While some small game hunters prefer the flexibility and forgiveness of a shotgun, others stick with rimfire rifles due to their pinpoint accuracy, very little recoil, and longer variety.
.22 LR
It gets the job done successfully without triggering considerable damage to your dinner and can quickly take down prey at 50 lawns with good shot positioning.
The guns themselves are usually budget-friendly, and the cartridges are some of the most inexpensive and easiest to discover in a time where ammunition is increasingly hard to get your hands on.
Cartridges within the.22 LR category are classed based on their speed. Subsonic loads are usually better for target practice or scenarios where you require the near-silent stealth at short range.
With a flatter trajectory and longer variety, standard-velocity, high-velocity, and hyper-velocity loads are much better fit for hunting circumstances.
For a lot of small game, standard and high-velocity deal plenty, however.22 LR hyper-velocity cartridges, on the other hand, are a typical choice for varmint hunting.
.17 HMR
The.17 HMR may do some meat damage to your small game such as squirrels and bunnies, but it’s still a reliable option if you can make a strong head shot.
It boasts a flatter trajectory than the.22 LR, making it better-suited to longer-range shots at small game. And it will more reliably remove tough squirrels.
The.17 HMR is a strong option for hunting other animals such as foxes, but you need to probably prevent it for predators or any other animals larger than that.
.22 WMR
Also called the.22 magnum, the.22 WMR can be more than needed for squirrels and bunnies too. If you’re contending such little video game at close quarters, it will likely wreck more of the meat than not, but this cartridge is a strong option for varmints.