.22 Extra Long- would it be useful today?

[TTv2]

I'll be picking up a .22 Long revolver next week and as I've been looking into .22 Short and Long, I remembered there was the .22 Extra Long, which if you don't know was a longer version of the .22 Long Rifle. The only velocity info I could find was on wikipedia and it wasn't impressive at all, 1080 fps, but IDK if that was with smokeless or black powder.

My figuring is if a modern, high velocity .22 Extra Long was made today it should be able to achieve higher velocities than .22 LR ammo does, not too mention being able to shoot heavier projectiles. It would put the .22 Extra Long close to being .22 Magnum, yet it would still be able to safely shoot and more effectively use .22 LR ammo.

I guess one way to look at it would be to call a high velocity Extra Long would be to call it a .22 Long Rifle Magnum.

So, if a modernized high or hyper velocity .22 Extra Long was available today, would you be interested?

 

[mcb]

22WMR is nice.

 

[chicharrones]

So, if a modernized high or hyper velocity .22 Extra Long was available today, would you be interested?

Not interested at all.

.22 WRF is kinda sorta the equivalent to .22 Extra Long, but even .22 WRF got fully surpassed by the .22 WMR.

Considering .22 LR can be had from Colibri speeds up to CCI Copper speeds, it seems like most folks are plenty happy with .22 LR.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Not interested at all.

.22 WRF is kinda sorta the equivalent to .22 Extra Long, but even .22 WRF got fully surpassed by the .22 WMR.

Considering .22 LR can be had from Colibri speeds up to CCI Copper speeds, it seems like most folks are plenty happy with .22 LR.

I have often hankered for such a cartridge- though it would have to be so long that there is no possibility of it chambering in any .22lr cylinder. I suppose the lawyers might even nix the idea because someone might cram one into a rifle chamber on some old, weak single shot action and blow it up. The .22 Magnum (and WRF for that matter) simply wont because they are too fat.

Still, it would be awesome to have a revolver capable of shooting Short, Long Rifles, and something pushing Magnum velocities. I would call it ".22 Maximum."

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I'll be picking up a .22 Long revolver next week and as I've been looking into .22 Short and Long, I remembered there was the .22 Extra Long, which if you don't know was a longer version of the .22 Long Rifle. The only velocity info I could find was on wikipedia and it wasn't impressive at all, 1080 fps, but IDK if that was with smokeless or black powder.

My figuring is if a modern, high velocity .22 Extra Long was made today it should be able to achieve higher velocities than .22 LR ammo does, not too mention being able to shoot heavier projectiles. It would put the .22 Extra Long close to being .22 Magnum, yet it would still be able to safely shoot and more effectively use .22 LR ammo.

I guess one way to look at it would be to call a high velocity Extra Long would be to call it a .22 Long Rifle Magnum.

So, if a modernized high or hyper velocity .22 Extra Long was available today, would you be interested?

What kind of .22 Long revolver did you find?

 

[Jim Watson]

I remembered there was the .22 Extra Long, which if you don't know was a longer version of the .22 Long Rifle.

Not exactly. The Extra Long came first, more room for black powder.
Stevens produced the .22 Long, Rifle by loading the 40 grain Extra Long bullet in the Long case.
Action length of a repeater would be the limitation. Extraction of the long skinny case if loaded to higher velocity than LR might be difficult.

 

[e rex]

As a kid I remember a neighbor having a .22 Special that I thought was nice.

 

[Jim Watson]

.22 Special is what Remington called .22 WRF.

 

[Monac]

There was a thread about 22 Extra Long back in 2020 if that's helpful: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/22-extra-long.870754/

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

If you have ever pulled a .22 bullet from the cartridge you would see that there is very little powder in the casing. They could make a .22 short with the same velocity as the LR or probably the WMR except for the lawyers and fools.

 

[Jim Watson]

There is room in .22 Short for 4 grains of black powder.
The modern SAAMI maximum pressure is 21000 psi, same as .38 Special +P.
So how much hotter do you want to go in ammo that will fit a .$14.95 RG?
I think the lawyers are right and there is a ready supply of fools.

 

[TTv2]

Not exactly. The Extra Long came first, more room for black powder.
Stevens produced the .22 Long, Rifle by loading the 40 grain Extra Long bullet in the Long case.
Action length of a repeater would be the limitation. Extraction of the long skinny case if loaded to higher velocity than LR might be difficult.

Like the .22 Mag isn't a long, skinny case? Kel Tec's not having major problems with their PMR and CMR guns running the .22 Mag, most of the issues encountered are going to be the ammo itself.

 

[TTv2]

What kind of .22 Long revolver did you find?

H&R Young America

 

[TTv2]

Not interested at all.

.22 WRF is kinda sorta the equivalent to .22 Extra Long, but even .22 WRF got fully surpassed by the .22 WMR.

Considering .22 LR can be had from Colibri speeds up to CCI Copper speeds, it seems like most folks are plenty happy with .22 LR.

The problem with .22 Mag is, unless using a chamber adapter, you lose a lot of velocity and potential accuracy shooting .22 LR from a .22 WMR. I don't have a use for .22 Mag in a rifle, I do somewhat in a handgun, but with a .22 X-Long I'd find a use for it for both pistol and rifle.

I severely question how accurate a 20 grain bullet going that fast from a .22 LR is, also the price for that CCI Copper ammo is not my cup of tea. The point of the .22 X-Long I'm thinking of isn't light bullets propelled at very high velocities, it's heavier bullets (50 to 60 grains) than standard .22 LR driven at the same speeds as high velocity .22 LR is with 36 to 40 grain bullets.

 

[hq]

If you have ever pulled a .22 bullet from the cartridge you would see that there is very little powder in the casing. They could make a .22 short with the same velocity as the LR or probably the WMR except for the lawyers and fools.

