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/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.

-5

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.

5

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.

3

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

3

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.

2

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.

3

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!

1

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

1

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.