r/canadaguns • u/Random_Reddit_User_5 • May 12 '26
Buy recommendations Buying a .22
Everybody on the internet is saying to get a .22 because it is easy and cheap to shoot. But honestly, what can you do with a .22? Plinking and very small animals. Am I looking at this the wrong way? My FSC instructor sayed to get a .243 because its relativity cheap to shoot and still powerful. And another friend told me to get a 25-06 but its ammo hella expensive. Please fell free to give me another point of view.
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u/outline8668 May 12 '26
22 is the only one that's really cheap to shoot. The low recoil helps build shooting skills without developing bad habits (flinch) and just lets you shoot the volume you need to develop your fundamentals. There are tons of reactive 22 targets that are a lot more fun to shoot than a 243 at a paper target all day. Usually a day of shooting for me is a 525 box of 22 + 50-100 center-fire for fun.
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u/Iokua_CDN May 12 '26
Look. I've shot thousands of 22 bullets.
When the cost per bullets is so so so small, you literally can shoot hundreds of them. Talk about trigger practice! You can become so profficent for so cheap.
Recoil is small, which makes it both wonderful for practice, and great for starting out, and enjoyable to shoot.
The size of ammo means that for a survival situation, you could carry a multitude more ammo than other cartridges.
So sure, if you only want 1 gun, one caliber, and want to hut bigger things than gophers, then get something other than a 22.
But if you plan on owning more than 1 gun, and want to target shoot for fun, get a 22.
Bring it along, even of you are shooting other more expensive calibers. After you shoot 10 rounds of the other ammo, you can shoot 100 22lr bullets for the same cost. Great for making an outing last longer without needing to spend hundreds of dollars.
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u/Knuckle_of_Moose May 13 '26
Could you elaborate on what you mean by a survival situation? I don’t think a 22 is gonna do much against anything that can harm you.
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u/ecclectic May 13 '26
May I introduce miss Bella Twin, a cree woman who killed a grizzly using a .22 in 1953.
It's all about the right shot in the right place at the right time.
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u/Iokua_CDN May 13 '26
It wouldn't be a primary defence weapon. It's for small game hunting, which would likely be most useful.
Lot less deer out there than you'd think
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u/Halfbloodjap May 13 '26
And a .22 is plenty to kill a deer in a survival situation. It might not go down right away, but it will.
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u/AlmightyJumboTron May 13 '26
I mean hell, one of the biggest grizzly bears ever killed was with a single shot from an old cooey .22 in 1953.
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u/Halfbloodjap May 13 '26
By a 5 foot nothing cree woman, and possibly with a .22 short. Thank you for one hell of a rabbit hole!
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u/ParanoiaDreamland May 13 '26
I believe I read somewhere to not underestimate a 22 unless you are willing to stand in front of one
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u/SolemnSpider May 15 '26
Its definetly not the best option, but 22 can still be used effectively against mid size dangerous animals like coyotes (to be clear this is a situation where you are shooting the animal multiple times to stop its threat on your life, rather than looking for a clean kill). The more powerful chamberings like 17hmr or 22wmr give you a little more oomf at a reasonable cost, while also being easier to shoot in an indoor range than the larger centerfire calibers.
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u/CanadaFootyFan May 12 '26
On is an ultra cheap, relatively quiet small calibre that can be fired discreetly in lots of locations.
The other is a loud powerful calibre that costs 30x as much per shot but can take down a deer.
It’s like if someone told you to get a Toyota Yaris because of the great fuel economy but you may just get a 3/4 ton truck. They serve entirely different purposes.
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u/Livid_sumo May 12 '26
Ummmm other than plinking and specific hunting cases what do you intend on doing ?
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26
im a recoil slut.
.22 holds 0 interest for me.
.223 /.38 special are the smallest cartridges in my safe.
my first firearm was a 1301 i took to the range with slugs.
look at all these skinny armed downvotes LMAO
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u/Livid_sumo May 12 '26
I was the the same, but then you learn to enjoy shooting rather than the novelty and you wanna mitigate the cost so you can shoot more
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 12 '26
alternatively: make more money.
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u/CurlyWurly61 May 12 '26
Homeless? Build a house
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26
same principle applies.
if you cant afford to shoot it whenever you want, dont get it, or start reloading.
womp womp, dont cry about your inability to fund your hobby. If you cant afford premium gas; buy a junker.
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u/BlandRusk06 May 13 '26
What a stupid opinion!
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
stupid is buying a gun you cant afford the ammo for.
getting downvoted for "live within your means" and "i like recoil" smh
at no point did i disparage your widdle .22's.
