Tell me about the .22 WMR
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Palehorseman
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I have an AMT Automag ll and a Marlin 882 ss bolt action for my .22 WMR combo.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
RetiredUSNChief
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
It was never intended or marketed for that.
I bought my dad one for use on his farm & cattle ranch in the late 1960's.
A Winchester 9422M to be exact.
He was getting old, and his 30-30 Winchester was smacking him around more then necessary to kill coyotes stalking the calves.
And ricocheting .30-30 bullets through the tractors, combines, barns, bull pens, & cow herds was not a good thing either!!
Buy the time the .22 WRM was introduced in 1959, farmers butchering at home was pretty much a done deal.
Farmers & ranchers hauled the livestock to a local butchering and freezer plant to have the killing, butchering & meat processing done.
The processing & freezer plants mostly used bolt guns, or a 3 pound hammer to kill animals by then
The .22 WRM offered less recoil, flatter trajectory, less chance of a cow injury from bouncing 150 grain bullets through the herd.
And better killing power on coyotes then his .22 RF Winchester 1906 pump.
He went on to compile a pretty good coyote record with it before selling the farm in 1970 something.
He swore he never lost a coyote he shot with it at 100 - 150 yards.
rc
"I bought my dad one for use on his farm & cattle ranch in the late 1960's.
A Winchester 9422M to be exact."
Didn't the 9422M get introduced in 1972? Either way the 22 wmr has proven very useful around the farm. A Biathlon Basic 7-2 in 22 mag has been the latest addition, very accurate.
A Winchester 9422M to be exact."
Didn't the 9422M get introduced in 1972? Either way the 22 wmr has proven very useful around the farm. A Biathlon Basic 7-2 in 22 mag has been the latest addition, very accurate.
Palehorseman
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SWEET!
Automag II with 6 inch barrel and Marlin 783 here.
Same here for the Automag II: I bought mine in 1988, haven't fired it that much, but with the right ammo (CCI was great from the get go, Winchester was very funky early on) it has never failed to function.
RetiredUSNChief
Member
HEY! That's my holster, too!
*scrambles over to the lockbox and takes a look*
Whew! Still there! You had me worried for a minute...
Yeah, very reliable, very accurate, very slim, very loud, and very impressive muzzle flash!
The only problem I ever had with it were some FTF problems, caused by a missing grip screw. The grip would slide just enough to make contact with the slide and interfere with proper operation. I fabricated one out of an old nylon screw as a temporary fix until I could get a replacement. No problems afterwards.
I've shot Winchester almost exclusively in it with no problems.
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CaliCoastie
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love the 22mag, don't know there your seeing 38s for the same price as 22mag. to meis a highly versatile round, light but with enough oomph to do a good bit of work if you needed to. i have 2 levers(a 57m, and a 1894m) a Malin 883ss, and a couple of pmr-30s, o and a savage model-42 on layaway.
Shanghai McCoy
Member
I see that Marlin, Savage,CZ and Ruger make bolt action 22WMR rifles. How do they measure up value wise ?
Been fooling around with the 22 WMR since it came out. Ruger Single Six was the first. Ruger 77 22M all weather is the last and best so far.
It is not a target round. I have had six 22 WMR rifles, starting with a H&R break open, followed up by the H&R semi auto in premium dress, a 94-22M, a Marlin 88something or other, a Savage 93 heavy barrel with accu-trigger, and finally the present Ruger. All have been given the advantage of good scopes, a little trigger work and testing with at least a half dozen brands of ammo. The Ruger is the first one which will flirt with MOA at 100 yards. Surprisingly it does this with the cheapest stuff, CCI MaxiMag solids.
The single six is quite accurate with both cylinders.
I was totally disappointed with the H&Rs, a little more satisfied with the Marlin and Savage. The Ruger is the best and I'll keep it. Worst 100 yard groups with any ammo I've tried are still in the 2 1/2" range. Even the Winchester "defense" ammo.
On the other hand, my Savage 93 heavy barrel has to have a bad day to be over 1 1/4" and regularly turns in .75" with Hornady ammo. My Tracker .17 can and has done 1" and that is only a 6 1/2" barrel. (very wind sensitive are those 17s, moreso than the 22WMRs.)
