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Firearm-What If / Which

The .22lr isn't much of a weapon but it's excellent for small game which is what we have here in the UK. It's lightweight and can be properly silenced with a sound moderator rather then just reducing the noise. It's only drawback is also it's great virtue, it is so low powered that it doesn't mess up the meat.
If you wanted to use one as a weapon I suppose you could use it as a club and beat someone over the head with it


Not sure if I agree with you completely Ystranc but I'll offer the following in an attempt to convince you otherwise

 
I've seen these penetration tests before but there is bit of a problem with using hyper sonic rounds, the solid truncated cone design has good penetration but transfers minimal energy to the target leaving a narrow wound track but passing through causing minimal damage, it's usually described as over penetration which is characteristic of a target round.
When hunting you need to increase the energy transfered which is why most hunters use hollow points or segmented rounds in a .22lr. After all, no one wants to waste time following wounded animal if they don't have to.
Still, I'd hate to be shot in the guts with one no matter what type of round, whatever the range.
 
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Still, I'd hate to be shot in the guts with one no matter what type of round, whatever the range.


Exactly - I know 22lr may not have a instant lethal effect like a nice big 45acp or rifle round but imagine the issues it would pose in a post fall environment. Wound management etc - no-one I know is willing to stand down range of a 22lr because its a light round. Its bastard fast and zingy enough to deflect further inside if it hits bone.
 
The effective range for MOST calibre's is the range st which you can hit the target rather than the residual energy of the round.

.22 is relatively loopy so range estimation and knowledge of holdover at various ranges is key; if you're firing from a fixed location then markers could help but the faster the round the flatter the trajectory the less allowance for range needs to be made.

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With my .22lr at the moment I use a Hawk vantage 3-9x50 scope matched to Hornady sub sonics but I actually use CCI. It's zeroed at 50 meters and marked in 25 meter increments from 25m up to 175m. If I use a bipod I have a reasonable chance of a headshot on a stationary rabbit at anything up to 100m, a messy kill shot up to 150m...beyond that it's just a chancey potshot with subsonic rounds. My landscape doesn't really allow for longer shots with an acceptable degree of safety anyway.
 
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As shown by Ystranc, the utility of the round is the limit at which the user can hit the target; the inherent accuracy of the weapon, the sights, the skill of the user, the weather and the size of the target all affect the effective range by the lethal range may be considerably greater.

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I have found that a range card or range markers are a help at night but are unnecessary during daytime. Still, hitting something the size of a tennis ball at 100 meters with a subsonic round doesn't necessarily translate into being able to hit a football sized target at 300 meters because the point of impact and point of aim diverge so much.
Using the hypersonic rounds means that you have a flatter trajectory but there are other difficulties such as the lighter weight of the bullet allowing greater wind deflection and loss of accuracy due to the bullet decelerating through the sound barrier when taking a long shot.
It may seem counter intuitive but high velocity truncated cone rounds have much higher muzzle velocity so lose their initial speed very quickly due to wind resistance which can increase deflection still further, this phenomenon is obvious to anyone who has ever used a 177hmr.
What I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that a faster bullet isn't necessarily more accurate and when using a bolt action rifle an inaccurate shot is a wasted shot.
 
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A 10 shot quality semi auto shotgun with cartridges of 7.5 shot and some solid slugs.
Plus a good .22 bolt action.
Like this lol
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I was reading back through this thread. Using .22 subsonics with a velocity of 1065 fps at a range 300 yards will need a holdover in excess of 90 inches


Layman’s terms please 😁 I understand the velocity and range but what’s holdover and why 90 inches?
 
It is the difference between the point of aim and the actual point of impact because the bullet drops as it travels. At 300 yards you would need to aim 90 inches above your target in order to hit it if you were using sub sonics.
 
The holdover for the SF sniper who hit a taliban at a mile and a half was 160 yards!

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It is the difference between the point of aim and the actual point of impact because the bullet drops as it travels. At 300 yards you would need to aim 90 inches above your target in order to hit it if you were using sub sonics.



ah a get you now
 
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