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I think I am correct. You tell me the answer.

penguin1penguin1 Member Posts: 97
edited October 2019 in Ask the Experts
How much greater are your chances of hitting a pin head at 100 yards when shooting a 44 caliber as opposed to a 22 caliber all things being equal?

Comments

  • buschmasterbuschmaster Member Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    .22LR has a bullet diameter of 0.222" therefore area is 0.0387 in^2.
    (.22 centerfire negligibly larger)

    .44 Special/Mag has a bullet diameter of 0.429" therefore area is 0.1446 in^2.

    the latter has 374% more cross-sectional surface area to hit the pin head with.

    therefore the odds are almost 4 times as good.

    all things being equal. but they are not. the .22LR drops like a rock after 75 yards and is more susceptible to wind drift. so in real life the .44 has even better odds.
  • penguin1penguin1 Member Posts: 97
    edited November -1
    I was not correct. Approximately 3.63 times as likely.
  • buschmasterbuschmaster Member Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    too many factors to consider. absurd to calculate out to 2 significant figures (3.63) even 1 figure (3, 4, 5 times as likely) is iffy.
  • NeoBlackdogNeoBlackdog Member Posts: 16,566 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The question you're not asking, but should be, is 'when that projectile smacks the head of that pin, how many angels am I going to kill?'
  • GrasshopperGrasshopper Member Posts: 16,704 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Absurd question since variables are in the hundreds. I do know I can shoot an apple off of a rubber penguin target at 100 yards with my Remington 541 using CCI Stingers.
  • 11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,588 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For MOST 22 LR, 75 yards is the magic number. With the exception of Match ammo, MOST 22 LR, fired from a rifle, is supersonic- out to about 75 yards. As it drops back into subsonic speed, the shock wave that HAS been on the nose of the bullet is sliding down the bullet. As it drops off the heel of the bullet, it sorta flicks the base of the bullet, giving it a bit of yaw- and accuracy goes to crap. MATCH ammo is subsonic from the muzzle. More accurate, BUT trajectory is a very pronounced arc, holdover is significant. A 50 yard zero becomes a 6 inch holdover at 100.

    If you are shooting for the top of a bowling pin, you are MUCH more likely to hit it with a 44 mag IF the 44 is traveling entirely super or entirely sub. It is not just the width of the bullet, but the inherent accuracy of the rounds. Which is why .22 matches are shot at 50 yards, and not 100.

    For everyone that wants to tell me about the incredible accuracy of their 22 at 200 yards, congratulations on finding a way around the laws of physics. Please save your flames for later in the fall when I can use the heat.
  • penguin1penguin1 Member Posts: 97
    edited November -1
    Purely a math question and some of you guys missed it. Difference in cross sectional area.
  • truthfultruthful Member Posts: 1,975 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It's the same reason that a .45 is a better killer than a 9mm. It punches a larger hole greatly increasing the chance of damage to a critical area.
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Might be a hardened Pin, better use the 120 mm Rheinmetall.
  • hillbillehillbille Member Posts: 14,121 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    doesn't much matter to me, give me any caliber, any rifle, I can miss with em all.......
This discussion has been closed.