Any "double-stack/hi-capacity" .22lr handguns?

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Eightball

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I just got to thinking the other day, while loading the mags on my .22 conversion for my Kimber 1911, about why there don't seem to be "hi-capacity" .22s on the market in the handgun world--no "double stacks" for autoloaders, or much in the way of revolvers with over 10 rounds. Why? If it's just due to the fact that it's rimmed, well the Brits were able (I think) to make the Bren a double-stack weapon with rimmed cartridges (but on a big scale) and the Five-seveN is a 20 or 30 round handgun with small rounds......so why no double-stack "hi-capacity" pistols? In the revolver world, I'm well aware of the physical limitations on current designs and their ability to chamber .22lr....but just the same, how come there's not been a design built around .22s that can take more rounds? Why not eliminate one of the straps of the frame and expand the cylinder to hold more rounds (for .22 only, inadvisable for high-power rounds), or (even more radical, yes I know) mimic that one weird double-barrel revolver design from the 1800s that held 20 rounds or something like that, only in .22 form? Surely they could design a hand that would work with that, have a hammer with 2 FPs (and recesses in the cylinder to accommodate the FPs when the hammer falls on an "empty" spot for the top/bottom barrel).

Anyway, just idle musings. Or are there things like what I'm thinking of which I'm just not aware? (And no, I don't think the SBR/pistol AR15 .22 types count for my vein of thought).
 
There used to be a gun called the Mountain Eagle. It was a polymer framed, semi-auto .22 and it came with a 15rd magazine. I don't think it was too successful in general, but ifthey could do it then, why not now?
 
AFAIK...

The only hi-cap .22LR pistol currently being produced is the Calico M-110, it uses 100 round magazines.

M100_full_right_sm.jpg
 
I have a Ramline Exactor. It's a 15 round double stack. Ramline sold the design to IMI which brought it out as the "Mountain Eagle". All in all, I prefer my Ruger, but it is reliable and pretty accurate. The plastic magazines, though...:barf: And, while it works with CCI, it gets a lot of misfires with cheap bulk pack stuff.
 

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Ciener makes high capacity for a number of different firearms.....BHP is 14+1 capacity.

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The Ceiner kit pictured above is part of why I started thinking about it. If they can do 15 rounds, why not improve it and make it a truly high-capacity double stack magazine, or make something along the lines of the Five-seveN with 20 and 30 round magazines available?
 
I'm not sure why the desire for a high cap .22, actually. What do you wanna do with it, assault the taliban with a rimfire? I never really cared about capacity in a .22, don't even have any high cap mags for my 10/22, just make the gun look stupid and carry funky in the field since they stick out right at the balance point where I like to wrap my hand around the stock. The whole idea of high cap with a rimfire just seems dumb to me. But, then, I've never been that afraid of being attacked by beer cans.
 
The only hi-cap .22LR pistol currently being produced is the Calico M-110
Hmmmm....Kel-Tec, Ruger, and Volquartsen might strongly disagree with that.

Kel-Tec PLR-22 has a 26 round magazine.
Ruger Charger accepts all the same magazines as the 10/22.
Volquartsen Predator accepts all the same magazines as the 10/22.

While not currently being produced...Others are still readily available:
Intratec Tec-22 - which accepts 10/22 magazines
Charter arms Explorer II - 15, 25, and 30 round mags were made.
In .22 Magnum, you can still find the Grendel P30 - 30-round mag.
There are others, these just came to mind off-hand.
Jack
 
There's a whole lot of Ruger 10/22 owners that would disagree.

Yeah, but I still don't understand it. Of course, I don't own an AK or AR, either, no need. Just seems to me if you're plinkin', you can use those neat little 10 round 10/22 rotary mags or you can use a .30 rounder that sticks out and gets in the way and spend three times as long loading between mags full. What is it you gain with a high cap mag? Maybe some shooting games, I can understand, but i have no use for it in my plinker. I can't think of a shooting game where I'd need a high cap mag in a pistol, though, unless it's just something a buddy and I would dream up.
 
I would personally buy a quality hi-cap .22 or .22 mag pistol from a top manufacturer without feeling any need to justify or explain the purchase.