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u/Porkdude99 May 13 '26
Yeah I mean nothing less than 12 gauge slugs is what I’d consider “recoil”… lmao. Stop being a dick weed, you’re probably a plumber or some stupid shit
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u/Livid_sumo May 13 '26
I dont think you know what fiscal responsibility is....
But its clear my comment was very triggering for you ❄️
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
oh please spare me this vapid projection.
If you cant afford the ammo, dont buy the gun.
what part of that is fiscally unwise?
"mitigate the cost"
two ways: shoot cheaper ammo, or make more money to afford more expensive ammo.
method one is easy. method two requires not being useless.
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u/Livid_sumo May 13 '26
Dude you enjoy the vibration of recoil as the primary feature of shooting. You called yourself a "recoil slut", the cringe of your comments is hard to handle.... I think the downvotes kinda say how people feel about your opinion.... maybe just stop replying and take the 'L'
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u/dirkdiggler2011 May 13 '26
It's called "peacocking" and it's pathetic.
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
As opposed to you agonizing over the cost of ammunition?
Nice deflection, you really danced around the question. 🥱
enjoying the feel of recoil doesnt mean i think its the primary feature of shooting, nice strawman.
ill repeat: shoot whats in your budget. thats what OP's concern was.
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u/Dootbooter May 13 '26
Dude..... you're embarrassing yourself. Let people enjoy their hobby without your need to tell the world how tough and rich you are.
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u/Top_Importance6216 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
Let people enjoy their hobby.How f****** ironic
You guys are all reading WAAAY too deep into what I said. the insecurity projection is WILD.
im curious how dont shoot what you cant afford to restock got turned into "im so rich".
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u/Acc4Wtf May 12 '26
17 WSM for the most powerful rimfire. 223 for fun and 308 for hunting. Don't forget a 12ga pump and/or semi!
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u/Redbulldildo May 13 '26
17 WSM if you want to shoot once a year when you find a box of ammo for sale.
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u/Nascar_chayse May 12 '26
.243 isn’t that cheap, 22 you can shoot all day for cheap, ur not going hunting with it but its a fun toy.
Look for sales on Winchester wildcats, I got mine brand new for 250 bucks a few months back
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u/MasterScore8739 May 12 '26
The only down side I ever found with .22LR was when a gopher was father than 100 yards, then I’d sometimes find myself wishing I had a .223… then I’d become a game of who could hit the gopher first with the .22 and suddenly I’d forget about the .223.
Outside of doing something beyond 100ish yards, a 22LR will cover damn near everything else you’d typically do on a range trip. When you used to be able to purchase handguns, it covered even more for cheaper.
Want to mag dump and pretend you’re John Wick? 22LR lets you do that, but without destroying your wallet.
Want to go for tiny little groups? Set a target at 50-100 and challenge some friends to see whose rifle is able to hold a tighter group.
Want to introduce someone to shooting who’s never shot before? The piddly 22LR won’t leave them sore if they don’t properly shoulder the rifle. It’s also great for recoil shy shooters.
Want to get into the ‘long range’ rimfire game? There’s some nicer bolt actions that cost a decent bit but are absolutely worth it for their repeatability.
Want to try a couple different ammo types and see what your rifle likes? Pfft. Easy, grab a couple different boxes of 50rds that range from $8-$20 instead of the pricey $1+ a round of anything more than .223 nowadays.
As much flack as 22LR gets for being “useless”, the average person can easily afford 5-600rds a year at the range… some can even afford that every month or even a week. Try doing the same with anything centre fire.
Moral of the story: the more you can get out and shoot, the more fun you’ll be having.
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u/Halfbloodjap May 13 '26
I regularly shoot my .22 out to 200 yards, for me its more fun to shoot that distance with a .22 than my centerfires are
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u/MasterScore8739 May 13 '26
200 is the farthest I’ve been able to consistently hit with almost every 22 I’ve owned. Mind you I’m counting a ‘hit’ as being within about a 6” metal plate. I haven’t actually taken it out past that for a known distance.
That said, I have absolutely played the “can I hit that” game. Buddies and I would pick out large rocks at ungodly distances (for 22s), then see if we can get any hits on them.
I do have to agree though, trying to stretch those little rifles out past anything reasonable is a lot of fun.
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u/DuperCheese May 15 '26
It’s like the saying “it’s more fun to ride a slow motorcycle fast than a fast motorcycle slow”
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u/Random_Reddit_User_5 May 13 '26
I dont have gopher here.
