Hornady V-Max is generally considered to be the most accurate WMR ammo...though not all guns like it.
In truth the WMR is not to be considered a 'target' round...this would go to the .17HMR. With a decent scope you should be able to get 1.25moa on a calm day.
Easily good enough for coyotes.

 

This, but don't be upset with 1.50" average. Mine like 40 gr. JHP's and even 50 gr. Fed Game-Shok. Lots of knock down at 100 yards.

 

My marlin 22mag rifles are very accurate and at 100yards are deadly on anything at that distance. You should get excellant results from your rifle. Mine shoot very well with the standard CCI 40gr hp so far. I have some 30gr but have not shot any so far. Just be careful 22wmr are addicting...have four already and looking at more.

Lets us know how is does and good luck on your quest. :bthumb:

Signalman

Here is my two marlin magnums

 

Tigerfan07...Sir I forgot to say :Welcome: to RFC. just be careful we here will help you spend more money than you ever thought you would on rimfire rifles, scopes and everything else you might need for your rimfire habbit.

Signalman

 

Yes S-man, you're one of the main culprits.

 

I think you'll like XT22M a lot. My slightly used XT22M (wood & blued) shot 3/8" to 1/2" one hole groups at 25 yards when i was sighting in my 2-7x28 Weaver scope using Hornady V-Max 30g. Not impressive by competition standards given the range, but not bad either. The V-Max shot slightly better than the CCI MaxiMag HP-V 30 g, but not by much; the Fiochi 40g wasn't bad either, grouped almost identical to the CCI for me.

 

Bullet Bait...Sir gulity as charged...what is my sentence...NO Mag FOR ME !!

I promise not to spead the word any more or less that the 22wmr is a fantastic round....

What Say You ? and have a great day smelling gun powder :bthumb:


Signalman

 

BulletBait in my defense I did not show Mr.Tigerfan07 some more expensive rifles like one of these in 22mag. I was trying to break him in easy...being a newbie and all.



or one on these;



But I must admit that I have been afflicted with the 22wmr bug and I have gone crazy in the last two years...can you help me??

Signalman

 

So Sman

for a non-hunter what is a good entry level 22 Mag for not too much money? I'm also not much of a gunsmith type, one reason I like Ruger and Henry, send it back on their dime. I have a 10/22 and a H001 but am thinking I would like a little stronger round. Been reading here and other sites and the Ruger American seems to be pretty good out of the box tho I do like the looks of the Henry much better, wood and "blue".

 

for a non-hunter what is a good entry level 22 Mag for not too much money? I'm also not much of a gunsmith type, one reason I like Ruger and Henry, send it back on their dime. I have a 10/22 and an H001 but am thinking I would like a little stronger round. Been reading here and other sites and the Ruger American seems to be pretty good out of the box tho I do like the looks of the Henry much better, wood and "blue".

If you can get your hands on a Zastava MP22, I think you will be happy. I have three Zastavas. Two are .22s (Rem. Mdl 5 & Zastava CZ99 .22) and the Zastava 22WMR Mdl MP22.

My Zastavas outshoot my CZs and all the rest of my rifles.

[URL=http://s296.photobucket.com/user/varmithunter/media/20D47086-FAF8-42B8-BC75-1061410F7EAB.jpg.html]
I have, or had, some pics from 50 yds (can't find them), that were showing about the same grouping. The poly point seems to be the most accurate. I got the WMR from Whittakers for $225+/-.

VH :oman:

 

Steve34...Sir I will send you a PM.

Signalman

 

Replied, thanks

 

You have done well pilgrim :Welcome:

enjoy that mag..CCI mini mags have served me well over the years.


:F
pipestone

 

Thanks for all of the replies!

Have any of you bedded the action? Would this make a noticeable improvement in accuracy?

 

Welcome tigerfan. The accuracy of the 22mag is bounded by the ammunition itself. When the 17hmr was brought out the ammo manufacturers went to great measure to deliver a superior round. That same quality has not made it to most 22 mag ammo. IMHO bedding will not close up groups on most of these rifles.


To steve34, the best budget 22mag I'm familiar with is the marlin 25M. One can be found used in the $150 to $200 range in a normal month on one of the auction sites. They are accurate and durable, just plain jane stock though.

 

I would just shoot the thing for now and see what it will do, Hows the trigger on it?

The rifles I have bed always turn out better shooters :t

:F
pipestone

 

Here is an excellent article http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_22WMR.htm
You will find most comparisons of these two rounds will say the same thing...1.25-1.5moa is great accuracy from the .22WMR. Many of these articles will go into the fact that the shape and design of the .22WMR (compared to the .17) limit its accuracy.
When you consider that in the Rifle Magazine test I mentioned...that their Volquartsen https://www.volquartsen.com/tags/8-volquartsen-rimfire-rifles,15-complete-firearms,19-22-wmr averaged 1.41" (these are $1500+ rifles) I think it is safe to say that, though bedding and such will help...the .22WMR cartridge is just not a sub 1moa round.

