.22WMR handgun velocities?

[A strange person]

I cannot seem to find any consistent info on this. What velocities could I expect from a .22WMR load with a 40 grain bullet advertised to give 1800 fps from a rifle in something like a Ruger Single-Six with the 6.5" barrel?

 

[CraigC]

Winchester 40gr JHP, which is advertised at 1910fps from rifles, runs at 1375fps from a 5½" sixgun. Which is about the difference you get in the .357Mag. Remington 33gr V-Max runs about 1450fps.

 

[A strange person]

I was hoping to get at least 1400 fps from the 6.5" barrel with the standard 40 grain bullet ammo. It seems like it should work, but like I said, the information I've found so far just hasn't been consistent.

 

[A strange person]

understand that IF you get 1500 fps, you still only have 200 ft lbs, like a 380?

Velocity is important to me because of trajectory. I feel that 1400 would be enough to ensure hits on squirrels and ungulate craniums out to 50 yards, given my ability to judge distance. I couldn't care less about energy, especially in rimfires. A bullet either makes a big and deep enough hole or it doesn't.

 

[CraigC]

The .22Mag is still a substantial jump in effectiveness, even over a .22LR rifle.

understand that IF you get 1500 fps, you still only have 200 ft lbs, like a 380?

Yes because the market is flooded with nice .380's suitable for small game hunting.

 

[Hoppe]

I wish there where more options chamberd for the 22 wmr. Maybe now that they make true jacketed ammo we will see some new guns too.

 

[CraigC]

The .22Mag has always used "true jacketed" bullets. From day one.

 

[A strange person]

CCI advertises their 40 grain loads as giving 1400 fps from a 6" revolver. I've seen chronograph data that supports that, but every now and then, I'll see chronograph data that certainly DOESN'T support that. Maybe some people have revolvers with ridiculously large cylinder gaps? I like consistency, both in velocity and in information.

 

[bergmen]

I've been meaning to do a chrono comparitive (.22LR vs. .22 WMR) with my Ruger Single Six Convertible (6 1/2" barrel) for some time now.

I should get unlazy and just do it.

Dan

 

[Lawdawg45]

"I wish there where more options chamberd for the 22 wmr."

Hornaday just released their Critical Defense HP's in .22 mag!

LD45

 

[bigfatdave]

Hornaday just released their Critical Defense HP's in .22 mag!

And Speer/CCI has Gold Dots out, in a short-barrel recipe.

Bring the chrono over, I'll be blasting some of those off at the range tomorrow. (Hornady CD I'll try when I see it in person)

 

[bhk]

From what I have read, the new self defense loads don't have much of any velocity advantage over traditional 40 grain loads. Where they shine is in bullet construction. They will expand at handgun velocities, where many traditional rounds won't.

I have run chrono tests comparing my SW long rifle revolver (Model 35) and my SW magnum revolver (model 648), both with six-inch barrels. I get 965 FPS with 37 grain hollow point Super-X Long Rifle Hollow Points from my 6" SW Model 35, for 76 foot pounds of energy. Using Super-X 40 grain hollow point magnums from my 648, I get 1375 fps for 168 foot pounds of energy - well over TWICE the power of the long rifle cartridge. That is significant.

Those magnum handgun velocities/energies beat 'regular' high velocity long rifle cartidges from a rifle, and are probably equal to rifles using some of the new hyper velocity 40 grain long rifle cartridges such as the CCI Velocitors.

 

[steveno]

fps out of a S & W M-48 with 6 inch barrel

CCI 50 grain hp : 1,135 low , 1,271 high , 136 es , 46 sd , 1,214 ave
Federal 50 grain hp : 1,151 low , 1,257 high , 106 es , 29 sd , 1,190 ave
Hornady 30 grain : 1,516 low , 1,683 high , 167 es , 42 sd , 1,613 ave
Winchester 40 grain hp : 1,303 low , 1,470 high , 167 es , 48 sd , 1,382 ave

your results using different guns will probably be different

 

[antiquus]

Penetration would be good for any of those rounds. The small cross section of the .22 leads to greater penetration at energies that wouldn't be effective for larger rounds. Damn dangerous little bastards..