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u/MasterScore8739 May 13 '26
Pop cans, cardboard cut outs, Thunder shot (exploding targets), oranges, metal plates and rubberized targets all make for great small targets.
Not everything you hit with a bullet needs to be a living creature.
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u/Spydude84 May 12 '26
What can you do with a .22? Many things.
You can burn down 3 25 round mags for $7.50. You can plink. You can train drills on them. You can compete in multigun with them.
Shooting .22 at distance is harder, so you can train some long range shooting fundamentals with a .22 with much reduced distances (200-300yds) which will translate to 500-1000yds with varying centerfire rifles. Finding a range beyond 100-300yds is pretty hard in many places.
The real question is, what do you want to do? They aren't much different from centerfire rifles other than less effective out to distance (which can be a benefit like I mentioned) and have less recoil.
If you just want to shoot big game or 1000yds or get your shoulder beat up by recoil, then a .22 is not for you.
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u/No_Win_9797 May 12 '26
Both .243 and 25-06 are high velocity firearms that don’t have the longest barrel life, if you plan on only shooting a few rounds per year it’ll last a lifetime. But plinking away at the range you’ll burn through the barrel a lot quicker. 22lr has numerous applications especially if you plan on getting into hunting or have any pests to rid of a property. Cheap ammo allows you to blast away all day and take the time to understand all the important pieces that are ballistics.
Me personally, I would never own a .243 or a 25-06. If a center fire rifle is priority for you, get a .223rem.
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u/adhq May 12 '26
You don't need a particular reason to buy a .22. You'll find plenty of good ones once you have it.
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u/Massive_Expression_2 May 12 '26
It's really a question of what you buy IN ADDITION TO a .22. Think about what a fun range day might look for you. What amount of money would the ammo cost, and still be within your comfort zone?
How many rounds in total would you want to fire to scratch the itch of shooting?
Maybe 100? (Just an example. I know that many of us go thru hundreds of rounds per session). Can you afford to spend $1.50 or $2 per round to shoot a common hunting caliber? Or is $0.75 per round more suited to your budget?
Or some mix of $0.10 per round and $2.00 per round? (25 rounds x $2= $50. Add another 50 rounds of bulk .22 at $0.10= $5. For a total of $25.)
Figure out what you'd like to use your gun for and what your monthly budget might be for ammo. You can probably figure out a solution after you've answered those questions.
If you have unlimited resources, disregard everything I've said. 😄
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u/someone_canadian May 12 '26
I think you are looking at it the wrong way. You are looking at it like you will only get one gun and it has to have utility and be cost efficient.
The .22 is the cheapest and most fired round in the world. Grab a cheap gun for a couple hundred bucks and a bucket of bullets, then go out and shoot till your hearts content.
Use it for practice, small game hunting, or just fun. At around 10 cents a shot and the actually surprising amount of utility it has, there is almost no reason to not own a .22
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u/Mah_Buddy_Keith May 12 '26
I started with a bolt gun in 7.62x39mm. It took me until last year to take the rimfire pill. Yes, plinking and varmit hunting are what you’re going to be using your .22 for, but a properly-tuned .22 can give you muscle memory for PRS without having to spend a dollar per round. Even with using match ammo, I’ve already saved an amount equal to my investment in the .22 platform if I were doing the same with bulk .308.
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u/CurlyWurly61 May 12 '26
I told myself only centrefire... and only things that have recoil... then I dropped over $2000 on a precision .22 setup 😅
You should get 1 bolt action in .22lr and 1 bolt in .308 or 6.5 creed... hell, even a .223 depending on the distances you shoot at.
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u/Response-Cheap May 12 '26
🤷🏻♂️ My centerfires and shotguns sit in the safe a lot more. .22 I can come home from work and mag dump 100 rounds off the back deck legally, and nobody cares. I don't think my neighbors would be as chill about 100 12 gauge rounds back to back off the deck. The big guns only come out on crown land or at the range, except for the odd time I'll bust out the Benelli to send a few 12 gauge rounds at a pest..
I'm starting to collect .22s.
They're super practical for hunting small game. You can bag armloads of small game per day. Good luck getting more than a couple deer tags a year though.
Great for a survival/shtf kit. You can toss a few hundred rounds and a little takedown .22 in your rucksack and barely notice the weight. Feed yourself for months in a survival situation.
