Smith & Wesson Forum

Smith & Wesson Forum (https://smith-wessonforum.com/forum.php)
-   Ammo (https://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/)
-   -   .22 LR Reload? (https://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/310068-22-lr-reload.html)

POLSEGR38 04-09-2013 04:49 AM

.22 LR Reload?
 
This amy be a stupid question, but given the shortage does anyone reload .22 ammo, or are the components not available as well. Cost effective?

chief38 04-09-2013 05:16 AM

Rimfire cartridges are simply not re-loadable. Wish they were!

walnutred 04-09-2013 07:51 AM

In my overconfident youth I used to reload 32 Rimfire. I used a homemade tool to clean the rim and partially remove the firing pin indentation. An old chemistry book I found at the library provided instructions on a priming compound that was very stable when liquid but did not require much of a blow to detonate when dry. FFFG powder and a press fit cast bullet would get me 2 -3 reloads out of a case. When my dad found out what I was doing he took the rifle, an old Stevens Favorite, to a machinist friend of his who converted it to 32 Long. A wise decision on my dads part I must say. I’d never try 22 RF and would not reload 32 RF again unless I was really really desperate.

chief38 04-09-2013 08:25 AM

I guess if there's a will - - there's a way!

moxie 04-09-2013 09:16 AM

One of the challenges is the primer. It starts out as a liquid that is centrifugally spun into the rim. Getting or making the compound might be troublesome. And you have to remove the indentation from the rim left by the hammer strike. Piece of cake!

Manhattan 11-29-2013 03:19 PM

QUOTE=moxie;137148116]One of the challenges is the primer. It starts out as a liquid that is centrifugally spun into the rim. Getting or making the compound might be troublesome. And you have to remove the indentation from the rim left by the hammer strike. Piece of cake![/QUOTE]

22 lr can be reloaded...I would not have believed it until I ran into some today at an outdoor store/bait shop in Grayson Kentucky a few miles North of Grayson Lake, the bullets were $7.50 for 50/ $15 per hundred. The brass was new and unstruck Just bulk piled in little bait containers. I declined to buy them at time because the clerk didn't know the velocity or bullet weight but they looked like they could be match grade, very clean. I would only guess folks can get the supplies to make their own...

Robotech 11-29-2013 05:01 PM

I just can't see re-manufacturing and re-priming .22 cases in the average home reloading environment. Yes, it can be done, but can YOU do it safely and consistently, and at a cost that makes it viable?

On the other hand, if you can get new factory primed cases at a reasonable price I see no problem with working up your own specialty powder/bullet loads, and if the price of high quality match rounds keeps going up, this is likely to become more common.

slickracer 11-29-2013 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manhattan (Post 137565230)
QUOTE=moxie;137148116]One of the challenges is the primer. It starts out as a liquid that is centrifugally spun into the rim. Getting or making the compound might be troublesome. And you have to remove the indentation from the rim left by the hammer strike. Piece of cake!

22 lr can be reloaded...I would not have believed it until I ran into some today at an outdoor store/bait shop in Grayson Kentucky a few miles North of Grayson Lake, the bullets were $7.50 for 50/ $15 per hundred. The brass was new and unstruck Just bulk piled in little bait containers. I declined to buy them at time because the clerk didn't know the velocity or bullet weight but they looked like they could be match grade, very clean. I would only guess folks can get the supplies to make their own...[/QUOTE]

I'd put money down that they were repackaged bulk ammo. If they were truly "reloaded" there would be some mark from the firing pin. It would be nearly impossible to remove entirely.

POLSEGR38 12-01-2013 04:18 AM

If there was no strike mark on them, then how can they have been reloaded? What is left to reload, the bullet is done once it's left the barrel and the powder is spent.

lebomm 12-01-2013 07:13 AM

Even if you can work out a procedure, I for one would advise against it. Handling percussion-sensitive explosive is very different from smokeless powder, a propellant explosive. The risk of a catastrophic explosion is exponentially greater if the most stringent controls of temperature, static and impact are not observed.
But hey, it's your house - if you figure you can handle it, go ahead.

Larry

Manhattan 12-02-2013 01:56 AM

QUOTE=M2HB;4803872]New, primed 22 rimfire brass is available on the internet. It has been a while since I have seen it, but it is out there. They aren't reloads because they haven't been loaded before.[/QUOTE]

I would venture to say that 22 rimfire can be hand loaded with the right equipment. Friday Nov. 27th I ran into some. The store that had this ammo is ...."Prichards Outdoor Shop" 606-474-7539 Grayson Kentucky. The 22 LR they had on hand was being sold as "Reloads" marked on the bait boxes, they were loaded with LRN bullets.. The correct term for that stuff would more than likely be "Hand loads" with new primed brass. It wasn't bulk junk ammo "AKA Remington Golds or others" repackaged.

CTG_COLLECTOR 12-02-2013 05:32 PM

Anyone who thinks that rimfire cartridges can be reloaded owes it to themselves to research the subject.

POLSEGR38 12-02-2013 05:36 PM

Buy new. Save and recycle the brass, don't leave it all over the woods.

robertrwalsh 12-02-2013 06:21 PM

You would have to be absolutely desperate to do this. Or have a huge amount of time on your hands and want to try it just so you could say you did it.

Neumann 12-02-2013 08:12 PM

Where would the primer go?

gboling 12-02-2013 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTG_COLLECTOR (Post 137570660)
Anyone who thinks that rimfire cartridges can be reloaded owes it to themselves to research the subject.

Yes it is possible. No, it is not practical. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines Pilipino guerillas did so out of necessity. A historical account I read indicated that they wet match heads, packed the paste under the rim, dried them and then loaded powder and bullets. These cartridges were, as you would expect, of very poor quality and often required turning them in the chamber and firing again as misfires were common.

Nframecollector 12-02-2013 09:45 PM

I've read that in the old Soviet Union hunters used to reload 22 rimfire cartridges. Making their own priming mixture and also re-using bullets as often as they could! I can't imagine doing that but as the say...............necessity is the mother of invention!

varmint243 12-02-2013 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nframecollector (Post 137571165)
necessity is the mother of invention!

I thought it was laziness and greed ??? :eek:


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:51 AM.