.22lr, and .22 wrm

spinnakerun1

I will be getting a pistol that has the reg. lr, cylinder and also the mag. one, I am wondering why if they are both .22 cal, why can't I use the mag. when shooting lr shells? Just looking at the shells, they seem to be the same, just longer for the mags. The reg. cylinder will shoot .22 short, long, and longrifle shells. What's the difference? Are the .22 mags. larger in diameter, they don't look like it. Don't have the gun yet, so can't tell how the shells will fit. Just wondering ahead, if it is OK to shoot the longrifle shells in the mag. cylinder. Must be a reason for it, then again, maybe its just marketing, selling another part. Anyone have an idea?

tsavo303

no, a magnum chamber is larger

nmyers

The .22 mag shell is not only longer, but the diameter (including the head diameter) is larger than the .22 S/L/LR case. Firing any other round in the .22 mag cylinder will result in poor accuracy, as well as frequent split cases; it should not be done.

Of course, understand that .22 mag in a convertible revolver is largely a waste of money. The rifling twist is optimal for .22 LR, & .22 mags need a long barrel in order to burn enough powder to develop maximum velocity.

Neal

ern98

Welcome to the forum. As said there is a difference in diameter between the mag and the long rifle the makes using them in the same chamber a bad idea. But as far as accuracy/barrel twist, a buddy of mine carries a 22 mag when he is fishing and hunting. He loads it, mostly, with shot shells for encounters with rattlesnakes sunning themselves on the rocks. At those ranges he is not concerned with accuracy, he just wants it to go bang in the right direction. When hunting he uses the 22mag to put down games that is just mostly gone. Another time where the mag needn't be accurate.

JohnStimson

Here are the dimensions of the .22 LR and .22 Mag. As you can see, teh diameters are different. The .22 Mag will not chamber in the .22 LR and the .22 LR is too loose in teh .22 Mag chamber.

It is easy to change the cylinders in a High Standard revolver if both cylinders are original to the revolver.

dtknowles

In my Ruger Single-Six the revolver shoots more accurately with the 22 Mag. cylinder and 22 Mag. ammo than it does with the 22 LR cylinder and most 22 LR ammo. I have not shot real expensive target 22 LR in it. I get 200 to 300 more FPS from the 22 Mag. with similar bullet weights. These are not insignificant benefits. Is it worth double the price for ammo and the added cost for the convertible revolver. I have not hunted with mine but for small game and small varmints I would consider the 22 mag revolver superior to almost any other affordable revolver or semi-auto pistol/round combo available. Revolvers in .30 carbine, .357 Mag. or 32-20 can have as flat a trajectory, be as accurate and have superior kill power but they are more expensive to feed, are much louder and not as easy to get to shoot as accurately. I have a CZ 52 that shoots flatter than all of them but it will not shoot groups small enought to take advantage of its flat trajectory. The kill zone for Small Game and Small Varmints is going to be maybe 2 to 3 inches so to take 50 yard shots you need an very accurate pistol. I think that is why so many handgun hunters use single shot pistols.

Tim

Robin

Hello,
I view the .22LR and the .22 WMR simply as 2 different chamberings or cartridges. Just like the centerfire 22-250 and the .223 cartridges. The diameter of the bullets are the same or similar but that is about all that is the same.

You can make a case for the .22 magnum being a decent rifle cartridge, but as far as a handgun goes it has a lot of draw backs. The length of the cartridge has proved to be a problem to pistol auto loader designers. In my experience with revolvers (S&W model 48) the round is "dirty" and even in with the 6" barrel it seems like there is a lot of unburned powder to deal with. I have a Ruger 22 mag lever action that works really well and a 10/22 in .22 mag that works good as long as it is clean.

Since the diameter (caliber) of the .22 lr and .22 mag are different by several thousandths of an inch I can't see how a "combination" revolver could work to well with both cartridges. Maybe the ability to accept two different cartridges offsets accuracy.

Fatstrat

The reason why the Ruger is more accurate w/the .22 Mag is that the the barrel is bored for .22 Mag.
I've owned 3 New Model Single Sixes and of the 3, only one IMO suffered in terms of .22LR accuracy.