Colt Police Positive in .22 WRF?

[mod34]

Was in an LGS yesterday taking care of some transfers and saw an old Colt Police Positive in .22 magnum. I've never, ever seen a PP in .22 mag. (WRF marked) Looked to be a 6" barrel and in very, very, very nice condition. Price made me a bit dizzy with a sticker price of $1,100 though I am sure that is negotiable. Don't know anything about these little beauties, but happy to hear from my SW friends who might.
Thanks in advance.

 

[mod34]

Anyone out there with any experience with these dainty little beauties in .22 WRF?

 

[V-35]

WRF (Win. Rim Fire) is Not .22 Mag. The .22 Mag. ctg. did not even come out untill 1959.




Art

 

[mod34]

Thanks Art. It would seem additional inspection and investigation is in order.

 

[fat tom]

The ammo is obsolete,but occasionally various manufacturers will produce a special run for those of us who have one of the guns which accept this calibre. I have an old PP in .22 WRF that was used as a training pistol for the USMC (and so marked) during WWI. The PP is not the only handgun chambered in WRF and there are rifles also. FYI,the WRF can be used in a WMR,but not vice-versa.

f.t.

 

[V-35]

Tom,
I DO like that gun And holster.


Art

 

[feralmerril]

Not to be too tech here, but if the clyinder is long enough it can easily be lengthend to .22 WMRF. I have had it done to a old winchester 1890. They are both .224.

 

[V-35]

Mod. 34,

If you do buy that Colt PP; Winchester loaded a LOT of .22 WRF ammo when they re- issued the Winchester Mod. 1890 .22 WRF Rifle in the 1990's for the 100th Anniversary.
My LGS has several bricks of it still, as do I, and I doubt if many 'Panic Buyers' bought them up lately. Who knows, they may be cheaper to shoot than .22 LR now considering present shortages. ;-)

They are fun to shoot, and with the modern stuff, no worry about corrosive ammo.


Art

 

[V-35]

Not to be too tech here, but if the clyinder is long enough it can easily be lengthend to .22 WMRF. I have had it done to a old winchester 1890. They are both .224.

Not sure I'd do that on the PP. I think that the .22 WMRF has a Lot more Pressure than the WRF. I wouldn't think it would be a big problem with the rifle, but I don't think that PP frame & cylinder is that strong. A good gunsmith should be able to tell you though.


Art

 

[glenncal1]

I saw WRF at Sportsman warehouse last summer. Can't remember the manuf. but someone is making it again (or was) little less expensive than .22 MRF.

 

[galena]

Back in my college days in the mid 60s I had a nickle Colt Scout with both a .22LR and .22 MRF cylinder. The old .22WRF was pretty common around here in those days and I shot a lot of it through the .22MRF cylinder. It was cheaper than .22MRF and somewhat more authoritive that plain old .22LR. At the same time I had a Winchester pump rifle in .22WRF but it was pretty beat up and didn't work well, I pawned it for beer money and got $27.50 for it...............yeah, I've always been a bit on the stupid side.

 

[sigp220.45]

I bought one 12 years ago from a tribal police department in Montana. It had been used in a killing of some kind. I paid a whopping 20 bucks for it since "you can't get shells for it no more".

It lived a rough life - now it just hangs above my fireplace:

As has been said, .22 WRF is still available - I found some at Sportsman's Warehouse in a retro-style box for about the same price as WMR.

While I'm sure the gun you saw is worth more than a double-sawbuck, $1100 seems crazy high.

 

[Wyo]

Back in my college days in the mid 60s I had a nickle Colt Scout with both a .22LR and .22 MRF cylinder. The old .22WRF was pretty common around here in those days and I shot a lot of it through the .22MRF cylinder. It was cheaper than .22MRF and somewhat more authoritive that plain old .22LR.

I had a Ruger Single Six with both cylinders and shot a lot of the .22WRF in the magnum cylinder. It was easy to find and quite a bit cheaper than the magnum ammo. We used to go out on the prairie at night and spotlight jackrabbits (can't do that anymore!), some nights we killed as many as 75 or so. There were no seasons and no limits at the time. They weren't the best eatin', but sometimes were better than the alternative, which was nothin'! Anyway, I really liked the .22WRF. It slapped those big Jacks down with real authority, I thought they were at least as good as the magnums and at a price that was, at the time, barely more than .22LR. I still shoot a few now and then, just for old times' sake. It's a great little cartridge.

 

[Bullet Bob]

The original poster is one of many who don't even list the state they live in, but if the Colt he saw was in NC, and was a PP Target, I'd like to look at it! I've always wanted one of those.

The WRF is a fine round, I often shoot it out of the .22 magnum cylinder of my Colt New Frontier. Less bang than the magnums, more punch than the long rifle .22's.

 

[mod34]

I'm headed back over there tomorrow to pick up a little 3" 317 prelock I got off the forum. I'll give it a bit more scrutiny at that time. I've also sent a note to the shop indicating that they may have this little gem tagged wrong.
Stay tuned for details.

 

[mod34]

......as an aside, can .22LR be fired in .22 WRF?

BB, I'm in NC by the way.

 

[Terry C]

......as an aside, can .22LR be fired in .22 WRF?

BB, I'm in NC by the way.

No, the cases will split.

 

[Bullet Bob]

.22 LR case is slightly smaller in diameter than the WRF, so they should not be fired in guns chambered in .22 WRF or .22 magnum.

So; is this gun near Surry County?

 

[wetdog]

Here's a pic that shows the difference. I also have a Win. model 90 and a Rem. model 12 pump rifles in this caliber.Notice on the Remington box WRF and Remington Special. Remington called it the Remington Special and the Remington rifle is stamped as such for caliber.
The bullets left to right- .22 lr, .22 WRF, .22 Mag.

Police Positive in .22 WRF, S/N 2605 from about 1910.

 

[Walter Rego]

A nice Colt Police Positive Target Model in .22 WRF has been on my short list for a long time. A local gun store had a nice condition example at a reasonable price. When I took it out of the case to look at it I was heartbroken to see a big, crudely done drivers license number electro pencilled on the right side of the frame. Arrrgh !
They had it for a couple of years, finally someone bought it.