22LR in a 22 magnum

[BC38]

Can the LR rounds be fired in a magnum revolver?
Seems to me that this would be very similar to shooting 38 special in a 357 magnum or 44 special in a 44 magnum.

 

[Drm50]

No, cases of 22lr are smaller in diameter than 22mg. Some guns might support the rim enought to put them off but cases will split of buldge. You can fire 22WRF or 22Win auto in 22mag. These bullets are loaded in the case, 22rf are heel bullets.

 

[BC38]

OK, so the cases bulge or split. They aren't reloadable or any good for anything anyway. Are they likely to get stuck in the cylinder? As loo ng as they eject OK what would it matter?

 

[steveno]

the rim is also thinner on the long rifle case

 

[s&wchad]

OK, so the cases bulge or split. They aren't reloadable or any good for anything anyway. Are they likely to get stuck in the cylinder? As loo ng as they eject OK what would it matter?

I wouldn’t recommend that and SAAMI lists it as “unsafe”.
https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...ite-and-Brochure-Master-Revised-2-18-2019.pdf

The .22 LR show a maximum pressure of 24,000 PSI. Split cases vent hot gasses, which can potentially injure you, damage the gun and create extraction problems. You also risk sticking a bullet in the barrel.

 

[stansdds]

22 Long Rifle in a 22 Magnum chamber is a bad idea. It's not like putting 38 Specials in a 357 Magnum chamber, the 22 Magnum chamber is larger in diameter than the 22 LR and you are likely to experience split cases and gas escaping in a dangerous manner.

 

[gwpercle]

Have you ever noticed that convertible 22's come with Two cylinders ?
One for 22 LR and the other for 22 magnum.....ever wonder why?
The ruptured 22 LR fired in the larger 22 magnum chamber lets hot gas out and accuracy is poor . 50 years ago we tried it ...high school boys with no common sense, one boy had a 22 magnum and none of us had the correct ammo...lots of 22 LR ...so...we tried it...no injuries , thank the good Lord , but the results were dismal accuracy.
Nothing to be gained by doing it and the possibility of flying bits of brass and lead could be very real . We were just lucky .
Gary

 

[diyj98]

22 Long Rifle in a 22 Magnum chamber is a bad idea. It's not like putting 38 Specials in a 357 Magnum chamber, the 22 Magnum chamber is larger in diameter than the 22 LR and you are likely to experience split cases and gas escaping in a dangerous manner.

I agree. Terrible idea. Accuracy would also probably be terrible due to inconsistent velocity as the cases cracked and/or swelled.

 

[trapper9260]

A gunsmith friend of my I was down to see him and we where talk about some thing and he brought up about someone brought in there rifle that was to be a 22 lr that they bought at a gun show and they could not get the case out of the rifle , it was stuck. SO they ask him to get it out for them, he got it out and look what was wrote on the barrel and it said 22mag , not 22 lr. they told him the guy that sold the rifle said it was a 22lr and they took his word for it. They where not happy after find it was not what they where told and was buying. You can not shoot a 22lr in a chamber for a 22mag.. I would not do also, I had got a Ruger single 6 and it had a cylinder to change to shoot a 22 mag in it beside the cylinder to shoot 22lr . The 22mag is bigger around in the case then a 22lr. No matter the bullet is the same size . The case is not.

 

[Drm50]

There was a kid who shot a Rem Gold HP in a Marlin bolt action 22mg and got a face full of dirt. He had to have particles removed by Doctor. He was lucky that there was no damage. If this could happen in a BA rifle it could happen in any gun.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Seems to me that this would be very similar to shooting 38 special in a 357 magnum or 44 special in a 44 magnum.


Well it would IF .......... they were "Twins" like the 38 and 357.......
but they are NOT!!

As mentioned, that is why Ruger had two different cylinders for
its Single Six, revolver.

Next question.........

Yes you can shot a .410 in a 12 Ga............... with the correct Factory adaptor sleeve.

 

[BC38]

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I could/should have looked up the specs on the two cartridges for the answer.

On the other hand... [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlE4jjFsMOU[/ame]
this guy and his Heritage revolver don't seem to have suffered any ill effects - other than a 1/3 reduction in velocity. Still I can see where a steady diet of 22LR would likely have some deleterious effects. Mainly due to escaping gasses from the brass not sealing to the chambers properly. Besides, if you lose 1/3 of the velocity and the accuracy goes in the tank, what's the point, right?

Its just that 22 mag ammo is so darned much more expensive - like nearly 10x the cost of 22LR.

 

[Fishinfool]

You don't say what gun you are using, but if it is a revolver, a .22 lr cylinder may be available for it. The cheaper price of .22 lr ammo would pay for it pretty quickly down the road.

A few years back, I was shooting a variety of .22's at the range, and a buddy picked up my 4 shot Freedom Arms mini .22 mag, loaded it with .22 lr, and shot it. I didn't realize it until he showed me the split casings. They fired, but he was lucky a rim didn't blow out. Its hard to picture in your head, but a .22 rimfire operates at about twice the pressure of your average 12 gauge shotgun.

Larry

 

[BC38]

You don't say what gun you are using, but if it is a revolver, a .22 mag cylinder may be available for it. The cheaper price of .22 lr ammo would pay for it pretty quickly down the road.

A few years back, I was shooting a variety of .22's at the range, and a buddy picked up my 4 shot Freedom Arms mini .22 mag, loaded it with .22 lr, and shot it. I didn't realize it until he showed me the split casings. They fired, but he was lucky a rim didn't blow out. Its hard to picture in your head, but a .22 rimfire operates at about twice the pressure of your average 12 gauge shotgun.

Larry

I just got a M51 that I expect to be selling pretty soon, but I wanted to shoot it some first. I have a ton of 22LR ammo, but no 22 mag. You guys convinced me not to try the 22LR experiment though, so I went over to Wally world and bought a box of 22 magnum for my range trip tomorrow.

I understand your point about the high pressure of the 22LR round, and the 22 mag cylinder is somewhat "sloppy" since the bore is approximately .016" oversized (.242 vs .226), which is more than twice the difference between bores of a 38 S&W rebored for 38 special (approximately .00665") PLUS the 22LR operates at almost 1/3 higher pressure (22k vs 17k).

I'm convinced. It might work and it might not hurt anything - but then again it might...

 

[gman51]

Long story short answer.............. NO don't shoot 22lr in a 22 magnum gun. It proves size does matter.