.22 Hornet, Applications, Hunting
The Hornet is considered an optimal cartridge for turkey hunting, though it is not as powerful as modern .22 centerfires. At mid-century, southern sportsman Henry Edwards Davis pronounced the Winchester Model 70 chambered for the Hornet "the best commercial rifle for wild turkeys the world has ever seen". In 2011, Lane Kinney was awarded the "Top Turkey in the World" award by Safari Club International for a record-setting Osceola turkey taken with a T/C Contender pistol in .22 Hornet.


.22 Hornet, Applications, Hunting
The Hornet's virtual absence of recoil has made it even quite popular among deer hunters in some areas, although it is generally regarded as very underpowered for deer unless bullet placement is absolutely precise. American hunter Jack O'Connor decried this practice in the 1950s, stating the Hornet could "under no circumstances" be considered a deer cartridge. Many jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, the UK (other than England and Wales)  and some states in the USA currently prohibit the Hornet (and other .22 caliber cartridges) for use on deer.


.22 Hornet, Applications, Hunting
The .22 Hornet also proved popular among the Alaskan Inuit due to low cost, who used it for hunting seals, caribou, and even polar bears.


.22 Hornet, Firearms
Rifles are currently (2007) being chambered in .22 Hornet by Ruger, New England Firearms, CZ and various other mass-market manufacturers. Most current-production rifles in .22 Hornet are either bolt-action or single-shot designs, with the exception of a very few "survival" rifle/shotgun over-under designs such as the Savage Model 24 from Savage and a few European-made kipplauf break-action, single-shot rifles. Older guns generally have a slower twist rate of 1-16" (or one turn in every 16 inches (410 mm) of barrel length) for lighter bullets with a .223 caliber dimension. Newer guns feature a faster 1-14" twist in the .224 bore diameter.


.22 Hornet, Firearms
Revolvers have been produced in .22 Hornet by Taurus, Magnum Research, and others. Single-shot pistols in .22 Hornet have been made by Thompson Center Arms. Muzzle velocities are somewhat less for this cartridge in short-barreled handguns than in rifles.


.22 ILARCO
The .22 Winchester Short Magnum Rimfire, also called .22 ILARCO, was a rimfire cartridge designed for the American-180 rimfire submachine gun. At the time the cartridge was created, the design of the American-180 had been taken over by the Illinois Arms Company, Inc., hence the ILARCO name.


.22 ILARCO, History
Sometime after the Illinois Arms Company, Inc. (ILARCO) purchased the rights to the American-180 they determined a more powerful cartridge would be appropriate, which resulted in the creation of the .22 Magnum Short. The new cartridge was designed so that a simple change of barrel was all that was required required to switch between standard .22 Long Rifle, for which the gun was designed, and the new cartridge.


.22 ILARCO, Dimensions and loading
The .22 Short Magnum uses a shorter version of the .22 WMR case with the same 40 grain projectile as the original .22 WMR loading.


.22 Long
.22 Long is a variety of .22 caliber (5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. The .22 Long is the second-oldest of the surviving rimfire cartridges, dating back to 1871, when it was loaded with a 29 grain (1.9 g) bullet and 5 grains (0.32 g) of black powder, 25% more than the .22 Short on which it was based. It was designed for use in revolvers, but was soon chambered in rifles as well, in which it gained a strong reputation as a small game cartridge, and sold very well.


.22 Long
In 1887 the .22 Long case was combined with the heavier 40 grain (2.6 g) bullet of the .22 Extra Long of 1880 to produce the .22 Long Rifle giving a longer overall length, a higher muzzle energy and superior performance as a hunting and target round, rendering the .22 Long and .22 Extra Long obsolete. Many firearms designed for the .22 Long Rifle will chamber and fire the shorter round, though the .22 Long generally does not generate sufficient energy to operate semi-automatic guns. The one prominent survivor of the .22 Long is the .22 CB Long, a long-cased version of the .22 CB.


.22 Long
While the original .22 Long loading used the same powder charge as the .22 Long Rifle, the .22 Long bullet was significantly lighter, and the combination did not result in higher velocities for the .22 Long when fired from a rifle. The large barrel volume to chamber volume ratio of a .22 rimfire rifle means that the powder gasses have expanded as far as they can well before the bullet reaches the muzzle of a normal length rifle barrel, and the light .22 Long bullet has less inertia than the .22 Long Rifle.


.22 Long
This means that the .22 Long bullet actually slows down significantly before it exits the barrel. For farmers, or for those who only hunted small game such as squirrel or cottontail rabbit, the differences in performance between the .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle cartridges were of little importance. The quieter report and lower penetration of the .22 Long cartridge were often seen as desirable qualities.


.22 Long
Since the .22 Long Rifle performs as well in a short handgun barrel as the .22 Long and outperforms it significantly in a long rifle barrel, the development of the .22 Long Rifle assured the .22 Long's path to obsolescence.


.22 Long
Descendants of the .22 Long still live on. Modern Hypervelocity loadings of the .22 Long Rifle use bullets as light as 30 grains (1.9 g), and modern blends of powder to make full use of a rifle barrel to generate velocities far higher than normal loads, and chamber pressures high enough to cycle semi-automatic firearms reliably. The most well known of these is the CCI Stinger, which actually goes so far as to stretch the case length slightly, so that with the short, light bullet, the overall length is still within the max overall length for the .22 Long Rifle.


.22 Long
The .22 Long is still produced as it survived the change over to smokeless powders. CCI currently loads a high-velocity .22 Long with a MV of 1215 fps and a ME of 95 ft. lbs.


.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smoothbore shotguns, and submachine guns.


.22 Long Rifle
In terms of units sold it is by far the most common ammunition in the world today. Common uses include hunting and shooting sports. The .22 Long Rifle is effective at short ranges and has little recoil making it ideal for training.


.22 Long Rifle, History
American cartridge manufacturer Union Metallic Cartridge Company most likely introduced the .22 Long Rifle cartridge as early as 1884. The round owes its origin to the .22 BB Cap of 1845 and the .22 Short of 1857. It combined the case of the .22 Long of 1871 with a 45-grain (2.9 g) bullet, giving it a longer overall length, a higher muzzle velocity and superior performance as a hunting and target round, rendering the .22 Extra Long cartridges obsolete. The .22 LR uses a heeled bullet, which means that the bullet is the same diameter as the case, and has a narrower "heel" portion that fits in the case. It is one of the few cartridges that are accepted by a large variety of rifles and handguns.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
The .22 LR cartridge is popular with both novice shooters and experts. Its minimal recoil and relatively low noise make it an ideal cartridge for recreational shooting, small-game hunting, and pest control. .22 LR cadet rifles are commonly used by military cadets and others for basic firearms and marksmanship training. It is used by the Boy Scouts of America for the rifle shooting merit badge.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
The low recoil of the cartridge makes it ideal for introductory firearms courses. Novice shooters can be surprised or frightened by the noise and recoil of more powerful rounds. Beginners shooting firearms beyond their comfort level frequently develop a habit of flinching in an attempt to counter anticipated recoil. The resulting habit impedes correct posture and follow-through at the most critical phase of the shot and is difficult to correct. With high recoil eliminated, other errors in marksmanship technique are easier to identify and correct.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
Available for this round are AR-15 upper receivers and M1911 slide assemblies. Many handgun manufacturers have an upper pistol conversion kit to make it shoot .22 LR ammunition. These conversions allow shooters to practice inexpensively while retaining the handling characteristics of their chosen firearms (with reduced recoil and muzzle blast). Additionally, .22 LR cartridge conversion kits allow practice at indoor ranges which prohibit high-power firearms.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
Owners of guns that use gas systems, such as AR-15 sport style rifles, normally avoid firing non-jacketed .22 LR cartridge ammunition, as the use of unjacketed ammunition may cause lead-fouling of the gas-port inside the barrel and costly gunsmithing procedures. This can usually be mitigated by swapping the conversion kit for the standard bolt carrier group, and firing several full-powered rounds to clear the gas port and tube of any accumulated lead fouling. While not 100% effective, the extremely hot incandescent gasses produced by centerfire rifle ammunition will help to clear any lead fouling from the .22 LR ammunition.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
A wide variety of .22 LR ammunition is available commercially, and the available ammunition varies widely both in price and performance. Bullet weights among commercially available ammunition range from 20 to 60 grains (1.3 to 3.9 g), and velocities vary from 575 to 1,750 ft/s (175 to 533 m/s). .22 LR is the least costly cartridge ammunition available. Promotional loads for plinking can be purchased in bulk for significantly less cost than precision target rounds. The low cost of ammunition has a substantial effect on the popularity of the .22 LR. For this reason, rimfire cartridges are commonly used for target practice.


.22 Long Rifle, History, Popularity in the United States
.22 LR cartridges are commonly packaged in boxes of 50 or 100 rounds, and are often sold by the 'brick', a carton containing either 10 boxes of 50 rounds or loose cartridges totaling 500 rounds, or the 'case' containing 10 bricks totaling 5,000 rounds. Annual production is estimated by some at 2–2.5 billion rounds. The NSSF estimates that a large percentage of the US production of 10 billion cartridges is composed of .22 LR. Despite the high production figures there have occasionally been shortages of .22 LR cartridge in the contiguous United States, most notably during the U.S. ammunition shortage of the late 2000s and early 2010s.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
The .22 LR is effective to 150 yd (140 m), though practical ranges tend to be less. After 150 yd, the ballistics of the round are such that it will be difficult to compensate for the large "drop". The relatively short effective range, low report, and light recoil have made it a favorite for use as a target-practice cartridge. The accuracy of the cartridge is good, but not exceptional; various cartridges are capable of the same or better accuracy. A contributing factor in rifles is the transition of even a high-velocity cartridge projectile from supersonic to subsonic within 100 yd (91 m). As the bullet slows, the shock wave caused by supersonic travel overtakes the bullet and can disrupt its flight path, causing minor but measurable inaccuracies.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
When zeroed for 100 yards (91 m), the arc-trajectory of the standard high-velocity .22 LR with a 40 gr (2.6 g) bullet has a 2.7-inch (69 mm) rise at 50 yards (46 m), and a 10.8-inch (27 cm) drop at 150 yards (140 m). A .22 LR rifle needs to be zeroed for 75 yards (69 m) to avoid overshooting small animals like squirrels at intermediate distances.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
As a hunting cartridge, rimfires are mainly used to kill small game up to the size of coyotes. Although proper shot placement can kill larger animals such as deer or hog, it is not recommended because its low power may not guarantee a humane kill. In 2013, an elephant was killed by multiple shots from a .22 LR rifle.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
Because a .22 LR bullet is less powerful than larger cartridges, its danger to humans is often underestimated. In fact, a .22 LR bullet is easily capable of killing or injuring humans. Even after flying 400 yards (370 m), a .22 bullet is still traveling at about 500 ft/s (150 m/s). Ricochets are more common in .22 LR projectiles than for more powerful cartridges as the combination of unjacketed lead and moderate velocities allows the projectile to deflect – not penetrate or disintegrate – when hitting hard objects at a glancing angle.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
A .22 LR bullet can ricochet off the surface of water at a low angle of aim. Severe injury may result to a person or object in the line of fire on the opposite shore, several hundred yards away. A .22 LR bullet is capable of traveling 2,000 yards (1,800 m), which is more than 1 mile (1.6 km).


