Specification
The numbers that define it
Factory loads
Published load data
Muzzle velocities are the manufacturer’s published figures, measured in their test barrel. Your rifle will differ — a shorter barrel typically loses roughly 5–15 m/s per centimetre. Chronograph your own load before trusting a long-range solution.
What it is
The .22 Long Rifle is every shooter’s first cartridge: cheap, quiet and recoil-free. The standard load flies at about Mach 0.96 — just under the sound barrier — which also makes it an instructive subsonic-ballistics study piece. Drop is steep: with a 100 m zero the bullet is already some 40 cm low at 150 m.
Use in Finland
In hunting use the .22 LR’s limit is precise: its muzzle energy (~140 J) clears the 100 J baseline, so it is enough for rabbit, squirrel and the smallest species — but it does not meet class 1 (200 J at 100 m, or 300 J at the muzzle). For mountain hare, brown hare, fox, capercaillie and black grouse it is therefore not legal. See the hunting page for per-species checks.