best .22lr round for predators???

C

crowpopper

New member
ok dont get all worked up just yet lol...
I am looking for best .22 lr round for predators mainly fox but the occasional cat and yote(if yote steps under 40 or so yards and cant get rifle or shotty on him) and as a finishing gun
i have my ruger MKIII hunter and this thing shoots like a laser using both roundnose 4 grain standard velocity and also like a laser using hypervelocity 33 gr yellowjacket hollow points
at 50 yards i can bounce the lil golf balls all over no problem
the gun isnt ammo picky and i plan to use it as a back up gun, when i coon hunt which ive seen quite a few fox and yotes also coon hunting and i usually only bring a .22 lr
i sold my .22 mag and also i hunt a few spots that are rimfire only during deer season so
again it is not a primary gun but say im out snowshoeing and see a yote pop up from the brush around 40 yards i plan to pop him in the head i know i can make the shot but whats best ammo used
a fox id take head and boiler room shot under 40 because i know they are thin skinned and when i first started hunting fox i used to use LR with cci stingers and a frontal chest shot worked just fine under 50
so sorry for the rambling here whats yalls expert opinions here?
ps my main gun is my tc encore pistol in .223 so the 22lr will be used little but i want it incase
 
I'd use what ever 40gr's round noses your gun likes. That way you should get healthy penetration into the brain as that is where I would shoot the dog, but I've never shot a coyote with a .22lr.
 
i wouldnt suggest trying to call in and kill a yote with a 22lr unless u dont want to find them. ive seen alot of yotes shot with them and only one recovered. coyotes are tough.
 
I've never tried them, but the 60gr Aguilla sub-sonic are supposed to hit really hard.
I saw some at Gander Mountain a while back but didn't get any. Went yesterday to get some to try, and none there.

Shayne
 
Originally Posted By: yotehunter57 I've never tried them, but the 60gr Aguilla sub-sonic are supposed to hit really hard.
I saw some at Gander Mountain a while back but didn't get any. Went yesterday to get some to try, and none there.

Shayne

I've used them and they work well as long as whatever you shooting is fairly close.
50 yards would be the max limit I would use them.
 
I've heard good things about those rounds. There was some articles though saying they didn't group great in a standard twist barrel is a reason I haven't bought them.

Randy, will they cycle a semi-auto?
 
Originally Posted By: Jeepdude1987I've heard good things about those rounds. There was some articles though saying they didn't group great in a standard twist barrel is a reason I haven't bought them.

Randy, will they cycle a semi-auto?

Hmm, never tried them in a semi-auto as my semi-auto is a POS and not worth using.
I've just used them in the savage bolt and an old S&W M34 revolver. Work great out
of the savage and are fairly quiet. They hit hard.
 
I use 22 shorts to the head when dispatching trapped animals including coyote and it does wonderfully. I cant imagine a full power 40 gr. not doing its job with a head shot. Tough or not, dead is dead. Im with JeepDude, get some ammo your gun likes and go to town.
DaFUnk
 
Winchester super x 40 grain hollow points Ive dropped 3 coyotes in their tracks with it under 80 yds. Just if you can get a sharp blade and open the hollow point slightly more.
 
Dont use stingers, they can damage your MK III. I've used my mark iii hunter for jackrabbits and they laugh with high velocity ammo. If you are going to use 22lr I would recommend cci subsonics in 40g. I don't know what it is about he expansion properties of this round but it blows holes in critters and they are very accurate out of a mark iii.
 
The Federal brand 40 gr. HPs are pretty darn good. Head shot groundhogs go down quick.

Wal-Mart used to sell them in the bulk 550 round box, but I notice now they are 36 gr and not 40. I hope Federal hasn't dropped the 40. The 40s shoot good in every rifle I've used them in.
 
I have killed 5 coyotes with the aguilla sniper sub sonics. I have a buddy that calls me to take care of the yotes getting in his back yard. They shoot well outof my 10-22 out to 40yards or so. The longest shot I have taken on a coyote is 40 yrds and he only went 25yrds and was done.
The only reason I use the .22 is he doesn't want me to use any centerfire weapons where he lives.
 
I recently did some extensive .22lr holllow point expansion and penetration testing. I tested at both 50-yards and 100-yards using factory ammo and compared the results to the same ammo that had been slightly modified with a hollow pointing tool. Lots of pics and data here:

http://forums.americanvarminthunters.com/index.php?showtopic=1903

I will be testing .22lr on foxes this winter at ranges under 50 yards. For factory ammo I would recommend CCI MiniMag HP or CCI Velocitor. Both performed well in my testing and are accuarate and reliable in most weapons. I'd put accuracy higher on the list than performance, so pick whatever is most accurate in your gun.
 
thanks guys
well accuracy is the thing the Rem Target 40 grainers are dead on accurate with the yellow jackets following close behind the the velociters are right there too
basically this gun is accurate with most ammo
im going to shoot some jugs of sand and see the penatration and expansion outta this gun for 50 and under ill decide from there
thanks again for info
il also try the 60 gr's see if they shoot ok outta this gun
 
Just remember that when using a small, low powered caliber
like a .22, shot placement is just about everything. When
I use a .22 on yotes or wild dogs, I want them standing
still preferably standing sideways to me. And close, I
want them less then 50 yards away.
 
CCI MiniMag HP performed well in my testing.
June-15-2010-014c.jpg
 
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