In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.

22 bullet diameter

farmer37farmer37 Member Posts: 149 ✭✭✭
edited March 2011 in Ask the Experts
Measured a box of mixed 22lr a few days ago .All ran 223 224.None were under.

Comments

  • tsr1965tsr1965 Member Posts: 8,682 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Your question was? You might have to give or take a thousandth for the lube on the bullet.

    Best
  • FEENIXFEENIX Member Posts: 10,559 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    22LR runs a bit over bore size, so 22 LR ammo (esp. lead, very forgiving) runs ~.222"-.223". Most reference manuals has a nominal outside bullet diameter of .223. Depending on manufacturer's specification/tolerance, i.e., +/- .001, your bullet outside diameter could range from .222 to .224, which puts your actual measurements within manufacturer's specification.
  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by farmer37
    Measured a box of mixed 22lr a few days ago .All ran 223 224.None were under.

    I suppose there is no actual question here.

    My understanding is that while nominal bullet diameter of .22LR is supposed to be .223, if you were to take 20 brands at random off the shelf and mike every single bullet them, you'd get a range of values, somewhere between .222 and .225, with most around .223-.224 and a few potentially even outside that range.

    With soft lead bullets you can get away with this sort of variance. Also, if you were to measure the actual bore diameters of different guns, there can be a range too, from .215 to .224 for most of them.

    This is why it may not matter all that much when "undersized" .223 .22 long rifle bullets are fired in nominally "oversized" .224 .22 magnum barrels. . .because in practice there is a range of potential bullet diameters.

    This partly explains why different guns will shoot different types of ammo well, and why one gun may be mediocre with ammo that works well in a different one.

    Its also why Lapua offers its super-premium grade "Midas" target .22 ammo in a choice of either .223 OR .224 bullets, so you can match them to your particular gun.

    If you like, it is also possible to swage undersized .22LR bullets with a special tool to make them fatter, and this can potentially increase accuracy of smaller diameter bullets in certain guns. EG, this sort of thing: http://www.leverguns.com/store/acurizer.htm


    Edit, responding to below:
    quote:Expert said diameter was much smaller,topic was locked
    OK, but I still don't see what the question is.

    Providing the link to what you're talking about would be helpful to establish some context here.



    Edit #2:
    OK, here is the relevant quote:

    quote:http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=507706
    Posted - 03/16/2011 : 7:47:27 PM Perryshooter:
    another thing to consider is a 22 Long Rifle does not have the same Bore size as a center-fire 222,223,22/250 ETC all of those are .224 inch . a 22 rim fire most times is between 218-220 .
    So to clarify, the diameter of the BORE and that of the BULLET do not have to exactly correlate. In the case of .22LR bullets, they're going at relatively low velocities (so they don't lead up too much) and soft all-lead bullets are easily engraved/squeezed down to size in a slightly tight bore.

    The actual bore diameter of .22s depends a bit on whether you are measuring land or groove diameter, there is quite a range of bore diameters for .22LR guns out there. Typical GROOVE diameter for a .22LR is .220, though it can get higher than that. There are individual .22 barrels out there with tight LAND diameters going down to .215 or so.

    And note that the subject of CHAMBER diameter is a whole other thing.

    Lots of .22s (particularly semi-automatic ones) use oversized chambers just to ensure reliable feeding and ejection, with all sorts of variably sized cheapo promotional ammo. The "match" type guns use tight match chambers for more accuracy.

    In theory, the .22LR bullets are supposed to be the same diameter as the case. I'm not sure if in practice that's always true, but I am quite sure that the CHAMBER and the BORE don't have to be same diameter and often aren't!
  • farmer37farmer37 Member Posts: 149 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by farmer37
    Measured a box of mixed 22lr a few days ago .All ran 223 224.None were under.

    I suppose there is no actual question here.

    My understanding is that while nominal bullet diameter of .22LR is supposed to be .223, if you were to take 20 brands at random off the shelf and mike every single bullet them, you'd get a range of values, somewhere between .222 and .225, with most around .223-.224 and a few potentially even outside that range.

    With soft lead bullets you can get away with this sort of variance. Also, if you were to measure the actual bore diameters of different guns, there can be a range too, from .222 to .225 for most of them.

    This is why it may not matter all that much when "undersized" .223 .22 long rifles are fired in nominally "oversized" .224 .22 magnum barrels. . .because in practice there is a range of potential bullet diameters.

    This partly explains why different guns will shoot different types of ammo well, and why one gun may be mediocre with ammo that works well in a different one.

    Its also why Lapua offers its super-premium grade "Midas" target .22 ammo in a choice of either .223 OR .224 bullets, so you can match them to your particular gun.

    If you like, it is also possible to swage undersized .22LR bullets with a special tool to make them fatter, and this can potentially increase accuracy of smaller diameter bullets in certain guns. EG, this sort of thing: http://www.leverguns.com/store/acurizer.htm
    Expert said diameter was much smaller,topic was locked.
  • countryfarmercountryfarmer Member Posts: 4,552
    edited November -1
    Expert said diameter was much smaller,topic was locked.

    Where???? I looked back two pages and didnt see any such topic locked.
  • farmer37farmer37 Member Posts: 149 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by countryfarmer
    Expert said diameter was much smaller,topic was locked.

    Where???? I looked back two pages and didnt see any such topic locked.
    Page 8 rebarrleing rim fire Perry Shooter 9718 posts.He said 22 rim fire cartridges run .218 to .220. I had measured a box of 22lr mixed cartridges and got .223 to .224.I was curious about oversized chambers causing case splits.So if you get 10 wrong answers to a post you cant correct the mistake.Just measured a few US brand 22lr and get the same reading.Calipers have been checked against 2 Starret micrometers.Note that 22 rim fire bullets are the same diameter as the case.Grease or plated measure the same.
  • tsr1965tsr1965 Member Posts: 8,682 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by farmer37
    quote:Originally posted by countryfarmer
    Expert said diameter was much smaller,topic was locked.

    Where???? I looked back two pages and didnt see any such topic locked.
    Page 8 rebarrleing rim fire Perry Shooter 9718 posts.He said 22 rim fire cartridges run .218 to .220. I had measured a box of 22lr mixed cartridges and got .223 to .224.I was curious about oversized chambers causing case splits.So if you get 10 wrong answers to a post you cant correct the mistake.Just measured a few US brand 22lr and get the same reading.Calipers have been checked against 2 Starret micrometers.Note that 22 rim fire bullets are the same diameter as the case.Grease or plated measure the same.


    He was referring to BORE size, NOT bullet size, and yes, there is a difference.

    Best
  • wpagewpage Member Posts: 10,204 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    That could explain why those bullets sometimes rattle around in my old mossberg. After bout a million rounds that barrel must be tired.

    Time to get out the micrometer and do some checking.
Sign In or Register to comment.