.22lr centerfire - has it ever been tried?

S

simonrichter

New member
Maybe kind of an odd question, but anyway: I wonder whether anyone has ever tried to make a centerfire version of .22lr? What I have in mind is that while .22lr is still the most common caliber around, it is by most people seen as limited to recreational, plinking, varmint etc. also due to the pressure and reliability restrictions that come with the very idea of rimfire.
I always thought it would be cool to have a centerfire cartridge in the same dimensions that could be used in the same (plentifully available) guns by just swapping the firing pin. For training, one could still employ the cheap rimfire, for carry, SD or the like, the centerfire version with maybe a little more pressure (and thus velocity / energy) and certainly more reliability could be used...

I know it is an unlikely concept that most certainly nobody gas conceived so far, but it's not completely nonsense, imho...
 
Diameter of the case is too small for a regular primer. Max diameter of a small pistol primer is .1745". A .22's rim diameter is .278". Leaves .1034".
 
There was the .22 Maynard Extra Long, but it depended on the tiny "O" primer which has not been made in many many years.
There was the .22 CCM, close to a .22 WRM center fire.
There was the 5mm Craig conversion for 5mm Remington to keep the orphan rifles useful.
There was the .22 Centerfire Rimfire, really an inside primed case for use in .22 conversions that wouldn't require a Rimfire slide.

But nothing like the OP.
 
Probably the closest center-fire they resembles a 22 LR is the 25 ACP. Staying with 22 calibers, there is the Hornet, but that's a lot more powerful.
 
There have been several companies that sold .22 LR centerfire brass, over the years. Last I checked, Rocky Mountain Cartridge still had it as a special-order option.

In the late '90s, Remington 5mm rifles were commonly converted to .22 CCM. However, an alternative that, at that time, was popular with the people that owned the orphaned rifles, was to convert to .22 LR centerfire instead.

The biggest problem with .22 LR centerfire is that you still need a heeled bullet.

Diameter of the case is too small for a regular primer. Max diameter of a small pistol primer is .1745". A .22's rim diameter is .278". Leaves .1034".
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It's fine. That's plenty.
 
I read years ago where one of the gun magazine writers who was also a competitive pistol shooter made a centerfire case of the same dimensions as a 22LR and modified a pistol to centerfire so he could compete in centerfire bullseye matches with it. As I remember, there was no advantage over a rimfire except he could compete in a different class.
 
Charles Askins, as 1MoreFord said.
He was on a mission to minimize recoil in NRA Centerfire where most everybody shot .38 Special in those days, maybe a few .32 S&W L. (Nowdays, many shooters just use the same .45 as for Bigbore.)
He converted a Woodsman to centerfire, trimmed a supply of .22 Velo Dog cases to LR length, and devised a one grain powder measure.
He told more than one version of the story of taking it to Camp Perry.
 
Back in 80s a company named Cooper had a cf 22 mag. Brass was farmed out
overseas. Now days hard to get. There has been interest in converting revolvers
to CF 22 and conversions are not that big of a deal. The brass is the big deal. You would think this type of cartridge would sell well. Less powder & lead with
the ability to load for it should make it popular. I don't know what primer was
used in this ammo.
 
There was the .22 JGR meant for centerfire conversion of .22 LR rifles. Still not the flip flop affair of the OP.

There used to be some work done with the .25 Hornet; the Hornet case straightened out and trimmed to fit revolver cylinders. Cheap to shoot with cast, screaming hot with JHP. Still not the flip flopper.
 
Back in 80s a company named Cooper had a cf 22 mag. Brass was farmed out
overseas. Now days hard to get.
Click to expand...
That was the aforementioned .22 CCM (Cooper Centerfire Magnum).
The brass is mostly what killed the cartridge.

Fiocchi was contracted to produce the ammunition and brass, but used a bad alloy (or it suffered chemical exposure at some point). It was quickly discovered that the cases would break, or even crumble, after just a couple firings; and, sometimes, on the first firing. So, the point of having a reloadable cartridge roughly equivalent to .22 WMR was almost entirely negated; and even the factory ammo couldn't be trusted. With low interest in the cartridge, anyway, it sealed its fate. Cooper never had any more ammo or brass made.
Today, that original run of brass and ammo is even more brittle, and generally considered unsafe for use.

There are, however, a few companies offering brass - either lathe-turned from rod stock, or turned from swaged .22 Hornet.

It would be a really fun cartridge to play with, if proper drawn brass were available.

Still not the flip flopper.
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I think the easiest "flip flopper" would be a TC. No modifications required. Just flip the firing pin from rimfire to centerfire, or vice versa, and you're good to go.
 
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