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
Rimfire bullets are generally either plain lead with a wax coating (for standard-velocity loads) or plated with copper or gilding metal (for high-velocity or hyper-velocity loads). The thin copper layer on plated bullet functions as a lubricant reducing friction between the bullet and the barrel, thus reducing barrel wear. Plating also prevents oxidation of the lead bullet. Lead tends to oxidize if stored for long periods.


.22 Long Rifle, Performance
On a plain lead bullet, oxide on the bullet's surface can increase its diameter enough to either prevent insertion of the cartridge into the chamber, or – with high velocity rounds – cause dangerously high pressures in the barrel, potentially rupturing the cartridge case and injuring the shooter; for that reason, standard and subsonic cartridges usually use a wax lubricant on lead bullets.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants
The variety of .22 LR loads are often divided into four distinct categories, based on nominal velocity:


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
Subsonic rounds have a muzzle velocity of less than the speed of sound (about 1,080 ft/s (330 m/s)). These rounds are sometimes equipped with extra-heavy bullets of 46–61-grain (3.0–4.0 g) to improve the terminal ballistics of the slower projectile. Conversely, these rounds may contain little more than a primer and an extra-light bullet.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
Subsonic rounds are favored by some shooters due to slightly superior accuracy and reduction in noise. Supersonic rounds produce a loud crack which can scare away animals when hunting. Accuracy is reportedly improved with subsonic rounds because a supersonic bullet (or projectile) that slows from supersonic to subsonic speed undergoes drastic aerodynamic changes in this transonic zone that might adversely affect the stability and accuracy of the bullet.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
Because the speed of sound in air at 68 °F (20 °C) is about 1,115 ft/s (340 m/s), the subsonic round's muzzle velocity is slightly below the speed of sound under many hunting conditions. However, under cold air conditions at 32 °F (0 °C), the speed of sound drops to 1,088 ft/s (332 m/s), approximately muzzle velocity. Hence, a "subsonic" round used below this temperature may be supersonic, and during the transition from supersonic to subsonic velocity, it may become unstable, reducing accuracy. To counteract this, some cartridge manufacturers have lowered the speed of their subsonic ammunition to 1,030 ft/s (310 m/s) or less.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
Various combinations of subsonic rounds and semiautomatic .22 LR firearms result in unreliable cycling of the firearms' actions, as the result of insufficient recoil energy. Some subsonic rounds use heavier bullets (achieving lower velocities) to ensure, as a result of increased bullet mass, that enough energy is produced to cycle common blow-back actions. As an example, the Aguila .22 LR SSS "Sniper SubSonic" round, has a 60 gr (3.9 g) bullet on a .22 short case, providing the cartridge the same overall dimensions as a .22 long rifle round. However, other problems may be encountered: the heavier and longer bullet of the Aguila cartridge requires a faster barrel twist (by the Greenhill formula) to ensure the bullet remains stable in flight.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
Two performance classes of .22 rimfire subsonic rounds exist. Some subsonic rounds, such as various .22 short and .22 long "CB" rounds, give about 700 ft/s (210 m/s) velocity with a 29 gr (1.9 g) bullet providing relatively low impact energy (41 J at muzzle). These may not use any, or only small amounts of gunpowder, and have the characteristics of rounds intended only for indoor training or target practice rather than hunting. Where these are in .22 LR form, it is only to aid feeding in firearms designed for the cartridge, rather than older .22 CB shooting gallery rifles.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Subsonic
The Aguila SSS gives about 950 ft/s (290 m/s) velocity with a 60-gr bullet offering energy (163 Joules) equivalent to many high velocity .22 long rifle rounds using standard 40-gr bullets. Other heavy-bullet subsonic rounds give similar performance, and are intended for hunting of small game, or control of dangerous animals, while avoiding excessive noise.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Standard velocity
The velocity of standard-velocity .22 LR rounds varies between manufacturers. Some standard velocity ammo may be slightly supersonic-around 1,125 ft/s (343 m/s), other ammo such as CCI Standard Velocity .22 LR ammunition is rated at 1,070 ft/s (330 m/s). Most standard velocity ammo has a bullet weight of 40 gr (2.6 g). Standard-velocity cartridges generate near or slightly supersonic velocities. These rounds generally do not develop these velocities in handguns because their short barrels do not take full advantage of the slower burning powder.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, High velocity
The .22 long rifle round was originally loaded with black powder. The first smokeless powder loads were intended to match the standard velocity of the original black-powder rounds. Smokeless powder is more efficient than black powder, and the cartridge cases could hold more powder. Smokeless powder loads, called "high speed" or "high velocity", were offered by the major ammunition makers, giving a typical velocity increase of 8% (1,200 feet per second (370 m/s) to 1,300 feet per second (400 m/s)) while still using the standard 40 gr (2.6 g) solid or 36 gr (2.3 g) hollow-point lead bullet.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Hyper-velocity
Many .22 LR cartridges use bullets lighter than the standard 40 gr (2.6 g), fired at even higher velocities. Hyper-velocity bullets usually weigh around 30 to 32 gr (1.9 to 2.1 g) and can have a muzzle velocity of 1,400 to 1,800 feet per second (430 to 550 m/s). This higher velocity is partially due to the use of lighter bullets.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Hyper-velocity
The CCI Stinger was the first hyper-velocity .22 LR cartridge, and provided a significant increase in velocity and energy over standard rimfire rounds. The Stinger case is longer than that of the long rifle; about .702 in (17.8 mm) versus .613 in (15.6 mm) for the long rifle, but the plated hollow point bullet is lighter and shorter at 32 gr (2.1 g), giving the same overall length as the long rifle cartridge. This longer case can cause ejection problems in some guns.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Hyper-velocity
A powder with a slower burning rate is used to make the most use of the length of a rifle barrel. Most .22 long rifle powders increase velocity up to about 19 in (480 mm) of barrel. The powder used in the Stinger increases velocity up to the longest .22 barrel length tested by the NRA, 26 in (660 mm).


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Hyper-velocity
Later hyper-velocity rounds were introduced by other makers, based on the long rifle case with lighter bullets in the 30-gr weight range and slow-burning rifle powder loadings. The overall length of many of these cartridges was less than the overall length of the standard 40-gr bullet long rifle cartridge. One example is the Remington Viper; another is the Federal Spitfire.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Hyper-velocity
The CCI Velocitor hyper-velocity round uses the standard long rifle case size and a standard weight 40 gr (2.6 g) bullet of proprietary hollow-point design to augment expansion and trauma. This cartridge has a muzzle velocity of 1,435 ft/s (437 m/s) and matches the overall length of the standard long rifle cartridge.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Shot cartridges
Special .22 LR caliber shot cartridges, usually loaded with No. 12 shot, have also been made. These are often called "snake shot," "bird shot" and "rat-shot" due to their use in very short range pest control. Such rounds have either a longer brass case that is crimped closed, or a translucent plastic "bullet" that contains the shot and shatters upon firing. In specially made .22-bore shotguns, the shot shells can be used for short-range skeet shooting and trap shooting at special, scaled-down, clay targets.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Full metal jacket
During World War II, a full metal jacket bullet version of the .22 LR was developed as the T-42 for the silenced High Standard HDM pistol. The US Army Air Corps procured the Savage Model 24 .22 LR/.410 combination gun as an air crew survival weapon included in the E series of survival and sustenance kits, primarily to forage for game for food. The .22 LR full metal jacket bullet ammunition was issued with these firearms for military use to comply with treaty restrictions on expanding bullets.


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Full metal jacket
The 1961 Army/Air Force Technical Manual/Order on ammunition lists three types of rimfire CARTRIDGE, CALIBER .22: Ball, Long Rifle:


.22 Long Rifle, Variants, Full metal jacket
The first type specifies standard or target velocity .22 LR while the second is common high velocity commercial ammo. While these soft lead round nose bullet types were suitable for training or target practice, they are not legal for use in a war zone. Since .22 LR air crew survival weapons would probably be used in a war zone and could be used for defense, the M24 round is loaded with a hard lead-antimony alloy core bullet with a gilding metal jacket.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge construction
The traditional .22 rimfire cartridges (BB, CB, short, long, extra long, and long rifle) differ in construction from more modern cartridges in the way the bullet is constructed and held in the case. Bullets for traditional .22 rimfires are the same outside diameter as the case but are constructed with a narrower cupped "heel" on the base of the bullet which is inserted into the case. The case mouth is then crimped around the heel, leaving exposed the majority of the bullet bearing surface that contacts the barrel of the gun. The bearing surface of .22 rimfire bullets is often lubricated and the surface is exposed to contamination. This was a common design in the early black powder cartridge era.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge construction
In later cartridges including the .22 WRF and .22 WMR rimfires and modern centerfires, the bullet body is a uniform diameter and the bearing surface is inserted completely within the neck of the cartridge case, held in place by tension from the case neck around the bullet bearing surface (in some cartridges the case mouth maybe also be crimped into a cannelure (groove) in the bullet). The heeled bullet cartridge is considered weaker than the uniform diameter bullet cartridge which encloses the bearing surface of the bullet within the cartridge neck. Overall reliability of heeled bullet rimfire ammunition is high, but it is lower than the reliability of most centerfire ammunition.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge length
The .22 LR uses a straight-walled case. Depending upon the type and the feed mechanism employed, a firearm that is chambered for .22 LR may also be able to safely chamber and fire the following shorter rimfire cartridges:


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge length
The .22 Long Rifle may also be used in firearms chambered for the obsolete .22 Extra Long.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
Today, rimfire rounds are mainly used for hunting small pests, for sports shooting, for plinking, and for inexpensive training. The .22 LR is the choice for several shooting events: biathlon, bullseye, plus divisions of benchrest shooting, metallic silhouette and pin shooting, most high school, collegiate, Boy Scouts of America, Project Appleseed, 4H shooting events, and many others. It is also used in the precision Rifle and Pistol shooting events at the Olympic Games. Good quality rimfire ammunition can be quite accurate. The main advantages are low cost, low recoil, low noise and high accuracy-to-cost ratio. The main disadvantage is its low power; it is better suited for use on small game and other small animals.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
As a defensive cartridge, it is considered inadequate by many, though the small size allows very lightweight, easily concealable handguns which can be carried in circumstances where anything larger would be impractical. Despite their limitations, people can use .22 LR pistols and rifles for defense, and are common simply because they are prevalent, inexpensive, and widely available.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
Most semi-automatic rifles firing .22 LR cartridges will often only work properly when firing standard or high velocity rimfire ammunition, as the low recoil of subsonic rounds is insufficient to cycle the weapon's action. Rifles with manual actions do not have this problem. Due to the low bolt thrust of the .22 LR cartridge, most self-loading firearms chambered for the cartridge use the direct blowback operation system.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
The tiny case of the .22 LR and the subsonic velocities (when using subsonic ammunition) make it well suited for use with a firearm suppressor (also known as silencers or sound moderators). The low volume of powder gases means that .22 LR suppressors are often no larger than a bull barrel; the Ruger 10/22 and Ruger MK II are common choices, because of their reliability and low cost, and the resulting product is often nearly indistinguishable from a bull barrel model (although weighing far less).