A friend of mine experimented with .22LR "reloads" (pulling the bullet and altering the powder charge) in the 80's and 90's, all the way up to compression loads of VV 3N37.

As the chief engineer of the government CIP firearm inspection agency at the time he knew what he was doing. These loads would easily blow up most guns but using test barrels he could achieve 2000fps+ and 400ft-lbs with 40gr bullets. That's 9mm E0 territory, well beyond most (all?) .22WMR ammo from a rifle-length barrel.

Not that I'd ever try something like that myself, but his findings got me thinking...

 

[CDW4ME]

So, if a modernized high or hyper velocity .22 Extra Long was available today, would you be interested?

No.
I have 22lr pistols for plinking, but I've not shot them in several years.
Smallest I carry for self defense is 9mm; and when I shoot I shoot pistols I carry.

 

[tubeshooter]

No, not interested. I am plenty happy with .22 S/L/LR, CBs, (Super-)Colibris, etc.
It's a decent enough idea, but as others have stated with all the legacy guns around it would be a risk.


I'm not even on board with .17 cal yet!
And it has been around a little while now...
Call me a little on the "change-resistant" side of things as far as my rimfire needs.

 

[rust collector]

I have noticed that I don't use the Stingers and Velocitors I have picked up over the years, nor do I use the WMR cylinder in my revolver. Rimfires, other than a couple 17 HMRs I enjoy, occupy the low recoil/mild report end of my spectrum. I like them because they are mild, and they continue to teach me how to shoot more accurately. Reaching out is the province of the HMRs, the 223s and 22-250s.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I've got Stingers (longer case size) and a whole brick of Yellow Jackets, neither of which I use anymore. I seem to stick to the normal bulk fluff that Walmart sells. It's all pretty much the same, save for the Fed Auto-Match, which being pure lead, seems to gum up the works far more, even if a tad more accurate.

 

[Jim Watson]

The point of the .22 X-Long I'm thinking of isn't light bullets propelled at very high velocities, it's heavier bullets (50 to 60 grains) than standard .22 LR driven at the same speeds as high velocity .22 LR is with 36 to 40 grain bullets.

Then you would run into the same chamber length and rifling twist mismatch shooting .22 LR in ExL as Shorts in LR. Just as well buy a WMR.

Like the .22 Mag isn't a long, skinny case? Kel Tec's not having major problems with their PMR and CMR guns running the .22 Mag, most of the issues encountered are going to be the ammo itself.

The .22 WMR is I believe thicker stiffer brass with a bit more rim.

The last owners of the American 180 .22 SMG had dedicated ammo loaded, the .22 ILARCO or .22 Short Magnum. It was .22 WMR shortened to LR OAL to run through the existing pan magazine and give a bit more punch from a .224" barrel.

A friend of mine experimented with .22LR "reloads" (pulling the bullet and altering the powder charge) in the 80's and 90's, all the way up to compression loads of VV 3N37.

There was a division in IHMSA that led people to reload .22 WMR by pulling the bullets, doing things to the powder charge, and seating a 50 gr Sierra. Pressure was no doubt excessive, but the Contender and other single shots were made to stand it.

 

[GEM]

Kel Tec's not having major problems with their PMR and CMR guns running the .22 Mag, most of the issues encountered are going to be the ammo itself.

Just an example of one, but a guy had one he shot at local matches and it never got through a stage without a jam. Are they better now?

Also, I found a use for WRF as it would fit my 22Mag NAA mini. I had a pocket holster that had a pouch for reloads and the standard magnums wouldn't fit (sized for 22 LR), but the WRF did.

 

[reddog81]

CCI already makes a wide variety of .22.
Quiet at 800 FPS
Standard velocity at 1,000
Mini-Mag at 1,200
Velocitor at 1,400
Stinger at 1,600
All velocities approximate…

 

[chicharrones]

The problem with .22 Mag is, unless using a chamber adapter, you lose a lot of velocity and potential accuracy shooting .22 LR from a .22 WMR. I don't have a use for .22 Mag in a rifle, I do somewhat in a handgun, but with a .22 X-Long I'd find a use for it for both pistol and rifle.

I severely question how accurate a 20 grain bullet going that fast from a .22 LR is, also the price for that CCI Copper ammo is not my cup of tea. The point of the .22 X-Long I'm thinking of isn't light bullets propelled at very high velocities, it's heavier bullets (50 to 60 grains) than standard .22 LR driven at the same speeds as high velocity .22 LR is with 36 to 40 grain bullets.

I agree about the Copper ammo. Seems like it's a close range cartridge only.

Regarding chamber adapters, the best chamber adapter is a revolver with interchangeable cylinders.

 

[buck460XVR]

So, if a modernized high or hyper velocity .22 Extra Long was available today, would you be interested?

No. IMHO, the .22 RF is good for what it does. If one wants more than that, there's the .22 mag. More than that? The new .17s are very nice. Even as a kid, using whatever .22 bullets we could afford at the time, it was readily apparent that the cheaper .22 shorts impacted the target much differently that the higher priced .22 LRs. Grabbing a pocketful of shorts from your friend because you ran out of the LRs your gun was sighted in for, during a squirrel hunt, generally meant you made noise, but went home empty handed. Modern .22 LR ammo is very effective in the guns it is designed for. For those intended purposes, there is very little need for heavier and faster. JMTCs.

 

[chicharrones]

Just an example of one, but a guy had one he shot at local matches and it never got through a stage without a jam. Are they better now?

Another example of one; when involved with my shootin' buddy's break-in and continued usage of his PMR30, some ammo simply wasn't reliable in the gun and the gun ran better with mags downloaded to 28 cartridges. That gun was very reliable if those two things were paid attention to.