Reloading the .22lr

[Qball]

Any one tried this?

Sharpshooter 22 Long Rifle Reloader - 22LR Reloader

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to reload with blackpowder
for them old revolvers

 

[David Sinko]

I reload Berdan primed steel cases. I reload the .25 ACP. And I reload that awful 5.7x28 FN cartridge. As one who is well versed in masochistic reloading practices, I draw the line at reloading the .22 rimfire. I have no desire to cast .22 heel based bullets or crush match heads into priming compound, only to have a 20% failure rate. Paying $50 for a brick of .22 LR seems much more reasonable to me.

Dave Sinko

 

[rwsmith]

Well, I got into reloading....

Well, I got into reloading out of curiosity and it ended up being a necessity. And it's nice to know that it CAN be done if need be.


I think though, that I would get a small caliber centerfire rifle like a .22 hornet, a bunch of brass and bullets and reload that.

 

[k22fan]

This reminds me of the kits that were sold in the early 1980s for making your own percussion caps out of beer cans. That was another project for retired men who were running out of things to do to fill their time.

Here's the sensible solution, just add an RCBS bullet mold:

[...] I think though, that I would get a small caliber centerfire rifle like a .22 hornet, a bunch of brass and bullets and reload that.

I've only known one shooter who reloaded .22 rimfire and he did not start with fired cases. He pulled the bullets out of .22 WRM, poured in his own powder then seated a match bullet. He fired them in a scoped Thompson Center Contender in 100 yard Hunter Metallic Silhouette matches and did quite well.

 

[6string]

This is such a great idea!
I'd like to see this applied to some of the discontinued rimfire cartridges such as the 22 extra long, 25 Stevens, 44 Henry, etc.
There are some great old guns out there looking to go "BANG" once again!
Thanks for sharing!!

Jim

 

[Qball]

This is such a great idea!
I'd like to see this applied to some of the discontinued rimfire cartridges such as the 22 extra long, 25 Stevens, 44 Henry, etc.
There are some great old guns out there looking to go "BANG" once again!
Thanks for sharing!!

Jim

These fellars make some obsolete rounds
Reloading for antique firearms

As for .22lr, i was more thinking of making blackpowder rounds for older revolvers
defenatly not to feed a 10-22

 

[Magload]

I am to old to even start to load a box of 22LR this way.

 

[H Richard]

I can reload .32 Longs and 38 Special now cheaper than the cost of 22 LR.

 

[Bugkiller99]

.38 spl is the new .22 LR. A pinch of BE over 158 cast LSWC IS cheaper than 22 LR. About the same recoil. And a heck of lot easier to find.

 

[Magload]

Then I am going to love the Special Edition GP100 I bought.

 

[DWalt]

This is such a bad idea on so many levels it defies all logic to even see someone offer it for sale. One would be so much better off taking the money people would have to spend for the kit and the supplies and buying .22 ammunition with it, even at gouger prices. One would also be much better off using some sort of black powder muzzle loading rifle or cap and ball revolver instead of this abomination.

On the other hand, it does make a limited amount of sense to reload some of the obsolete rimfire cartridges such as the .56 Spencer or .44 Henry - assuming you had some fired cases to reload. But who has those?

Many, many years ago, I did some reloading of .30-30 cartridges using black powder and reloaded fired primers using toy cap gun caps. Remove the primer, remove the anvil, flatten the primer cup using a punch and hammer to pound out the firing pin indent, cutting the powder out of a cap using scissors, pushing it into the primer cup, replacing the anvil, and re-seating the primer into the case primer pocket. I had quite a few fired .30 Carbine bullets I used as projectiles. It actually did work, but I wouldn't bother today. It was far more work than the results justified.

 

[Garintheair]

I reload Berdan primed steel cases. I reload the .25 ACP. And I reload that awful 5.7x28 FN cartridge. As one who is well versed in masochistic reloading practices, I draw the line at reloading the .22 rimfire. I have no desire to cast .22 heel based bullets or crush match heads into priming compound, only to have a 20% failure rate. Paying $50 for a brick of .22 LR seems much more reasonable to me.

