What about 22 magnum?

[FrankenMauser]

Maybe it's more common that I realize, but I simply don't see much mention of 22 magnum whether we are talking rifle or handgun, self defense or hunting small game.

Those of us that use .22 WMR just don't talk about it much.
New shooters often don't run across the cartridge or firearms chambered for it; or, if they do, have it immediately disparaged by an uneducated counter monkey at their local gun store. Or, a person's only experience with .22 WMR was in something where it didn't work well or was not able to live up to is capabilities (like in a derringer, Ruger Single Six, NAA Mini, etc.). So, there just aren't many new people interested.
I see it a little bit like: Those that know, know. Those that tried it in the wrong firearm got the wrong experience. Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know.


Personally... My primary .22 WMR - a 'lowly', cheap Marlin 882SS - is one of my favorite rifles and goes on almost every small game hunt. Occasionally, I'll take it out for grouse, too. Decapitation is more consistent with .22 WMR than .22 LR, but it's still a notable step down in recoil, report, and muzzle blast from almost any unsuppressed center fire. (And, YES, taking grouse with a rimfire is legal where I hunt.)

The biggest selling point for a .22 WMR, in my opinion, is the use of proper jacketed bullets. Far less fouling than .22 LR, better accuracy, and the ability to better align bullet choice for the intended game species. (Everything from FMJs to explosive HPs, and from plastic tipped bullets to frangible NTX stuff is available. There's an option for plated lead, too. But... meh.)

The problem is (IMHO) that .22 Magnum is still a rimfire, with all the disadvantages such as unreliable ignition

I see that you've further addressed this statement in subsequent posts, but I just wanted to add my own experience.

I have not shot anywhere near as much .22 WMR as .22 LR; but I have run a couple thousand rounds through my Marlin 882SS and a couple hundred rounds through a few handguns.
From '60s production to current production .22 WMR, all malfunctions and failures to fire were caused by the firearm ... with only ONE exception.
That single case that failed to fire was from a box of Winchester Dynapoints (manufactured circa ~2007); which I consider to be garbage ammo, anyway.

Everything else has been 100% reliable - in feeding, firing, extraction, and down-range performance.

Winchester Dynapoints are horribly inconsistent dimensionally, in performance (bullet deformation and powder charge variation are big here), and in reliability (inconsistent priming compound dispersion -- I've inspected several hundred unfired cases, as well as hundreds more fired cases). Winchester Dynapoint ammo is so bad that, after a few years of testing and inspection, I pulled down the remaining cartridges that I had, scrapped the powder, melted down the bullets, and put the hulls in my jug of brass for the recycler (after heating them to initiate the priming compound).

Everything else has been good, though. ArmsCor, CCI, Fiocchi, Fiocchi (ArmsCor), Fiocchi (CCI), Black Hills (I think CCI loaded this), Hornady (CCI), Remington, Remington (CCI), Aguila, Winchester Supreme, and more...

I've had a higher rate of failure with factory 9mm ammo than with .22 WMR.
.22 WMR may be rimfire, but it is not on the same quality level as .22 LR. It is notably better, across the board.

 

[T. O'Heir]

Yep the biggest issue with the .22 Mag is the price of the ammo. Had a Savage M65 many years ago. Cost of ammo was at least twice that of Long Rifle. And a decided lack of choice . It was Winchester(currently running $22.99Cdn per 50 at Cabela's. Vs $4.99Cdn per 50 for LR.) or nothing, as I recall. Never had any issues with it going bang though.

 

[TruthTellers]

Those of us that use .22 WMR just don't talk about it much.
New shooters often don't run across the cartridge or firearms chambered for it; or, if they do, have it immediately disparaged by an uneducated counter monkey at their local gun store. Or, a person's only experience with .22 WMR was in something where it didn't work well or was not able to live up to is capabilities (like in a derringer, Ruger Single Six, NAA Mini, etc.). So, there just aren't many new people interested.
I see it a little bit like: Those that know, know. Those that tried it in the wrong firearm got the wrong experience. Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know.


Personally... My primary .22 WMR - a 'lowly', cheap Marlin 882SS - is one of my favorite rifles and goes on almost every small game hunt. Occasionally, I'll take it out for grouse, too. Decapitation is more consistent with .22 WMR than .22 LR, but it's still a notable step down in recoil, report, and muzzle blast from almost any unsuppressed center fire. (And, YES, taking grouse with a rimfire is legal where I hunt.)

The biggest selling point for a .22 WMR, in my opinion, is the use of proper jacketed bullets. Far less fouling than .22 LR, better accuracy, and the ability to better align bullet choice for the intended game species. (Everything from FMJs to explosive HPs, and from plastic tipped bullets to frangible NTX stuff is available. There's an option for plated lead, too. But... meh.)


I see that you've further addressed this statement in subsequent posts, but I just wanted to add my own experience.

