I personally haven’t owned one, but they look intresting until, they have appeared to have died.
Not for us. My son bought a single action revolver and a Golden Boy lever gun in the caliber.
He shoots a lot of it. Expensive to shoot though… relatively speaking. He was buying off the shelf at Bass Pro, for God’s sake. Ouch. I got him some bulk online choices to cut the price in like half.
Not one i have ever been interested in, but it does have a following.
A claim i have always heard is it is somewhat of a waste in a handgun versus .22lr and the ballistics by the inch site appears to mostly back that up.
I know guys who like it for pest-control with rifles against small animals they have no interest in eating.
I could also understand why a person might want it in a SD revolver. More rounds in the gun, low recoil, intimidating blast, more penetration than a .22lr.
Cons are a heavier trigger pull & the blast.
I would suggest to these users, though that .32 S&W Long / .32 Magnum would be a better choice. Better trigger, low blast, still mild recoil, more reliable ignition. But they might lose a round in the cylinder & the ammo is more expensive if they don’t reload. Depends how much they plan to actually practice.
Me? I’d like a 10/22 .22 magnum with a 16 in threaded barrel, 20 rd mags, and an M1-style saftey but that’s just another dream.
1 Like
Not around here, people still use it to deer hunt. I take a 22 mag when bird and deer seasons overlap. I took a 198 lbs 8 pointer with a 22 mag in 2024. Used one of those cheap heritage revolver rifles.
1 Like
It fills that niche when 22LR isn’t enough, but 223Rem/5.56x45 is too much. From a cost standpoint it also is about the same price as 9mm. Unfortunately, 9mm can often fill that niche too. I have a CZ 512 in 22 Magnum and love it.
3 Likes
That is a good point, but even the too much part has a reduced chance of ricochets with legit .22 varmint bullets which i assume is a big plus with .17HMR.
I’d never messed with too much 22 WMR. It was a trip to see the quality bullets available… including gold dots.
Those gold dots will drop a deer VERY easy.
I have a Browning pump I bought new my last year in the AF in 79. Paid $180 bucks for it. Its been a great rifle,holds 11 in the tube +1. Worked awesome on desert ground squirrels jack rabbits while in and around Tucson and later blasted more prairie dogs and ground squirrels than I can count in Montana after the service. Still have it today,when I 1st bought it a box of 50 Winchester 40 grain were under $4 bucks,$3.44 to be exact at a local shop in Tucson. I don’t shoot it much now just waiting to give it to one of my grand-kids. 
You’ve dropped a deer with one? Where was your shot placement?
I didn’t even know it was legal anywhere to hunt deer with rimfire. Pretty sure .223 Rem is the smallest legal caliber in this state.
A .22 Mag J frame stuffed full of those makes a decent case for itself.
.22 magnum is ok in Maine
.24(bore diameter) centerfire used to be the minimum caliber for deer in Kentucky so a Baby Browning would have been legal as long as it wasn’t loaded with fmj. I think .24 bore is still the case in some states.
Currently 6.5mm is not enough for KY elk despite 6.5×55 working well on Scandinavian moose since the last few years of the 19th century.
Hunting regulations tend to be more about anti gun fantasies(and often anti hunting) than efficacy on game.
I aim for the vitals. Normally its from a revolver rifle. Last one i shot was a 198 lbs 8 pointer. 1st shot dropped it. It got up after a few mins and i shot it again. IT never got back up.
Small game and deer season over laps, so I bring a 22mag into the woods. Never know when you will see a deer and anything bigger is horrible for small game.
1 Like
I’m looking at Auto Loading Pistol on WMR and I’m not seeing a lot of good reviews?
just curious, why an auto loader?
I was really curious and took a look at some of the reviews.
The revolvers seem to be where it’s at, but I was hoping for a Auto with a supressor.
Aparently both a Can and a Red Dot can be tricky to get running right.
1 Like
Thats where I am at. I went revolver. IF i need a can and a red dot, I would use center fire. I only use 22mag for over lapping seasons.
I noticed that there were cycling problems with all but the heavier (Heaviest) loads available with a Red Dot on the slide, then thinking about a supressor and guessing it’s not likely to make cycling any easier so..
I guess if that’s what you want you can go .22, but not magnum and do it easiest with a Ruger.