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
Where firearm suppressors are only minimally restricted, a .22 LR firearm with a suppressor is often favored for plinking, as it does not require hearing protection or disturb the neighbors. Local government agencies sometimes use suppressed rimfire weapons for animal control, since dangerous animals or pests can be dispatched in populated areas without causing undue alarm.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
The .22 LR has also seen limited usage by police and military snipers. Its main advantage in this role is its low noise, but it is usually limited to urban operations because of its short range.


.22 Long Rifle, Usage
The Israeli military used a suppressed .22 LR rifle in the 1990s for riot control and to "eliminate disturbing dogs prior to operations", though it is now used less often as it has been shown to be more lethal than previously suspected. Some other examples include the use of suppressed High Standard HDM pistols by the American OSS, which was the predecessor organization of the CIA. Francis Gary Powers was issued a suppressed High Standard for the flight in which he was shot down. Suppressed Ruger MK II pistols were used by the US Navy SEALs in the 1990s.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge dimensions
.22 long rifle maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimetres (mm).


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge dimensions
The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 406 mm (1:16 in), six grooves, land width = 2.16 mm, Ø lands = 5.38 mm, Ø grooves = 5.58 mm.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge dimensions
According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the .22 long rifle can handle up to 170.00 MPa (24,656 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.


.22 Long Rifle, Cartridge dimensions
Because the .22 long rifle round commonly uses a heeled lead or lightly plated bullet, the nominal bullet diameter is larger than the nominal bore diameter to prevent excessive lead fouling that can occur when shooting lead bullets that are the same or slightly smaller than the groove diameter. SAAMI specifies a nominal bullet diameter of 0.2255 with a tolerance of -0.004, while the specified bore diameter is 0.222. In practice, 0.224 or slightly larger bullets are common, with barrel groove diameters commonly around 0.223.


.22 Long Rifle, Muzzle velocity (nominal)
Note: actual velocities are dependent on many factors, such as barrel length of a given firearm and manufacturer of a given batch of ammunition, and will vary widely in practice. The above velocities are typical.


.22 PPC
The .22 PPC is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed in 1974 by Dr. Louis Palmisano and Ferris Pindell, primarily as a benchrest cartridge. The cartridge is based on the 5.6×39mm (.220 Russian) case which is a necked-down version of the 7.62x39mm Soviet military cartridge. Several companies have made custom guns in this caliber, however no major companies did until 1993, when Ruger announced their No. 1 V and M77 varmint rifles in this caliber.


.22 PPC, Changes from the .220 Russian Cartridge
The changes from the .220 Russian into the .22 PPC include a 10-degree body taper and 30-degree shoulder angle, as well as expanding the neck to accept the standard .224 inches (5.7 mm) diameter bullet used in the U.S. Cases are made in Finland by Sako or in Sweden by Norma and use Small Rifle primers. Although the .22 PPC is a short, rather stubby case (only 1.51 inches (38 mm) long), it nevertheless develops ballistics superior to some larger, longer cartridges such as the .222 and .223 Remington.


.22 PPC, Changes from the .220 Russian Cartridge
The 52-grain bullet can be pushed out of the muzzle at over 3,500 feet per second (1,100 m/s), placing the .22 PPC in the varmint and small game class. A 1 in 14-inch (1 in 355 mm) twist has become pretty much standard for these rifles although 1 in 12-inch (1 in 305 mm) twist will sometimes be found, depending on the load and bullet weight.


.22 Remington Automatic
The .22 Remington Automatic (also known as the .22 Remington Auto and occasionally .22 Rem Auto) is a .22in (5.6mm) American rimfire rifle cartridge.


.22 Remington Automatic
Introduced for the Remington Model 16 semiautomatic rifle in 1916, the .22 Rem Auto was never used in any other firearm. It will not chamber correctly in other .22 rimfire weapons, nor will other .22 rimfire ammunition, including the dimensionally very similar .22 Winchester Automatic, interchange with it. This feature was to prevent use of black powder rounds, which were still popular when it first appeared, from being used in the Model 16, resulting in powder residue rapidly clogging the action and rendering the weapon inoperable.


.22 Remington Automatic
The power of the .22 Remington Auto is comparable to the .22 Long rimfire, and while it fires a heavier bullet, it offers no performance edge on either the .22 Long or the very much more common .22 Long Rifle. It is not as accurate or as effective as the .22 LR, either.


.22 Remington Jet
The .22 Remington Jet (also known as .22 Jet, .22 Center Fire Magnum, or .22 CFM) is a .22 in (5.6mm) American centerfire revolver and rifle cartridge.


.22 Remington Jet
Developed jointly by Remington and Smith & Wesson, it was to be used in the Model 53 revolver, which first appeared late in 1961. While it traced its origins to potent wildcats such as the .224 Harvey Kay-Chuk, which ultimately derive from the .22 Hornet, it was a bottlenecked cartridge based upon the .357 Magnum case necked down to a .22 caliber bullet, with an unusually long tapered shoulder.


.22 Remington Jet
By 1972, the Model 53 remained the only revolver chambered for it, while Marlin in 1972 was planning a lever rifle in .22 Jet.


.22 Remington Jet
The .22 Jet was also a factory chambering for the T/C Contender and the design allowed for it to reach its full potential. No cylinder gap, no case setback.


.22 Remington Jet
The .22 Jet was designed as a flat-shooting hunting round for handguns, and it is suitable for handgun hunting of varmints and medium game out to 100 yd (90 m). The 2460 ft/s (750 m/s) and 535 ft-lbf (725 J) claimed for factory test loads did not prove out in service weapons.


.22 Savage Hi-Power
The .22 Savage Hi-Power cartridge (aka: 5.6×52mmR) was created by Charles Newton and introduced by Savage Arms in 1912. It was designed to be used in the Savage Model 99 hammerless lever action rifle. It is based upon the .25-35 Winchester cartridge necked down to accept a .227in/.228in diameter bullet. Its original loading was a 70 grain soft point bullet with a velocity of about 2790 feet per second.


.22 Savage Hi-Power, History and description
The .22 Savage Hi-Power's relatively high velocity for the time and "shocking" power led to an initial surge of popularity, and was attributed with almost magical killing powers even on large and dangerous soft-skinned game such as tigers. Reverend H. R. Caldwell used his .22 Savage Hi-Power on 400 pound tigers in China with success, something the Savage rifle company exploited in its advertising for the cartridge in the early days.


.22 Savage Hi-Power, History and description
The famous elephant-hunter W. D. M. Bell used a .22 Savage Hi-Power to kill Cape buffalo in West Africa in the 1920s, and reported in his magazine articles that the cartridge was popular at that time for red deer stalking in Scotland. While it was used in the UK on deer as large as Red Stags, it fell out of favour as a big game cartridge due to its small caliber and light bullets.


.22 Savage Hi-Power, History and description
As time went on, other .22 centerfire cartridges outstripped it in performance such as the .220 Swift, and with the advent of the .223 Remington in the 1960s, the cartridge was considered obsolete. Today it is regarded as a vintage round, and aficionados use it for small game hunting in similar applications as the .223 Remington, though it is used for deer hunting where it is legal to do so. In Europe the cartridge is still chambered in drillings and similar combination guns, and the cartridge is still used by hunters for smaller European deer species such as Roe deer.


.22 Savage Hi-Power, History and description
As of 2007, the .22 Savage Hi-Power is no longer made in the United States. In Europe, the .22 Savage Hi-Power is called the "5.6×52mmR", and is still made by RWS, Norma, Sellier & Bellot, and Wolf Ammunition, and exported to the U.S. market.


.22 Short
.22 Short is a variety of .22 caliber (5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. Developed in 1857 for the first Smith & Wesson revolver, the .22 rimfire was the first American metallic cartridge. The original loading was a 29 or 30 gr (0.066 or 0.069 oz; 1.879 or 1.944 g) bullet and 4 gr (0.0091 oz; 0.2592 g) of black powder. The original .22 rimfire cartridge was renamed .22 Short with the introduction of the .22 Long in 1871.


.22 Short
Developed for self defense, the modern .22 Short, though still used in a few pocket pistols and mini-revolvers, is mainly used as a quiet round for practice by the recreational shooter. The .22 Short was popularly used in shooting galleries at fairs and arcades; several rifle makers produced "gallery" models for .22 Short exclusively. Due to its low recoil and good inherent accuracy, the .22 Short was used for the Olympic 25 meter rapid fire pistol event until 2004, and they were allowed in the shooting part of modern pentathlon competitions before they switched to air pistols.


.22 Short
Several makes of starter pistols use .22 Short blank cartridges. Some powder-actuated nail guns use .22 Short blanks as a power source.


.22 Short, Overview
Most .22 Short bullets are made of lead (usually coated with grease or wax, or copper) in round nose or hollow point styles. Bullets for use at shooting galleries were often made of compressed powdered metal that disintegrated on impact to avoid ricochets and over-penetration of backstops. The standard velocity .22 Short launches a 29-grain (1.9 g) bullet at 1,045 feet per second (319 m/s) with 70 ft·lbf (95 J) of energy from a 22 in (559 mm) rifle barrel and can penetrate 2 inches (51 mm) of soft pine.


.22 Short, Overview
As a hunting round, the high velocity hollow point Short is useful only for small game such as tree squirrels and rabbits. For small game hunting in general, the greater energy and wider ammunition selection of the .22 Long Rifle make it a more popular choice. In the American South, the .22 Short hollow point is still very popular for use on raccoons, which are treed at night using dogs and shooting is at close range. In some states, the .22 Short is the only legal round to use for such hunting.


.22 Short, Overview
Although the .22 Long Rifle has surpassed the .22 Short in the marketplace, many ammunition companies still produce .22 Shorts, and in a fairly wide variety. Most makers utilize the standard 29-grain (1.9 g) solid round nose bullet and 27-grain (1.7 g) hollow point bullet weights for the .22 Short.


