.22 mag

22wmr in both the ruger single six and heritage roughrider offers a bit more accuracy and oomph than 22lr for home and camp protection. the hrr is ok as a new budget handgun but i wouldn’t trust a used one. i got rid of a ruger lcr 22wmr as it was too much flashbang for only six rounds, but a well liked lcr 22lr is a ccw sometimes. my favorite rss is actually a 5.5” “single eight,” which came to me used missing the 22wmr cylinder. i got a 22wmr eight shot replacement cylinder from midway. $20 of gunsmith fluff and buff, plus 100 fast teething rounds and my ruger single eight has become a scarey accurate, forever handgun.

It is a mistake to assume that one can just use a centerfire instead of a 22 Magnum.

earlthegoat2 said:

It is a mistake to assume that one can just use a centerfire instead of a 22 Magnum.

Click to expand...

Indeed, I remember going with the guys to an Idaho man-camp. Everyone was 30-06 vs 308 vs 270, and boy did they laugh at me and my .22 wmr. I had 6 squirrels and 2 rabbits before noontime the next day. No one ever laughed again.

I have a S&W Model 18 with both the 22lr and 22WMR cylinders. I really love the trigger pull on this revolver. For a rifle, I have a T/C contender carbine barrel. In my home state, you cannot hunt with a rifle larger than a .22 rimfire on state land. I do alot of coyote hunting on state land, and the .22 mag is just the ticket for called in coyotes out to 75 yards. I mostly use the T/C during inclement weather, on nice days I use a .36 caliber muzzle loader with PRB.

I did a bunch of research on this, my wife wanted something with a little more excitement than a .22lr but the 9mm carbines we looked at were either physically a little heavy for her comfort, or had a surprising amount of recoil.

For semi auto rifles the CZ 512 seemed the nicest out of the rifles we looked it and it comes in both traditional and tactical looks. It felt like a quality gun. We didn’t fire one though, decided to hold off for now. Looking at other options besides .22 mag.

I haven’t seen one in person but FYI, EAA makes a .22wmr bullpup that looks neat.

I went through the exact same search for the 10/22 in WMR, but the guns i found were in the $1500 range - too rich for my blood! After looking around, i found the rifle made by Magnum Research. I own and love a couple of their Desert Eagle line of firearms and heard great things about it. It’s actually built on the 10/22 receiver and uses Ruger magazines - and comes in under $700. When my FFL pulled it out to let me inspect it, he said emphatically “This rifle is art!”

I bought it for me, but now its me and my eldest son’s (8 years old) favorite way to spend a few hours at the range. It’s super accurate even at 100 yards. Its become a favorite and almost never even makes it back into the safe. I highly recommend checking it out.

Here’s a link:
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/411540484

Regarding 22 WMR semi-automatic rifles, the BRNO 611 is an outstanding piece of craftsmanship, IME. They are of excellent, machined, all-steel quality, and a joy to shoot.

Alte Schule said:

PMR 30 with Burris Fast Fire III. From bench I can get 2-3 inch groups at 50 yards. Kel Tec provides a list of ammo to avoid but mine will eat everything but Armscor. I also have the carbine model the CMR 30.
Had the Ruger LCR in .22 Magnum but it was just to snappy for me to get decent followup shots. Nice pistol though.

Click to expand...

How's reliability on your CMR been? For some reason that gun really interests me.

bassjam said:

How's reliability on your CMR been? For some reason that gun really interests me.

Click to expand...

So far I've only put two magazines, 62 rounds, of CCI Maxi Mags through it. Standing, using the pop up sights and brace fully extended, I was constantly ringing the dinner bell on a steel plate at 75 yards w/o a hiccup. It's railed for an optic so I'm debating on getting a modestly priced scope or go with another red dot. I'm in no hurry as we've had so much rain here my go to outdoor range with the 100 yard targets has been impossible to get to since last October.

I have owned several .22 Mag. revolvers and a couple rifles. Currently have a Ruger American Compact rifle and Single Six revolver. I can recommend both as relatively inexpensive and good quality little .22 Magnums. I've always liked the .22 WMR just because it has a little more umph than .22 LR. The extra "umph" is more apparent in the rifle. I realize I'm in that tiny minority of shooters who shoot more .22 Mag than .22LR, but so be it.

I had one of the original 10/22 in .22 WMR. Ruger tried to fix it twice. Third time back they gave me the option of any rimfire Ruger made at the time. I chose a 77/22 All Weather in .22 WMR. Though no longer made, it is still my favorite rimfire rifle. Today, I would be looking at a SS Marlin tube feed bolt action .22 WMR if I could not find an older Ruger. In handguns, the single six is the deal. Get one with adjustable sights though. Cause you just never know.

It is simply unamerican to deny yourself a Ruger Single Six

.22 shorts, long, long rifle, and magnum.
A great gun in every aspect.

I6turbo said:

My CZ 452 Lux in 22 WMR is one of my favorite guns to shoot and would be one of the last guns I'd voluntarily get rid of.

