.22 Bullet Diameters

[ThomasT]

With the Wrangler threads we have had lately and the mention of the Single Six and both guns having bores made to shoot the larger diameter 22 mag bullets and people asking "why doesn't Ruger make a barrel for the smaller .22 bullets?" I decided to measure a sampling of 22lr bullets from a small part of my stash.

None of the bullets measured .223. All were .224 and bigger, up to .226. So here are a few pictures of the group measured. And the difference in sizes between brands is why you need to shoot a variety of brands through you gun to see what shoots best.

 

[ontarget]

Interesting. Did you happen to test multiple rounds from the same lots to see how consistent they were within the same brands? Just curious.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Very cool, thanks bro.

I have that same caliper.

 

[ThomasT]

Interesting. Did you happen to test multiple rounds from the same lots to see how consistent they were within the same brands? Just curious.

Thats a good question and the answer is no, not this time. But I have in the past when I kept seeing so many post about 22lr bullets being undersized for Ruger 22 barrels. What I found when I did measure multiple bullets from a box like the CCI bullets is that CCI bullets are very consistent across the board no matter what version of loads they were. CCI is .224 all the time and that should explain some of the reason they are so well thought of by shooters. Matter of fact I never found any real variation in a box or bulk pack that I have tested. They might vary by production run but I haven't tested that far. I am guessing since they use the same dies over and over that the sizes stay very close. And I am talking about all brands.

I have that same caliper.

I think everyone has a set of those calipers. They worked good for this test because the numbers are easy to see and take a picture of. But when I get serious I use real micrometers. I have them from 0 to 1" and all the way up to around 8" IIRC. I got all my dads tools when he passed away. He was a machinist and owned a machine shop I worked in off and on from age 10 to about age 26. It was fun and I learned a great deal about making things out of metal but it just wasn't my calling.

Anyway the fact is that 22 bullets are big enough that you really shouldn't need something like the Paco Kelly Accurizer to make your bullets fit the bore.