range, low report, and light recoil have made it a favorite for use as a target-practice cartridge. The accuracy of the cartridge is good, but not exceptional; various cartridges are capable of the same or better accuracy. A contributing factor in rifles is the transition of even a high-velocity cartridge projectile from supersonic to subsonic within . As the bullet slows, the shock wave caused by supersonic travel overtakes the bullet and can disrupt its flight path, causing minor but measurable inaccuracies. When zeroed for , the arc-trajectory of the standard high-velocity .22 LR with a bullet has a rise at , and a drop at . A .22 LR rifle needs to be zeroed for to avoid overshooting small animals like squirrels at intermediate distances. As a hunting cartridge, rimfires are mainly used to kill small game up to the size of coyotes. Although proper shot placement can kill larger animals such as deer or hog, it is not recommended because its low power may not guarantee a humane kill. In 2013, an elephant was killed by multiple shots from a .22 LR rifle. Because a .22 LR bullet is less powerful than larger cartridges, its danger to humans is often underestimated. In fact, a .22 LR bullet is easily capable of killing or injuring humans. Even after flying , a .22 bullet is still traveling at about . Ricochets are more common in .22 LR projectiles than for more powerful cartridges as the combination of unjacketed lead and moderate velocities allows the projectile to deflectnot penetrate or disintegratewhen hitting hard objects at a glancing angle. A .22 LR bullet can ricochet off the surface of water at a low angle of aim. Severe injury may result to a person or object in the line of fire on the opposite shore, several hundred yards away. A .22 LR bullet is capable of traveling , which is more than . Rimfire bullets are generally either plain lead with a wax coating (for standard-velocity loads) or plated with copper or gilding metal (for high-velocity or hyper-velocity loads). The thin copper layer on plated bullet functions as a lubricant reducing friction between the bullet and the barrel, thus reducing barrel wear. Plating also prevents oxidation of the lead bullet. Lead tends to oxidize if stored for long periods. On a plain lead bullet, oxide on the bullet's surface can increase its diameter