As usual, I bought a toy on sale at Shiptons. This time a long barrel Heritage Rough Rider in .22LR for $109. A coupon was enclosed to get a .22 Magnum cylinder for $29.99.

The only .22 magnum in stock was Armscor at $15.99 a box. By contrast 9mm was on sale for $9.99.

Should I even bother to get the magnum cylinder?

You should, because .22 WMR is a pretty awesome cartridge, and for $150 or so you have two handguns.

PS: That revolver won't shoot 9mm at all. How much was .22 LR and did they have any?

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I have no use for 22 magnum in a handgun.

22 lr will do anything a 22 mag will do in a handgun, without the exorbitant price or excessive noise.

Folks get carried away with the ballistic tables (produced with rifles) and imagine the 22 mag is quite the thing.

In practice, on living critters, the 22 lr is indistinguishable from the 22 mag when used in a revolver.

I didn't. Paper and tin cans are not going to know the difference between the LR and the mag. Plan on hunting or shooting critters?

Remington 22 lr in 100rd see through plastic boxes was $10.99, but they were selling 500 rd bricks of Winchester for 35 or 40 dollars a week or so ago. 325 rd boxes of Federal for autos run 22.99 at Rocky Mountian.

I haven bothered to buy any more .22 lr my last couple trips to the store.

Some type of .22lr is generally available in small quantities locally.

Maybe if I wanted to shoot coyotes or for some reason carry the gun for personal defense the .22 mags would be more useful as an option?

Agreed.
A.22 revolver can use anything from cbs to stingers-that's good enough for me.
When I had a Smith Model 48 .22 mag,I was happy to see it go.

Also, I have a 22 mag rifle (taken a few coyotes and at least one bobcat with it)=nice to have matching get up.

I agree. Jack Rabbits, coyotes, badgers. Be aware, most 22 mag barrels are not as accurate as 22 lr. I never could hit ground squirrels much past 50 yards, if at that distance (My bull barrel Ruger Auto was sighted at 65=consistent killer at that range)

For 29 bucks I would get it even if I didn't want to shoot it, I would probably shoot it once or twice but it would be better to have it and not want it than to want it later and not have it.

It's like my model 65, I bought it because it would shoot magnums but almost always shoot .38. I still like having the capability even if I don't often use it.

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Back to back World War Champs.

I think for 30 bucks it will always have that value, especially if you go to sell it. Unfortunately we haven't had any .22 mag in these parts for many months.

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paws for friendship

I keep looking at .22 Mags and dreaming but every time I really dig into it, it just doesn't make any sense. In a short barrel it's a complete waste. Once you get to about 8" of pistol barrel you're now shooting the equivalent of a .22LR in a rifle,..........wow. That's at 30 cents a round(and I still have a room full of $10 bricks of LR). .22 Mag in a rifle makes even less sense to me. I can shoot factory .223 cheaper if I'm lazy and for less than half the price if I bother to reload.

If you're the kind of guy who only owns 3-4 guns and a 50rd box of ammo will last you several years I guess .22 Mag might be an option. Otherwise I just don't see it.

I've owned several revolvers with 22 Magnum cylinders. I have yet to even purchase a round of 22 Magnum ammo, much less shoot it.

Personally, I just have no use for the cartridge. Your mileage may vary however.

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John 3:16 .

Being the anal retentive bonehead that I am, I would regret not buying it,much like I still regret the girls I didn't date back in high school. So I say for $29.99 get it even if it sits in your gunsafe. While 22mag is expensive by comparison, and as others have said it has no significant balistic advantage over 22lr in a handgun, I would rather spend the money now than feel oblegated to get a "REGRET" tattoo later on.

Don't you mean "REGERT"?

Yeah, a long barrel Heritage Rough Rider for personal defense. As a probability, given that you might own somewhere between two and two dozen guns better suited to personal defense in every respect, I don't rank it very high. OTOH, as an excuse to make a purchase, it's still better than some I've come up with.

The numbers are pretty straight forward. From a 4" barrel revolver.
CCI Velocitor 22 LR 112 ft. lbs.
CCI MaxiMag 22 Mag 155 ft. lbs.

That's approx 50% more energy. As to critters, no idea, never shot one with 4 legs.

Stu

Are 22LR and 22Mag same bore size?

I don't want to get into any lame arguments here.I have a Heritage pistol that came with both 22LR and 22MAG cylinders.I had a lot of 22LR that failed to fire in it and I used several types including CCI.The 22MAG cylinder functioned perfectly every time.I'm thinking it's something to do with the Heritage because no other firearm in 22lr causes me any issues.

Yes,the ammo is quite price intensive and not a logical choice for everyday plinking but it's still fun to shoot.

I look at it this way...Sometimes you get an itch to buy or do something and the cost doesn't matter.If it makes you or someone else happy than just do it with no regrets.