 

Heres a target from a few years ago from my 925....good enough :t

:F
pipestone

 

Don't let anyone tell you the .22 mag is inherently inaccurate - that's an oldie that can trace it's roots back to when the ammo was not as good as it is today. Remember, the WMR has been around much longer than the 17 HMR which has benefited from the better quality ammo available at it's inception. Many folks recall the WMR from the days when the ammo was not as accurate. With good modern ammo and a good quality rifle, the WMR will surprise you. It has come a long way since back in the early days of it's infancy. I have a CZ 452 Lux that is averaging right close to .8" for five shot groups at 100 yards. Sub 1/2" groups at fifty are no problem. I know of other folks whose guns will do equally well in that caliber.

I worked on my son's older Marlin Model 25MN last year - mounting a scope for him - and was pleasantly surprised to find it shot nearly as well as the CZ. Of course, your specific gun may not shoot that well......it depends on what part of the bell curve your gun falls on in regards to accuracy.

This is the first time I shot the CZ after mounting a scope:


This is one of the first times at 100 yards....note three of the groups were with MaxiMags:

 

I would just shoot the thing for now and see what it will do, Hows the trigger on it?

Trigger feels pretty good to me. It has the adjustable trigger on it. I might adjust it down later.

Signalman1, Savage has about the least inexpensive 22 mag that I've seen. Palmetto State Armory has them for $150 after a mail in rebate.

Pump .22s, Great shooting!!

 

Tigerfan07...Sir Savage and Marlin have some cheap models...the Savage Classic 93s are in the upper $400 almost $500 for the thumblehole models.

Sound like you are going to test it out...which good to see how it does now.


Good luck on your quest. :bthumb:

Signalman

 

It all depends on the rifle itself...my Marlin 25MN was a shooter from the getgo...
drove a .17 shooter nuts because I was making dime-sized groups and he was all over the place on a windy day...
it simply put the bullets where I aimed, and gave no trouble...not bad for an $85 pawnshop find

As time went by I modded it to wring the most out of it...picked up 6 more mags, bipod,
did a trigger job, added a second stock screw, put a sling on, pillar bedded it, and added better glass.
Set it up for 50-grain Federal Gameshok & exclusively use that now...coyotes hate it!! :snipersmi
Eventually i'll decide on a Boyd's Stock...still rather indecisive about style & color there...LOL

Marlin button-rifles their RIMFIRE barrels...nobody else does that, its usually too pricey!!
Reason why?? Better barrels mean better precision...start there, the rest is easy.
Their Micro-groove barrel has 12 lands & grooves, most others have 5 or 6.
Put in a nice fat bullet to grip the grooves, and they perform admirably

 

Just about everyone button-rifles their barrels these days, Remington pioneered it in the waybackwhens, then Marlin, Savage and many others started button-rifling their barrels. Douglas, E.R. Shaw, and Shilen custom barrels are button-rifled, as are PacNor and others. Button-rifling is cheaper than cut rifling, or hammer-forging rifle tubes.

 

Just for what it's worth, my Marlin 882 (stainless steel 22" barrel, .22 WMR cartridge) doesn't group well with the 30-grain super-velocity loads.
It works best wtih 40-grain ammo at the normal speed of 1950 f.p.s. or whatever.

A funny thing I just discovered tonight, popping off a few rounds on New Year's Eve after dark: There is significant muzzle flash, even from my 22" barrel.
I would have thought all the gunpowder in the case would have burned-up by the time it got to 18 inches.

 

I would think if you have a 18 inch rifle you would want ammo that burns faster, like handgun rounds, to get the most out of it. But I don't know.

 

Another thought about the .22 mag & the .17 HMR...

Another thought about the .22 mag and the .17 HMR: I have both and like both. The .17 is a bit more accurate and that is due to the ammo being better, but, you need to keep the barrel clean or accuracy drops off. The .17 is a true jacketed round and as such, that small diameter barrel gets coppered up pretty quick. One other comment, I do have a Marlin 882 in .22 mag and at a time when I owned that and an Anschutz in .22 mag, for me, the Marlin shot better so that is the one I kept.

 

Marlin button-rifles their RIMFIRE barrels...nobody else does that, its usually too pricey!!
Reason why?? Better barrels mean better precision...start there, the rest is easy.
Their Micro-groove barrel has 12 lands & grooves, most others have 5 or 6.
Put in a nice fat bullet to grip the grooves, and they perform admirably [/QUOTE]

The 12 groove superiority is another fallacy, it has never been proven to be more accurate. If it were better we would see match grade barrels cut with 12 grooves and they don't exist.

 

925M

my 925M is regularly under 1" at 100yrds. with hornady ammo I can usually cover 3 with a dime and 5 with a nickel at 100yrds. usually outshoot my best friend with his savage 17hmr.

 

my 925M is regularly under 1" at 100yrds. with hornady ammo I can usually cover 3 with a dime and 5 with a nickel at 100yrds. usually outshoot my best friend with his savage 17hmr.

 

Springer1, I don't currently participate in matches due to a busy schedule but I've recently been looking into it. I have modified my trigger, new spring and mirror polish on contact surfaces.