Boarhunter
 
W.H.B. Smith, author of Small Arms of the World, etc., designed a .22 pistol with a very large magazine capacity. I am thinking 20 rounds in a small gun and potential for a box of shells in a gun the size of a 1911, but the magazine article with a picture of his prototype is long gone.
 
I have been wondering this tpp, my walther P22 mags have a very long follower, if one trimmed it down, theoritcally, it could hold more than 10 rounds. And that is in a fairly small pistol. Even for the ruger MK series, why are there no over 10rd cap mags??? (or have i just not found them?)
 
The Calico works, some of the time, but it hardly fits the idea of a pistol for concealed carry,

Jim
 
Jim Watson,

You track down one of W.H.B. Smith's guns; I will furnish the .22 Stingers; and we will have one heckofa good time burning the powder!

Boarhunter
 
I'm not sure why the desire for a high cap .22, actually.
For Shi** and giggles, and any legal and lawful purpose.

Why? I like to spend less time reloading/changing mags, more time shooting while at the range.

And I'm aware of things like the PLR-22, Calico, and the Charger; the primary query of my post was more in the vein for actual bottomfeeders, rather than the "legally a pistol with a rifle-like design" type bit.
 
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Why? I like to spend less time reloading, more time shooting.

If you're shooting a 30 round mag and me a 10 round, I'm reloaded 3 times quicker than you and back to shooting. I guess you can own 300 30 round mags and reload 'em while you're watching Seinfeld reruns, but I could own 900 regular magazines and do the same thing.

Oh, well, to each his own, I guess. I don't get a lot of giggles out of missing 18 out of 20 shots trying to dump a magazine in record time, just not my thing. I have a friend that does, though. We argue all the time. LOL

BTW, a neat thing about that Ramline Exactor, it weighs 22 ounces. I really don't like it all that much, shoots a little high and my .22 revolver, a Rossi 511, is slightly more accurate, but it is light. It's really almost too light as off hand on a windy day, it's kinda tough to shoot, blows around in the wind. It's a unique design if nothing else. I don't shoot it all that much, but will hang on to it. It'll probably never have any sort of collector value in my lifetime, but it's kinda cool. I couldn't recommend it to you, though, as the gun to have, LOL. When I hit the range, I always take my revolver. Yeah, I have to reload after 6, so what? I've never been THAT lazy. :rolleyes: Heck, I shoot my Ruger most range trips, too, and only own one magazine for it.
 
How well does that double stack Ciener kit function on the Browning Hi Power?
 
Quote:
The only hi-cap .22LR pistol currently being produced is the Calico M-110

Hmmmm....Kel-Tec, Ruger, and Volquartsen might strongly disagree with that.

Kel-Tec PLR-22 has a 26 round magazine.
Ruger Charger accepts all the same magazines as the 10/22.
Volquartsen Predator accepts all the same magazines as the 10/22.

While not currently being produced...Others are still readily available:
Intratec Tec-22 - which accepts 10/22 magazines
Charter arms Explorer II - 15, 25, and 30 round mags were made.
In .22 Magnum, you can still find the Grendel P30 - 30-round mag.
There are others, these just came to mind off-hand.
Jack


There are also the pistol version MP5's from GSG. They have 22 round mags available.
 
Pistol-length .22LR uppers are available from at least Spikes and Model 1 Sales, and probably some others like Tactical Solutions.

Various magazines are available for them, up to 31 rounds.
 
If you're shooting a 30 round mag and me a 10 round, I'm reloaded 3 times quicker than you and back to shooting. I guess you can own 300 30 round mags and reload 'em while you're watching Seinfeld reruns, but I could own 900 regular magazines and do the same
Following this logic to it's inevitable conclusion: we should all be shooting single-shot pistols.
As it takes 1/10th the time to load a single shot than a 10-round magazine. :)

Someone mentioned the "10-round limit" issue. There are some current .22LR pistols which originally had larger capacity, but were reduced to comply with more state laws and make it easier on their manufacturer. One that comes immediately to mind is the Phoenix HP-22. It originally had an 11-round magazine, but that was reduced to 10 rounds.
Too bad there aren't oddball aftermarket grip magazines like there are for other guns. Even the .25acp Raven and the Beretta 950 have 15-round magazines made for them.
 
I always thought the Grendel P-30 was a bit of an innovator. Thing is for a 30 shot 22 mag it wasn't very reliable apparently.
 
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