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22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

Doughty69

Private
Minuteman
Dec 17, 2010
25
0
36
TX, Fort Hood
I own a 22WMR and i was wondering what some of the pros and cons were to practicing with the mag vs. a 22LR. I understand the price of ammo for the mag is a little more, but performance wise how will I benifit from the WMR vs LR and vise versa?
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

I would use it....dope is dope and while you can stretch the mag a little further the point is working on technique and wind reads so it will give you the same practice. The only issue I see is what range you have. I like shooting my 22 at 200 for practice as a good simulation of about 600 yd centerfire shooting and for the same practice with the mag you will need more distance. I think the main issue is cost of shooting......but you already have the mag.
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

It's not a little more, unless you're talking about match ammo.
You can reload .223 as cheaply as you can shoot .22WMR.
Additionally, few mags give the accuracy of .22LRs.

You'll shoot a lot more with .22LR, and that's what training is all about: trigger time.

You get better wind doping experience from LR, less noise, and, depending on where you shoot, the ability to use ranges where hotter rounds aren't permitted (I'm thinking about folks who have to shoot indoors in winter).

There are competitions for .22LR: Silhouette, .22 Tactical, etc.

The only benefit of .22WMR is in the role for which it was originally intended: small game/light varminting out to 150yd or so, where the flatter trajectory and higher energy is a factor.

Where energy is no longer important, the LR shines.
At known ranges, trajectory is unimportant, so even shooting to 100yd (or farther, sometimes MUCH farther) is a reality.

Sinceyou already have the mag, you;ll have to balancethe price of a new gun against the few thousand rounds of ammo you can get for the same money,
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

For the cost of the ammo, you may as well get a 17. Superior to both IMO
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Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

depending on your point of view, a "pro" can actually be a "con" but i'll tell you my opinion on why a .22 lr is better as far as training or short range target shooting is concerned.

1. larger arc (trajectory) of the bullet allows you to run more adjustments and calculations in a shorter distance.

2. quieter tha the .22mag - nicer to use in more urban areas if an established range isn't available

3. greater choice of ammo to better match your rifle to get the best groups / consistancy, therefore better quality trigger time.

4. in general more ecomomical to operate as far as ammo is concerned.


i prefer the .22 mag when it comes to hunting or shooting target at 200+ yards. the generally flatter shooting .22 mag and .17 hmr doesn't really start showing much differences that will start "schooling" you until around 150 / 175 yards.
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

Frog and TOP PREDATOR have provided excellent reasons to favor the 22lr over a 22wmr for practice. I agree with their thinking. But you already own the 22wmr.

So it really boils down to how much you plan to shoot. The more you want to shoot, the more switching to the 22lr makes sense from an economic point of view.
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

I like the idea of a 22WMR/17HMR for a wabbit gun but 22LR just can't be beat when compared to the others from a learning standpoint
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Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cheech</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Who couldn't use another rifle?.....anybody?........
I rest my case.</div></div>
+1 the more the marrier!
 
Re: 22WMR vs. 22LR as a trainer??

While the "get both" concept is more popular than "choose one" on the boards, I am finding that fewer rifles of higher quality is the better answer for me. My last rifle purchase was a Cooper JSR. I am very very pleased with this rifle. But I did not buy it until I went through a Ruger 77/22 and a Remington 504. I spent a lot of time and money modifying these rifles, and their performance did improve, but not enough. I took a significant loss on the sale of both of those rifles. If I had just accepted the price of the Cooper up front, I would have saved a lot of time and money.