Sam Casey, SAAMI specs for the bullets are identical at .2245

Stu

I got a Ruger Single Six with a regular .22 and a magnum cylinder in 1969. Through the years I've put thousands of .22s through it. I shot magnums once right after I bought it and still have part of that box of ammo. Don't bother.

From a discussion elsewhere (another site),,,
the Rough Rider barrel is just pressed in,,,

The barrel seemed to be threaded,,, but, the consensus was the threading was there to only enhance the press fit.

The guy was trying to figure out how to re-install the barrel,,,

I think I would stick with SV 22LR for the longevity of the gun,,,

Had a lot of 22/22 mg combos, mostly Rugers, Never had one that shot
good with magnums, same gun would do well with 22lrs. The low end SA
Colt copies are mostly range toys, it's cheaper to "Play" with 22lr. I have
had only 2 accurate 22mgs. S&W m-48 and a AMT Autoloader. My buddy
has a S&W 22 mg/ fixed sight and snub barrel, I forget model, it shoots
good, but is loud. It is more less a 25yd gun.

I know I would not get the magnum cylinder.

For $30 having the 22 mag capability seems like a no brainer to me.

Also, you said long barrel -- well the longer the barrel, the more chance the 22 mag has to achieve higher velocity.

I wouldn't... I know it feels like a good price but I think any money spent on something you don't know if you really want or not is not good money spent.

my 2 cents... now that's a bargain...

+1

My Ruger Single Six Convertible had the mag cyl installed in 1972 when I bought the gun. I used it again last year, 44 years later. If i didn't buy the extra cylinder then, I know I couldn't find one now. If nothing else it ads to the value and resaleability.

My only regerts is that red haired girl that I didn't ask out back in 1969.

I would buy the cyl. It's another caliber to have when ammo is hard to get. In the last few years I have saw .22 mag. on the shelf and no regular .22. Larry

I would buy the .22 Magnum cylinder for the simple reason if another ammo shortage comes, it is nice to be able to use .22 magnum ammo if that is all on the shelf.

Last time the only ammo available in my area was .357 Sig. (no I don't have a .357 Sig weapon)

I'd get the cylinder. I'm surprised by the number of posters who disparage the .22 Magnum in handguns while admitting to never having fired one. I carry a KelTec PMR 30 around my property and while fishing. Results are excellent on ground squirrels and feral cats. Several companies offer .22 Magnum ammunition specifically for handguns/short barrels.

GatorFarmer,

I'm in the same boat. I'm on the fence on buying a .22 Magnum cylinder for my Heritage Rough Rider. Scarce availability of .22 Magnum ammo + .22 Magnum ammo cost kill the fun factor for me. On the other hand, $30 for a .22 Magnum cylinder just to have the option to shoot .22 Magnum doesn't sound so bad. But then why waste $30 on something I will probably never use.

One moment I'm about to buy the darn thing, the next I talk myself out of it.

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-John

Buy the 22mag cylinder!
If you ever want to sell it, you will get your price much easier!!!

I would get the magnum cylinder. I've found .22 Magnum to be a lot of fun from a handgun with a barrel longer than 4" - and for that price? Go for it!

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Now go make God proud...

Sure. Order, install, fiddle, buy some ammo, go to the range... Good gun project.

I have a Colt New Frontier .22/ .22mag that I've had since the early '80s, with it's 6.5" barrel it shoots .22 mags very accurately. I also have Henry Golden Boy in .22 mag and have alot of 22 mag ammo that I bought years ago before the so-called shortage. IMHO, for 30 bucks get the extra cylinder, if you can find some reasonably priced ammo, I think you might enjoy it.

JimZ

My uncles used to and my son keeps a scoped 22 mag rifle handy for vermin control.

Like several others I jumped on a Ruger single six in the 70's with both cylinders. 22 Mag is loud and the point of impact is drastically different. I had to zero it in for the mag and then 22 lr when I changed back.

I only used the cylinder once.

I've since rethought the idea. I should have purchased a 2nd Ruger single six and left one set up for the mag load.

Those who mention ammo shortage are right on also. If all you can find or luckily have a few boxes or a brick of mag ammo stashed it might be handy to have.

You could be frugal and go to a local range that has a 22 mag to rent and try it. That should only cost you about $30 with range time and rental fees. Or you could waist your money and spend $30 to buy the cylinder and try it at your leisure.

I don't have a Rough Rider but have a number of Single Sixes. I have paid as much as a $100 less, used, when they don't have both cylinders. Just sayin!

.22 mag is making it's way back on the shelves for sale here now, as as far as a defense weapon, there are some personal defense loads for the caliber now. Hornaday has a 45 gr now listed at 1000 fps muzzle velocity from a 1 7/8 barrel. Bought a Taurus snubbie for my lady friend who has very small hands. A perfect match for her, she isn't the most mechanically inclined person I know, a semi just didn't work all that well for her. A simple revolver is perfect for her.