Extra Long Range Shooting with .22lr – beyond 300 meters

The .22 LR caliber has been one of the most popular and widely used cartridges for over 100 years. It is typically associated with distances of 25 to 100 meters – whether for training, target practice, or competitive shooting. However, in recent years an exciting trend has emerged: extra-long-range (ELR) shooting with .22 LR, often well beyond 300 meters.

What sounds absurd at first glance – a “small caliber” rifle at 400, 500, 600 or even 1000 m – turns out in practice to be a fascinating challenge that requires precision, patience and an exact understanding of ballistics.

Why use .22lr for long-range shooting?

1. Cost – Shots with .22 LR are extremely cheap compared to larger calibers.

2. Ballistics on a small scale – the strong bullet drop, susceptibility to wind and transonic effects train the same handling as with large-caliber ELR rifles – only on a smaller scale.

3. Fun factor – it's simply fascinating to hit targets at 600 or even 1000 m with a "small" .22lr.

My setup

For my own ELR .22lr shooting, I have the following configuration:

Rifle: Sako Quad Range

Mounting base: 10 mrad forward tilt rail

Mounting: Recknagel adjustable mounting, 0 – 20 mrad

Ammunition: Lapua X-Act 40 gr

This combination allows shooting up to 600 m using the reticle; beyond that, in practice, this is only possible with a Charlie Tarac scope...

Ballistic challenge

With a muzzle velocity of approximately 325 m/s, the projectile loses energy very quickly and drops extremely steeply. In addition, its long flight time makes it extremely susceptible to wind.

Here is an overview (rounded, depending on atmospheric conditions, altitude and exact V₀) of how much the bullet drop in mrad varies at different distances:

Table — mrad only (Zero = 300 m, Crosswind = 3 m/s)

Distance (m) Required elevation from 300 m zero (mrad) Wind correction 3 m/s (mrad, cross) Flight time (s)

100 −14 6.30 0.30

200 −6. 7.35. 0.70

300 0. 8.40. 1.20

400 +19 9.97 1.90

500 +44 11.34 2.70

600 +76 12.60 3.60

700 +115 14.10 4.70

800 +163 15.75 6.00

900 +220 17.27 7.40

1000 +287 18.90 9.00