Pennsylvania Game News - May 2011 - 63

This started a healthy competition with not only other rimfire manufacturers that began updating their rimfire line-up, but also new companies manufacturing high quality competitive rifles, as well as after market parts for those who wanted to improve their own rimfire to a higher level. Today’s rifles made by Ruger, Savage, Marlin, CZ, Weatherby, Remington, Browning and others can give the average sportsman an accurate affordable package. Then there are rifles such as Kimber and Cooper that cost more, due to the added detailed aesthetics. Finally, for those folks who want all the extreme possible bells and whistles, there are the Volquartsen line of rifles that look almost space age. For slight to major improvements on your already existing rimfire, Volquartsen, Kidd, Boyd and others have triggers, barrels, tuners and stocks, along with other aftermarket parts, that will give you the level of improvement that you’re looking for. With these improved rifles, we have seen ammunition companies also improve the quality of their .22LR cartridge. When I was young, there were really only a few choices of hunting and target ammunition, but today there are dozens of choices for both, in various velocities and bullet weights to pick from. They all don’t shoot the same, so try several brands to see which one shoots best in your rifle. A big boost to hunting varmints with rimfires came in 2002, when Hornady introduced the .17 HMR cartridge. It is designed off a .22 Magnum case and throws a 17-grain 17-caliber polymer-tipped bullet at 2,550 fps. Using a 100-yard zero, it only drops about eight inches at 200 yards and its accuracy is consistently less than one MOA. It’s a tremendous improvement in terminal ballistics over the .22LR and .22 Fun Game answers: O, F, F, F, O, F, O, O, F, O, O, F, F, O, O; CLEAN WATER, CONIFERS
may 2011

Magnum, with their respective 24-inch and 17-inch drops at 200 yards. Marlin was the first to chamber rifles for it and other companies quickly joined in. Today the .17 HMR can be had with either a 17- or 20-grain bullet. The 20-grain slug travels at around 2,340 fps, for those who might want a heavier bullet with a little more punch. For those who don’t reload, this cartridge almost approaches the same capability as the old .22 Hornet 45-grain load. The cost is a little more than the .22 Magnum, but much less than the Hornet. In 2004 Hornady took the .22LR case and necked it down to a 17-caliber, calling it the .17 Mach II. It tosses a 17-grain slug at 2,100 fps and has a 14-inch drop at 200 yards, which is a 10-inch advantage over the .22LR. The cost of ammunition is about the same as decent .22LR target ammo. Several of my friends who hunt squirrels in populated areas like this little cartridge, because it has less of a tendency to ricochet and less guess work on hold over or scope adjustment compared to the .22LR. For those who are fans of the .22 Magnum cartridge, Hornady has updated it by loading a 30-grain polymer-tipped spitzer bullet at 2,200 fps. This cartridge shoots flatter by about 40 percent and holds its energy better at comparative distances than the older flatnose versions. The new generation of rimfire ammunition hasn’t gone without notice by the scope companies. They are now building scopes specifically designed in size to look right on a small bore rifle in 1-inch and 30mm tubes, along with larger objectives for better light gathering, and with newly designed ballistic reticles that mirror the trajectory for any of these rimfires. Today’s sporting rimfire rifles, ammunition and scopes give the performance only target guns were capable of years ago. All you have to do is find the rifle scope/combo within your budget, use the ammo that shoots the best and performs well on the game you’re hunting, and discover what hunting with rimfires is all about. 
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Pennsylvania Game News - May 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - May 2011