The .22 LR

Hello loyal readers, I just want to let you know that my main goal is to keep traveltrailerhermit.blogspot.com updated with a new post Monday through Friday. I spend my weekends resting, relaxing, and picking the brain for the upcoming weekday articles. This usually means that I won’t post during the weekend, however if something truly special comes up I will post regardless of what day of the week it is. What I am really trying to say is that I love writing for you guys, and you can expect a post every weekday and at least twenty posts a month. That is unless I get a bad case of Carpel Tunnel and I am forced to pay someone to put me down like a horse with a broken leg. J   

          Anyways, after cleaning out my sock drawer I came across an old box of Winchester Wildcat 22LR’s I had stashed because I ran out of space on my shelf. I got thinking about the world’s most popular firearm cartridge, and it sparked today’s article. It’s cheap, lightweight, and the most popular round on the market. Almost every shooter is familiar with this humble little plinking round; however most people under estimate its “stopping power”. With proper shot placement, large game can be taken quite clean with this little guy. Hell, ask any game warden and you will find out real quick what a poacher’s preferred caliber is. The modest little .22LR is perfect for teaching kids and women how to safely operate and use a firearm, as well as keeping the average shooter’s skills honed. I have owned three twenty-two caliber rifles during my life, and my favorite is the Marlin Model 60. The Marlin was my first rifle, and after 2,000+ rounds it is still going strong. Most people are quite familiar with the Ruger 10/22, however I don’t understand what the hype is all about. Don’t get me wrong, Ruger makes a damn good rifle but for the price of one 10/22 you could almost buy two Marlins.

            The only difficult part about dealing with the .22LR is finding good dependable ammunition. The cheap bulk 550 round boxes you get at Wal-Mart don’t cut the cake when it comes to reliability. Last summer I brought a 550 round box of Federal 36grain copper plated hollow points for around twenty bucks at my local Wal-Mart, and after a week’s worth of shooting nearly 1/3 of them “snapped” the first time they were fired. They caused a minor jam each time in my trustworthy Marlin 60, but after racking back the slide, the dented cartridge would fly out. Not that big of a deal when you are out plinking, but what if that meant the difference between eating or going hungry in a survival situation. You would be up shit creek without a paddle. CCI’s line of 22LR Mini-Mag ammo seems to be the most accurate and reliable cartridges on the market. These little copper plated hollow points work real smooth in my Marlin, and I have yet to have one disappoint me. For the sake of survival, always remember to store your ammo in a cool dry place. I recommend storing them in gallon Ziploc bags; however the factory packaging seems hold up well against moisture. For around two hundred bucks anyone should be able to snatch up a decent twenty-two caliber rifle and a few hundred rounds of cheap ammunition.

Keep the brass flyin’, Sincerely, the Homestead Hermit…..