of horses in training, so I left my .223 at home and drug my .22 magnum out with me. The weather was pretty cloudy, so I was expecting them to not be up very good, but I wanted to get a feel for how their place set up to shoot on more than anything. I surveyed the property, and the little rascals were scurrying about EVERYWHERE. I picked a couple of draws on the hillside and started shooting. There's something really satisfying about hearing a bullet really smack a squirrel. Over the next four hours, I had 58 for sure killed, and probably ten or so more that I wasn't sure of. Those Winchester black box 34 grain HP's really open up a ground squirrel, and they shoot lights out in my Marlin. Most of the shots were fairly close, and none more than about 120 yards, so I wasn't missing out by not having the .223 with me. I went back and told the owners how many squirrels I had killed, and they were tickled. I don't think I even made a dent. They told me to keep coming as often as I like, and to bring a buddy if I want to get two guns going. It's amazing how many of my friends want to "help". I'm going to take my camera along next time. Some of the hillside and pasture stuff is so ate up with holes that it looks like an old artillery range.

I hadn't had my .22 magnum out in a couple of years, and I really had a blast fixing all those squirrels. I forgot how much fun rimfires can be. I just bought and installed a Rifle Basix trigger on my Marlin just because I knew this trip was coming, and it is the best $85 I've spent in a long time. If you have a Marlin rimfire rifle, do yourself a favor and get that trigger. Ten minutes to install it, and your rimfire will be vastly improved, and the little critters will hate it.

[charlie sterner]

you'd really like a 17HMR! That sounds like a heck of a lot of fun to me. Wish we had that kinda shootin' here in the east.

[ThJudg]

You do Charlie, it's called Washington, D.C. There are all kinds of varmints there !

ThJudg (Roger)

[joez]

Revrat,
It sounds like you had a ball, and IMO the Marlin is the best bang for your buck in 22 mag nothin fancy but will shoot. At 50 yd my 25 MN and Fed FMJ 40 grainers it will shoot a ragged hole. Also welcome to the GGVG :D
Joe

[William D Mansfield]

Glad to hear you had a blast,sounds like a blast.

[charlieshootn]

That is just plain wearing em out! I have my Grandfathers Marlin 22 mag in a lever action and I pretty much learned how to shoot with that gun! I have taken groundhogs out to 220 yards with it on a calm day. Getting ready to put a scope back on it and do some shooting near the neighbors house. It is a much quieter gun.

[Gary in NH]

Which Marlin 22mag do you use? I have the semi-auto 922M which I love to death. Very accurate, reliable and fits me like a glove.

[revrat]

Thanks for the welcome. I was actually here quite a bit some years back, but it looks like the forum changed and I lost my old login ID.

I'm shooting the 882SSV. It's the old heavy barrel bolt version. It has a Weaver V10 sitting on top. It has always been a tack driver, but with the new trigger on it, I think it will be coming out of the safe a lot more often. Now I just have to find a source of my favorite ammo. I was shopping last night for some, and nobody in the whole world seems to have any Win Supreme 34 grain JHP. I still have about 800 rounds, but I bet I can deplete all of that in the next couple of months on this gang of digger squirrels.

[Alan Copeland]

Thanks for the welcome. I was actually here quite a bit some years back, but it looks like the forum changed and I lost my old login ID.

Now I just have to find a source of my favorite ammo. I was shopping last night for some, and nobody in the whole world seems to have any Win Supreme 34 grain JHP. I still have about 800 rounds, but I bet I can deplete all of that in the next couple of months on this gang of digger squirrels.

Cheaper Than Dirt has the 30 grain in stock, but not the 34 grain. You might contact them for an estimated stock date.

[QuickRick]

I have exactly the same rifle and it's been a great shooter for me as well. I worked over the factory trigger on mine down to 2 - 2 1/4 pounds and it sure made it a lot easier to score gophers with. Mine will print the plain jane Winchester 40 grn JHPs under an inch at 100 yards and the CCI 40 Maxi Mag HPs almost as well. Although WMR ammo isn't cheap I figure it still saves me a bundle on centerfire ammo costs. Great for those just out of regular 22 rimfire range shots.... Sounds like your rifle is going to get a lot of use with your new found shooting gallery.

[Monkeyman]

.22mags are quite underrated I think, people think of them in the same class as .22LR. Night and day difference in performance.