LR Ammo in a WMR Cylinder

[Whit]

Question for the knowledgeable members of this forum. Will shooting 22 LR ammo in a 22 Mag cylinder do any harm to the revolver or is it dangerous to the shooter? I've heard that a case might split when doing so. If so, would it harm the charge hole in which it occurred? Educate me.

A friend who once owned a gun shop routinely fired LR's in a mag cylinder, or at least he said he did. I never personally witnessed him doing so.

Your experience/advise is welcomed. Blessings to you all.

 

[Rudi]

I have wondered about this. Like .38s in a .357?

 

[sigp220.45]

I reamed out a Model 63 to .22 Magnum, and tried some LRs in it just for fun. They worked fine, the cases swelled a bit but extracted ok, and it seemed like they lost some oomph.

 

[merl67]

I have wondered about this. Like .38s in a .357?

It isn't the same the only difference in 38spl vs 357 mag is mags are about an 1/8 inch longer
22 mag cases are larger in diameter the bullets are also different diameter.
I personally would not recommend it, but as long as you are on your own property, and not on a public range have at it, just don't blame the gun or ammo if something goes south....

 

[Wyo]

I had the 22 WMR cylinder in an old Ruger Single Six one time but thought it was the .22LR cylinder. Fired a hundred rounds or so of .22LR in the magnum cylinder and noticed accuracy was terrible and cases were swelled. Kept on shootin', though, until it dawned on me what was happening. Felt mighty stupid but no harm done otherwise.

 

[Fishinfool]

I have one of those early Freedom Arms mini 4 shot .22 mag revolvers. One day, I decided to try shooting .22lr ammo out of it. All chambered and fired. All the fired brass was swelled and sticky getting out of the cylinder. Then I noticed one was split right down to the rim. Decided not worth the risk of damaging the gun or me.

Larry

 

[steelslaver]

Accuracy loss ir probably from 22 bullet having some space in first part of chamber and powder blast escaping past it until it hits the forcing cone. Poor start, poor finish

 

[robvious]

sometimes there is a big difference between can't and shouldn't... sometimes when their paths cross it hurts..
your choice..

 

[Eagle 477]

I have an H&R .22 revolver that has both a LR and mag cylinder Pill the pin on the crane install what ever cylinder you want and plink away.

Rob

 

[PALADIN85020]

The lower gun is an old model Ruger Super Single Six with interchangeable cylinders for .22 LR and .22 WMR (the top one is the standard "flat gate" standard old model Single Six chambered for .22 LR).

The .22 LR revolvers had a bore diameter of .216". Those chambered for the .22 WMR had a bore diameter of .223". The chambers were reamed to match the specific rounds.

When interchangeable cylinders (.22 LR and .22 WMR) came along, Ruger used a "compromise" bore diameter of .219, beginning in November 1959. This seemed to work well enough for either round.

These guns belong to me - and I would never try to fire .22 LR in a .22 WMR cylinder due to the danger of a case splitting and venting gas who knows where.

John

 

[MNruss]

I think you'll find the groove diameter of 22 LR about 0.223 and the groove diameter of 22 WMR about 0.224.
Not a dangerous difference at all, but not recommended.

Russ

 

[gregintenn]

Why do you suppose they make interchangeable cylinders?

 

[glenncal1]

.22 WMR is actually a magnum version of an old rimfire cartridge the .22 Winchester Rimfire (.22 WRF). I don't understand the reason some people always want to shoot some other cartridge than the one the gun is chambered for. Not talking about .38 in a .357 or the .32 and .44 straight wall cartridges. Why take a chance.

 

[rockquarry]

Their is a big difference in neck diameter of the cartridges. I've never had a .22 magnum, but I would bet accuracy is poor when shooting LR in a magnum chamber. The difference in bullet diameter has already been mentioned. You probably won't damage a gun, but it still seems like a poor idea.

 

[s&wchad]

Question for the knowledgeable members of this forum. Will shooting 22 LR ammo in a 22 Mag cylinder do any harm to the revolver or is it dangerous to the shooter?

Yes, shooting 22 LR in a .22 Magnum Rimfire chamber can damage the gun. Doing it in a revolver or semi-automatic pistol or rifle can injure the shooter or bystanders, if the case head ruptures. According SAAMI specs, .22 LR can create up to 24,000 PSI.

 

[AJ]

Had a friend that was having problems with a Stevens 416 rifle he owned. Every .22 LR he fired in it either split or badly bulged the casing. Had him try a .22 Magnum in it and it chambered. So someone at sometime wanted a .22 Mag and bored the chamber. Another friend now owns it and uses only .22 Mag in it and says that is is very accurate.

So I say.....Yes, it can be done.....But No, don't do it.

 

[jrm53]

Several years ago I was going to shoot my Model 29 S&W and I got what I thought was 44 mags and loaded the cylinder and shot them and they were hard to eject, I got them out and they were all split. What I had got was 41 mags and never looked I have never done that again. It was like a 22 long rifle in a 22 mag cylinder. Jeff

 

[GaryS]

When I bought my first 351C I asked that exact question in this very same forum. The advice was unanimous that it was a bad idea and there was serious risk of damage to the gun.

 

[sigp220.45]

I would love to see a .22 Magnum damaged by firing a .22 Long Rifle in it!

There's really no reason to do it, unless it's the apocalypse, but people do it all the time and I've never seen any disasters result.

Not exactly the same but some of you guys should check out "The little .410 that could" on Youtube. By part VI they are shooting .444 Marlins and .454 Casulls in a cheap Brazilian .410 single shot. It worked fine, and the full choke .410 never stretched out past its original bore size of .387.

 

[Steve912]

Why do you suppose they make interchangeable cylinders?

Ok, I'll bite.

How do the multi-cylinder revolvers handle the
slight diameter variance?

Long, slow-taper forcing cone, with bore
optimized for .22LR?