Loading Rimfire, why not?

[Sven]

OK, I know most common rimfire cartridges are pretty darn cheap, and I understand why you can't REload rimfire (brass is used up, no primer pocket), but...

...is it possible to handload for rimfire?

 

[Jim Watson]

I doubt anybody these days will sell you primed empties, but it used to be done.

There is a thread on the MSN BPCR board about black powder .22s. I think he is pulling bullets out of factory .22 LR and reloading with black and his bullets.

Before there was .22 Magnum ammo with jacketed bullets equal to centerfire ammo, there was some handloading of .22 Mag by pulling factory bullets for Hunter Silhouette. Some of the loads given would likely be hazardous in anything but a Contender or Merrill.

 

[Jeeper]

anything but a Contender or Merrill

Showing your age calling it a Merrill. JK I had one of those. It was a nice gun. Used to shoot with the maker.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I've heard people reloaded .22 long rifle rounds during World War II, when civilian ammunition was scarce.

 

[larryw]

Some competitive rimfire guys reload the ammo by taking factory ammo apart and using their bulets and powder in the primed cases.

You can usually tell who they are by the missing fingers and scars that come from being overzealous on the press' handle when the primer's on the rim of the cartridge.

As a result, many of the rimfire leagues now require factory loads.

 

[SDC]

No real reason it CAN'T be done, just so much more trouble than it's worth. On a related note, in my cartridge collection, I have a couple of examples of rimfires that someone with plenty of time on his hands has re-worked into sub-22 rimfires. These were done by pulling the bullets from factory loads, feeding the primed cases through a re-sizing/neck-sizing die, and then seating swaged jacketed .12, .14, and .17 bullets in the case with an appropriate powder charge.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Some of the shooters in NRA metallic handgun silhouette used .22 Magnums.

One guy said he pulled the bullets, used a different powder to increase velocity, and put the bullet back in. It seemed to give him very good results.

 

[rick_reno]

loading rimfire

I'm curious, how do you get the priming compound into the rim of the rimfire? I believe the commercial folks spin it in (wet) - this could be difficult to do in your garage.

 

[happy old sailor]

as ignorant, but clever, teenagers, my cousin and i cut the tip from a strike anywhere match. wet it into a mush. poked said mush nto a fired .22 hull with said matchstick and smeared it around the rim. sat it in the sun to dry. added a tiny bit of shotgun powder we salvaged from cutting up a shotgun shell. shoved this into some candle wax we had dripped onto a board. upside down of course. placed the reloaded .22 into the chamber of a single shot rifle with an unpunched portion of the rim where the firing pin struck. it worked. that night we killed an English Sparrow under the eave of the house using a dim flashlight to find one. my mama, his aunt, came out and told us several things we kept nodding our heads to.

tedious and time consuming for sure. but, we were young, dumb, and full of whatever that word is. our contribution to WWII which was going on then. we also found out that pulling the bullets from two .22's, dumping powder from one into the other, and replacing the bullet would really pop and split a case. we only did that once. lucky we still have both eyes.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Only safe and relatively effective way is to centrifuge it in, Rick.

Working with a lump of raw priming compound is never really a good thing.

 

[KP95DAO]

Loading 22 RF.

I have pulled the bullets and worked up loads using various 224 centerfire bullets with my powders. I end up with a full case topped with a paper disc and the bullet is sized to bore diameter in front so that the loaded round puts the bullet in contact with lands in front and the case in the rear.

I have been able to get 1800 fps with a 40 gr bullet out of a Marlin 581 using a CCI Stinger case (longer and stronger). This was near the maximum. The case expansion method was very usable in working up loads and making sure I stayed away from blowout levels. The loads were very accurate. Needless to say this is definately not for everyone. However, it was very interesting and enlightening.

 

[danyboy]

reloading rimfire

I can reload 32RF using H&C Collection reloading kit with black powder and acorn .22 blanks as primers. Easy and fun. Check their website (do a google search on H&C collection) and click on the english flag for english version, Go to instructions on reloading 32RF.
danyboy

 

[Steve C]

I have pulled the bullets and worked up loads using various 224 centerfire bullets with my powders.

The OD of the .22 LR case is .224" and the same size as the OD of the healed bullet it uses.

K95DAO, how do you get the bullet into the rimfire case and keep the diameter at .224" to fit the chamber? Do you use glue to attach it to the end of the case or some how cut a heal on a centerfire bullet to keep the bullet in the end of the case? I can understand how it could be done with a .22 magnum case that is of larger diameter, who's chamber is larger than .224" bore size and uses a conventional type .224" bullet but not in a LR case and chamber.

 

[Mal H]

This thread was 7 years old before it was reanimated.

Steve C you are addressing a member who hasn't visited THR since 2004 and never will again (I know that for a fact).

 

[EMC45]

You could always swage a lead core into a spent 22LR/MAG case and make a nice jacketed bullet.......

 

[Steve C]

Sorry Mal H, I didn't pay any attention to the dates, it just popped up as an active thread.