Originally Posted by chief38

Rimfire 22 LR ammo is probably the most popular in the world and basically that is because it is inexpensive compared to center fire cartridges. Even now RF ammo can be purchased for around a 6-7 cents each, thrown away after use and forgotten about. The primers on a CF bullet alone are more than that! Make RF ammo super expensive and you take away its major advantage.

While RF is not as reliable as CF is, they have now made it at least somewhat reliable or at least reliable to be used in all aspects of shooting sports. While some even use RF ammo in SD guns, (I would not) but if that is what they want, a revolver would make much more sense than a semi auto because if a round fails to fire, all that needs to be done is the trigger is pulled again. A SA would need to be cleared and cycled which would take too much time IMHO.

RF ammo is about perfect for those who need to dispatch pests and vermin, target shoot on paper, or use just for general plinking fun. Expensive primers that would require a different and more sturdy case design doesn't really make sense for RF ammo. As for CF "22's", the cartridge case has a larger diameter, has to be thicker and stronger. Not in the cards for what most 22's are actually used for and counter intuitive for what it is.