Rimfire and centerfire.

U

uncle poop

Inactive
So while I wait for my friend to pick a day for our handgun safety class and for my paperwork to be filed for my permit, I thought I would start reading about guns themselves things like manufacturers, types, uses that kind of thing. I kept coming across rimfire and centerfire. Now for the most part I know what these mean and how they work. I was just wondering about practicality of both.

In other words is one cheaper to own than another? Does one function better than the other? Is one better for certain calibers of weapons? I did some searching of the internets and read that rimfire guns are cheaper to shoot because the ammo is cheaper to make. Also rimfire rounds are only found in .22 or smaller calibers. I thought I remember from watching the history channel or something that there were larger rimfire rounds used throughout history?

I still have not picked a weapon yet, I still have yet to get a chance to fire any, need to make plans to get to the range soon. So I have not decided on a caliber or type of gun yet. I was thinking that if I go the .22 route this is where my choices for types of firing will matter.
 
1
In other words is one cheaper to own than another?
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Ordinarily, it is far cheaper to own and shoot rimfire (i.e. .22LR) than centerfire. However, with the last ammo craze rimfire ammo is still in short supply.

2.
Does one function better than the other?
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. Yes. Centerfire is more reliable. More than a hundred years ago, there were quite a few rimfire cartriges other than small stuff. Those went the way of the dinosaur when the more reliable centerfire started being produced. There are some collectors who collect those older large-bore rimfire guns but ammo for them is either scarce or not available.
 
Rimfire did used to be more prevalent. I have an inherited ammo collection from my grandfather and there's some fairly large caliber rimfire rounds in there. Thing is, rimfire isn't as reliable as centerfire although it is cheaper. The priming may not always be that consistent with rimfire (some companies do better than others).

Centerfire ammunition (with a separate primer pressed into a primer pocket in the brass) is more reliable and generally better all the way around... that it's used in pretty much everything north of .22 is a good indicator of that. It is more expensive (more work when making the brass, the primers themselves take work, it's another step when loading), but for the most part that expense is worth it. Rimfire ammo is also not reloadable.

There have been a decent variety of ways people have tried to get the powder to ignite- separate percussion caps, pinfire, rimfire, centerfire (with boxer and berdan priming). That centerfire remains predominant in everything but the lightest calibers is a strong message for its reliability and utility.
 
I had the feeling centerfire was best. But with the options for .22 guns I wanted to be sure. I am not so worried about being able to reload cases so that is a moot point.
 
I was thinking that if I go the .22 route this is where my choices for types of firing will matter.
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If you go ".22" it will be rimfire. There are certainly other "22" caliber cartridges but when someone phrases it like that, ie "I'm getting a .22" it is presumed that they are speaking of .22LR (LR is Long Rifle) and those are rimfire.

There are other rimfire rounds still available. Some available in handguns, some not. There exists .22short, .22mag, 17HMR, 17HM2 and the new 17WSM. (Probably still others that I forget or are so esoteric that they exist more in theory than practicality).

For practical purposes, you can not load or reload your own rimfire.
 
Rimfire ignition is also pretty much limited to low pressure (i. e., low power) cartridges. Even the now defunct larger caliber rimfire cartridges of the black powder era were low pressure/power.

The rim of a rimfire cartridge must thin and soft enough allow it to be easily deformed by the strike of the firing pin. Therefore the amount of pressure it can contain is limited.

The base of a centerfire case, especially when intended for use at high pressures, is much thicker than would be possible for a rimfire.
 
Great info guys. Did not know the .22lr was a rimfire round. Good thing I am doing all this research now, I really have no clue about guns and ammo.
 
It's OK, I didn't know this stuff when I took my first class either. It's been about 16 months since then. You'll catch on faster than you realize
 
Poop, the way to tell by looking at the cartridge is to simply examine the base. On a centerfire, you'll see the distinctive "belly button" primer is right in the middle of the base. On a rimfire, the base will be a solid piece all across.
 
Then there's the issue of reloading. With a centerfire cartridge (and the right supplies & equipment), a reloader can replace the primer and reload the brass, which is cheaper than buying new ammuntion. Rimfire brass isn't reloadable.
 
I see you can buy reloaded rounds. Are these safe? I am assuming so since I guess people would not be selling them. Is there things to look out for in a reloaded round? I think for starts I will just use new ammo until I am more comfortable with everything.
 
