I bought Marlin Model 25nm for song last week and want to put a scope on it and shoot it in and take it to my daughter and son-in-laws place where they have 40 acres and a bunch of groundhogs. I've always used a 22 Hornet or .222mag and have no experience with the 22 Mag. What is a realistic max range for groundhogs and what's the trajectory or at what distance do most people sight them in?

i can get up to 200 yds with a .22 lr and about 250 yds with the magnum but both have a scope thow

I'd probably stay within 150 yards depending on what kind of accuracy your getting. That limitation should give you good kills with the 22 mag.

A .22mag. fan, but keep it under 150yards (and 135 would be prefered).

Ground hog is pretty large but the "off button" is pretty small; accuracy might limit your shots to less. Past about 140-150 yards, the bullets are going slow enough that expansion is minimal...certainly nothing like the expasnsion you get at 100yards (same holds true for the .17HRm). With an accurate rifle, and good range finding and windage, can hit things farther out, but it just slips a .22caliber hole through them.

Wind plays with the .22mag., really need some practice time in cross wins to get a handle on just how badly.

I'd probably stay within 150 yards depending on what kind of accuracy your getting. That limitation should give you good kills with the 22 mag.
That sounds reasonable because I don't like to shoot at ground hogs at much more than 50-75 yards with a standard 22 because even though I can hit them farther, too many crawl to the hole to die if not hit perfectly. If the 22 mag stretches that range to 100-125+yds it will be perfect for their place because even though safe to shoot my 222 mag or hornet the 22mag should be much quieter and less disturbing for the neighbors.
I mounted an old scope and now have to go and buy several boxes of different types of ammo and head to the range.

Mike .... In reviewing your posts, I am in total agreement. Basically I like to keep the .22 Mag. within 125 yards on groundhogs. If you keep your shots at that, or inside of that yardage, I believe you will experience satisfactory results.

"Ridge"

I have a similar rifle, the Marlin 983, with a 3 x 9 scope. I consider it effective on Raccoon size varmints up to 100 yards.

Stopped in and picked up 6 boxes of different types of ammo to try. Got to get to the range and see what the rifle likes then test it on the ground hogs!

I was pleasantly surprised at the prices which ranged from $8.00 to $9.00. I expected them to be the same as the 17HMR I see everybody buying.

I'm with Ribbonstone on this one. I really enjoy my HB Marlin 22 Mag and get consistant hits/kills out to 125 to 135 yards. Beyond that range my success rate tails off rapidly and I have also noticed the drop off in bullet performance as well. Maybe the new CCI "Segmented" 40 grain HPs will be a bit of an improvement if I can get my hands on some to test.

While shooting 22 rifle matches few years ago, we tried most 22 Mags on the market at that time, including some foreign brands, but the Winchester 40 Gr Hollow Point were the most accurate that we could find at that time.

I have had 3 22mags-Win. 9422M, CZ 452FS, and a newer Savage. All 3 loved those Remington V-max, and hated everything else. Of course, it had to be the expensive stuff!

Ric

Good luck on your ammo quest! I use CCI Maxi Mag hp's. less than .75" groups at 100 yards. I would agree that 125 yards is coming close to the .22WMR's limit. I have taken 150 yard shots on woodchucks up here, but they were eye shots. The 30..33gr BT's did not thrill me. Accuracy was ok, but not as consistant and tight a group as the CCI's. Crows are a different story. :) Jim

The Marlin 25MN is a good solid hunter. Mount a 3X9 or a 4X12 on it and you've got all the scope you need. I like the PMC 40g and the Federal 50g. Both have good potential and knockdown power on a wistle pig at 100 + yrds.

Tried 6 different boxes of ammo and the plain CCI Mini Mag and the Federal Premium with the Speer bullet shot the best. At fifty yards off the sand bags with a 6X scope I was getting 1" 5 shot groups with those bullets. The others were more like 2-2 1/2" groups. Is 1" at 50yds as good as it's probably going to get?? It's an almost new rifle that had very few rounds through it.
With the copper jacketed bullets do I have to treat bore maintenance and cleaning different from my 22 long rifle guns?:confused:

Might be better accuracy to be had, but shoot the rifle a bit to let things wear in. Get use to the rifle, get use to the trigger (or tune it a bit), and let it lose the sharp edges/burrs. etc. and you may cut those 50yard groups in half. Considering the 125-150yard limit, and the size of the kill area, think your rifle will work out just about "even" (will run out of power/expansion/accuracy at about the same distance).

I've treated them like centerfires, removing the jacketed fouling when it was evident in the rifling. Fouling doesn't build up quickly at these speeds.

Might be better accuracy to be had, but shoot the rifle a bit to let things wear in. Get use to the rifle, get use to the trigger (or tune it a bit), and let it lose the sharp edges/burrs. etc. and you may cut those 50yard groups in half. Considering the 125-150yard limit, and the size of the kill area, think your rifle will work out just about "even" (will run out of power/expansion/accuracy at about the same distance).

I've treated them like centerfires, removing the jacketed fouling when it was evident in the rifling. Fouling doesn't build up quickly at these speeds.

Thanks, that sounds like good advice. I think I might give it a good cleaning and shoot it some more.

100-125 yards is the limit for me. I'm shooting a Ruger 77/22 Mag, my favorite load is the HSM 40 gr JHP, $6.15 a box in bulk. :) I love the .22 Mag

100-125 yards is the limit for me. I'm shooting a Ruger 77/22 Mag, my favorite load is the HSM 40 gr JHP, $6.15 a box in bulk. :) I love the .22 Mag

How many in a box. I gave up on my .22 Mag because it cost me the same to shoot .357s. I'd rather pull the trigger on the Marlin than that 10/22 magnum.

This weekend at my daughter and son-in-laws I watched my son-in-law shoot a ground hog with the 22 Mag I bought earlier this year. I didn't expect much because I was guessing the distance as pushing 200 yards. I told him to hold over several inches and watched him shoot over it. He then held on the top of it's back ( it was feeding) and drilled it through the lungs. It collasped then jumped up and twitched a couple of times and died. We paced it off at 165 long paces and the groundhog had a very bloody exit wound with a hole the size of a nickle. I was impressed with the shot and the performance of the federal premium cartridge.
I'm still thinking the 22 Magnum is a 125yd +/- groundhog gun but I was impressed.

Tried 6 different boxes of ammo and the plain CCI Mini Mag and the Federal Premium with the Speer bullet shot the best. At fifty yards off the sand bags with a 6X scope I was getting 1" 5 shot groups with those bullets. The others were more like 2-2 1/2" groups. Is 1" at 50yds as good as it's probably going to get?? It's an almost new rifle that had very few rounds through it.
With the copper jacketed bullets do I have to treat bore maintenance and cleaning different from my 22 long rifle guns?:confused:

I shoot a 10/22Mag as my 'night hunter'. With a Leupold 4 power, I get dime sized groups at 50 yards (resting over the hood of my truck) consistently, shooting nothing but Winchester SuperX JHP. Hunting varmints/predators at night with my wife holding the spotlight, I expect to hit skunk/raccoon sized critters, offhand, out to 80 yards, consistently.

I clean the bore every time I shoot it, even if only a few rounds shot.

I've found the Federal Premium 30JHP to be the most accurate in my Marlin 882SSV with the Win Supreme coming in a close second.