It is not a target round. I have had six 22 WMR rifles, starting with a H&R break open, followed up by the H&R semi auto in premium dress, a 94-22M, a Marlin 88something or other, a Savage 93 heavy barrel with accu-trigger, and finally the present Ruger. All have been given the advantage of good scopes, a little trigger work and testing with at least a half dozen brands of ammo. The Ruger is the first one which will flirt with MOA at 100 yards. Surprisingly it does this with the cheapest stuff, CCI MaxiMag solids.
The single six is quite accurate with both cylinders.
I was totally disappointed with the H&Rs, a little more satisfied with the Marlin and Savage. The Ruger is the best and I'll keep it. Worst 100 yard groups with any ammo I've tried are still in the 2 1/2" range. Even the Winchester "defense" ammo.
On the other hand, my Savage 93 heavy barrel has to have a bad day to be over 1 1/4" and regularly turns in .75" with Hornady ammo. My Tracker .17 can and has done 1" and that is only a 6 1/2" barrel. (very wind sensitive are those 17s, moreso than the 22WMRs.)
DM~
Member
As does Cooper, Anschutz and a couple others...
So far, Anschutz has been the most accurate, but for less money, my Remington semi suto 597M is quite accurate and totally reliable.
It's been a great buy!
DM
RetiredUSNChief
Member
What do you mean by "how do they measure up value wise?"
The Marlin 783 bolt action, tube fed magazine rifle I bought when I turned 18 was absolutely top-notch in reliability and accuracy. I put a cheap $9 Walmart-purchased scope on it and had absolutely no problems reaching out and taking the heads off of squirrels, ground hogs, and more at ranges over 100 yards. (Though hyper-kinetic squirrels are quite a challenge at that range.)
I used to plink Sycamore tree seed balls for practice on breezy days.
The only drawback I ever had with my Marlin is the Montecarlo stock...that hump on the butt of the stock is right where my cheek lays down, making it more difficult than it should be to sight using iron sights. I solved that by carving a black walnut butt-extension that made the stock just long enough for me to comfortably rest my cheek behind that stump. (I didn't want to carve up the rifle stock.)
I never had any other rifle chambered in .22 WMR to compare with. But I understand Savage makes one and if it's anything at all like the Mark II-F .22 LR I bought for my wife earlier this year, it'll be a dream.
You can get the modern-day equivalent of the Marlin 783 as the XT-22 series (XT-22MTR, XT-22MTSL, and XT-22MTW). The Model 883 and 983 were virtually identical to the Model 783, with some minor changes to the triggers or bolts if I remember correctly. The new XT-series has an entirely different trigger, but the same gun as the 783/883/983. They currently sell for about $200 to $250 bucks, a darn good deal in my opinion.
The .22 WMR is a powerful, flat-shooting, long-range .22 caliber round. In a rifle it is, in my opinion, just about the perfect small caliber, high powered round for general varmint and small game use at longer ranges than you'd typically go for with a .22 LR.
PJSprog
Member
I really like my Savage 93. If you have a MkII that you like, you'll definitely like the 93. It's the exact same rifle, just in a different caliber.
in my opinion its the best round ever made... we use it on the farm for getting rid of varmints, here our varmints are whitetail deer and it does a real number on them with cci maxi-mag ammo.
I like that it is small and light, yet plenty capable for larger game. There aren't many rounds out there that can take out a squirrel or a rabbit without exploding it while still being able to take out a full size deer. Note that in most states it's illegal to use for deer, but here it is 1. legal for hunting season and 2. certainly legal for our depredation permits.
you can carry a thousand rounds in the bottom of a pack pretty easily, have plenty of oompf left at 100 yards, and not be so loud that everyone in the valley knows you shot something.
so yeah, I'm kinda a fan-boy for .22wmr I just wish they would bring back a new and redesigned ruger 10/22 magnum, I'd be in heaven then
I like that it is small and light, yet plenty capable for larger game. There aren't many rounds out there that can take out a squirrel or a rabbit without exploding it while still being able to take out a full size deer. Note that in most states it's illegal to use for deer, but here it is 1. legal for hunting season and 2. certainly legal for our depredation permits.
