[QUOTE="chicharrones, post: 12460865, member: 114639"Another thing is that I've noticed that .22 WMR ammo has seemed to gotten better in the last 15 to 20 years, while .22 LR seems about the same as it ever was. Considering the tight groups shooting out of rifles at 100 yards and chrony results with deviations getting more consistent, I'd guess that some of this .22 WMR is made very well indeed.
Added primer to decrease voids in the rim, better powder measuring, and certainly the better bullets that everyone can see from the outside.[/quote]
You're projecting that .22 Magnum uses and has more primer compound to fill the voids, but I've never heard that and can't find any supporting evidence to consider that that is the case, so this is more theory than reality. I have been of the opinion that because of the length of .22 Mag the primer compound has a higher chance of getting stuck in the neck and sometimes never reaches the base where it is then spun into the rim.
As for better powder measuring, that's debatable, what likely has a bigger impact on the lower standard deviations and tighter groups is the bullet not be heel based, better, more consistent crimping, and in general just a better powder being used over .22 LR. The higher quality jacketed, not plated or coated lead bullets, is clearly superior.
What I'd like to think is the spark of making .22 WMR better was the introduction of .17 HMR. Once the .17 HMR rifles started beating the pants off .22 WMR rifles, ammo makers like Hornady must have figured they could do something about that. And my time behind the trigger with Hornady .22 WMR seems to align with my thoughts on that.
I doubt .17 HMR had anything to do with it, but technology improvement in general.
Then there is this situation with revolvers. Which single action revolver do you have that gives you so much trouble with .22 LR and .22 WMR? A good single action revolver should have the hammer mass and swing arc to light off rimfire ammo very well, as long as the ammo is fully seated in the chambers, the cylinder holds the ammo snug to the recoil shield, the firing pin is proper length and the firing pin isn't restricted in its bore.
I've seen centerfire revolvers with mangled firing pin return springs that cause problems with consistent ignition. Not to mention centerfire autoloaders with gooed up firing pin chanels causing the same problem.
If any revolver should naturally be more suspect firing rimfire ammo, it would be a DA/SA or DAO revolver with the short hammer swing when fired in double action. Especially the little j-frames, or even the tiny NAA single action jobs, both with smaller hammers. That's where thorough ammo testing with a particular gun needs to be done. And if it won't light off quality rimfire ammo reliably, then it needs to be repaired or relegated to being a practice/target gun.
My .22 Magnum revolvers are made by NAA and Heritage. They certainly have questionable ignition attributes, but I shoot a lot of .22 LR in them and have less duds than I do .22 Mag, where it is usually 2 per 50 rd box.
Doing a quick look at prices for S&W and Ruger .22 Magnums and I don't have an interest in paying the prices for a S&W, while the Ruger you have two choices of the LCR or Single Six/Nine, neither of which interest me.
I do have an interest in the Taurus Tracker, I think once availability gets better and prices settle down I will grab one because I want a DA .22 LR, it comes with a .22 Mag cylinder, and I feel if I'm going to make a definitive statement about .22 Mag reliability I should grab something that doesn't have questionable traits like the NAA and Heritage do.
You do bring up a good point tho with hammer swings in smaller frame revolvers being weaker. Given the topic is about self defense the obvious choice for most is going to be a J frame or some other snub, so just by choosing those revolvers people are already limiting the ignition reliability.
This is why I'm much more in favor of .32 over .22 Magnum; the projectile is much heavier, penetrates deeper, does more damage, the trigger is lighter because it's centerfire, it's more reliable and just overall is better. I understand the reason people choose .22 Magnum because they hold more rounds in the cylinder and the ammunition is more available at local stores, but online is a different story and people need to wipe off the fears of buying ammo online.
