Can you use .22 LR in .22 Magnum?

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ATN082268

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A family member showed me a two shot derringer chamber in .22 Magnum. I know you can use .38 Special in a .357 Magnum but I wasn't sure about using a .22 LR in a .22 Magnum. The reason I ask is they showed me some ammo they had for the derringer and it was .22 LR. Thank you.
 
To get technical,,,

The case diameter of the .22 Magnum is .242" (according to Wikipedia)
The case diameter of the .22 LR is .226" (according to Wikipedia)

The bullet diameter of the magnum is .224" which is only .001 larger than the .22 LR.

There is not a problem with the .22 LR bullet getting stuck in the barrel,,,
But there is a problem with the smaller cases splitting while in the chamber.

Can it be done?
Yes but not safely.

Should it be done?
No.

JMHO

Aarond

.
 
There is a 22 round that you can fit 22 Mag guns. That is the .22 Winchester Rimfire. You can still find it in stores. It offers nothing special for 22 mag guns but is made periodically for older rifles, IIRC.

I've had folks at a gun show tell me that you can shoot 22 LR in a 22 Mag - BS. Now, some guns were made with interchangeable cylinders. The older SW 651s were. In the Philippines, there are or were supposedly some home brew revolvers that shot both - how well I don't know.
 
I have a 22 pistol with a 22 and a 22 Magnum cyl. Simple cyl swap and shoot magnums.
I wouldnt recommend LR in a Magnum Cyl. Place a 22mag and 22LR side by side there is a noticeable difference in them.


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Well, yes but . . . .

I have a 22 mag two shot derringer. Fun little gun. Not a good CC weapon but better than no gun at all. I have shot 22lr out of it. Accuracy is . . . well . . . derringer accuracy. It was harder to get the empty 22lr cases to eject than the 22 mag. The ejector "bar" didn't hit the head flange well and I had to pry them out with the point of a knife blade.

Live well,be safe
Prof Young
 
Yes you can do it but the case will split and you will lose your brass. You can't reload split 22 shells.


Just kidding. I have done it but it is inaccurate and does split the case and makes them hard to remove. There is no reason to ever do so.

Why does everyone want to shoot ammo out of their gun it is not designed to shoot???
 
Some guns like the Ruger Single Six won't fire a .22 LR out of a magnum cylinder. The ones that will fire them will split the cases.
 
My Son-in-law has a revolver that's a copy of the Ruger Single Six convertible, which will shoot .22lr or .22 Mag with a cylinder change. He called me recently saying the fired .22lr cases were splitting. I had no idea what was going on so I went over to take a look at it. He was firing .22lr in the magnum cylinder. Lucky he didn't damage the handgun, or hurt himself. So no, do not fire .22lr in a magnum.
 
Several single action revolvers come with a two cylinder setup like the ruger single six. Double action, it's buy another gun for the .22 mag or have a cylinder fitted to it? which is expensive and kind of a waste of time to me........just buy a revolver made for the .22 mag!:rolleyes:
 
I've a NAA 22 Mag/ 22LR with the two cylinders. The 22 mag is one of the loudest things I've heard! Scared the whatever out of me when I fired it between two partition walls in an indoor range!
 
Years ago I had an H&R 2" pull pin 22mag. We shot many 22lr out of it, never split a case but they did swell. Nothing dramatic, that gun was bought for snake control with CCI snake shot anyway.
 
I don't know if they still sell it, but I have a Taurus (I know, the T word) Tracker that is a DA revolver that comes with both a 22lr cylinder and a 22 magnum cylinder. The DA trigger is a bit stiff, but it is accurate and the cylinder switching mechanism works very well.
 
I've a NAA 22 Mag/ 22LR with the two cylinders. The 22 mag is one of the loudest things I've heard! Scared the whatever out of me when I fired it between two partition walls in an indoor range!
Click to expand...

I bought a Mag cylinder for my Rough Rider. I used it only once because it was painfully loud. I can also shoot my 9mms cheaper.
 
Can you use .22 LR in .22 Magnum?
Click to expand...

POSSIBLY. As already mentioned, it may not fire, or if it does, cases will swell, and often they split.

SHOULD you use .22LR in a .2 Magnum?
NO!

even if they work, (and they may not) it should be an emergency use only thing (like you are starving to death and need to shoot something to eat), otherwise you should not use them.

There is a GOOD reason that guns meant to shoot both rounds use a different cylinder for each one!!!
 
22 lr in 22 mag

what 44 amp said only in emergency. have done it in 2 of my magnums with no problems if it was all i had and really needed to only
 
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