.22 WRF confusion.

[Andy Griffith]

I've been shooting .22 WRF's for a long time in my .22 Magnums (.22 WMR).

They feed and function fine in my Winchester 9422M and new to me model 61. I've shot them quite a bit in my S&W model 48 and mini-revolvers with always pleasant results.

I finally got around to calling CCI today to ask them why the disclaimer on the back of the box "not to be used in handguns."

The feller told me that the bullet diameter on the .22 WRF handgun was different.
So I said, "OK, I'll just shoot them in my .22 Magnum rifles" and he said "OH NO! DON'T DO THAT! The bullets are too big!"

Now, I know, as many of y'all do, that the .22 Magnum is derived from the .22 WRF. The case is the same diameter and the bullets are the same diameter. The WRF uses plated bullets while the .22 Mag uses jacketed bullets.

It has always been safe to shoot .22 WRF's in any .22 Mag, although they may not feed in repeating firearms.

I quite politely told the feller he should look again as he was telling me erroneous information, but he got huffy and hung up.

I'm going to copy some pages from Cartridges of the World and send to him.

As far as I know, every gun chambered originally in .22 WRF or .22 Rem Special have the same bore diameter in common (which is the same as .22 Magnum), which is larger than .22 LR.

If you have any reference from Winchester or Remington (or Colt for that matter, since they chambered many revolvers in .22 Rem Special/WRF) on the original cartridge drawings I can send this feller, let me know.

 

[OKFC05]

Well, the WRF bullet spec is 0.002" larger than the .22 Mag (.226 vs .224) but I continue to shoot .22 WRF in my .22 Mag rifle. The squirrels don't seem to notice, nor does the rifle.

 

[DWalt]

Unless there is a gross mismatch in bullet vs. bore diameters, say >0.005", there is no problem. The critical issue is if the bullet diameter is large enough to cause the exterior of the case neck to be jammed into the chamber. If this occurs, the case neck cannot expand enough to release the bullet, and chamber pressures can zoom up. The general rule is that the chamber neck should be at least 0.002" larger in diameter vs the outside case neck diameter of the loaded cartridge to allow adequate expansion space. If the case neck diameters of the .22 WRF and the .22 WMR cartridges are the same, no problemo.

The bullets themselves squeeze down easily. Hatcher describes firing .45 ACP rounds in a M1903 Springfield rifle with no problems. The .45 ACP bullet just extrudes into a long 230 grain .30 caliber bullet.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

The 22 WRF cartridges that I have of various manufacturers function just fine in my Colt Police Positive Target .22 WRF Revolver.