.22 Short, Overview
Several types are made by CCI: a CB Short at 727 ft/s (222 m/s), target Shorts at 830 ft/s (250 m/s), their standard Short round with plated round nose bullet at 1,080 ft/s (330 m/s), and a high speed hunting load with plated hollow point bullet at 1,105 ft/s (337 m/s). The .22 Short high-velocity exceeds the performance of the .22 Long (with the exception of CCI's High Velocity 1217fps Long loading), and the .22 Short has displaced the .22 Long as an alternate to the .22 Long Rifle for many .22 shooters.


.22 Short, Overview
Fiocchi makes their Exacta Compensated Super Match SM200 with lead round nose at 650 ft/s (200 m/s). Remington produces a high velocity plated round nose at 1,095 ft/s (334 m/s). Aguila makes both a match lead round nose at 1,095 ft/s (334 m/s), and a "high speed" round with plated bullet also listed at 1,095 ft/s (334 m/s). Also available is the RWS R25 match ammunition at 560 ft/s (170 m/s). Eley also makes their rapid fire match cartridge at 750 ft/s (230 m/s).


.22 Short, Overview
Most of the target oriented and CB Shorts are very quiet, due to being subsonic. When fired from a full-length rifle barrel, most .22 Short loadings are as quiet as if not quieter than, the average air rifle.


.22 Short, Overview
The Aguila SubSonic Sniper round uses a .22 Short case with a 60-grain (3.9 g) bullet (twice the weight of the .22 short bullet and half again as heavy as a .22 Long Rifle bullet) giving an overall length of a .22 Long Rifle round, making categorizing the SSS problematic: while the SSS case size is .22 Short, the firing chamber of the barrel must be .22 LR dimensions to accept the SSS cartridge.


.22 Short, Overview, .22 Short-caliber rifles
There have been many rifles chambered for the .22 Short over the years, but only several lever action rifles are currently chambered for this round, notably Henry Repeating Arms and Marlin Firearms Co. lever action rifles. The Marlin Golden 39A model represents the oldest and longest continuously produced shoulder firearm in the world. Many rifles in .22 Short were made between 1901 and 1940, mostly intended for gallery shooting and small game hunting. Remington and Winchester produced the most rifles in .22 Short.


.22 Short, Overview, .22 Short-caliber rifles
Remington has made their Model 24 and Model 241 "Speedmaster" semi-autos as well as their Model 12 and 121 "Fieldmaster" pump actions in .22 Short. Remington's Nylon 66 GS Gallery Special (1962 to 1981) was one of the last .22 Short-only rifles made especially for shooting gallery use. Winchester produced a variety of different rifles in .22 Short, including the 1873 lever action, 1885 single shot (in both low wall and high wall variations), Model 1890, 1906 and 62A pump actions, Model 74 semi-auto, and Model 61 pump action. Many of their bolt action rifles were available on a special order basis in .22 Short. Browning/FN also produced their dainty takedown semi-auto in .22 Short, on the same John Browning design upon which the Remington Model 24 is based.


.22 Short, Overview, .22 Short-caliber rifles
Many of these rifles are now collectors’ items, particularly the Winchesters, and demand a premium in price over the same rifle chambered in .22 Long Rifle.


.22 Short, Overview, .22 Short-caliber rifles
Many rifles marked ".22 Short, Long and Long Rifle" (or ".22 S, L, LR") will not shoot Shorts with the same accuracy as they will a Long Rifle round nor as accurately as a rifle designed for .22 Short. This is due to the excess chamber length needed to allow chambering of .22 LR cartridges. This requires the bullet from a .22 Short to travel a short distance before it engages the rifling, which is detrimental to accuracy. In addition, barrels made for .22 Short are rifled with a rate of twist of one turn in twenty inches, while barrels made for .22 Long Rifle have a twist of one turn in sixteen inches.


.22 Spitfire
The .22 Spitfire (Originally the Johnson MMJ 5.7mm Spitfire, also known as 5.7mm Johnson or 5.7mm MMJ)  is an American wildcat rifle cartridge developed by Melvin Johnson.


.22 Spitfire
In 1963, firearms designer Melvin Johnson developed a conversion of the M1 Carbine to the Johnson MMJ 5.7mm Spitfire Cartridge, The cartridge is based on the .30 Carbine cartridge, necked-down to .224 (5.7 mm) caliber. Originally designed with a 1-in-14 twist barrel, the 40 grain .22 Hornet bullet was the standard load. It could also be loaded with lighter or heavier weight bullets available at that time for the .22 Hornet as well as most bullet weights up to 50 grains such as that used by the .222 Remington (5.7×43mm).


.22 Spitfire
The conversion is essentially a .22 (5mm) barrel fitted to an M1 Carbine receiver with an appropriate feed ramp for the caliber brazed or welded into the receiver. Some commercial production M1 Carbines were originally manufactured in this caliber with the feed ramp for the .22 Spitfire integral to the barrel.


.22 Spitfire
The specifications tend to land the cartridge about halfway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and the more recent 5.7x28mm FN. Ballistically it is very similar to the rimmed .22 Hornet, but fashioned in a rimless cartridge design appropriate for a self-loading carbine with very light recoil. The Spitfire M1 Carbine originally was advertised as firing a 40-grain (2.6g) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3050 ft/s (930 m/s), though handloaders with careful selection of modern powders and appropriate bullets consistently safely exceed those numbers while remaining within the M1 Carbine's Maximum Pressure rating of 38,500 psi (265 MPa). [


.22 Spitfire
16] In comparison, the "standard" load for the .30 Carbine has a .30 Carbine ball bullet weighing 110 grains (7.1 g); a complete loaded round weighs 195 grains (12.6 g) and has a muzzle velocity of 1,990 ft/s (610 m/s), giving it 967 ft⋅lbf (1,311 joules) of energy when fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch barrel.


.22 Spitfire
Johnson advertised the smaller caliber and the modified carbine as a survival rifle for use in jungles or other remote areas. It was light, and easily carried ammunition in a light, fast handling carbine with low recoil.


.22 TCM
The .22 TCM or 22TCM (.22 Tuason Craig Micromagnum) is a proprietary bottle-necked cartridge created from a 5.56 NATO cartridge developed by custom gunsmith Fred Craig and Rock Island Armory (RIA) for semi-automatic pistols and the Rock Island M22 TCM bolt action rifle. Before the cartridge was commercialized, it was called the 22 Micro-Mag. Similar conceptually to other bottle-necked pistol cartridges such as the larger-caliber .357 SIG, the .22 TCM trades bullet mass for increased velocity and lowered recoil.


.22 TCM
Based on the 5.56×45mm NATO case and shortened so that the shoulder is at approximately the same length as a .38 Super cartridge, the .22 TCM is somewhat longer than the ubiquitous 9×19mm Parabellum and designed to be fired from a RIA line of firearms (which also included 9mm barrel swaps) fed by Para-Ordnance-style double-column .38 Super magazines. A sub-variant, the 22 TCM 9R, with a shorter, more deeply-seated bullet, is designed for use in Glock magazines limited to standard-length 9mm cartridges. Standard factory loads are 40-grain jacketed soft hollow point, 39-grain for "9R".


.22 Winchester Automatic
The .22 Winchester Automatic (also known as the .22 Winchester Auto and occasionally .22 Win Auto) is a .22 in (5.6 mm) American rimfire rifle cartridge.


.22 Winchester Automatic
Introduced for the Winchester Model 1903 semiautomatic rifle, the .22 Win Auto was never used in any other firearm. It will not chamber correctly in other .22 rimfire weapons, nor will other .22 rimfire ammunition, including the very dimensionally-similar .22 Remington Automatic, interchange with it. This feature was to prevent use of black powder rounds, which were still popular when it first appeared, from being used in the M1903, resulting in powder residue rapidly clogging the action and rendering the weapon inoperable.


.22 Winchester Automatic
The power of the .22 Win Auto is comparable to the .22 Long rimfire, and while it fires a heavier bullet, it offers no performance edge on either the .22 Long or the very much more common .22 Long Rifle.


.22 Winchester Centerfire
.22 Winchester Centerfire (.22 WCF) is a small centerfire cartridge introduced in 1885 for use in the Winchester Model 1885 single-shot rifle. Factory manufacture of ammunition was discontinued in 1936. The .22 WCF was loaded with a 45 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of about 1550 feet per second, similar to the performance of the .22 Winchester Rimfire (.22 WRF) designed in 1890.


.22 Winchester Centerfire
Experimentation with the .22 WCF among civilian wildcatters and the U.S. military at Springfield Armory in the 1920s led to the development of the .22 Hornet cartridge.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire
The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, also called .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, .22 WMRF, .22 MRF, or .22 Mag, is a rimfire cartridge. Originally loaded with a bullet weight of 40 grains (2.6 g) delivering velocities in the 2,000 feet per second (610 m/s) range from a rifle barrel, .22 WMR is now loaded with bullet weights ranging from 50 grains (3.2 g) at 1,530 feet per second (470 m/s) to 30 grains (1.9 g) at 2,200 feet per second (670 m/s).


