.22 v .22 mag?

It's pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that the .22M is more powerful. But what do you really gain? Moving up to a .22M in a handgun is pretty much equivalent powerwise to shooting a .22lr rifle. A decent jump. But with all the gains in the world you're still talkin a squirrel and bunny gun just like a .22lr rifle. It ain't a hog gun, it ain't a coyote gun. It'll do a bit better than that .22lr handgun on largish varmints but smaller ones will die all the same.

Now all that's not to say that I wouldn't carry a .22m handgun over a .22lr if I had one. Like stated, a decent jump. But I would never ever consider buying one for it's gains. I prefer the .32H&R but for most the .38sp makes much better sense. Ammo isn't much of a price increase, capabilities are.

So, do you already have the gun?

Note: A major disadvantage of the .22M is volume. I have sensitive ears and it doesn't take much to get em ringin. As such, I'm very religious about wearing ear protection when shooting any handgun. But in the field I can get away with it IF I HAVE TOO with a .22lr. Not a chance in hell with the .22M. That one issue alone would make my decision.
 
NewFrontier 45,

If you are spending $8 per box of 50 to reload .38 special, you really should cast your own bullets.

I load .38 and .357 magnum (full power loads, BTW) for less than $4 per 50..
 
If you are in a cost craze over .22 rimfire ammunition, I do not understand why you would spend money on a gun ? Geeze Louise, if you cannot afford to shoot a gun, don't buy one. If you can, why quibble over pennies ?

I have a Ruger Super Single Six (two cylinders). The revolver is more accurate with the magnum rounds, as I guess the bullet-barrel fit is better. As others have said the .22 magnum is a different round when compared the .22LR. It is a light weight revolver to take with me camping, or hiking and the two cylinders/two boxes of ammo are not a weight problem. I can plink with the .22 LR and set up for some serious small game shooting with the .22 Mag. I like the combination. This is not like buying another gun, the .22 magnum cylinder comes with the Super Single Six. I choose to use it. Your mileage may vary, but that is none of my business.
 
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I have a Ruger Super Single Six (two cylinders). The revolver is more accurate with the magnum rounds, as I guess the bullet-barrel fit is better. As others have said the .22 magnum is a different round when compared the .22LR. It is a light weight revolver to take with me camping, or hiking and the two cylinders/two boxes of ammo are not a weight problem. I can plink with the .22 LR and set up for some serious small game shooting with the .22 Mag. I like the combination. This is not like buying another gun, the .22 magnum cylinder comes with the Super Single Six. I choose to use it. Your mileage may vary, but that is none of my business.
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I have the same set-up with my Heritage Rough Rider. I can plink and practice with the LR and then use the magnum for hunting critters. Accuracy is easier to attain by just switching cylinders than changing guns. I also think the magnum is more accurate. The magnum is at least twice as loud as the LR so be sure to protect your ears.
 
j
May 8, 2013, 11:33 PM #3
newfrontier45
Senior Member

Join Date: February 23, 2012
Posts: 462
300-400fps with a heavier, real jacketed bullet. It's not that the shorter barrel kills .

i
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more so about 200-300 fps in s 6 + inch barrel. My ruger 22/45 5.5 inch barrel was chronoed @ 1175 fps with cci velocitors and 1298fps with cci stingers. 5 shot string average results. Also- .22mag is usually 40 grains. the heavier bullets that end @ 50 grains produce slower velocities by up to - -150 fps difference. thus meaning, that when your dealing with beans worth of grains- there isn't a world of difference between the .22lr and the .22 wmr out of a hand gun within 5.5- 7 inches;)
 
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Generally, in my experience, 22 mag is twice as powerful as 22 LR...
I base this on personal practical tests.
One Example Off the top of my head is, on one test I did, 22 mag made it through 1500 pages of a phone book, while 22 LR made s it through 700...
 
Yes, there is an advantage to using 22 WMR from a handgun with a 6" barrel over 22LR. The question for me is the ammunition cost difference worth the added gain?

My answer to that is I have quite a few 22LR handguns and a few 22 Mag handguns. I usually shoot 22LR, but if I choose, I can go with the added power of the 22 mag. But one has to practice a bit.

