one better than other for a trapline gun? I'm looking at Henry lever actions.

For targets of opportunity the .22 mag is great, for dispatch the standard .22 is all you need. I always carry a .22 pistol on my hip and a .22 mag or 22-250 rifle in the truck.

I tried coon hunting with a 22 mag it's to much gun. All the coon fell out dead , but several fell out deader than they needed too.

If your using a rifle you want 22 shorts. 22 lr out of a revolver is good. you dont want pass through

Get you a heritage pistol both 22lr and 22 mag cylinder

wrangler on my hip in 22lr and I mostly run subsonic because I don't need the extra noise and you don't need any more power to get it done at sub 30 feet

I carry a 22lr 10/22 with mini mags in the truck for those times I pull up to things scurrying or targets of opportunity

but the 10/22 22lr even in mini mags falls short at 70-100 yards on a big coon they work but it might not be a one round tool.

it would be really nice to have a 22mag for those targets of opportunity but not enough for me to spend the cash on one now.

22mag to me only makes sense in a rifle , it is 90% noise in a pistol for the 10% more power you didn't need to dispatch.

.22LR for dispatch .

.22 mag is overkill.
(Trapped animals).

I definitely wouldn't use a 22 mag for dispatch. Did that on a couple of coyote when I was young, not a good deal. Go with 22lr.

22 LR is for killing stuff. 22 Mag is for overkilling stuff. I have a 22 mag by each door around here just because I like to see things come apart in the scope.

You don’t need a magnum for a dispatch gun. A simple double action revolver that takes shorts or longs is more than enough. Shorts are plenty when dispatching something in a trap. Not to mention, they’re quieter.

I have both and I have used both on my line.
.22 WMR is expensive and way overkill for dispatch, but nice to have if you see something off in distance you want to harvest.
.22 LR is plenty for dispatch and cheap ammo works well.
Jim

They make a subsonic 22 mag that’s good for dispatch. I use Winchester 40 grain FMJ coon hunting for years and got along real good with them. 22 mag is a ticky more than twice the gun as .22lr Imo.

I favor the single action revolver with a transfer bar safety like the Wrangler or single 6

the single action you need to pull the hammer back to cokk it and make it ready to fire

once you pull the trigger you need to pull the hammer back again to do anything.

this way if you drop it , as long as the hammer isn't back it doesn't do any thing

the gun is basically inert once you pull the trigger because the hammer is down on a fired case and pulling the trigger does nothing so if you lose your footing or have to move quick or you are trying to stuff it in a holster pulling the trigger does nothing once the hammer is down.

the down side is they are slower to load unload and if you choose not to shoot you have to carefully let the hammer down in a safe direction , some people have a problem with this and wet hands.

up side is they tend to cost less than the double action 22lr options

as stated several times
.22 pistol is enough

I agree, .22 short is plenty for all dispatch imo actually. But if the question is about an all around trap line gun, I’m voting for the mag. One clip with subs for dispatch, one clip w/ heavy loads for other opportunities that present themselves along the line.

I have a henry 22lr and a henry 22 mag. Both are clumsy on the trapline. Halfway thru the season last year I went to a bolt action without a scope. Worked a lot better.

Glenfield60 22LR killed everything from critters to hogs. Don’t think I need anything larger for a trap gun. Plus a Ruger Wrangler in 22LR

I carry a cricket bolt .22 on my water line. I’ve shot so many shorts out of it I can’t get a lr in it anymore. lol. I have a heritage revolver I carried for years also but like the little bolt gun better. When I’m running a land line and driving a lot of country miles, I like the mag best.

in a 22mag revolver with a 4 1/2-5 inch barrel you get 1000-1300fps from most of your basic 40gr ammo
cylinder gap and differences in ammo change things

the 40gr , 38 and 36gr 22lr gets you right about 1000fps plenty for dispatch

a 22mag rifle can get you 1850-2000fps so it is like double in a rifle

in a pistol it is a little more velocity and a lot more noise.
you get velocity when the powder has time to burn to be useful.

.22lr handguns for me on the trap line. Takes care of anything I need to and hands free when I need them. Have used .22 rifles and .22 air guns when the boys were younger and were not up to using a handguns safely and hands were to small yet. Rifles are just not as nice as having your hands free and gun on your hip.

Had a .22mag once and for me it was to much or to small for my needs.