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, History
The .22 WMR was introduced in 1959 by Winchester, but was not used by Winchester until the Winchester Model 61 slide rifle could be chambered for it in 1960. The first rifle to be offered in the new chambering was the Marlin Levermatic rifle in 1959, because its design was easily modified to accept the more powerful cartridge.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, History
By the time of the introduction of the Winchester 61, Smith & Wesson and Ruger had revolvers for it, and Savage had come out with the Model 24 and since late 2012, the Model 42, a more modern update than the 24, a .22/.410 rifle/shotgun combination gun. It was the only successful rimfire cartridge introduced in the 20th century.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Dimensions and loading
The .22 WMR uses a larger case than the more popular .22 Long Rifle (LR) both in diameter and length. The .22 WMR case is a lengthened version of the older .22 WRF. In the most common modern .22 WMR loadings using a 40-grain (2.6 g) bullet, the combination of more powder and higher sustained pressures gives velocities of 1,875 feet per second (572 m/s) from a rifle and 1,500 feet per second (460 m/s) from a handgun. Because of its larger size, a .22 WMR round will not fit into the chamber of a .22 LR firearm.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Dimensions and loading
Although the bullet diameters are the same, the larger .22 WMR chamber does not support the smaller .22 LR cartridge. Firing the smaller .22 LR round in a .22 WMR chamber results in swollen or split cartridge cases, high pressure gas leakage from the rear of the chamber, and bullets striking the chamber throat out of alignment, which can result in injury to the shooter or bystander and which does result in poor ammunition performance.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Dimensions and loading
Gun makers offer .22 revolver models with cylinders chambered either in .22 LR or in .22 WMR and as convertible kits with both cylinders which allow the shooter to easily switch calibers on the same firearm.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Uses
Since the .22 WMR uses bullets comparable in weight to the .22 Long Rifle, but is considerably faster, it shoots flatter and farther and hits harder at all ranges. The 40-grain (2.6 g) .22 WMR at 100 yards (91 m) still has 50% more kinetic energy than a 40-grain (2.6 g) .22 LR at the muzzle. The .22 WMR provides improved penetration and more reliable expansion at longer ranges with expanding bullets.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Uses
If sighted in for maximum point blank range on a 3-inch (76 mm) high target, the 40-grain (2.6 g) .22 WMR has an effective range of nearly 125 yards (114 m). This makes the .22 WMR an effective short to medium range varmint rifle and hunting rifle cartridge. The .22 WMR can effectively kill small game such as rabbits, hares, groundhogs, prairie dogs, foxes, raccoons, opossums, and coyotes. The relatively quiet report and negligible recoil also make it a very pleasant target and plinking round to shoot for extended periods.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
It first appeared in the Marlin Model 57M Levermatic carbine in 1959, which was followed by the .22 WMR over .410 gauge Savage Model 24 combination gun, followed by Winchester's own Model 61 and 275 pump-action rifles and Model 255 lever-action rifle. The Chiappa Double Badger combination gun also comes with a .22 WMR over .410 gauge option. The Springfield Armory M6 Scout is also made in .22 Magnum over .410 gauge. The Chiappa M6 Survival Gun is similar combination gun that comes with a 12 gauge or 20 gauge shotgun barrel over a .22 Magnum barrel.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
A number of single-shot and repeating rifles were offered in .22 WMR. The .22 WMR operates at pressures beyond what normal blowback actions typically handle, but the self-loading Jefferson Model 159 was introduced for the cartridge. Until the 1990s, most .22 WMR firearms were bolt-action rifles. In 1977-1985 Harrington & Richardson produced the first American-made semi-automatic .22 WMR. In the 1990s semi-automatic .22 WMR rifles were also introduced by Ruger (10/22) and Marlin, and are currently produced by Remington (Model 597) and Tanfoglio Appeal Rifle as well as the Excel Arms Accelerator Rifle and Savage arms A22 magnum.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
Revolvers in .22 WMR are made by Smith & Wesson, Colt, Taurus, North American Arms, Heritage Arms, and Sturm Ruger. Semi-automatic pistols for this cartridge are (or were) produced by Kel-Tec, Grendel and AMT, the latter two now defunct (AMT has been since resurrected by High Standard). The Grendel, AMT and Kel-Tec designs used specially designed chambers with flutes or gas ports, designed to lubricate the long, thin cartridge with gases from the chamber, overcoming the Blish effect and allowing easy extraction of the cartridge. High-Standard produced various models and versions of their classic two-shot over/under derringer in both .22 WMR and .22 LR.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
The Marlin Model 25MG is a smooth bore, eight-shot, magazine-fed, .22 WMR, bolt-action shotgun manufactured by Marlin firearms Company. It was specifically designed to use snake shot, and marketed as a "garden gun" for use in dispatching small garden and farm pests. It has an effective range of about 15 yards when using snake shot. Based on earlier Marlin .22 caliber designs, the garden gun was equipped with a high-visibility front sight but no rear sight.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
The Argentine EDDA submachine gun uses the .22 WMR round.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
In 2014  Kel-Tec released the CMR-30, a PDW style rifle chambered in 22. WMR with a 16" barrel and a 1:14 twist rate. It uses the same double stack 30 round magazine as the PMR-30.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
In 2018 Standard Manufacturing introduced an 8 round .22 WMR revolver at the Las Vegas Shot Show. The revolver was originally introduced as the Volleyfire. The gun has side-by-side barrels, and fires 2 rounds of .22 WMR (1 bullet per barrel) with every pull of the trigger. In 2019 the gun went into production and was renamed "".


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Firearms using .22 WMR
In recent years, a few UK companies such as Guncraft Ltd have been making semi automatic AR-15 style rifles chambered in 22 WMR, marketed to civilian shooters who, due to the UK's tight gun laws, do not have access to self loading center fire rifles.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
The .22 WMR is an enlarged, more powerful version of the much earlier .22 WRF. Despite frequent claims to the contrary, it  cannot be safely used in any firearm except those specifically chambered for it. Even firearms chambered for the .22 WRF are not suitable; for one thing, the case lengths are different, and the fact that the cartridge fits into the chamber does not guarantee that using the wrong cartridge is either safe or effective.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
The .22 WMR was for a time the most powerful rimfire round available; it even outperformed the .22 WCF. It has since been eclipsed in velocity and overall kinetic energy by the .17 Winchester Super Magnum.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
Commonly available in retail stores, the selection and availability of the .22 WMR nevertheless do not match the popular .22 Long Rifle. Furthermore, .22 WMR is typically much more expensive than .22 LR per round, though it is comparable to .17 HMR, which is much more similar in overall performance, and is less expensive than .22 caliber centerfire ammunition.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
Because many of the rifles that are chambered for the .22 WMR have tubular magazines, the bullet noses generally are flat or at least blunt to allow smooth feeding and reduce damage to the bullet. Although a pointed bullet in a rimfire cartridge will not contact the primer of the round in front of it (which is a hazard with centerfire cartridges in a tubular magazine), the manufacturer's stamp is in the middle of the base of a rimfire cartridge, and this may interfere with pointed metal bullets in a tube. However, Remington, CCI, and Hornady now produce bullet designs with 30 or 33-grain (2.1 g) polymer plastic ballistic tips that reduce the hazards of pointed ammunition in tubular magazines.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
Bullets for the .22 WMR are generally unlubricated lead with heavy copper plating, in either solid nose or hollow point style designed for small game hunting or pest control (varmint hunting).


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
The limited selection of commercial ammunition for the .22 WMR has inspired specialist wildcatters to select the .22 WMR case for handloading high performance rimfire ammunition. Generally they load the wildcat cartridges with pointed bullets for the aerodynamic advantages, using the same bullets as those in .22 caliber centerfire cartridges. Though such bullets are generally heavier than standard .22 WMR, the sharp nose and tapered tail conserve energy better, delivering greater impact at longer ranges.


.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, Ammunition
Other wildcatters neck the .22 WMR down to smaller calibers, such as .20 (5 mm) and .17 (4.5 mm) or even smaller, in an attempt to get maximum velocity and the flattest possible trajectory. An example of such an experimental design is the Swedish 4.5×26mm MKR.


.22 Winchester Rimfire
The .22 Winchester Rimfire (commonly called the .22 WRF) is an American rimfire rifle cartridge.


.22 Winchester Rimfire, History
Introduced in the Winchester M1890 slide rifle, it had a flat-nose slug, and is identical to the .22 Remington Special (which differed only in having a roundnosed slug). It uses a flat-based, inside-lubricated bullet, which differs from the outside-lube slug of the .22 Short, Long, LR, and Extra Long rounds.


.22 Winchester Rimfire, History
When introduced, the .22 WRF "was the first notable improvement in the killing power" over the .22 LR, and was able to kill cleaner at up to 75 yd (70 m). It is somewhat less accurate than the .22 LR and is most suited to hunting small game such as rabbits or prairie dogs.


.22 Winchester Rimfire, History
Shortly before World War II, propellants were developed that greatly increased the effectiveness of the .22 LR. These new "High Velocity" loadings offered a nearly 300fps increase in velocity over the original 1050fps .22 LR load. This increase in power of the smaller round, coupled with its cheaper price and sheer number of rifles already owned in .22 LR, effectively killed the .22 WRF.


.22 Winchester Rimfire, History
A variety of Winchester, Remington, and Stevens single-shot and repeater rifles were offered from 1890 onward, but new rifles are not made for this cartridge. .22 WRF ammunition is periodically offered by commercial makers for use in the old guns. It can be fired in any rifle chambered for the more powerful .22 WMR. The shorter WRF cartridge may be limited to single shot use in WMR rifles, since it may not feed from WMR-length magazines, depending on design.


.22 caliber
22 caliber, or 5.6mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm).


.22 caliber
Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO.


.22 caliber
.22 inch is also a popular air gun pellet caliber, second only to the ubiquitous .177 caliber.


.22-250 Remington
The .22-250 Remington is a very high-velocity (capable of reaching over 4000 feet per second), short action, .22 caliber rifle cartridge primarily used for varmint hunting and small game hunting. Though it finds occasional use on deer, this is not recommended as there are better suited calibers for this task. Some jurisdictions prohibit the use of cartridges smaller than 6mm (e.g., .243 Winchester) for deer hunting. This cartridge is also sometimes known as the .22 Varminter or the .22 Wotkyns Original Swift. Along with the .220 Swift, the .22-250 was one of the high-velocity .22 caliber cartridges that developed a reputation for remote wounding effects known as hydrostatic shock in the late 1930s and early 1940s.


.22-250 Remington, History
The .22-250 started life as a wildcat cartridge developed from the .250-3000 Savage case necked down to take a .224 caliber bullet. In the early days of the cartridge there were several different versions that varied only slightly from one to the next, including one developed in 1937 by Grosvenor Wotkyns, J. E. Gebby and J. B. Smith who named their version the 22 Varminter.


.22-250 Remington, History
The .22-250 is similar to, but was outperformed by the larger .220 Swift cartridge. However, it is in much wider use and has a larger variety of commercially available factory ammunition than the Swift. This makes it generally cheaper to shoot. The smaller powder load also contributes to more economical shooting for users who load their own ammunition. Due to its rimless case the 22-250 also feeds from a box magazine more reliably than the Swift, a semi-rimmed cartridge susceptible to rim lock.


.22-250 Remington, History
In 1937 Phil Sharpe, one of the first gunsmiths to build a rifle for the .22-250 and long time .220 Swift rifle builder, stated, "The Swift performed best when it was loaded to approximately full velocity," whereas, "The Varminter case permits the most flexible loading ever recorded with a single cartridge. It will handle all velocities from 1,500 ft/s up to 4,500 ft/s."


.22-250 Remington, History
Sharpe credited the steep 28-degree shoulder for this performance. He insisted that it kept the powder burning in the case rather than in the throat of the rifle, as well as prevented case stretching and neck thickening. "Shoulder angle ranks along with primer, powders, bullets, neck length, body taper, loading density and all those other features," he wrote. "The .22 Varminter seems to have a perfectly balanced combination of all desirable features and is not just an old cartridge pepped up with new powders."


.22-250 Remington, History
Accuracy was consistently excellent, with little need for either case trimming or neck reaming, and Sharpe pronounced it "my choice for the outstanding cartridge development of the past decade." He finished by saying he looked forward to the day when it would become a commercial cartridge.


