The second it clicked to me that the 22 ARC might need extra potential than being simply one other gas-gun varmint cartridge was once I despatched 5 rounds in a row right into a 16-inch metal plate at 1,000 yards in a 10- to 12-mph crosswind. The stunning half, to me, was that I used to be in a position to maintain the identical windage correction I simply used with my 6.5 CM bolt gun taking pictures 140-grain Sierra MatchKing bullets. I’ve thought-about utilizing .22-caliber cartridges just like the .22/250 Rem. or .220 Swift for giant sport animals like sheep and caribou, however the marginal discount in recoil would come at the price of dramatic wind drift — a major limiting issue. With numerous fashionable, heavy-for-caliber .224 bullets, that’s now not the case. Contemplating drop and wind drift, the 22 ARC performs rather more just like the 6.5 CM than a normal .223 Rem.
Why Hunt Moose With A 22 ARC?
The largest query most individuals requested once they realized I used to be going to take a 22 ARC moose searching was: why? The reply, even when boring and unsatisfying, was to see what would occur. To be clear, I by no means thought-about the 22 ARC as a superlative moose cartridge. Nor was I paid by the Illuminati to push a story concerning the cartridge to promote ammo and rifles. In truth, the oldsters at Hornady have been in all probability horrified once I informed them why I used to be asking particular questions on terminal efficiency of bullets just like the 80-grain ELD-X.
My major curiosity within the 22 ARC is its potential as a sheep and black bear cartridge, however chasing moose was my subsequent searching alternative, in order that’s the place I used it. It’s so simple as that. Internally, my thought was: I’ve killed moose with 90-grain .243 bullets and 110-grain .25-cal bullets, why would I be frightened a couple of .22-cal 80- or 88-grain bullet at comparable velocities?
I plugged as many individuals I may for data on penetration and wound-channel traits on a few of these newer heavy .224 bullets. Anecdotes of terminal efficiency on antelope, African plains sport, moose, and elk satisfied me that with cautious consideration to shot choice and distance, the 22 ARC would do greater than sufficient harm to kill a moose shortly and successfully — particularly contemplating that we nearly all the time shoot our moose at lower than 200 yards. My real curiosity was to see simply how these little bullets would carry out, and what that may doubtlessly imply to be used on deer-sized sport.
On Killing Moose
Many individuals imagine that as a result of moose are so massive, they’re troublesome to kill, or require proportionally massive cartridges to get the job carried out. Although there may be actually a spot for booming magnums in moose searching, inside most moose-hunting parameters, massive cartridges merely aren’t crucial. In case you shoot a moose by each lungs with any increasing bullet that may do a good quantity of injury, it is going to die quick.
One other attribute of moose that makes individuals suppose they want enormous cartridges is their tendency to take in photographs earlier than falling. It’s frequent for hunters to shoot moose two or 3 times (and typically extra) as a result of the moose will normally stand nonetheless or transfer just a little methods reasonably than dash away. I’ve killed and seen them killed with all kinds of calibers and so they almost all the time die on this method. Most moose hunters will shoot as soon as, fireplace a follow-up shot, maybe a 3rd relying on circumstances, and the moose will fall over. They could keep on their toes for greater than a minute, or just some seconds. The outcomes nearly all the time fall underneath these parameters with double-lung shot.
Killing A Moose with the 22 ARC: Uneventful, however Informative
I didn’t count on a lot drama when it got here to killing my moose, and it went down as if it had been some other caliber. My shot alternative got here at a bull who was strolling broadside by a finger of brush that made for a difficult shot. Shortly scanning forward of the moose, I used to be capable of finding a small clear window that his chest would probably move by. As he stepped throughout that slender opening, I fired a shot into his lungs.
The primary shot hit the center of a rib and terminated within the offside lung, blowing a gap concerning the measurement of a baseball between the lungs.
Somewhat than seize up, the bull sprung ahead, angling away, and I fired a second fast shot that hit him within the meatiest a part of the left hind quarter. I hate ruining any meat, and am nonetheless beating myself up about hitting his quarter. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to see that the bullet put roughly a racquetball-sized wound channel by 10 inches of stable meat earlier than fully shattering the highest of the femur. I couldn’t discover the bullet or any items of jacket, and it appeared to have ended up someplace within the physique cavity.
I fired a 3rd shot because the bull got here to a cease, which impacted a pair inches from the primary. This final shot nearly actually hit a twig or piece of brush and tumbled, passing by each lungs. It tore an extended gash within the close to lung and left a golf-ball-sized gap within the offside lung, terminating underneath the off-side shoulder’s scapula.
I fired all three photographs in about 5.5 seconds, and the bull dropped 40 seconds after the primary shot after touring about 20 yards — a typical, routine moose kill, in my expertise.
Heavy-for-Caliber
The bullets the 22 ARC is designed round, and their potential for big-game, is one facet of the cartridge that actually appeals to me. Its benefits as a gas-gun cartridge are fairly simple — it’s designed to make use of longer, heavier, and extra environment friendly bullets than the .223/5.56mm can area in a normal AR-length journal. These bullets are what give the cartridge its wind-bucking properties.
For a few years, service rifle shooters have used 80-grain (and heavier) bullets on the 600-yard-line, and I earned my Distinguished Rifleman Badge taking pictures 80-grain Sierra MatchKings. Nevertheless, not like the stubby 77-grain SMKs and tipped TMKs, the environment friendly, low-drag bullets are too lengthy to slot in an AR15 journal and should be single loaded.