I think everyone should own at least one .22 if they're serious about shooting. If it's just for an annual hunting trip, then yeah whatever centerfire you want, and a 20 round box of ammo is all you need. But if you plan to spend day after day, shooting for hours, you might want to think about a .22. You can shoot 1000 rounds for ~$100. Meanwhile, large centerfire rounds cost $1-2 per round. Meaning if you shot 1000 rounds of .30 06 or whatever instead, you just spent ~$1500 on empty casings and holey paper (maybe a deer or two if you're lucky).
It just makes sense.
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u/JohnTitorTravels2020 May 13 '26
Bought a .243 first and then bought a .22. Confirmed that .243 is not cheap to shoot at all. Practice on the .22 and hunt with the .243. You’re going to want to shoot when you get it.
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u/cutslikeakris May 13 '26
Largest Grizzly in the world was taken by .22 short by my mom’s ex’s grandma. She was a sweet little native woman who I met a few times.
So you can take game up to grizzly size…..
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u/Random_Reddit_User_5 May 13 '26
Yeah, I know a friend who killed a bear with birdshot so how bout that. He was bird hunting and was charged by the bear they called a game warden and everything but yeah black bear with birdshot.
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u/-rifle-is-fine- May 13 '26
I thought like you and bought an SKS. Then a 10/22 because I could shoot three times as much for the same price.
Get a 10/22, register for Mapleseed, then buy more guns after you patch and get a better idea of your goals for shooting.
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u/swift_gilford May 13 '26
But honestly, what can you do with a .22?
For starters, not cry when i leave the range when i look at my wallet.
It's just super versatile; plinker, small animals, trainer, competition etc.
As someone who shoots long range, a session with my 22 i can stretch out to 300-400m and really focus on my fundamentals and wind calls and get what would be similar to 600+ with my full bore. Aside from the ammo costs savings, i'm saving my barrel life.
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u/Murray3-Dvideos May 12 '26
Hard to beat for pest control (gopher hunting) and game bird hunting. Great for youth and easily intimidated new shooters to learn on. Reportedly satisfying to shoot "long range" with (rimfire long range distances). Reportedly fun to shoot action sports with (3gun, 2gun etc).
IMO for general plinking and shooting paper, I find them to get boring pretty quick. Honestly fully automatic gas blow back airsoft guns are more amusing to shoot at that point.
The other 2 recommendations are terrible unless you reload or use them strictly for hunting. And even at that there are far more affordable and diverse options available today like 6.5 creedmore instead of .243. Etc etc.
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u/ovjho May 12 '26
I have the Reddit stater pack, mossberg 500, SKS, and while not a 10/22 a Winchester Wildcat AND a Henry lever in .22lr. I also have a carcano, Ruger American, two handguns, and [REDACTED].
When I want to go outside and plink, 4/5 times I take the wildcat or the Henry. Ammo is cheap, subsonic rounds mean I skip earpro, and recoil is non-existent. It’s a low barrier to entry AND inexpensive to operate. Still plenty of fun.
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u/TheLordAstaroth May 12 '26
.22 is ~10 cents a round to shoot and the rifles are just as cheap. I've run 2k rounds through my .22 give or take and thats like 200 bucks of ammo in 2 years lol
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u/Vituperate250 May 12 '26
To me, firearm purchases are all about purpose. I have a handful of "full power" rifles for historic value (a Lee Enfield, a Swedish Mauser), but every other firearm I own is motivated by plinking, even my .30-30 and 7.62x39 rifles.
Do you want to hunt? Get a firearm or two in a cartridge that suits what you want to hunt, and to some extent your stature.
Do you want to shoot for fun, i.e. plinking? Start with a .22, maaaaaybe a .223/5.56. .357 Magnum and other large pistol cartridges are also great to shoot in rifles, and the ammunition is relatively inexpensive.
The other use case for .22 is practice, practice, practice. Getting good at shooting requires repetition, and .22 is the cheapest you can possibly shoot short of someone else buying the ammo for you.
Do you have another purpose? Buy firearms that suit whatever your purpose is.
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u/Desperate_Finance_91 May 13 '26
get a 38spl or 223 , those are the only cheap affordable rounds after .22
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u/BuyRelevant1000 May 13 '26
243 is not cheap lmao. Everyone else here has given you more than enough insight
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u/Birdybadass May 13 '26
What’s your reason for fire arm ownership? Plinking, hard to beat a .22lr. Hunting, tons of opportunity. The reason everyone suggests a 22lr is because it’s so usable for every aspect of shooting.
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u/Random_Reddit_User_5 May 13 '26
well hunting and there are no gophers here and by budget wont allow for two guns within next year.