.22-250 Remington, Commercial acceptance
In 1963 the Browning Arms Company started to chamber its Browning High Power Rifle in the .22-250, at the time a wildcat cartridge. This was a risky yet historical move on Browning's part as there was no commercial production of the .22-250 at the time. John T. Amber, reporting on the development of the Browning rifle in the 1964 Gun Digest, called the event "unprecedented". "As far as I know," he wrote, "this is the first time a first-line arms-maker has offered a rifle chambered for a cartridge that it—or some other production ammunition maker—cannot supply." Amber foresaw difficulties for the company but "applauded Browning's courage in taking this step". He said he had his order in for one of the first heavy-barrel models, expected in June 1963, and added, "I can hardly wait!"


.22-250 Remington, Commercial acceptance
Two years later in 1965 Remington Arms adopted the .22-250, added "Remington" to the name and chambered their Model 700 and 40 XB match rifles for the cartridge along with a line of commercial ammunition, thus establishing its commercial specification.


.22-250 Remington, Commercial acceptance
The .22-250 was the first non-Weatherby caliber offered in the unique Weatherby Mark V rifle.


.22-250 Remington, Military acceptance
Both the British Special Air Service and the Australian Special Air Service Regiment used Tikka M55 sniper rifles chambered in .22-250 for urban counter-terrorism duties in the 1980s, in an attempt to reduce excessive penetration and ricochets.


.22-250 Remington, Performance
Typical factory-loaded .22-250 Remington can propel a 55 grain (3.56 g) spitzer bullet at 3,680 ft/s (1122 m/s) with 1,654 ft⋅lbf (2,243 J) of energy. Many other loads with lighter bullets are used to achieve velocities of over 4,000 ft/s (1,219 m/s), while still having effective energy for use in hunting small game and medium-sized predators. CIP lists the performance as: Transducer Method Pressures (Energies): Max Average Pmax = 4050 bar, PE (Proof Pressure) = 5060 bar, EE (Min Proof Energy) = 2370 Joules


.22-250 Remington, Performance
The .22-250 is currently the second fastest production cartridge, surpassing the .204 Ruger, .220 Swift remains the fastest commercial cartridge in the world, with a published velocity of 1,422 m/s (4,665 ft/s) using a 1.9 grams (29 gr) bullet and 2.7 grams (42 gr) of 3031 powder. [ 6] This round is loaded by Hornady under their Superformance line and is a 35 grain, non-toxic, fragmenting varmint bullet at 4450 feet per second (1356 m/s) from a 24" barrel.


.22-250 Remington, Performance
It is particularly popular in the western states of the USA where high winds often hinder the effectiveness of other varmint rounds in prairie dog hunting. Many states in the USA have minimum caliber restrictions on larger game such as deer, although most states do allow the cartridge to be used for big game.


.220 Rook
The .220 Rook, also known as the .220 Long Centrefire, is an obsolete British centerfire rifle cartridge.


.220 Rook, Overview
The .220 Rook is a rimmed cartridge originally designed for use in rook rifles, it was designed and produced in Britain in the 1880s. It is believed to be an early centrefire version of the .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge.


.220 Rook, Overview
The .220 Rook fired a bullet of 30 grains (1.9 g) weight driven by 5 grains (0.32 g) of black powder, it was designed for hunting small game and target shooting, although many considered it too small for practical hunting purposes.


.220 Swift
The .220 Swift (5.56×56mmSR) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 for small game and vermin hunting. It was the first factory-loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over 1,200 m/s (4,000 ft/s), just over Mach 4.


.220 Swift, Description
The velocity of the cartridge ranges from 2000 km/h (1200 mph or 550 m/s) up to about 4500 km/h (2800 mph or 1250 m/s). The Swift is a large cased .224 caliber cartridge and bullet that was created for small game such as prairie dogs, groundhogs and other vermin (or "varmints" in the US) such as marmots. When introduced it was 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s) faster than its nearest varmint-hunting competitor, which was the .22 Hornet (also .224 caliber). It was found to be an extremely accurate cartridge as well. The .220 Swift remains the fastest commercial cartridge in the world, with a published velocity of 1,422 m/s (4,665 ft/s) using a 1.9 grams (29 gr) bullet and 2.7 grams (42 gr) of 3031 powder.


.220 Swift, Description
Due to its very high velocity its bullet drop allows precise sighting on game such as groundhogs to ranges out to 375 yd (343 m), and it is still considered an excellent cartridge for taking varmints by experienced Swift shooters.


.220 Swift, Description
The original factory load from Winchester provided a 48-grain (3.1 g) bullet launched at 1,200 metres per second (4,100 ft/s). Handloaders could marginally improve on this but only at maximum loads. The Swift can be loaded with light bullets to reach 1,300 m/s (4,400 ft/s). In recent times 75-grain (4.9 g) .224" bullets have been developed for use in high velocity .22 caliber rifles for taking larger game and long-distance shooting. Heavier bullets perform best in rifles that have an appropriate rifling twist rate taking into consideration the diameter, length, and other physical properties of the projectile.


.220 Swift, History
The prototype for the .220 Swift was developed in 1934–35 by Grosvenor Wotkyns who necked down the .250-3000 Savage as a means of achieving very high velocities. However the final commercial version developed by Winchester is based on the 6mm Lee Navy cartridge necked down. The .220 Swift was developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 as a new caliber for their Model 54 bolt-action rifle. When the Winchester Model 70 bolt action was first issued in 1936, the .220 Swift was one of the standard calibers offered and continued to be until 1964 when it was discontinued.


.220 Swift, Acceptance
The Swift has the dubious privilege of being possibly the most controversial of all the many .224 in caliber cartridges, and has inspired equal heights of praise and criticism. Traditionalists have roundly condemned it as an overbore "barrel burner" which can wear out a chromoly barrel in as few as 200–300 rounds, especially if long strings of shots are fired from an increasingly hot barrel.


.220 Swift, Acceptance
Its supporters have maintained that the fault lies with poor-quality barrel steels and the failure of users to remove copper fouling after firing, and point to instances of rifles with fine-quality stainless steel barrels chambered for the Swift, which have maintained sub-MOA precision after well in excess of 4,000 shots. More popular, however, is the smaller and slightly lower velocity .22–250.


.220 Swift, Drawbacks
Due to the cartridge being over capacity for the bore diameter and the extreme velocity of the projectiles, throat erosion is a common problem. Modern metallurgy and cryogenic treatment have vastly improved barrel life with the .220 Swift and other 4,000 ft/s (1,200 m/s) cartridges, although weapons firing these cartridges still usually require rechambering or rebarreling much sooner than those firing lower-velocity cartridges such as the .222 Remington and the .223 Remington.


.220 Swift, Hunting controversy
The Swift remains a controversial deer caliber. Its use is prohibited in many US states and also in the Netherlands, England, Wales and Northern Ireland for large deer such as red, sika and fallow, but some states, such as Minnesota, currently allow smaller caliber rounds like the .220 Swift to be used.


.220 Swift, Hunting controversy
In the cartridge's early days during the 1930s, expert red deer stalkers such as W.D.M. Bell used the .220 Swift on large stags with great success, and extolled the caliber's seemingly magical killing powers, which they attributed to massive hydrostatic shock waves set up in the animal's body by the impact of the very high-velocity bullet.


.220 Swift, Hunting controversy
Critics of the Swift have maintained that the light, 50-or-55-grain (3.2 or 3.6 g), bullet leaves an inadequate margin for error in bullet placement for the average deer shooter's skills, and thus invites wounding, which would have otherwise been avoidable. There is, however, little debate about the Swift's proven effectiveness on small deer species, such as roe, provided very fast-fragmenting "varmint"-type bullets are not used.


.220 Swift, Hunting controversy
Most factory Swift rifles come with a fairly slow twist-rate such as 1–12 or 1–14 inch, designed to stabilize the lighter bullets popular in varmint hunting. Custom Swifts can have faster twist-rates such as 1–9 inch allowing them to stabilize heavy bullets, including those with a construction suitable for larger game.


.220 Swift, Hunting controversy
P.O. Ackley maintained that the .220 Swift was a fine round for medium-large game and used it extensively for example when culling wild burros in the American West.


.221 Remington Fireball
The .221 Remington Fireball, often simply referred to as .221 Fireball, is a centerfire cartridge created by Remington Arms Company in 1963 as a special round for use in their experimental single-shot bolt-action pistol, the XP-100. A shortened version of the .222 Remington, it is popular as a varmint and small predator round while also finding use among target shooters. It has application as both a pistol round and as a rifle round.


.221 Remington Fireball, History
In the early 1960s Remington was working on an experimental bolt-action pistol based on their model 600 action. The goal was a highly accurate pistol that would be well suited for competition. After working with the .222 Remington they determined that it contained more powder capacity than was necessary to work efficiently in the shorter barrels of pistols.


.221 Remington Fireball, History
While rifle barrels commonly range in length from 14.5 to 26 in (37 to 66 cm), pistol barrels are typically much shorter, ranging from 2 to 12 in (5.1 to 30.5 cm) although occasionally up to 16 in (41 cm) for some competition barrels. As a result, Remington decided to develop a shorter version of the .222 Remington cartridge, optimized for use in the XP-100.


.221 Remington Fireball, History
While production of XP-100 pistols chambered in .221 Fireball was eventually canceled after 1985, Thompson Center Arms produced various single-shot pistols chambered for the .221 Fireball as part of their Contender and Encore models. Rifles chambered for the .221 Fireball include the Remington 700 and the Ceska zbrojovka CZ 527.


.221 Remington Fireball, Performance
Despite its smaller size, the .221 Fireball is capable of velocities nearly equal to that of the .222 Remington largely due to its higher SAAMI pressure. The maximum SAAMI pressure level for the .221 Fireball is 52,000 C.U.P. as compared to 46,000 C.U.P. for the .222 Remington. The purpose of the increased pressure was to allow it to perform more effectively in the shorter barrel of the XP-100.


.221 Remington Fireball, Performance
The .221 Fireball produces the highest velocity of any commercial pistol cartridge.


.221 Remington Fireball, Offshoots
The .221 Fireball has been used by wildcatters to create a small efficient .17 caliber cartridge. The most common is the .17 Mach IV which is essentially the .221 necked down to the smaller caliber. This cartridge is reported to have a very flat trajectory and to be relatively quiet with low recoil. It has been so popular as a wildcat that in 2007 Remington legitimized it by introducing their own version only slightly different from the Mach IV and calling it the .17 Remington Fireball.


.221 Remington Fireball, Offshoots
A .20 caliber version is also gaining popularity called the .20 VarTarg (VT), "vartarg" being the combination of the words "varmint" and "target". The .221 Fireball has also been used as the base for the .300 Whisper, sometimes referred to as the .300/.221 or .300 Fireball. It is also the basis for other cartridges in J.D. Jones' Whisper family including the 6 mm Whisper, which has been adopted by Knight's Armament Corporation for their new Knight's Armament Company PDW as the 6×35mm PDW.


