Stupid .22 question

[KaceCoyote]

I'm not too familar with .22 magnum so please excuse my stupidity. If I was to purchase a .22 magnum firearm, would I be able to also use .22LR and such?

Assuming I cant use the .22LR for a .22M, aside from a cool cheap little cartridge what exactly is the .22M good at? Small game?

 

[MatthewVanitas]

.22LR and .22Mag are not compatible. The .22Mag is not an extension of the .22LR, but an extension of the .22 Winchester Rimfire (thus it's full name .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire).

There are some firearms, such as the Ruger Single Six, which have interchangeable cylinders, one for LR one for WMR. However, bore diameter is ever so slightly larger for the WMR than LR, so an interchangeable firearm is going to have some compromise in the bore.

-MV

 

[JohnKSa]

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The 22WMR was designed to fill the gap between .22LR and the low end of .22 centerfires.

I've never been a fan of the .22WMR. If you figure that the .22LR is good out to about 50 yards for its intended purposes, the .22WMR gives you another 25 to 50 yards on top of that. But while it gives you a little better range (in terms of oomph), it seems that it's not uncommon for the WMR's accuracy to fall off significantly when you get past 50 yards.

The ammo cost is significantly more than .22LR as well. You can probably find plinking quality .223 for about the same price or maybe even less than the WMR.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

The 22WMR was designed to fill the gap between .22LR and the low end of .22 centerfires.

I've never been a fan of the .22WMR. If you figure that the .22LR is good out to about 50 yards for its intended purposes, the .22WMR gives you another 25 to 50 yards on top of that. But while it gives you a little better range (in terms of oomph), it seems that it's not uncommon for the WMR's accuracy to fall off significantly when you get past 50 yards.

...

The .22 Magnum has an advantage when shooting animals weighing more than 15 lbs. E.g., I've pumped a half dozen .22 LR high speed HPs into a racoon's chest with marginal effect, at a range of 10 yards. (Rabid 'coon running around in broad daylight.) I'm sure one or two .22 Magnums would've had better effect.