What performance from a 60grn .22 in .22 Mag?

[epijunkie67]

I've got some of those 60 grain .22LR rounds from agular and got to wondering what kind of performance you'd get if you used those bullets in a .22 mag. The 60 grain rounds are actually packed into a .22short case so they have very little powder behind them. I know the .22lr and .22mag shoot the same sized round so that shouldn't be a problem. You'd just have to transfer the bullet from the .22 short case to the .22mag case and you'd be in business.

I don't even have a reason to do it. It just popped into my head and I got to wondering about it. Lets assume that the rifling in the barrel already has a twist rate high enough to handle the extra weight. What kind of performance would you get from this kind of set up and what would you use it for in the real world?

 

[db_tanker]

wouldn't it stand to reason that, if the 60 gr. bullet came out of a short case, then putting it into a long case would be the right size for a 22 mag?

I am just curious about this as well...it actually sounds kinda neat.

D

 

[epijunkie67]

I was looking at the difference in case volume and you should be able to get at least 3 times the volume of powder into the 22 mag case as you could in the short case, even after allowing for the extra space being taken up by the larger round.

 

[sumpnz]

A couple problems with that idea. .22lr uses a heeled bullet (the base is turned down to match the ID of the case). If you notice, the OD of the case and the exposed portion of the bullet are the same. .22mag does not use a heeled bullet (the OD of the case is slightly larger than the OD of the bullet). Also, the nominal diameter of of .22lr bullets is .223" vs .224" for .22mag. You would have problems fitting that 60gr lr bullet into the mag case becuase of those two issues.

While it may be a neat idea, the practical applications are also limited. Part (probably most) of the reason for using a 60gr bullet in a .22short case is that the net result is a subsonic bullet, even from a rifle. This makes it very quiet even without a suppressor. Stick that bullet behind a .22mag powder charge and it will go super-sonic which defeats some of the reason for using such a heavy for caliber bullet.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Twist rate... Most .22's will not shoot the 60grn aguila loads worth a darn my CZ keyholes them while my romanian M1969 and Single Six loves them. You can buy specal barrels to shoot these in 10-22's but most factory rifles just don't have a fast enough twist to shoot them with any kind of accuracy.

BTW they really knock rabbits for a loop through my single six