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u/Birdybadass May 13 '26
Hunting gophers, squirrel, grouse, hare, there’s plenty of opportunity with a 22lr, and if you’re an inexperienced shooter getting the repetitions in practicing trigger control and technique would be very advantageous.
If you’re only buying one rifle, I would not recommend a .243 and instead I’d really look at what game you intend to hunt and buying the best all around caliber from there. 308 is relatively inexpensive, readily available, and capable for everything in North America aside from polar bears or Sasquatch. Your “buy once” method would go a lot further with a 308 than 243 or 25-06.
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u/Random_Reddit_User_5 May 13 '26
well i have shot guns like AR-15s in the states and i manged to hit like 60% of my taregets so im not new to shooting guns but i dont (own) a gun. And most of my hunting will revolve around coyotes and black bears. So .223 is underpowerd.
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u/swhissell May 13 '26
You don’t need to buy one right away, but you should have a .22. They’re just so versatile.
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u/Slow-Register-3836 May 13 '26
I love me some recoil. But I never hit the range without one of my .22s. Cheap to shoot fun to plink with. 100 yards is considered long range shooting so its fun to practice that if your range isn't huge. Also grouse and snowshoe hare are both delicious and fun to hunt. Imo every collection needs at least one youll use it alot more than you think.
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u/Bigredkink May 13 '26
22 first, develop good habits and practice, 223 next learn to shoot further, 308/30.06 for hunting most game if you’re into it, 12/20 gauge shot gun next….. then spiral out of control buying everything else
I went cooey 60, no1 mk3 in 303 and cooey 84 but they were hand me downs….. and 303 was much cheaper then…….
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u/NostalgicAlee May 13 '26
As a newly licensed shooter, it's definitely nothing crazy in terms of firepower but they're still fun and super easy to shoot.
I have a semi TM22, and it's one of my favorite LOOKING guns and shoots flawlessly, it's very satisfying. Yeah, it's not loud or fancy, but don't regret buying it at all.
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u/Hot_Leg4084 May 13 '26
Depends. What is your goal with owning guns? Display? Shooting for fun? Competition? Hunting?
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u/Frreed May 13 '26
You can buy 50 .22 shells for the cost of a single shell from most high powered rifles.
But you didn't answer your question, what are you doing with it? If plinking you can't beat a .22, for hunting it totally depends on what your are hunting
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u/EnggyAlex Alex's Homebrew May 13 '26
what do you want to achieve with gun? .243 and 25-06 both are high velocity rounds that kills barrel really fast and not offered in most inexpensive firearms, I have no idea why they even suggest those to you
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u/DryF1re May 13 '26
"what can you do with a .22? Plinking and very small animals."
what can you do with a .308? plinking and larger animals.
the fuck question is this?
if you can afford another rifle and you want a new caliber, .22 is pretty fun.
if you cant afford another rifle, you should probably still buy the .22 and shoot it because you clearly cant afford the larger caliber.
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u/Crossed_Cross May 13 '26
Where do you live? Some places like Ontario severely limit where you can shoot rifles.
I've killed a grouse with a .22lr. Mostly with 20ga though.
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u/Random_Reddit_User_5 May 15 '26
Im in Northern Alberta and own like 8000 acres. 90% is rural land. And I have a friend who goes shooting grouse with his .22LR every Sunday and hasn't ran into any problems.
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u/JumpinJacker081 May 13 '26
You have not really told us what you want. Its really hard to make a suggestion without knowing what you are doing with it.
I like plinking, so i have a 22, i like trap shooting and i want the ability to hunt so i have a couple 12g pumps. I needed something relatively lightweight, decent ammo capacity, the ability to have attachments, could drop a deer if i needed it to, not much recoil, and decently cheap ammo, so i bought a tacticool lever in 357.
Imho in this shooting climate lever actions are a good buy. I like pistol calibers, a box of 50 goes for around 30 bucks so it wont break the bank to plink, powerful enough (mind you not the most ideal) for deer which if i were to hunt would be the biggest animal i would go for. But the levers in my opinion are going to be the last guns banned.
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u/crimsonfletcher May 14 '26
You can get a deer with a .22 and if your a really good shot you can get an elk.
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u/Beauch9191 May 15 '26
Here's your view, Go get the .243 and shoot it for a bit take it out hunting and take it to the range, and then in about 6 months you will realize you still want a .22.
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u/Parking_Media May 12 '26
Are you rich and don't care about noise recoil or $ shoot center fire everything.
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u/cattabliss bc May 12 '26
are u only ever going to own 1 gun?
if you ever want more than 1, a .22 is like 1/10 the cost of the other gun usually, so you might as well get it for funsies