I have not shot anywhere near as much .22 WMR as .22 LR; but I have run a couple thousand rounds through my Marlin 882SS and a couple hundred rounds through a few handguns.
From '60s production to current production .22 WMR, all malfunctions and failures to fire were caused by the firearm ... with only ONE exception.
That single case that failed to fire was from a box of Winchester Dynapoints (manufactured circa ~2007); which I consider to be garbage ammo, anyway.

Everything else has been 100% reliable - in feeding, firing, extraction, and down-range performance.

Winchester Dynapoints are horribly inconsistent dimensionally, in performance (bullet deformation and powder charge variation are big here), and in reliability (inconsistent priming compound dispersion -- I've inspected several hundred unfired cases, as well as hundreds more fired cases). Winchester Dynapoint ammo is so bad that, after a few years of testing and inspection, I pulled down the remaining cartridges that I had, scrapped the powder, melted down the bullets, and put the hulls in my jug of brass for the recycler (after heating them to initiate the priming compound).

Everything else has been good, though. ArmsCor, CCI, Fiocchi, Fiocchi (ArmsCor), Fiocchi (CCI), Black Hills (I think CCI loaded this), Hornady (CCI), Remington, Remington (CCI), Aguila, Winchester Supreme, and more...

I've had a higher rate of failure with factory 9mm ammo than with .22 WMR.
.22 WMR may be rimfire, but it is not on the same quality level as .22 LR. It is notably better, across the board.

I have not found that to be the case, at least not in my single action revolvers. I will frequently get failures to fire with .22 Mag, but when I switch the cylinder to .22 LR, I have much less failures.

This is in three different revolvers, so unless all the .22 Mag cylinders for those guns are junk (which is nigh impossible) .22 Mag is just less reliable in a handgun vs .22 LR.

I do think that there is a difference in reliably igniting .22 Mag in a rifle and a handgun.

 

[fourbore]

I have not found that to be the case, at least not in my single action revolvers. I will frequently get failures to fire with .22 Mag, but when I switch the cylinder to .22 LR, I have much less failures.

This is in three different revolvers, so unless all the .22 Mag cylinders for those guns are junk (which is nigh impossible) .22 Mag is just less reliable in a handgun vs .22 LR.

I do think that there is a difference in reliably igniting .22 Mag in a rifle and a handgun.

I find any fail to fire with any of my guns in 22LR or 22MAG, is EXTREMELY rare event. In 22mag I shoot ruger revolvers and several bolt action rifles.

I have seen and help others with marginal function rimfire guns. Typically it is the main spring on an older gun.

Having less failures in a 22LR is totally messed up. A good gun with good ammo should almost never fail. Thats the Truth!

 

[ammo.crafter]

.22 mag

Can anyone tell me WHY the mag cost so much more than the LR?

 

[zukiphile]

Can anyone tell me WHY the mag cost so much more than the LR?

May I guess?

1. It has a real jacketed bullet.

2. It isn't sold 500 loose in a box for kids to tear up targets all day long, so they aren't made in the same staggering quantities as 22lr.

 

[Prof Young]

I have three guns that shoot 22 mag . . .

My first was the Heritage six gun with two cylinders. I've shot the 22 mag cylinder a few times, but not much. Then came a Savage 42 with a 22 mag barrel over a 410 barrel. It's my squirrel gun but I don't hunt squirrel near as much as I used to. Actually have never taken a squirrel with it. Finally I have a NAA Black Widow that has two cylinders. It's mostly a range toy, but if I ever do carry it, it would be with the 22 mag cylinder.

22 mag is pricey. I watch for it on sale, which is not often, and try to stalk up when I can.

Life is good.
Prof Young

 

[weblance]

The farms I groundhog hunt on, wont allow any centerfire rifle cartridge, because of urban encroachment, and noise level. I need something that will anchor a groundhog easily at 100 yards, and LR just doesn't get it done effectively. I shoot a suppressed CZ512 in WMR, and its perfect. I took a shot this spring at 186 yards, and the groundhog never knew what was coming. That's farther than my comfort level with WMR, but it got the job done, and still delivered massive damage at that distance.

WMR has a place for small game hunting

 

[FrankenMauser]

I have not found that to be the case, at least not in my single action revolvers. I will frequently get failures to fire with .22 Mag, but when I switch the cylinder to .22 LR, I have much less failures.

Reassess what you're doing.
'Cause if that's the case, you (or your revolver) are doing something wrong.

Can anyone tell me WHY the mag cost so much more than the LR?

Economy of scale.
Fewer buyers of .22 WMR = lower demand.
Lower demand = higher price.

That, and the minor influence of using proper bullets (in most ammunition).

Yep the biggest issue with the .22 Mag is the price of the ammo.

...Only if trigger time and blasting beverage containers is your primary interest.

If you actually use the cartridge for pest control, predator control, small game hunting, or any similar task, the additional cost is well worth it.
.22 WMR is not a plinking cartridge. It's the right choice for the people that need exactly what it does. For anyone else - especially people that just want to poke holes in paper or beverage containers - it's a dumb choice.

 

[TruthTellers]

Reassess what you're doing.
'Cause if that's the case, you (or your revolver) are doing something wrong.