.221 Remington Fireball, Gallery
L-R: 40 gr Hornady V-Max, 55 gr Sierra BlitzKing, .221 Remington Fireball, .22 LR Remington Golden Bullet


.221 Remington Fireball, Gallery
.17 Remington Fireball next to its parent case, the .221 Remington Fireball.


.222 Remington
The .222 Remington or 5.7×43mm (C.I.P), also known as the triple deuce, triple two, and treble two, is a centerfire rifle cartridge. Introduced in 1950, it was the first commercial rimless .22 (5.56 mm) cartridge made in the United States. As such, it was an entirely new design, without a parent case. The .222 Remington was a popular target cartridge from its introduction until the mid-1970s and still enjoys a reputation for accuracy. It remains a popular vermin or "varmint" cartridge at short and medium ranges with preferred bullet weights of 40–55 grains and muzzle velocities from 3,000 to 3,500 ft/s (915–1,067 m/s).


.222 Remington, Introduction
The .222 Remington was introduced with the Remington Model 722 bolt-action rifle. The accuracy and flat trajectory of the bullet resulted in the adoption of the round for varmint and benchrest rifles. The faster .220 Swift and .22-250 Remington provided more reach than the .222 Remington. These larger cartridges have roughly 50% more power than the .222, but also cause more muzzle blast and barrel erosion.


.222 Remington, Legacy
The .222 Remington was eventually eclipsed in benchrest competition by the 6mm PPC.


.222 Remington, Legacy
When the US military was looking for a new smallbore rifle cartridge, Remington started with the .222 Remington, and stretched it to increase powder capacity by about 20% in 1958 to make the .222 Remington Magnum. The greater powder capacity put the velocities between the standard .222 Remington and the .22-250. The cartridge was not accepted by the military, but it was introduced commercially. In 1963, the .222 Remington Special, also based on a stretched .222 case, was adopted along with the new M16 rifle as the .223 Remington / 5.56mm NATO. The NATO cartridge had a capacity only 5% less than the Magnum. Given the close performance to other cartridges and military acceptance, both the .222 Remington and the .222 Magnum faded quickly into obsolescence, being replaced by the .223 Remington.


.222 Remington, Legacy
While the .222 Remington is rarely found in current production in America, its derivative cartridges are among the most popular in the world. In addition to the .222 Magnum and .223 Remington, the .222 has also served as the parent case for the .221 Fireball, the fastest production handgun cartridge.


.222 Remington, Legacy
The .222 Remington is still fairly popular in Europe, where producers like Anschütz, Sako, Tikka, Steyr, Sauer and Weihrauch chamber rifles for this caliber. Firearms that are usually chambered for the .223 Remington/5.56×45mm NATO caliber are often rechambered for the .222 Remington for sale in countries where regulations restrict or forbid civilian ownership of "military calibers". Examples of countries with such legislation include Spain and (formerly) France.


.222 Remington Magnum
The .222 Remington Magnum was a short-lived commercially produced cartridge derived from the .222 Remington. Originally developed for a US military prototype Armalite AR-15 rifle in 1958, the cartridge was not adopted by the military, but was introduced commercially in sporting rifles.


.222 Remington Magnum, Development
The .222 Remington Magnum was created by lengthening the case and shortening the neck of the highly accurate and very popular .222 Remington cartridge, which dominated varmint and benchrest shooting during the 1950s. Case capacity is about 20% greater than that of the .222 Remington, producing moderately higher muzzle velocities. The .222 Remington Magnum served as the basis for the German-developed 5.6×50mm Magnum sporting cartridge.


.222 Remington Magnum, History
During the late 1950s, ArmaLite and other U.S. firearm designers started their individual Small Caliber/High Velocity (SCHV) rifle experiments using the commercial .222 Remington cartridge. When it became clear that there was not enough case capacity to meet U.S. Continental Army Command's (CONARC) velocity and penetration requirements, ArmaLite contacted Remington to create a similar cartridge with a longer case body and shorter neck. This became the .222 Special. At the same time, Springfield Armory's Earle Harvey had Remington create an even longer cartridge case then known as the .224 Springfield.


.222 Remington Magnum, History
Springfield was forced to drop out of the CONARC competition, and thus the .224 Springfield was released in 1958 as a commercial sporting cartridge known as the .222 Remington Magnum. To prevent confusion among all of the competing .222 cartridge designations, the .222 Special was renamed the .223 Remington in 1959. In the spring of 1962 Remington submitted the specifications of the .223 Remington to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). With the U.S. military adoption of the M16 assault rifle in 1963, the .223 Remington in a slightly derived form was standardized as the 5.56×45mm NATO. As a commercial sporting cartridge the .223 Remington was introduced in 1964.


.222 Remington Magnum, Obsolescence
The .223 Remington cartridge has a shorter neck and the shoulder is moved back slightly compared to the .222 Remington Magnum. Case capacity is about 5% smaller than that of the .222 Remington Magnum, but it was loaded to a slightly higher pressure, so the two have essentially identical ballistics. As any widely used military cartridge is guaranteed to be a success on the commercial market, the .223 Remington sold exceptionally well and the .222 Remington Magnum faded rather quickly. In Europe SAKO produces the cartridge and some gun manufacturers offer the chambering.


.222 Remington Magnum, Obsolescence
In the United States Remington continued to offer the .222 Remington Magnum in a couple of target and varmint rifle models for many years, but currently there are no commercial manufacturers in the U.S. either of rifles or ammunition in .222 Remington Magnum other than Cooper Firearms of Montana. For many .222 Magnum shooters handloading of this cartridge provides ammunition, using components otherwise available for the other more popular .22 centrefire rounds. The .222 Remington Magnum cartridge case became the parent case for a new development introduced in 2004, the .204 Ruger. The .204 Ruger is based on the .222 Remington Magnum case necked down to hold a .20 caliber (5 mm) bullet.


.222 Rimmed
The .222 Rimmed is a centrefire rifle cartridge, originating in Australia in the 1960s as a cartridge for single shot rifles, particularly the Martini Cadet action. Performance is similar to the .222 Remington on which it is based however loads should be reduced as the walls of the brass cases are generally thicker. Extraction of cases that have been loaded to higher pressures can be difficult due to the inefficient extraction method utilised by the Martini Cadet.


.222 Rimmed
Cases and loaded rounds were originally produced by the Super Cartridge Company. Brass is now available from the Bertram Bullet Company or can be made from 5.6x50mmR RWS cases.


.222 Rimmed
The .222 Rimmed has also been used as a parent case for wildcats, similar to ones based on the .222 Remington, such as rimmed versions of the .17 Mach IV, the .17-222, and the .20 VarTarg.


.222 Rimmed
Sorry would you please correct the measurements shown in this? - the case length as actually measured by me, is 1.69 to 1.70, not 1.85. Point of logic: 1.85 would make it longer than the .223!! All dimensions on the 222 rimmed are identical to the 222, I have measured it all, except that the rimmed brass has a noticeable rim, and no indentation at the base. I resize my 222 rimmed brass using a 222 die set and a 357 magnum die holder.


.222 Rimmed
It first the martini cadet perfectly, and the 357 shell holder holds the case in the same place as a 222 shellholder would hold a rimless 222 case. In summary, the data for this cartridge should be made to match the 222 remington except that there is a rim and no indent near the base (extraction groove). This article actually confused me before I had seen 222 rimmed bullets in real life. It made me think they were not so similar, but they really are. I would like it updated so that others are not confused as I was, and will know to go ahead and buy a 222 die set and number 1 (357 mag) shellholder.


.223 Remington
The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command of the United States Army as part of a project to create a small-caliber, high-velocity firearm. The .223 Remington is considered one of the most popular cartridges and is currently used by a wide range of semi-automatic and manual-action rifles as well as handguns.


.223 Remington
In the US Army, the cartridge is referred to as "Cartridge, 5.56 mm ball M193." The 5.56×45mm NATO was also developed from the 223 Remington.


.223 Remington, History
The development of the cartridge, which eventually became the .223 Remington, was linked to the development of a new lightweight combat rifle. The cartridge and rifle were developed by Fairchild Industries, Remington Arms, and several engineers working toward a goal developed by U.S. Continental Army Command (CONARC). Development began in 1957. A project to create a small-caliber, high-velocity (SCHV) firearm was created. Eugene Stoner of ArmaLite was also invited to scale down the AR-10 (7.62×51mm NATO) design. Winchester was also invited to participate.


.223 Remington, History
CONARC ordered rifles to test. Stoner and  Sierra Bullet's Frank Snow began work on the .222 Remington cartridge. Using a ballistic calculator, they determined that a 55-grain bullet would have to be fired at 3,300 ft/s to achieve the 500-yard performance necessary.


.223 Remington, History
Robert Hutton (technical editor of Guns and Ammo magazine) started the development of a powder load to reach the 3,300 ft/s goal. He used DuPont IMR4198, IMR3031, and an Olin powder to work up loads. Testing was done with a Remington 722 rifle with a 22" Apex barrel. During a public demonstration, the round successfully penetrated the US steel helmet as required, but testing also showed chamber pressures to be too high.


.223 Remington, History
Stoner contacted both Winchester and Remington about increasing the case capacity. Remington created a larger cartridge called the .222 Special. This cartridge is loaded with DuPont IMR4475 powder.


.223 Remington, History
During parallel testing of the T44E4 (future M14) and the ArmaLite AR-15 in 1958, the T44E4 experienced 16 failures per 1,000 rounds fired compared to 6.1 for the ArmaLite AR-15. Because of several different .222 caliber cartridges that were being developed for the SCHV project, the .222 Special was renamed .223 Remington. In May 1959, a report was produced stating that five- to seven-man squads armed with ArmaLite AR-15 rifles have a higher hit probability than 11-man squads armed with the M-14 rifle.


.223 Remington, History
At an Independence Day picnic, Air Force General Curtis Le May tested the ArmaLite AR-15 and was very impressed with it. He ordered a number of them to replace  M2 carbines that were in use by the Air Force. In November of that year, testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground showed the ArmaLite AR-15 failure rate had declined to 2.5/1,000, resulting in the ArmaLite AR-15 being approved for more extensive trials.


.223 Remington, History
In 1961, marksmanship testing compared the AR-15 and M-14; 43% of ArmaLite AR-15 shooters achieved Expert, while only 22% of M-14 rifle shooters did. Le May ordered 80,000 rifles. In July 1962, operational testing ended with a recommendation for adoption of the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle chambered in .223 Remington. In September 1963, the .223 Remington cartridge was officially accepted and named "Cartridge, 5.56 mm ball, M193". The following year, the ArmaLite AR-15 was adopted by the United States Army as the M16 rifle and it would later become the standard U.S. military rifle. The specification included a Remington-designed bullet and the use of IMR4475 powder, which resulted in a muzzle velocity of 3,250 ft/s and a chamber pressure of 52,000 psi.


