What do you consider long distance with .22cal airgun?

Todd, when I am shooting long-ish ranges with my .22 bull pup, I prefer the heavier Domed pellets. Seneca 28.5g at ~820 fps. I am around 42 for at the barrel. I don't shoot target over 50 meters, it's all fur or feathers past that range, so minute of pest is more my metric than minute of angle.

That gun has not shown much love for slugs. Most of that gun's use is pest control in semi-rural area. Therefore I drop down to the 15g Hades and drop power to 22 fpe. That is solid to 70 yards given decent wind conditions. I had the crown re-done and have been considering shooting more paper due to the consistency improvement noted.

I hope that was more helpful than my flip answer previously.

Centercut

I thought the question I asked in the post was pretty straight forward. As to your question why .22cal specifically? well, first off, because that's what I'm shooting, second, I wanted information specific to that caliber. third, to see what others that shoot .22 cal consider long range, and forth I wanted to know! I was hoping to gain some input from others in the ammo choices and shooting technique, by their responses, and asking questions you know this is a forum right? Damn dude if you would have read the title I'm not interested in what other calibers consider long range JUST .22!! SO the caliber has everything do with my question. This kind of flippant half assed responses, to a simple question, reminds me why I don't post much anymore. Thanks to those that did.

TODD

Click to expand...

Thank you, I've cut and pasted the second paragraph of my post which directly answered your question. Perhaps you didn't read that?

- I'd say "long range" for hunting is over 75 yards with a pellet and over 100 yards with a high(er) BC slug. I only say this because of shooting EBR where its reasonable to shoot a good card at 75 yards (over 240), but move that target back 25 yards and its darn near impossible to even shoot 230…

Mike

IMHO, for 22 pellets 100 is long range especially if there is any wind at all. high BC .22 slugs can get out to 300 yards even. 


also everyone’s acceptable groups size is different but anything under MOA at longer ranges is excellent in my opinion. Most of powder burner folks at the range have hard time at consistently shoot under MOA 100 yards.

Todd - your thoughts seem to be in the right ballpark. There are way too many variables for me to give you a solid YES or NO. Results in our sport are rarely binary and almost no one has the same idea of what terms like Long(er) distance means. My pest work is done in drainage ditches and around a pecan farm. I prefer to shoot from 20-40 yards, as that is where I have the largest distance covered by the same hold for the cross hairs. The targets don't always play along, though and very close range is even harder for me than very long range.

A related strategy is to zero your scope at slug/pellet trajectory apex. One benefit is then you never have to figure Hold Under, all adjustments will be done with Hold (cross hairs) Over the target to allow for gravity. From your current scope setting, shoot from 15 to 50 yards in five yard increments. Hold the same aim point for each distance. You will find your apex point at the highest impact marked on the target. I suggest you make that distance your ZERO distance. For my mid powered guns, that is usually around 30-35 yards. That makes my POINT BLANK ZERO from 20-40 yards, where the point of impact is very close to the point of aim (within 1-2 pellet diameters) - I know that anywhere in that range, I can put the crosshair on where I want to strike and I don't have to worry about Hold Over or clicking the scope to match the distance. Continue the every 5 yard target excercise to develop your range card or "dope" for the distances you expect to shoot.

My other suggestion is to spend the 100.00 and get a range finder. Use the range finder every time. It may make you miss a shot sometimes for being another thing to mess with before you drop the hammer, but the number of times you mis-judge the distance will go to zero - which makes your shots much more effective and accurate.

Great to hear that we are on the same wavelength To answer the long(er) distance with .22 - that is for me when I run out of dope information and have to start figuring the hold overs on the back of a napkin. If I have the dope, I will usually take the shot.

