22 Ammo

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Tegun

Tegun

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In the days of my youth most kids started off with a single shot 22 rifle. Some were marked “short, long or long rifle”. Back then we figured that if the gun was marked as simply “long rifle” then it would handle the two smaller rounds.
I now have a S&W Model 17 revolver that is stamped “22 Long Rifle”. I have asked and received various opinions of whether or not the shorts or subsonic ammo could be used in this hand gun.
Can anyone here clear up this issue?
 
You can use any .22Short, .22Long or .22Long Rifle cartridge in it. In modern terms, ignoring several obsolete rimfire cartridges, anything but .22Mag and .22WRF. Extensive use of .22Shorts will just require cleaning the carbon ring out of the chambers before going back to .22Long or .22LR.
 
In earlier times, when corrosive primers were the norm, rust and corrosion could start under that carbon ring, even if you cleaned the barrel thoroughly. That would result in a rusted-out ring which would lock a .22 LR in the chamber, so firing .22 shorts in a .22 LR chamber was considered inadvisable. Nowadays, it doesn't matter. Just give the chamber a good cleaning before going back to .22 LR.
 
As mentioned yes you can. But whenever I see .22 short, long or CB caps they always cost more than the LR ammo. So unless you have a few boxes you want to use up I can't see why you would bother.
 
Some were marked “short, long or long rifle”.
Click to expand...
Those guns were almost always repeaters of some kind, be they bolt-action, pump, or semi-auto.

The marking didn't mean what they could safely shoot.
It meant what they could successfully feed or cycle with.

Those marked just .22 LR would not feed any other length shell from the magazine.
Those marked just .22 Short could not chamber a Long or Long Rifle.

None of that applies to revolvers, which can shoot anything you can stuff in them.

rc
 
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