.223 Remington, History
In the spring of 1962, Remington submitted the specifications of the .223 Remington to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). In December 1963, Remington introduced its first rifle chambered for .223 Remington a Model 760 rifle.


.223 Remington, Cartridge dimensions
The .223 Remington has a 28.8-grain H2O (1.87 ml) cartridge case capacity.


.223 Remington, Cartridge dimensions
.223 Remington maximum CIP cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).


.223 Remington, Cartridge dimensions
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 23 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 305 mm (1 in 12 in), 6 grooves, Ø lands = 5.56 millimetres (0.219 in), Ø grooves = 5.69 millimetres (0.224 in), land width = 1.88 millimetres (0.074 in) and the primer type is small rifle.


.223 Remington, Cartridge dimensions
According to the official CIP rulings, the .223 Remington can handle up to 430.00 MPa (62,366 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. In CIP-regulated countries, every rifle cartridge combination has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers. This means that .223 Remington chambered arms in CIP-regulated countries are currently (2016) proof tested at 537.50 MPa (77,958 psi) PE piezo pressure. This is equal to the NATO maximum service pressure guideline for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge.


.223 Remington, Cartridge dimensions
The SAAMI pressure limit for the .223 Remington is set at 379.212 MPa (55,000 psi), piezo pressure. Remington submitted .223 Remington specifications to SAAMI in 1964.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO
In 1980, the .223 Remington was transformed into a new cartridge and designated 5.56×45mm NATO (SS109 or M855).


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Dimensions
The external dimensional specifications of .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO brass cases are nearly identical. The cases tend to have similar case capacity when measured (case capacities have been observed to vary by as much as 2.6 grains (0.17 ml), although the shoulder profile and neck length are not the same and 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge cases tend be slightly thicker to accommodate higher chamber pressures. When hand-loaded, care is taken to look for pressure signs as 5.56×45mm NATO cases may produce higher pressures with the same type of powder and bullet as compared to .223 Remington cases. Sierra provides separate loading sections for .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO and also recommends different loads for bolt-action rifles as compared to semiautomatic rifles.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Rifling
The Sturm, Ruger & Co. AR-556 has rifling at 1:8. Their Mini-14 rifles have rates of 1:9. Ruger's American  bolt-action rifle is also in 1:8. Smith and Wesson in their M&P15 also uses 1:7.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Pressures
Remington submitted the specifications for the .223 Remington cartridge in 1964 to SAAMI. The original pressure for the .223 Remington was 52,000 psi with DuPont IMR Powder. The current pressure of 55,000 psi (379 MPa) resulted from the change from IMR to Olin Ball powder. The official name for .223 Remington in the US Army is cartridge 5.56 x 45mm ball, M193. If a 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge is loaded into a chamber intended to use .223 Remington, the bullet will be in contact with the rifling and the forcing cone is very tight.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Pressures
This generates a much higher pressure than .223 Remington chambers are designed for. NATO chose a 178-mm (1-in-7) rifling twist rate for the 5.56×45mm NATO chambering. The SS109/M855 5.56×45mm NATO ball cartridge requires a 228 mm (1-in-9) twist rate, while adequately stabilizing the longer NATO L110/M856 5.56×45mm NATO tracer projectile requires an even faster 178 mm (1-in-7) twist rate.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Chambers
The .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO barrel chamberings are not the same. While the cartridges are identical other than powder load, bullet weight, and chamber pressure, a significant difference is in barrel of the rifle to be used, not in the cartridge. The 5.56×45mm NATO chambers are dimensionally larger in certain critical areas than .223 Remington chambers. As the chambers differ accordingly the head space gauges used for the two chamberings differ.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Chambers
By observation, 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition is not as accurate as .223 Remington in many of the AR type rifles extant, even with the same bullet weight. The .223 Wylde chamber specification developed by Bill Wylde solves this problem by using the external dimensions and lead angle as found in the military 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and the 0.224 inch freebore diameter as found in the civilian SAAMI. 223 Remington cartridge. It was designed to increase the accuracy of 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition to that of .223 Remington. Other companies also have chamber designs that increase 5.56×45mm NATO accuracy.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Comparisons
The table contains some estimated pressures based on normal proofing practice and on the known increases in pressure caused by bullet setback (which is a similar occurrence with regard to pressure). The proof pressure of M197 is 70,000 psi.


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Comparisons
The following table shows the differences in nomenclature, rifling, throating, and normal, maximum, and safe pressures:


.223 Remington, .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO, Comparisons
Beside the NATO EPVAT testing pressure testing protocols the other employed peak pressure measurement methodology or methodologies to correlate this table remain unknown.


.223 Remington, Effects of barrel length on velocity
Barrel length helps determine a specific cartridge's muzzle velocity. A longer barrel typically yields a greater muzzle velocity, while a shorter barrel  yields a lower one. The first AR-15 rifles used a barrel length of 20". In the case of the 223 Remington (M193), ammunition loses or gains about 25.7 ft/sec for each inch of barrel length, while 5.56×45 mm NATO (M855) loses or gains 30.3 ft/sec per inch of barrel length.


.223 Remington, Usage and commercial offerings
The .223 Remington has become one of the most popular cartridges and is currently used in a wide range of semiautomatic and manual-action rifles and even handguns, such as the Colt AR-15, Ruger Mini-14, Remington Model 700, Remington XP-100, etc. The popularity of .223 Remington is so great, that in the US it virtually eliminated all other similar .22 caliber center-fire varmint rifle cartridges.


.223 Remington, Usage and commercial offerings
It is commercially loaded with 0.224-inch (5.7 mm) diameter jacketed bullets, with weights ranging from 35 to 85 grains (2.27 to 5.8 g), with the most common loading by far being 55 gr (3.6 g). Ninety-grain and 95-grain Sierra Matchking bullets are available for reloaders.


.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum
The .223 WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum, 5.56×42mm) is a .224 caliber rifle cartridge created by Winchester and Browning based on a shortened version of the Winchester Short Magnum case.


.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, History
The .223 WSSM was introduced in 2003 by the Browning Arms Company, Winchester Ammunition, and Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The .223 designation is a reference to the popular .223 Remington. It is currently claimed to be the fastest production .22 caliber round in the world with muzzle velocities as high as 4,600 feet per second (1,402 meters per second), but this is not completely true. The .220 Swift still holds the record as the fastest .22 caliber centerfire cartridge with a published velocity of 4665 fps using a 29 grain projectile and 42 grains of 3031 powder.


.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, Complaints
Even before the cartridge was commercially introduced, it was claimed that it would be extremely hard on barrels and high wear would lead to short barrel life. Another criticism is that, although the round is suited for long range varmint hunting, it is not good for medium game any farther than 200 yards.


.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, Complaints
The Winchester made Model 70 in .223 WSSM has not been revived in the new Browning-made Winchester Model 70s, but Browning has chosen to use chrome-lined barrels on all of its guns chambered for .223 WSSM and has introduced the .223 WSSM cartridge as a chambering in its A-bolt rifles. Browning rejects the charge that the .223 WSSM round is especially hard on barrels: "The 223 and 243 WSSM cartridges are said to 'burn up' barrels in as little as 300 rounds. Nothing could be further from the truth."


.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, Advantages
According to Browning, the .223 WSSM offers a 600 ft/s (180 m/s) gain with a 55 gr (3.6 g) bullet over the standard .223 Rem. It also offers a 440 ft/s (130 m/s) gain over the .22-250, a popular varmint round. This comes out to a 600 ft⋅lbf (810 J) gain over a standard .223 Rem, and a 350 ft⋅lbf (470 J) gain over the .22-250.


.223 Wylde chamber
A .223 Wylde chamber is a hybrid rifle chamber designed to allow .22 caliber barrels to safely fire both .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. While the cartridge dimensions of both rounds are the same, 5.56 NATO loads produce pressures in excess of the .223 safe spec. The 5.56 chamber has angular differences that allow higher pressures safely. .223 can be fired from a 5.56 chamber safely but with reduced accuracy. The Wylde is a hybrid chamber designed to allow both ammunition types to be safely fired with good accuracy.


.223 Wylde chamber, Background
In 1957, during research into development of a military .22 caliber rifle the Remington .222 Special was created by a joint effort of Fairchild Industries, Remington Arms and U.S. Continental Army Command (CONARC). Due to there being several .222 caliber cartridges under development for civilian rifles, the .222 Special was renamed to .223 Remington. The cartridge became the standard intermediate cartridge for the United States Army in 1962, as the M193 Cartridge.


.223 Wylde chamber, Background
In 1972 Fabrique Nationale (FN) created a new type of service ammunition for NATO. It was based on the .223 Remington cartridge being used by the US Army, but had greater range and effectiveness. The first iteration of this ammunition was type designated SS109.


.223 Wylde chamber, Background
Due to slight differences in the chamber dimensions between the .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO (SS109, M-855), the two should not be used interchangeably. However .223 Rem cartridges can safely be fired from a 5.56 NATO chamber with reduced accuracy, but not safely vice versa due to .223 Rem chambers having lower pressure ratings than the 5.56 NATO. As most rifle makers moved to support the 5.56mm NATO specification, the reduced accuracy was considered a problem.


.223 Wylde chamber, Chamber dimensions
Bill Wylde of Greenup, Illinois compared the two cartridges and changed the chamber of the rifle's barrel to a specification called the .223 Wylde chamber. The chamber is made with the external dimensions and leade angle found in the military 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and the 0.2240 inch freebore diameter found in the civilian SAAMI .223 Remington cartridge. Rifles with a .223 Wylde chamber will typically accept both .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition.


.223 Wylde chamber, Chamber dimensions
Note that while the .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO chambers have slightly different dimension, the cartridges themselves are identical in exterior dimension. The chamber dimension differences are often confused with the cartridge dimensions, and it is often erroneously thought that the cartridges have different dimensions. However, the cartridges are loaded to different pressure levels (55,000 psi vs 62,000 psi), with the 5.56 NATO being greater. The .223 Wylde chamber allows the use of both pressure levels safely, while also increasing accuracy potential across the range of potential bullet selections.


.223 Wylde chamber, Chamber dimensions
Wylde's hybrid chamber was designed to exploit the accuracy advantages of the .223 Remington chambering without problems concerning over pressure or compromising the functional reliability of semi-automatic firearms like the AR-15 family of modern sporting rifles when using 5.56×45mm NATO military ammunition. Coincidentally, it can shoot the relatively long and heavy 80-grain (5.18 g) bullets commonly used in Sport Rifle Competitions very well, and is one of the preferred chambers for that task. The .223 Wylde chamber is used by rifle manufacturers who sell "National Match" configuration AR-15 rifles, barrels and upper receivers.