My different guns have different dope info. The P-rod has taken squirrels over 70 yards (I needed more than one shot to find the trajectory!) I am comfortable with the dope and hold overs to 50-ish yards with the P-rod given good wind condition. (14 fpe)

The Bullpup has dope card on the stock and scope stickers both to 75 yards, with major distances (90Y and 100Y) noted as an add on. I will take the shot to 75 yards most of the time given good wind - when I am using the 28.5g domes. (42 fpe)

The Bullpup with the Hades shoots almost well enough to target shoot to 50m - but the lighter weight and lesser BC of the Hades has me pull out of the shot more often than the heavier diabolos. The POI for both the heavy and the Hades are very similar within the point blank range - needing only a few clicks of windage to align POI and POA between them. Granted, at longer distances the Hades trajectory decays noticeably greater as the distance (and therefore time in flight) increases. (22 fpe)

You know the old superhero saying about "with great power comes greater responsibility" I am finding more joy in slightly less FPE and majorly less risk of ricochet and pass through. I think I am getting old.

Shoot'em good amigo! and tell us about your findings and successes

Damn good info guys. Thanks. 

If you watch the new upnorth airgunner video on the m3 800 mm barrel.His 85 yard group was almost 2 inches . So i would stick with what you got. Watch his video it was very informative.

ToddGeddes63


great shooting Todd

I am still trying to get a good group I shot a group the other at a 100 yards with my 30 caliber first two shot where flyers and then the next 5 where great, I just put air in it before this group question is,do you shot a couple shot and then shot your group 

With my rifle… i sight in at 50.. and expect every shot to touch each other. At 100y I still want sub MOA groups. So I consider 60-100yards standard. Further than that is long range (and pretty much have to have slugs to get consistency out there)

Unless I go to a gun range, 99% of my shots are in the 10-25 yard range. So for me, 30 yards is long range.

Next time I go to the range I'll try a 100-yard shot with my .22 PCP. That will be a first.

I don't have a bench or comfortable rest to shoot from yet so I'm mostly walking around standing and maybe leaning on a post or tree while standing, so when I pop a chipmunk at 50yds I'm very pleased. It gets easier every day.

I need to build myself a nice bench so I can sit and really zero things properly and get some actual data logged down.

delooper said:

Unless I go to a gun range, 99% of my shots are in the 10-25 yard range. So for me, 30 yards is long range.

Next time I go to the range I'll try a 100-yard shot with my .22 PCP. That will be a first.

Click to expand...

I am happy shooting at 15 yards I just seen where other people was shooting out to 100 and had to try it, if get a quarter inch group at 50 yards great this was a 10 shot group out to 50 yards

80 yards can shoot very well after that with 18 gr it ok just lotta guess work really iv shot 16 gr at 110 yards killed few birds easy target shooting 80 yards is still pretty easy to get some nice groups and not get upset, sure in the right conditions you can shoot sub moa but gotta be god day, heavier pellets sure like the 25 gr 22 cal will sure shoot great tried few howlers the other day and pretty impresed but not tuned for them really 930 ish might do better little slower or faster but sure kill a tree rat 1.25 inches with 28 rund magazine so i was happy with it . 18 gr way under 1/2 inch

R.A.M in 177 was accurate out to 120 yards for me, with 10.5 gr.cpdm and 16.1 gr eunjins, also the 22 cal wfh and wth are great out to 100 yards.as too the 22 cal r.a.m,but all these guns are magnum air rifles, and the r.a.m is a 350 clone. but if i wanted accuracy and power i would have to go pcp for consistency at long distance shooting. imo

.22 cal slugs get blown around in the wind at 300 yards so maybe 300 yards is long range for humble little .22 cal.

TODD from my view I consider you and your gun a long range shooter,
with head shots which you and the gun are capable of it's a game getter. Until pcp came along 50 yds was hunting distance.
With a .22 lr rimfire 100 yds was always considered to be long range. On the farm we tried it often, at 2 cents a shot we always tried for the rabbit
and may have wounded some coyotes. They would always run off and you never knew if you hit them or not but they worried and killed some our calves , that justified the shot. Those were peep sight days. Folks didn't consider .22 worthy of a scope, now most everything air rifle has a scope.