# How far can a .22 shoot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-a-22-shoot/131095 "2002-10-06T19:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-a-22-shoot/131095/21 "2002-10-07T06:23:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*However, there’s a big difference between, “how far can the bullet go”, and “How far can the bullet go while still being dangerous”. At 1-1/4 miles, the biggest risk from that .22 LR is probably that it will fall on you and poke you in the eye. > > .22 bullets lose energy fast. \*\* Excellent points. As an illustration of why you shouldn’t let anyone get away with “neglecting air resistance” in practical cases at relatively high speeds consider this: An objected launched in a vacuum at 1300 fps with an angle of 45[sup]o[/sup] up will travel 10 mi. horizontally and rise 2.5 mi. up. Actual bullets travel far less than this because of air resistance, and bullets are shaped for low drag, although .22’s don’t look particularly optimum in the low drag department. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-a-22-shoot/131095/22 "2002-10-07T18:42:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*I got a stainless 10-22 with the Zebrawood stock for $179 from WalMart about 5 years ago. It’s a decent gun, but I hate cleaning it. It is somewhat difficult for me to remove the bolt, and it always feels like I’m damaging it. \*\* I got a 10-22 Stainless with the synthetic stock about 3 years ago for $175! Walmart, no less. That is the strange thing I have noticed about Ruger 10-22’s (and I currently own 2, have owned 2 more previously): their prices are whacked. Gart bro’s (a sporting goods store in Denver) consistently has 10-22 sales where you can buy a regular one for $125 (once for $99!!!). But 6 months later you will see the exact same gun for $180+…Wierd. And the Blues or Stainless have the same price swings. Normally I would expect a max. 25% discount on a gun- but these things go for 60% sometimes. And at gun shows, you can pick up a used one (that will be just as good as new) for $75. But as for shooting: nuttin’ better. Cheap, accurate, indestructible. The only problem, as mentioned, is the cleaning. I put 250 pounds through my stainless yesterday, and by 175, it started to jam occasionally- which I owed to the grunge build-up. I’ve started to use the brute-force WD-40 trick- spray it into the innards and let the liquid leak onto newspaper for 10 seconds. Then I strip-clean it every so often. OP: my CCI Mini-Mags say 1.5 miles. The max I have ever tested was from on top of a mesa down to an old oil-rig hole plug (3 foot steel rod about 6 inches in diameter), estimated at half a mile (braced). I hit it 2 out of 3 times, and lost a $20 bet (bad betting technique on my part, shoulda said ‘just hit it once’). I thought I had it made because all I had to aim for was the horizontal; the drop didn’t matter. The horizontal was pretty tough at half a mile… -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-a-22-shoot/131095/23 "2002-10-07T20:32:23Z")
I bought the Deluxe 10-22 stainless/walnut today at lunch. Oddly, they made me fill out _two_ “yellow sheets”. They said one was for the state and the other was for their records. I was in a hurry, so I didn’t argue; but it’s a _federal_ form and not a state one. I still owe them a dollar (I couldn’t pay for the whole thing because of a bizarre insurance requirement) and I can pick it up after 12:45 on the 17th. (Okay… what’s the use of “instant check” when you still have to wait ten days?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-a-22-shoot/131095.md?page=1)