When you fire a reloaded round, you are trusting your pistol and your hands, face, and eyes to the person who reloaded that round. Who do you trust that much? Most of the folks on here will join me in answering that we don't trust a stranger at a gun show or a flea market to reload for us.
 
I see you can buy reloaded rounds.
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Lots of folks shoot reloads from reputable companies but I certainly wouldn't buy any from "Joe Bob" at the local gun show.

Long run, if you're going to do much shooting, you'll want to get into loading your own anyway. Very educational, it becomes a hobby in itself and the per round cost is much lower.
 
I have used 'factory' reloads in my Glock and haven't had a problem. I won't use them in my Hi Power. I won't use loose/bagged reloads from gun shows or any unknown individual who reloads.
 
uncle Wikipedia can be a wealth on info . Go there and wiki- rimfire and centerfire . That should explain most of the basic's well enough.

Reloads. You only want to use reloads you made as ours can be out of spec and blow up a handgun and your hand with it. Down the road you may want to reload your own ammo. many of use do so save your brass If nothing else it is sellable as scrape or re-useable to others. As you go along here you'll understand more about this and ask more defined questions.
 
During the development of the .22 rimfire cartridge, it went through several stages. When a longer case, with a bit more powder was introduced, the original .22 Rimfire became the .22 Short, the new round was the .22 Long.

Both used the same bullet. A little later, a new load was developed, using the Long case, but with a different (and heavier) bullet. This was called the Long, Rifle load, which became simply LongRifle, or .22 LR. Being a very good balance of things, the .22LR became the dominant .22 rimfire round, and still holds that place today.

"Long Rifle" does not refer to the gun used, its the name of the round.
 
TailGator said:
When you fire a reloaded round, you are trusting your pistol and your hands, face, and eyes to the person who reloaded that round. Who do you trust that much? Most of the folks on here will join me in answering that we don't trust a stranger at a gun show or a flea market to reload for us.
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I'll join in that chorus. I wouldn't buy or shoot reloads from an unknown source or reloader, the proverbial "ZipLoc bag from Bubba at the gun show." However, I know a few reloaders whose reloads I would trust without hesitation. There are also a number of reputable reloading companies (aka "remanufacturers") out there whose reloads I would probably trust.
 
One thing I've learned about .22LR is that there are far more variations in grain weight and other variables for this round than any centerfire cartridge. This can present problems in semi-autos which may cycle one variety flawlessly, while another causes endless problems of FTF (failure to feed) and FTE (failure to extract).

I bought a .22Lr revolver (and then another, ahem) as they function more reliably with any ammo. Usually with a misfire (that is, the hammer or striker fell and the firing pin hit the case but the primer failed to ignite) you wait about 30 seconds to see if it'll go off late (hangfire), keeping the gun pointed downrange all the time, but genuine hangfires are extremely rare with modern ammunition. Then you can try again if your gun has second strike capability (such as the Ruger SR22 I recommended to you). Often the round will fire on a second try. If it fails to fire after 3 or 4 tries it's probably a dud and will never fire, but should be disposed of safely.

The unreliability of .22LR, for me, comes as the price of its cheapness. I wouldn't use it where my life might depend on it, but for plinking and punching paper holes it's so much cheaper than the cheapest centerfire round (off the shelf, not if you reload) that it's irresistible.
 
One thing I've learned about .22LR is that there are far more variations in grain weight and other variables for this round than any centerfire cartridge. This can present problems in semi-autos which may cycle one variety flawlessly, while another causes endless problems of FTF (failure to feed) and FTE (failure to extract).
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Many 22 semi-autos are more sensitive to different ammo than centerfires. But it is not because there are more variations in bullet weight. Any semi-auto, handgun, rifle, or shotgun is limited to a specific range of pressure that must be generated to cycle the action. Too much, or too little and you will have reliability problems. Most centerfire ammo is loaded to much higher quality standards than the cheap bulk packs of 22's. The better quality 22 ammo is far less likely to cause problems. While less common, there are many centerfire guns that are not reliable with certain brands, or bullet weights too.

Bullet weight by its self is not the real issue. And there will be a much wider range of bullet weights with most centerfires than 22's.
 
Echoing the Others

I am going to second, third, fourth or how ever many times it has already been mentioned.

I would not used someone elses reloaded ammo in my gun and I will not reload for someone else.

If you do shoot reloads, make sure they are from a reputable company. The box should contain the grain (Weight) of the bullet and the fact that it is reloaded or re-manufactured ammo.
 
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