 

[bhk]

Got to be careful getting excited about the effectiveness of .22 mag. handguns. They have, out of a six-inch barrel, almost exactly the same velocity and energy as long rifle CCI Velocitors do from a rifle. When someone asks about using .22 rifles for defense, they pretty well get beat up on these pages. When shooting the .22 mag from shorter barrel handguns, they start to fall pretty far behind regular .22 rifles. Certainly better than nothing, but no where near as good as most centerfires.

Still, it is nice to know how much more powerful a .22 mag handgun is that a regular .22 handgun. Over twice as powerful. That can make real difference in the field. The only problem with them is they are dang LOUD!

 

[ssyoumans]

Stingers go 1329fps out of my 5.5" Ruger MKII for 126 ft-lbs.
40gr Aguila Interceptors avg 1175fps for 123ft-lbs from my 5.5" Single Six. CCI velocitors were not as fast.

Magnums out of 5.5" Single Six
30gr Hornady Vmax, 1484fps for 147 ft-lbs. Not much improvement over the Stingers and Interceptors.
Best 22Mag load are the 40gr CCI MAxi-Mag with 1344fps for 161 ft-lbs.

No where nearly twice as powerful. The 22LR stacks up pretty good, and their bullets are designed to work at handgun velocities, can't say the same for 22Mags going 1344fps. Even the Vmaxs act like FMJ and don't blow up on game at these velocities.

I rarely shoot the Mags anymore, too loud, and minimal gains, and about 50% more $ than Stingers with poor performance out of the handgun. Out of a rifle, now that's something all together different.

 

[A strange person]

They have, out of a six-inch barrel, almost exactly the same velocity and energy as long rifle CCI Velocitors do from a rifle.

Exactly. The idea is to have a handgun that can do anything that any salty old mountain man ever did with a .22LR rifle, using a better bullet of course.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Stingers go 1329fps out of my 5.5" Ruger MKII for 126 ft-lbs.
40gr Aguila Interceptors avg 1175fps for 123ft-lbs from my 5.5" Single Six. CCI velocitors were not as fast.

Magnums out of 5.5" Single Six
30gr Hornady Vmax, 1484fps for 147 ft-lbs. Not much improvement over the Stingers and Interceptors.
Best 22Mag load are the 40gr CCI MAxi-Mag with 1344fps for 161 ft-lbs.

No where nearly twice as powerful. The 22LR stacks up pretty good, and their bullets are designed to work at handgun velocities, can't say the same for 22Mags going 1344fps. Even the Vmaxs act like FMJ and don't blow up on game at these velocities.

Comparing a Revolver to an auto is always going to yield such disparity; Cylinder gap hurts.

PMR-30 4.3" .22 Mag vs. Beretta NEOS 6" .22 LR

Ambient temp of 75*F, 8,700 Ft., +/- 29 on the baro

All are averages of at least 10 rounds, rounded to nearest 5 FPS.

Federal .22 LR. 40 gr. LRN: 1,045 FPS/97 FPE
Federal .22 WMR 40 gr. FMJ: 1,335 FPS/158 FPE

CCI .22LR Stinger 32 gr.: 1,260 FPS/113 FPE
CCI .22 WMR TNT 30 gr.: 1,560 FPS/162 FPE

Aguila .22 LR "Supermaximum" 30 gr. HP: 1,280 FPS/109 FPE
Aguila .22 LR "Supermaximum" 30 gr. RN: 1,330FPS/118 FPE
Hornady .22 WMR Vmax 30 gr.: 1,510 FPS/152 FPE

In summary, out of a 28% shorter barrel, WMR exceeded LR velocities by 200-300 FPS with a given bullet weight. Not double the power, but a significant increase.

Of course, power wasn't the only reason I wanted a PMR; It's 30 friggin' rounds in the grip of a gun that weighs under 20 ounces fully loaded