I believe that the 22 ARC is solely an environment friendly and efficient supply system for these heavy-for-caliber bullets — that are the actual star right here. One may realistically match a bolt motion with a tight-twist .22/250, .220 Swift, or .22 wildcat barrel and obtain comparable outcomes. It merely depends upon your style and what metrics are most necessary to you.
22 ARC vs 22 Creedmoor
The opposite scorching .22-cal in the home is the 22 Creedmoor — one other necked-down wildcat. The 22 Creedmoor is a superb performer with heavy-for-caliber bullets within the 80- to 90-grain vary, with a slight edge in case capability and velocity over a .22/250. With the identical bullet and barrel size, the 22 Creed will beat the 22 ARC by round 200 fps in velocity, however is unlikely to make a demonstrable distinction in terminal efficiency at cheap ranges. Each are correct and lethal choices.
Potential benefits of the 22 ARC are higher barrel life, roughly 30 to 40 % much less powder, and it may well slot in a number of the mini-length actions just like the Howa Mini Motion, NULA 20S, and Q Mini Repair. A draw back for bolt-action shooters is that manufacturing facility ammo is all at decrease gas-gun pressures. The 22 Creedmoor brings extra velocity, a greater variety of brass in the marketplace, and may nonetheless slot in any customary short-action bolt gun. Inside regular searching ranges, drop and drift are almost the identical, and the 22 Creed may provide you with an additional 100 to 200 yards of vary. Each cartridges will lose velocity as barrels are shortened, and a 20-inch barrel permits good velocities for cheap searching ranges.
Varmint/Large-Recreation Crossover
After getting excited concerning the wind-drift and low recoil of the 22 ARC, I began crunching numbers like a wannabe scientist getting ready to discovering chilly fusion. If a few of these heavy .22-cal bullets may cause comparatively comparable harm as traditional crossover cartridges just like the .243 Win. and my previous favourite .25/06, however burn much less powder, generate much less recoil, and provides us comparable drop and wind drift out of a shorter barrel, why would we not need to use them? Small calibers have their limitations, however with the ability to simply watch your impacts or see your bullet hint is a bonus that the majority hunters have by no means skilled.
Right here’s what a sensible 80-grain bolt-action load from a 22 ARC appears to be like like in comparison with a few .243 and .25/06 masses utilizing comparable bullets with a 200-yard zero:
| Drop/Drift/Velocity @200 yards | 300 yards | 400 yards | 500 yards | 600 yards | |
| .243 Winchester, 90-grain ELD-X @3,150 fps | 0 in. / 3 in. / 2,702 fps | -6 in. / 6.5 in. / 2,491 fps | -17 in. / 11.5 in. / 2,288 fps | -35.5 in. / 19 in. / 2,092 fps | -61.5 in. / 30 in. / 1,902 fps |
| .25/06 Rem, 110-grain ELD-X @3,000 fps | 0 in. / 2.5 in. / 2,614 fps | -6.5 in. / 6 in. / 2,428 fps | -18.5 in. / 11 in. / 2,247 fps | -38 in. / 18 in. / 2,073 fps | -65 in. / 27 in. / 1,905 fps |
| 22 ARC, 80-grain ELD-X @3,100 fps | 0 in. / 2.5 in. / 2,717 fps | -6 in. / 5.5 in. / 2,536 fps | -17 in. / 10 in. / 2,360 fps | –34.5 in. / 16 in. / 2,190 fps | -59 in. / 24 in. / 2,024 fps |
| 22 Creedmoor, 80-grain ELD-X @3,300 fps | 0 in. / 2 in. / 2,903 fps | -5 in. / 5 in. / 2,715 fps | -14.5 in / 9 in. / 2,534 fps | –30 in. / 15 in. / 2,385 fps | -51 in / 22 in / 2,188 |
*Wind drift is calculated for a ten mph 90-degree crosswind
*Muzzle velocities estimated for 24-inch barrels
The 22 ARC Shouldn’t Be Your Subsequent Moose Cartridge
I wouldn’t suggest the 22 ARC as a moose cartridge, however not for the explanation most would assume. With good bullet choice and considerate consideration of your taking pictures parameters, it’s completely succesful. Nevertheless, for many moose hunters particularly, there aren’t any compelling benefits to utilizing it over any variety of medium-sized moose killers. Efficiency was similar to a .243, which has killed piles of moose in Alaska, and is among the finest choices for youthful or recoil-sensitive hunters. However in these conditions, taking pictures moose is normally carried out at shorter ranges with supervision. The typical hunter is best off choosing one thing like a .308 and bullet.
The place Do Cartridges Just like the 22 ARC Give You Benefits?
I believe the actual vibrant spot for the 22 ARC and comparable fashionable .224s will probably be from varmints to deer-sized sport. It does loads of harm on a moose, however will definitely be a stone-cold killer on smaller sport. In a short-barreled feathery mountain rifle, I’d be capable to match the ballistics of a few of my previous favorites whereas fortunately watching every bullet influence on course. One factor I’m prepared to guess on is whether or not I’m utilizing a .25/06, .243 Win., or 22 ARC, the animals received’t be capable to inform the distinction.