you can carry a thousand rounds in the bottom of a pack pretty easily, have plenty of oompf left at 100 yards, and not be so loud that everyone in the valley knows you shot something.
so yeah, I'm kinda a fan-boy for .22wmr I just wish they would bring back a new and redesigned ruger 10/22 magnum, I'd be in heaven then
RetiredUSNChief
Member
in my opinion its the best round ever made... we use it on the farm for getting rid of varmints, here our varmints are whitetail deer and it does a real number on them with cci maxi-mag ammo.
I like that it is small and light, yet plenty capable for larger game. There aren't many rounds out there that can take out a squirrel or a rabbit without exploding it while still being able to take out a full size deer. Note that in most states it's illegal to use for deer, but here it is 1. legal for hunting season and 2. certainly legal for our depredation permits.
you can carry a thousand rounds in the bottom of a pack pretty easily, have plenty of oompf left at 100 yards, and not be so loud that everyone in the valley knows you shot something.
so yeah, I'm kinda a fan-boy for .22wmr I just wish they would bring back a new and redesigned ruger 10/22 magnum, I'd be in heaven then
Yeeeah...about that "exploding" of rabbits and squirrels...head shots only, especially with hollowpoints. Gut shots on these critters with .22 WMR hollowpoints can cause violent separation of the front parts from the back parts.
Early lesson as a teen from way back...
vincyr
Member
Solution...RetiredUSNChief said:
Flat nosed FMJ. Knocks-em dead and won't blow them apart.
On a side-note, around here, 22WMR is the deer-jackers cartridge of choice. To the point that when I bought a 22WMR a while ago, everyone I know assumed that is what I bought it for
I like the game-point from cci pretty well too. my 'preferred' round for small game is .22 short in my little henry levergun, but if I had to choose only one rifle to own, it would be a .22 magnum tube fed.Solution...
Flat nosed FMJ. Knocks-em dead and won't blow them apart.
On a side-note, around here, 22WMR is the deer-jackers cartridge of choice. To the point that when I bought a 22WMR a while ago, everyone I know assumed that is what I bought it for
vincyr
Member
RetiredUSNChief
Member
Solution...
Flat nosed FMJ. Knocks-em dead and won't blow them apart.
On a side-note, around here, 22WMR is the deer-jackers cartridge of choice. To the point that when I bought a 22WMR a while ago, everyone I know assumed that is what I bought it for
Heh!
I did, indeed, shoot those as well. I called them my "armor piercing squirrel rounds". When I first got my 783, I ran whatever kinds of .22 WMR I could find through it and experimented on shooting anything I could. I settled on CCI because they were a little bit higher velocity than the Federals or Winchesters, and a wee bit cheaper to boot.
I found that the solid point ones wouldn't be stopped by a pine 4x4...so I figured they would be perfect armor piercing rounds for squirrels that have that annoying habit of scooting around to the opposite side of the tree branches from me.
And I was right, too...
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Milkmaster
Member
The 22WMR ammunition is one of my favorites. Much flatter trajectory than the 22lr. IMO the 22WMR is what the 22LR should have been in the beginning. I have a Henry Golden Boy 22MAG that is a tack driver and very comfortable to shoot.
Shanghai McCoy
Member
Thanks for the input on the Marlin Chief. I handled one at Cabelas a while back and had the same feeling about that monte carlo stock. It does pretty well make the iron sights hard to line up but should be good with a scope.
RetiredUSNChief
Member
You're welcome.
I'm seriously considering picking up an extra wood Marlin stock for mine and reshaping it to eliminate that bump. This way I can keep an unaltered original one. My original 783 was stolen many years ago, along with the butt extension I had made for it. Might as well do it up right the second time around.
Be nice to shoot it more comfortably with iron sights...course, Walmart still sells a $10 dollar scope that would work just fine, too.
A mighty fine rifle, though, in any case.
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