I see the greatest utility of the 22 Mag from a rifle. It is infact my survival caliber of choice for everything other than urban survival. There might be an advantage of using a single caliber. So generally speaking, it depends on your pocketbook which allows you to practice with the hangun to be effective.
 
950fps vs 1350 to 1400fps for most 40 grain ammo. Those numbers are boosted with hyper velocity stuff. In a handgun, the 22 magnum is marginally better for power but the drawbacks are cost and weight of ammunition. Regular 22 LR might be a better survival gun with ammo carrying is a concern.
 
From Chuck Hawks Rimfire Pages using a Ruger Single Six with 6 1/2" barrel he claims:
CCI 22LR HP Mini Mags 36gr 1125 FPS
CCI 22WMR Maxi Mags 40gr 1425 FPS

Using the ballistics calculator on the "Handloads" website I got these results:

Bullet energy:
Mini Mags muzzle 101 ft lbs, 50yrds 80 ft lbs
Maxi Mags muzzle 180 ft lbs, 50yrds 130 ft lbs

Bullet rise with a 50 yrd zero:
Mini Mags .75" above line of sight
Maxi Mags .42" above line of sight

Considering that 22WMR and 22WRF is more accurate in one of my 6 1/2" Single Sixes this is what I shoot in it mostly as I have other guns that shoot 22LR better.
 
I like to see the chrony results from a 40gr .22LR fired from a 5" auto like a Buck Mark vs a 40gr .22Mag fired from a 4"-5.5" revolver. I'd guess they'd be within 200fps of each other.
 
I really like that keltec .22 magnum semi-auto pistol. It just looks like fun.

I don't know if it has been mentioned already but I once heard that a .22 magnum will penetrate some "bullet proof" vests up to a certain rating/level. I don't want to get us way off topic and I don't bring this up with any sort of malice toward LEO's since I am in the industry of "legal compliance" myself. But it just seems relevant since that ass monkey shot up the movie theater was wearing a bullet proof vest.
 
possible self-defense
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End of discussion. Get the 22 maggie. Ammo cost be damned.

You could cut the barrel of a revolver off at the frame and still see a significant increase in performance of the mag over the lr. The heavier bullet options of the maggie make it even more desireable. If just plinking or plugging tree rats, either will do. But if your life may depend on it, there is no comparison. But that is just MHO.
 
I have a Ruger Single-Nine in 22WMR - 9 rounds out of a 6.5" barrel and it's awesome for carrying in the pest/small varmint elimination role. My Winchester 9422M in 22WMR is great for 100 or so yards in the same role.

Having said that, there is no argument that the 22LR is the most fun and cheapest plinking round ever made. I definitely don't use the Mag for pop cans etc as there's no need for the extra power.

For self defense? I say maybe. So many women I know have become recoil averse due to the larger calibers being introduced too early in their shooting experience and the 22WMR is a decent alternative for concealed carry. Should they graduate eventually to something bigger? Again, maybe. But let them know some success and gain proficiency with a gun they can handle and a much broader world opens up for them.

MHO
 
Those that say there is a minor difference between a .22lr and .22 mag out of a short barrel probably are not into ballistics or Googling. The same people say the same thing about a .357 out of a short barrel. So many accept as fact those things that sound logical without actually proving it for themselves. It is a good thing that I started using gun forums 40 years after I started shooting or else I could have a lot of misinformation too. :)
 
I own both in various guns. For example, I carried a NAA 22lr mini revolver for years and put down more road strike deers with it than most hunting rifles. Its the gun I carry when hunting for the mercy shot. I had the opportunity to pick up a NAA 22Mag Pug. Same barrel length, pretty much the same gun. The killing power of the 22Mag in PDX1 over a Hyper Velocity 22LR is dramatic. The 22Mag hits more like a center fire cartridge.

 
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Mystro: "I carried a NAA 22lr mini revolver for years and put down more road strike deers with it than most hunting rifles. Its the gun I carry when hunting for the mercy shot. I had the opportunity to pick up a NAA 22Mag Pug. Same barrel length, pretty much the same gun. The killing power of the 22Mag in PDX1 over a Hyper Velocity 22LR is dramatic."

I have to ask...how much more dead were the deer that were shot with the .22 mag than the deer that were shot with the .22LR?
 
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