22 LR through 22 mag????

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Prof Young

New member
Shooters:
So what happens when you try to shoot a 22LR via a gun designed for 22magnum? I'm sure it's a bad idea, but am wondering why?
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
IIRC, the .22 Mag uses jacketed bullets, while the .22 LR uses heeled lead bullets. The .22 Mag case is therefore slightly larger than the diameter of the bullet, while the .22 LR case is exactly the same diameter of the bullet. Thus if you shoot a .22 LR in a .22 Mag chamber, the case is undersized and will not properly seal, if not actually split.:eek:
 
Not much - it fires. Gases can come backwards toward you, but it's unlikely to be dangerous, if you're wearing shooting glasses as you should be.
 
This would be one of those choices you make because you have to. You will have case splits and potential difficulty removing empties, but I doubt you will get hurt shooting the LR's. Wear eye protection for sure.

There is a reason why Ruger provides both a LR and WMR cylinder with their Single Six.
 
22-rimfire said:
This would be one of those choices you make because you have to. You will have case splits and potential difficulty removing empties, but I doubt you will get hurt shooting the LR's. Wear eye protection for sure.
Click to expand...
Is this comment a response to the original question, or to post #6? If it is a response to the original question, I agree. If it is a response to post #6, I disagree. .22WRF was the parent cartridge from which .22 WMR was developed, and it is completely safe to shoot .22 WRF through a .22 WMR firearm.
 
A touch confused here.

So according to some of the info below, shooting a 22LR out of a 22mag means the 22LR bullet won't be supported all the way down the barrel and will collide with the sides of the barrel.

How does that work in my HR single six that has a cylinder for 22LR and a cylinder for 22mag, but both shoot through the same barrel and both do so with decent accuracy?

Live well, be safe.
Prof Young
 
I think the difference has to do with the cases being different diameters, not the bullets; as Gary noted, the case of a .22 lr is slightly undersized compared to a .22 mag.
 
Prof Young said:
So according to some of the info below, shooting a 22LR out of a 22mag means the 22LR bullet won't be supported all the way down the barrel and will collide with the sides of the barrel.

How does that work in my HR single six that has a cylinder for 22LR and a cylinder for 22mag, but both shoot through the same barrel and both do so with decent accuracy?
Click to expand...

No, you misunderstand.

Let me try again. There is a slight difference in bullet diameter, but not enough to affect anything other than match performance. The .22LR bullet is nominally .223" in diameter, the .22 WMR (Magnum) is .224" in diameter.

The important factor is that the .22LR bullet is "heeled." That means the base of the bullet is smaller than the body. If you look at the .22LR cartridge, it appears that the OD of the case is the same as the OD of the bullet. (In fact, the bullet is .223" and the case is .226" but the unaided eye won't typically see that.

By contrast, the .22 Magnum bullet does not have a reduced base diameter. The case is larger than the bullet, so the ID of the case is approximately the OD of the bullet. So the .22WMR bullet is .224" in diameter but the case is .242" in OD.

These links might help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Long_Rifle

300px-.22_LR.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Winchester_Magnum_Rimfire

150px-22WMR.jpg
 
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Thanks Aguila

Aguila:
That makes it all clear. Thanks so much for the info.
So the next question is, do the inserts that change a 22mag chamber into a 22lr chamber work?
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
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