View attachment 848263

Click to expand...

That is the only 22 mag rifle I might be interested in acquiring these days. I have a Marlin in 22 mag and a number of revolvers chambered for it. I think the 22 mag is THE survival caliber in the woods (lower 48).

Several years ago I brought a Taurus 8 shot short barrel 22 Magnum revolver for my wife hoping she would like it for self-defense. Turned out the trigger pull was too heavy for her but since I have quit selling / trading off guns it laid on a shelf forgotten about. It is very accurate and reliable with Speer Gold Dot ammunition.

I really like using military surplus ammo cans for storing guns, ammo and gear and last year remembered the Taurus. I packed 500 rounds of ammunition, the gun in a inexpensive nylon holster, a polymer ammo pouch made by Marbles (?) that holds 30 rounds and clips to the belt and some earplugs in a 30 caliber ammo can. It makes for a really nice range and bug-out package.

Most rimfires have a pretty stiff double action (DA) trigger. I have stuck to Colt and S&W mostly for my rimfire revolvers even though they also have a pretty strong factory trigger. My best DA 22 mag revolver is a Colt Trooper Mark III. I have handled Taurus 22 revolvers in shops more than a few times and always sit them back down.

I've got a couple, Remington 597

and a High Standard Derringer (I can't find a pic of mine so I stole this off GunBroker)

Think the .22mag a dandy little cartridge. For groundhogs to 75 yards.....light and trim rifle. For IHMSA field pistol class ( ran a Smith 648 ).....worked great.

Used that 648 on chucks too. Cheaper to finish one off with ( than hitting up close w a finely crafted .243 win handload ). Toting my 700…..... The little Smith was used a few times outright on close ones to good effect.

Dont think the .22 mag useless. Found it very useful but kinda specific.

Yes.....as a plinker its expensive. But then buying a good revolver costs more than a Ruger 22/45 too.

FWIW my idea of plinking is shooting pop cans or clays on the bank (pcs of them too)...at distance.

Some sort of challenge.

Not throwing promo ammo into the dirt. But folks buy promo ammo by the bucket so WTH do I know.

I have two .22 mag firearms....a rifle and a pistol. The rifle is a Marlin takedown. Scoped, it is fine for Autumn turkeys.
The pistol is a PMR 30.....i really like this gun. It has been completely reliable with any ammo that I have used. It is accurate, easy to carry, and LOUD. A nice piece, happy that I bought it.

We have a gentleman who shoots a PMR30 and CMR-20 rifle. Both are pretty jam prone. Perhaps some individual guns and ammo combos work. Just saying for your info. Not that other guns don't jam.

Hookeye said:

Think the .22mag a dandy little cartridge. For groundhogs to 75 yards.....light and trim rifle. For IHMSA field pistol class ( ran a Smith 648 ).....worked great.

Dont think the .22 mag useless. Found it very useful but kinda specific.

Yes.....as a plinker its expensive. But then buying a good revolver costs more than a Ruger 22/45 too.

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I don't think .22 Mag is useless either, I just think for serious defensive use a .32 is better. More expensive? Sure, but it's not outrageously more. In rifles... yeah, the price to go into something like .32 Mag/.327 or .22 Hornet is exceptionally more than .22 Mag and that's the one reason I think .22 Mag rifles stay so popular: they're cheap to buy.

The ammo is a different story tho, when the last panic happened it took years for the .22 Mag ammo I wanted to get back in stock. Speer GD and Hornady Critical Defense was impossible to get for my revolvers and, while I wasn't looking to see what was available for other .22 Mag ammo, if there's a specific ammo that shoots best in a rifle you own, I'd hold out no hopes that you'll be able to find that ammo anywhere in the next panic. When demand spikes due to panics, the rimfire manufacturers stop producing .22 Mag and change over the machines to make more .22 LR because there's a LOT more demand for .22 LR than their is .22 Mag and they're VERY slow to change over the machines back to .22 Mag.

With the .32's and .22 Hornet being centerfire, you don't have to worry about not being able to feed them your handloads.

I wonder..........

if there is a shortage of 22 mag ammo..............

who would go out and just burn what ammo they have?

Maybe there are some folks that shoot a lot, have only a .22 mag firearm.

If they don't stock up, or buy something else to keep going..............that's on them.

Yeah, life gets in the way and sometimes we don't plan ahead, or think we have stuff we don't.

When the ,22 mag panic hit, guy bought a Smith Airweight.
Got a box of Hornady, loved it.
No other to be had anywhere.

So I sold him what I had.

I remember when .380 acp was hard to get too.
Should buy a couple hundred to set back.

I don't even have a .22 mag at the moment.
But there's a couple hundred WW in the cabinet.
In case ai find a cool little rifle.
Might just get a CZ bbl and swap my 455 over.

Or just buy another CZ

Sometimes ya just want to walk the creek bank w a rimfire.