I cock the hammer and pull the trigger, what in God's green Earth could I be doing wrong?

As for the revolver, it has occurred to me that it could be the gun, maybe the cylinder is off, but when we're talking three different guns it's not likely at all that all three of them have been improperly made so that .22 Mag has more failures to fire than .22 LR.

 

[claydoctor]

Works pretty well in my NAA Pug. More effective there than .22 LR.

 

[cecILL]

You would not believe the amount of racoons, opossums, and groundhogs here in the land of corn and beans.

.22 is marginal.

.22 magnum is effective.

I've since switched to .17 HMR. Nothing walks.

 

[bn12gg]

Have Colt Trooper and Colt New Frontier in 22 mag plus 22 LR. No failure to fire in 22 mag with either single action revolver.. 22 mag is a sweet round imo.

.02

David.

 

[bamaranger]

.22 mag

Ya'know, there is a public range near my home that I used to scavenge brass at on a regular basis...not so much these days. But at the time, the amount of spent .22 mag brass always surprised me. I don't know what those guns were commonly used for, but there was always enough .22WMR brass on the ground to make me believe that the rifles/handguns so chambered were not uncommon.

I never saw the .22 mag in a good light, saw little use for it afield, and saw a fair number of cheap .22 mag bolt rifles in the hands of deer night poachers. I changed my attitude towards the .22 mag when, just for grins, I installed the .22 mag cylinder on a long barreled Ruger Single-6 revolver that I inherited. The .22 mag hit notably harder than .22 lr from other handguns, and was a better killer on feral cats, and other pests like armadillo's and possums. I still have the .22 mag cylinder in the revolver. I do not shoot it much due to cost as noted by others. For a period of time, I was strongly in the market for a .22 mag lever carbine to match the Ruger revolver, but the cost of ammo has pretty much nixed that urge.

 

[2damnold4this]

I know a couple of fellows that bagged feral hogs with the .22 magnum hunting on a WMA in Georgia during a small game season.

I don't have a rifle chambered in .22 mag but it seems a lot more accurate than .22 lr out of my old Single Six.

 

[thallub]

I know a couple of fellows that bagged feral hogs with the .22 magnum hunting on a WMA in Georgia during a small game season.

The use of centerfire rifles is banned in Oklahoma WMAs outside of deer season. The same is true of a 16,000 acre US property i often hunt. My hog hunting there is done with a left hand Savage rifle chambered for .22 magnum.

The .22 magnum with 40 grain total metal jacket bullets does a good job. It tears up both lungs of a 200 pound hog.

 

[Don Fischer]

I seldom shoot 22 RF anymore. Predator's in the pigeon's is about it. Have one 22 LR I dearly love. Love the rifle not so much the cartridge. Have a Marlin 783 22 mag and love the cartridge, pretty good rifle. I reading about miss fire's. I don't recall one miss fire in my life with a 22 RF! I think a big advantage to the 22 mag is it is a better survival cartridge should the need arise. If you need meat on the table, the 22 mag will be more consistent doing it. If it was a matter of defense, the 22 mag will do the job farther off. I'd just as soon the bad guy was farther away. Now if it's simply getting a kid going and letting him blast away, standard 22 RF is hands down the best. I keep a few box's of 22 RF around, have had the same few box's a number of years now! I keep more 22 mag around than standard 22 if you don't count the old brick of short's I have. My son greatly favor's the 17 RF, I wouldn't care to have one. ya think 22 mag ammo is expensive? Check out the 17 RF ammo. Painfully obvious that popularity of 22 mag is going down but I do pick up a new box now and then to make sure I have some on hand. Remember the great 5mm RF? There were a lot of rifle's and no ammo in the end! I think the real deal with 22's, standard or mag, is their limited range. 22 mag has a lot better range than a standard 22.

I said I keep 22 mag ammo around. I think I've only got 200 rds right now but then I'm not taking it out to plink! If thing's get really hard and I have a family to feed, the 22 mag will do it and a lot quieter than any CF and farther than a standard 22.

One thing about any weapon in a survival situation is that doesn't matter what the cartridge is, ammo is gonna get hard to find! Remember the slowdown some time back? I could't find much of anything anywhere!

 

[Scorch]

Can anyone tell me WHY the mag cost so much more than the LR?

Economies of scale, jacketed bullet vs lead bullet, thicker brass, 3X more powder. Pretty simple.

 

[Don P]

For what it's worth. The wife and I have 1,200 + rounds of 22 magnum through our Taurus 941 UL's and we have not encountered a dud to date. Far better than when we shoot 22lr which from time to time we have had duds/ I would not hesitate to carry the Taurus for SD. Are there better choices for SD yes, but carry what you are comfy with/

I purchased the 22 magnums on line quite a few years back and in bulk were $2.89 per box of 50

 

[Geezerbiker]

For what it's worth the price difference between .22 long rifle and magnum seems to have gotten smaller over the past 20 or 30 years.

Tony