Subsonic .22 mag?

[Ironclad]

I apologize if this is a silly question. I have zero experience hand loading.

I tried out .22 lr subsonic the other day and I love it because its so darn quiet and it doesn't scare everything in the woods.

It got me wondering if you could feasibly put about an 80 gr. bullet in a .22 magnum case over enough powder to push it at around 1100 fps?

Near as I can figure that would give you a little over 200 ft lbs of muzzle energy, which is double what the .22 lr subsonics give you. It would be nice to have that extra power in the woods.

Is this even remotely possible? And if it is, would it be anywhere near as quiet as a .22 lr subsonic?

 

[rcmodel]

No, not remotely.

First, nobody makes reloading dies for rimfire cartridges.

Second, there is no published load data for any rimfire caliber, so even making a guess where to start would be dangerous.

Third, it is doubtful the standard 1/14" .22 WMR rifling twist would stablize a sub-sonic 80 grain bullet.

rc

 

[GLOOB]

Twist rate is wrong, for sure. When you get a projectile that long, it needs a much higher twist rate.

But if you had the bullets, I think it would be possible. And I think it would be just as quiet.

Pull the bullets, dump half the powder, bell the cases with a universal expanding die, seat the new bullets using a press and your imagination. Then do all that safety jazz. Put on your welding gear, put the rifle in a vice, run a string to the trigger and pull it from the safety of your underground concrete bunker.

 

[Ironclad]

Crap my bunker isn't finished yet. So your saying the bullet would just tumble around and have really bad accuracy?

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, if you could even mange to do it. Theoretically possible, but since we really don't know what burn rate or amount of powder to use, it would be highly experimental. Best left to seasoned reloaders who like to take chances..

 

[[email protected]]

First you would have to pull the bullet. There are two types of bullet pullers. One is the inerita hammer type that catches the case's rim and uses the bullet's weight to pull it from the case. There are no collets available to fit the 22wmr so you would have to make one, but you would be using the rim of a rimfire case to hold the case. The next type uses the press and a collet to hold the bullet as you lower the ram. The shell holder secures the case to the ram by catching the cases rim, once agian there are no known shell holders for the 22wmr so you could make one that catches the rim of a rimfire case. Both of these options are extreamely dangerous so get aflac before you try them. You could try to pull with pliers, but this would misshape the case mouth and it would need resizing. I just cant see where the risk is worth the reward.

 

[colonelhogan44]

Sounds like a job for the .22 hornet, maybe? Get a custom barrel with a really tight twist and knock yourself out.

 

[Old Shooter]

If you did something along the lines of what GLOOB suggested, weigh the powder you remove from the case and lessen it by 10% then get your string and the bunker ready. It might be embarassing to dump too much powder out and wind up with that jacketed bullet stuck halfway up the barrel. The 22 Hornet would be the way I'd rather go.

 

[Ironclad]

That's a bummer. Maybe with a .22 hornet? But I reckon you'd still have the tumbling issue.

 

[Ironclad]

Oops didnt read the last replies before I posted that

 

[MaterDei]

what a great question. I'd go with Old Shooter's recommendation and just reduce factory loads by 10% until you either get a subsonic round or a round stuck in your barrel.

 

[Ironclad]

Assuming there was a safe way to pull the bullets, could a heavier, longer bullet on top of a 90% load increase pressure beyond a safe level? I figure with twice the weight you'd also have twice the length and therefore a lot more surface area to create friction, backin up the pressure a lot. But like I said, I only know two things about reloading - jack & s**t.

Problem with .22 hornet is that the rifles chambered for it look like theyre awful expensive for a just a draggin through the woods gun.

 

[Walkalong]

I only know two things about reloading - jack & s**t.

Best left to seasoned reloaders

The .22 Hornet is a great caliber. I have downloaded it, but never tried real heavy bullets. I would have to check the twist rate, but I doubt it is faster than 1 in 12, and more likely 1 in 14. No way it would stabilize heavy bullets. You could always custom barrel one.

 

[rcmodel]

IMO:
Removing 10% of the powder and increasing the bullet weight and bearing surface by 200% sounds like a sure fire receipe for a blown case rim.
At the very least.

Don't even try it.

rc

 

[Landric]

You can get an H&R Handi-Rifle in .22 Hornet for less than $300, the synthetic stock version would be perfect for knocking around the woods.

My solution would be a reduced velocity cast bullet rather than trying to go super heavy. Cast bullets are less likely to get stuck at reduced velocities and there is plenty of data out there for .22 Hornet, much better than trying to wing it with a rimfire.

 

[suemarkp]

Which subsonic did you use? Aguila makes a 22LR subsonic round that has a much heavier bullet (60gr I think, and called the subsonic sniper - SSS). Some guns will stabilize it, and others will not. But it is much cheaper to experiment with 22LR's than 22 Magnums -- both in loaded ammo selection and the price of the guns.

Few 22 center fires have fast enough twist to deal with long heavy 223 bullets, and they need to go max speed to do it. You'd need a 1-7 twist and probably velocity higher than 2500 ft/sec to stabilize a 70-80gr bullet.

An alternative approach is to pick different cartridge that was intended to be slow and has heavy bullets for its caliber. Something like 32 S&W Long / 32 H&R magnum w/100gr bullets, or 38 Special / 357 Magnum with 140-180gr bullets. The larger caliber will be more effective, the slow speed will be quiet, and the heavy weight will help for penetration and velocity retention since you are velocity limited. A long barrel and low pressure round are what you need for quiet.

 

[Nikdfish]

Yea, the Aquila SSS is a 60 grain subsonic with the same overall length as a a long rifle cartridge. I like shooting them from an AR15 with a 1 in 9 twist upper & a .22 conversion. They seem to like the 1 in 9...


Nick