I am new to handgun hunting sports,so my question is rather basic. When hunting small game with .22lr, for what range your handgun be sighted in.I have my BERBARDLI Mod;60,8" barreled, sighted dead at 25 yards,and I am having trouble hitting game beyond 25 yards.
Any suggestions or comments.

I sight all my weapons the same way. I put them at a point where the bullet never goes over 1 inch high or drops below 1 lower than the line of sight. I then limit my shots to that range.

PaulS

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stay safe and live long!

I agree with Pauls on sighting in your 22lr for hunting and should be under 50yds. I have a 8" BBL 22lr I use on small game out to 40yds max.

RAO,

Welcome to handgun hunting; it is truly a challenge and a gentleman's sport.

I use Ruger autoloaders with barrel lengths from 4" to 10". All are target models with good adjustable sights. I usually fire 250-300 rounds every week. There are many small pests in Wyoming that allow such field practice.

Handgun hunting requires much more practice than does rifle hunting. Much of this practice can be fun with a variety of targets such as inexpensive cookies, over-ripe fruit, or anything that "explodes" visually and requires little cleanup.

Practice at home by dry firing your handgun. Safety rules are especially important here. Place a coin upon the end of your barrel and try tripping the trigger without displacing the coin. It is not easy, but you will be surprised how quickly your trigger pull improves.

When practicing outdoors, place your targets at various known ranges so you become more proficient in judging range distance.

Rimfire ammo is rather variable and you will probably find one brand that is more accurate in your pistol than others. When shooting for groups on paper, try different ranges again to determine trajectory.

I sight my rimfire pistols at 50 metres. This allows me to take rabbits at 75 metres with little holdover. Admittedly, this requires more shooting practice than many hunters do with rimfire pistols, but it really depends upon what you want to do. I hunt grouse each year here with a .22 pistol and it is more fun than I can describe.

I just picked up a new Ken Sikes/Ruger .22 that I will put through the paces this weekend. I'll be running several kinds of ammo through it on paper, very boring, and then going to the field to shoot vanilla wafer cookies, very fun.

Practice dry firing and concentrate on that front sight. A good six o'clock hold and no flinch will lay them in where you want them.

Take care and have fun.

Regards,

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~Holmes

"Those who appease a tiger do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last."
-Winston Churchill

Welcome to handgun hunting. I hope you find it as rewarding as I do, especially when you decide not to take the shot because it just ain't sure. The right kind of ammo is really important in a .22. You are going to have to try quite a few and the most expensive really are better. Stay away from Winchester Wildcats and CCI Blazers. I prefer the Federals myself. I sight in my Ruger Target model at 50 yards and usually don't have to much trouble hitting things to that range. You don't say how much experience you have had with a handgun so I am hoping that basic handgun use is not an issue. If you have just started using a handgun period you have a lot more questions that you need to ask. Slim