Why are the .22 versions less expensive?

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Dr_2_B

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Many manufacturers of pistols (and rifles) have come out with 22 caliber versions that often cost about half as much as their bigger-bore counterparts. It doesn't seem to me that the cost of manufacturing these .22 versions is appreciably lower than the cost of manufacturing the originals. Why is this?

By the way, I'm not dumb, so I'm really hoping to hear from insiders who actually know rather than others like me who can speculate.
 
In the case of semiautomatic .22 clones of 1911 pistols, AR and AK rifles, the .22 versions can be straight blowback: simple bolt held in place by inertia of the bolt and pressure of the recoil spring until the bullet has left the barrel. The heavier centerfire calibers require a locked breech unlocked by a recoil action or a gas operation, which requires a more complicated mechanism with more parts that need to be precisely fitted.

The .22 versions are simpler, lower pressure, therefore cheaper to make.
 
Simpler designs (straight blowback) + less expensive materials = cheaper gun. Don't need to be an insider to figure that out.

Plus, in some cases these .22LR guns are not actually produced by the company that markets them. They farm out the work to a company that will produce a cheap lookalike gun for them, Sig and their Mosquito and 1911-22 for example.
 
Most aren't even built by the parent company and they are built to much cheaper standards with cheaper materials.

It's not just a "22 version". It's a totally different gun.
 
Compare the price of a S&W 617 to a S&W 626 and you will see that when the manufacturing costs are truly equal, the retail prices are close to equal as well. The guns you mention and typically cast/blowback as has been previously mentioned.
 
maximum pressure 24,000 PSI for .22LR;
maximum pressure 50,000 PSI for .223rem

different materials generally used, making the 22lr cheaper, along with the ability to operate as a blowback which simplifies the mechanism.

Now if you want quality and accuracy, a good 1911 in 45 will run you around 1200-1500. A good .22 conversion for that (utilizing the same frame, trigger, etc) run about 600-700 (Marvel Unit 1).
 
So is that the two ways all (most?) firearms are made, locked breech and blowback?
 
Most pistols are of the "short recoil" locked-breech, tilting-barrel design. 22lr has low enough chamber pressures that the mass of the bolt/slide keeps things in check alone. There are some larger caliber blowback guns out there that use a very large slide mass to control the locking of the breech.

There are also gas-operated hand-guns, like the Desert Eagle but these designs are uncommon.
 
Gentleman of the Spudly Cranium,

There are few exceptions to that. Just about any breech loaded weapon can be classified as blowback or locked breech.
 
Heh lest we forget that the ammo is nearly non existant in many areas and dealers are trying to move them out, kind of like buying VHS players and tapes when DVDs were already mainstream. Obsolescence at it's best.

^ The above statement is untrue.
 
I think the main difference with semi-autos is that much less expensive materials are used that handle the lower pressures. Also the big companies are sub contracting the manufacture of these guns with the name brand label. There is tremendous pressure on manufacturers to keep their costs down in order to sell their stuff. How many times has the question been raised about the cost of a lowly 22LR as compared to a centerfire caliber? You get the reaction... I won't pay that for just a 22. Well, the manufacturers listen and what you get is cheap and often poorly manufacturered stuff as a result.
 
The comments about locked breech are true, but sometimes there are more subtle differences. Most barrels made for .22 LR are relatively soft, since .22 LR bullets are lead, not jacketed, and the barrels can be made from cheaper, unhardened steel. (That is one reason why it is not a good idea to convert a gun made for .22 LR to fire .22 WMR with its jacketed bullets and hotter loads.)

Jim
 
I call a lot of the .22lr versions "pot-metal plinkers." Cheaper materials and lower overall build quality make for a cheaper gun.

I had no idea that the Mosquito wasn't made by Sig, until I field stripped one... I later bought myself one anyway.
 
My Ruger 10-22; Mark III 22/45s and Henry lever rifle don't seem to contain ANY pot metal! ;)
 
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