Rimfire for Small Game and First Hunts: The .22 and Its Cousins
Almost every experienced hunter started with a .22, and almost every one still owns one. The rimfire rifle is cheap to buy and to feed, quiet, accurate, nearly recoilless, and legal for small game in every state. It teaches marksmanship in a way no centerfire can, because it lets a shooter fire five hundred rounds in an afternoon without pain or expense. This guide covers the rimfire cartridges, the rifles, the squirrel and rabbit hunting that a .22 was made for, and how to start a young hunter.
The .22 Long Rifle
The .22 LR is the most-produced cartridge in the world and the right first rimfire for anyone. Standard-velocity and high-velocity loads with forty-grain bullets take squirrels and rabbits cleanly to fifty yards and beyond with a good hit, subsonic loads are quiet enough for the back forty, and match ammunition turns a good rifle into a hundred-yard target gun. Bulk practice ammunition costs a few cents a round. A .22 LR is not a deer cartridge and is illegal for deer in every state, and it is marginal for coyotes; it is a small-game and training rifle, and perfect at it.
The .22 Magnum and the .17 HMR
The .22 WMR, the Magnum, fires the same bullet weights at half again the velocity and reaches out to a hundred and fifty yards on rabbits, ground squirrels and fox-sized predators. The .17 HMR fires a tiny, very fast bullet that shoots flatter still and is devastating on prairie dogs and squirrels at range, at the cost of wind sensitivity and a bullet that ruins meat on anything you intend to eat. Both cost several times more per round than .22 LR and neither is the right first rifle; they are second rimfires for a specific purpose.
Rifles
The semi-automatic .22 is the default, and the Ruger 10/22 has been the standard for sixty years for good reasons: reliability, an enormous accessory market and a price that suits a first gun. Bolt-action rimfires from Savage, CZ, Tikka, Ruger and Bergara are more accurate, teach deliberate shooting and cost from a little more to a great deal more. Lever-action .22s from Henry and others are light, handsome and fine for squirrels. For a child, a single-shot bolt-action youth rifle with a short stock is the traditional and correct start. Rimfire pistols and revolvers are excellent training tools but are not small-game hunting guns for a beginner.
Sights and scopes
Learn on iron sights or a peep sight for the first few hundred rounds; the habits transfer to every gun after. Then add a scope in the two-to-seven or three-to-nine range with a parallax setting for rimfire distances, mounted low. A red dot is fast on squirrels in timber. Spend as much on the scope as on the rifle if you can; a cheap scope on a rimfire is a frustration.
Squirrels and rabbits
Squirrel season opens in late summer or early fall in most southern and eastern states and runs into winter; it is the classic first hunt because the woods are pleasant, the game is plentiful and every shot is a marksmanship problem. Sit still under hickories and oaks at first light, wait for movement, and take head shots at thirty yards or less with a .22 LR. Rabbits are hunted walking through brush and field edges, often with a dog, and a .22 or a 20-gauge both work; a shotgun is easier on running rabbits, a rifle on sitting ones. Both need a small-game licence and follow the state's bag limits.
Teaching a young hunter
Start on a range or a safe back field, not on a hunt. Teach the four safety rules until they are automatic, then teach the sight picture, the breath and the trigger press with a single-shot rifle from a rest. Keep sessions short and end on a good shot. A youth-sized rifle with a stock the child can actually shoulder matters more than any other choice. Move to hunting only when the child can hit a bottle cap at twenty-five yards on demand and handles the rifle safely without being told. Apprentice and mentored hunting licences in most states let a young hunter go afield with a licensed adult before completing hunter education.
Ammunition and reliability
Rimfire ammunition is the least consistent ammunition made, and semi-automatic .22s are fussy about it. If a rifle fails to cycle, try a different brand before blaming the gun; most 10/22s run high-velocity copper-plated loads without complaint and stall on the cheapest bulk packs. Standard-velocity lead loads are the most accurate in most barrels and the quietest, and are what a bolt-action prefers. Clean the chamber and the bolt face every few hundred rounds; rimfire priming compound and wax fouling are what stop a .22 that has never failed before.
What the law says
Rimfire cartridges are illegal for deer everywhere and for turkey nearly everywhere. Small-game seasons, bag limits and licence requirements are set by each state, and shooting hours apply. Suppressed .22s are common where suppressors are lawful, but a suppressor is a federally registered item we do not sell. A .22 rifle ships to your dealer like any other firearm; the state rules guide covers the licences.
A short kit
- A semi-auto or bolt .22 LR rifle with a youth stock if the shooter is small.
- A brick of standard-velocity ammunition and a box of quality hollow-points for hunting.
- A low-mounted scope with rimfire parallax, after the irons are learned.
- Eye and ear protection, a sling, a cleaning kit and a small-game licence.
Browse rimfire rifles and 10/22s in the catalogue, and read the deer rifle guide when the young hunter is ready for the next step. Public ranges near your town are on the city pages.
General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.