Dave Sinko

Paying $15.00 for a brick of .22 seems even more reasonable to me...!

I'm still under 50 but I remember paying $1.00 per box at K-Mart back in the day.

 

[DWalt]

The last .22 LR ammo I bought was exactly $15/brick. Some guy at a gun show had four bricks of old (1970s) Remington ammo on his table for that price, just before the panic hit after the 2012 CT shootings. I bought them all. Remington made good .22 ammo back then.

 

[k22fan]

Over the last 45 years I have handled but not bought many Swiss Vetterli .41 rimfire rifles. The cartridge was made in the U.S. by Remington and others but never reintroduced after WW II. I only buy guns that I think I will enjoy firing so you can see the problem. If it could be found seventy year old brass would have to be annealed or it would just split on the first reload. If the split was near the rear you'd better be wearing shooting glasses! Mauser's gas diverting engineering was still ~ 29 years in the future when Vetterlis went into service. Like DeWalt wrote, even if this was practical for old remfire guns we'd first need a source of new rimfire brass.

For those of you not familiar with Vetterlis they were a 12 shot tube magazine bolt action adopted by Switzerland in 1869. They launched a 350 grain bullet at around 1,400 fps which out ranged Henery and Spencer repeaters. The Spencer was closer to it than the Henry but Spencers had to be cocked after chambering a cartridge.

 

[DWalt]

I have understood that most of the old .41 Vetterli rifles were brought over by the waves of European immigrants coming into America after the Civil War. I think there was also a CF version of the .41 Vetterli. Apparently the rifle was present in large enough numbers here that .41 ammunition was loaded for it by American companies.

 

[rwsmith]

Does this mean?

Does this mean that we are going to be buying once shot brass for .22s?

 

[k22fan]

In the 1980s it was common to see Swiss Vetterlis that were converted to center fire after they got to the U.S. My foggy memory is that center fire cases were made that matched the original chamber. I never did see one of those cases. The Italians adopted center fire Verterlis but their military geniuses did not want the magazine. Later a box magazie was added to Italian Veterlis. The attractions to Swiss Vertterlis are that in their day they were the most advanced militarty rifle and I reload for Schmidt Rubins.

Does this mean that we are going to be buying once shot brass for .22s?

Yup. They’ll be on gun show tables packaged in old tea bags at gouger prices.

 

[DWalt]

In the 1980s it was common to see Swiss Vetterlis that were converted to center fire after they got to the U.S. My foggy memory is that center fire cases were made that matched the original chamber. I never did see one of those cases. The Italians adopted center fire Verterlis but their military geniuses did not want the magazine. Later a box magazie was added to Italian Veterlis.

Long ago I had an Italian Vetterli-Vitalli rifle which had a very long barrel. It was chambered in 6.5mm Carcano (using the standard Italian military clip), and I think it had been somehow modified to 6.5mm from some other caliber. It's been so long ago I don't remember details, other than I think I paid about $10 for it. I fired it only a few times as the military ammo I had for it had a very high dud rate. It was really an ugly ungainly rifle, definitely similar in appearance to the Swiss.

 

[RobertJ.]

.38 spl is the new .22 LR

I like this statement!

Even though I was one of the few who actually stocked up long before any kind of a shortage, and have more than enough .22 ammo to keep me shooting the rest of my life, I still feel better about shooting 100 rounds of .38 Special than I do about shooting up my precious .22 LR!

My dad blew up a .22 rifle. He was pulling bullets, increasing powder charges, and then re-seating the bullets. I was in my early 20's at the time, and actually advised him against it!

I'd stop shooting .22 LR altogether if I had to try to reload them, and I can't see me doing it even as a novelty.

 

[Qball]

Well.. as soon as i find me $150 in a sock drawer
i'm buying a set, just for the fun in owning a set