.22 shorts. Where are they OK?

[Jessie]

I've used shorts out of a revolver not so marked a couple of times. It was marked .22lr ( not "only")
What are the drawbacks beside a scorch line in the cylinder?
Is this a bad thing to do? ( The Copperheads think so!)

 

[Nevada Ed]

I shot shorts and longs in a Ruger single six many years ago.
I could not get them to shoot as accurate as the LR ammo
probably due to the fact that the bullet lost case support and
a longer way to travel until they reached the barrel.

I had trouble with accuracy with the "Cowboy" revolver in the fist place with LR ammo.........
I did not need the extra headache of shorts, to deal with but they can be
used with no harm to the weapon.

 

[gwpercle]

Shooting Shorts , Longs and Long rifle out of a revolver is no problem at all. Clean the cylinders and barrel like you should normally do.
With a semi-auto pistol they can be single loaded, drop a short into the chamber lower the bolt and fire . They usually will not feed from the LR magazine . Some model 41's were made to shoot shorts only, they will feed.
Winchester made a pump rifle that would feed, fire and shoot shorts, longs and long rifle's, you could even mix them up in the magazine !
It's not bad to do , it's not dangerous , don't listen to the
" Copperheads". Many years ago we bought shorts because they were cheaper than longs or long rifle ammo and shot them in revolvers or our single shot rifles.
Gary

 

[Jessie]

I think my 39A is marked S, L, and Lr.
What I use them for is within 3/5' so accuracy isn't too critical.

 

[chief38]

In Revolvers, Shorts and Longs will usually be less accurate. Since a .22 LR standard velocity round has little recoil and is readily available there is not much reason to shoot Shorts from a revolver IMHO.

I suppose the Shorts will have less of a report if the noise is something important to you, and obviously less power too. If you have a supply of them and just want to shoot them up, I'd use them in a rifle if you have one - they will loose less accuracy in a long gun and shoot pretty quiet.

 

[gwpercle]

And even shorter than the 22 short ammo is the 22 CB Cap, very quite and can be used in revolvers or single shot.
CCI still makes both the 22 Short and 22 CB Cap .
Gary

 

[Steve912]

I use the CCI CB shorts (std short length) from a 10-22
for squirrel suppression. Won't cycle action, but feeds fine
with modified mag. Sounds about like an air rifle.

 

[6string]

This is according to Douglas Wesson himself:

It might be of interest to say here that in any Smith & Wesson revolver the .22 Short cartridges can be used with excellent results and with no fear of injury to the rifling or chambering whatsoever. There may be an accumulation of burnt powder form on the chamber walls directly ahead of the short shells that would tend to make extraction somewhat difficult when again using the longer ones, but this can be readily removed as in the case with the deposit from the greaseless bullets. The chamber walls, owing to the patented burnishing process they undergo, will remain unaffected.

 

[Wee Hooker]

One of the great joys of a 22 revolver is it's ability to fire anything it will chamber. Load up with shorts and keep those snakes squirming!

 

[chief38]

In modern times ( at least it's been my experience lately ) Shorts are not only more expensive than Std. Vel. but they are harder to find as well.

I believe for the most part, Longs have been discontinued (with the exception of the CCI CB longs).

 

[yellowtr]

I watched a youtube about a Ruger SP101 and the shooter was using shorts. He shot about 50 rounds with no problem. He seemed to be quite accurate at about 10 to 15 feet or so. I think the guy was hickok45.
I may be in the market for a 22lr revolver and would try the shorts just for fun.

 

[Johnnu2]

22 shorts

I've had some fabulous accuracy when shooting 22 shorts from my Thompson Center Contender with a 10" match barrel.
J

 

[gwpercle]

I had several 22 LR semi auto pistols but not one revolver.
I purchased a S&W model 317 Air-Light Kit gun with the 3 inch barrel and adjustable sights just to take advantage of the variety of 22's that were available. This was before the big ammo depression, you could still buy blanks , BB Caps, CB Caps , CB Long, Shorts , Longs, Long Rifle and Shotshell ...
CCI may not still make all of these but it appears they still make most. The 317 with adjustable sights is the versatility winner as far as I see it. In a belt holster the 12 ozs. of weight is unnoticeable in the field.
Gary

 

[KSDeputy]

I have a Remington 552 BDL that will shoot short, long, or long rifle. So will my model 63 revolver. I like shorts or CB caps for varmint control.

 

[LedFowl]

Winchester 62A pump.

 

[DWalt]

At one time, I shot Standard Velocity .22 Short in my Winchester Model 52 match rifle. At 50 feet, my scores were about as good as using SV LR rounds.

Back in my youth, I used only .22 Shorts in my various .22 rifles. At that time, unlike today, they were somewhat cheaper than .22 LR. As I remember shorts were about a quarter per box, and LRs were 40 cents. An added benefit was that if you had a .22 rifle with a tubular magazine, you could get a lot more shorts into it than LRs. Many rifles back then were designed to handle shorts, longs, and long rifles interchangeably.

The only handgun I now own which is made for .22 Short only is my Hi-Standard Olympic Rapid Fire.

 

[OFT II]

Remington 62A pump.

I think that's what they call a Remchester.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

In modern times ( at least it's been my experience lately ) Shorts are not only more expensive than Std. Vel. but they are harder to find as well.

I believe for the most part, Longs have been discontinued (with the exception of the CCI CB longs).

Agreed. I have a Winchester Low Wall "Winder musket" chambered for .22 Short. When I am able to find the Shorts I put them aside for that old timer. I feed everything else .22 Long Rifle.

 

[DWalt]

The first Winchester pump .22 rifle was the Model 1890. It was made to shoot either .22 Short , .22 LR , or .22 WRF. .22 Shorts would not feed through an 1890 designed for .22 LR, and vice versa. I had a friend who owned a Model 1890 in .22 LR, and we managed to convert it so that .22 Short cartridges would function in it by putting a short wooden plug in the cartridge carrier (.22 Shorts were all we could afford). The next Winchester .22 pump to come along was the Model 1906, and it would handle short, long, and long rifle ammunition interchangeably, as would the later Winchester pump .22s. My all-time favorite .22 rifle was the Remington Model 550 semiautomatic which would also handle S, L, and LR cartridges interchangeably.

 

[rwsmith]

For a long time...

For a long time when shorts were very common most people didnt use a long or a long rifle unless there was a need. Most any revolver could use any as long as it could fit in the chamber.