Tell me about the .22 WMR

[Lovesbeer99]

What's the purpose of this cartridge? Is this a target/accuracy round, a hunting round or a pest/varmint round. I was looking at a single shot recently but when I checked the price of a box of ammo I was shocked. A box of .38 spl cost less. So what the .22 WMR for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[splattergun]

.22 WMR aka 22 magnum is a varmint and small game hunting round.
Current high cost of ammo is, IMO, tied to the general .22 ammo situation.
Shop around. You can find better prices.

 

[DM~]

A box of 22WMR here cost about 10 bucks, for 50 rounds. I can't buy 38spl's for that, here....not even close.

BUT, i love my 22mags, they have plenty of power for bigger pest, even at longer ranges. They shoot a heavier bullet faster than most 22LR's and that means quite a bit more power.

I love mine for hunting and pest control AND, the bast part is, i don't have to reload them!!

DM

 

[krupparms]

Before this ammunition shortage, .22mag. was cheaper to use on varmints that needed just a little more power. Great for trapping also. I knew a trapper that used one for years! He brought home quite a number of hides & swore by it! I just picked up some Hornady C.D. 45gr. F.X.T. for $13.00 a box! I saw .38SPL. for $24.00 a box! I use both, & will be saving some & shooting some. Paid $11.00 a box for .22mag. Win. Dynapoints in September. That's not bad for this rd.considering the niche it fills!

 

[45lcshooter]

During the shortage of 22lr. 22WMR(22 MAG) were still on the shelf and at their normal prices. Most of the reason why rimfire is becoming more expensive is because its 1 firing and your done. Ive read other places online that you can make a primer paste and put back into a rimfire shell and load i with powder and make a bullet and reloading rimfire shells. Me personally haven't got that scared yet to do that, because i don't blow through my ammo. My 22MAG ammo has only increased from 10.99 per 50 to the most expensive ive seen it was 15.99 per 50. When it was 10.99 i was already hording it, so i have a few thousand rounds. And my 22MAg of choice is Hornady VMAX

 

[Carl N. Brown]

It is not a target round since cardboard reacts the same to .22 WMR as it does to .22 LR. And in normal times .22 LR is very inexpensive. .22 WMR is a hunting and pest control round that offers more power and slightly longer range than .22 LR. On the other hand, if you are hunting squirrel or rabbit at 25 to 50 yards, .22 LR is about all one really needs.

.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire actually has about 50% higher velocity than the .22 LR and double the impact energy (since e=mv[sup]2[/sup].) The higher velocity is the big advantage of .22 WMR over .22 Long Rifle.

Bullet weight of .22 LR hollowpoint tends to be 36-37 gr. Most 22 WMR hollow point I have is 40gr, same weight as .22 LR solid and most .22 WMR full metal jacket solid bullets. I also have some .22 WMR with 45gr and 50gr bullets.

Historical note, .22 WMR was developed in 1959 as an improvement on the .22Winchester Rimfire or .22 WRF, which was introduced in 1890 to compete with .22 Extra Long and .22 Long Rifle. When high velocity .22 LR loaded with smokeless powder was introduced, it took some luster off the .22 WRF.

 

[chicharrones]

I got into the .22 WMR not long ago, but before the current rimfire ammo shortage. At the time .22 WMR was a great answer for the shooter that doesn't want to reload, but wanted something flatter shooting and faster than the .22 LR. Many .22 WMR ammo types don't require any elevation changes on your sights or scope from 50 to 100 yards.

Fast and accurate Hornady Vmax or CCI Vmax is a very nice 100 yard cartridge out of a rifle which was cheaper than 5.56 brass cased centerfire ammo before the shortage.

Right now, it really doesn't seem to make sense to jump into buying a gun in .22 WMR if you don't already have another gun chambered for it. Not counting a revolver with swappable cylinders, of course.

 

[Uncle Mike]

We hunt squirrel with it, some say it's over powered for that quarry but it allows for those 100y shots....you know, the house cat sized red squirrel perched out on a limb that somehow sees you 100y away and is bitchin about it. Use the standard velocity 40 gr FMJ for them though.

Saves sneaking in so much also, and I'm getting too old for all that.

 

[Radagast]

Rabbits & hares are pretty much dead right there at 85 yards. Not as accurate as the .17HMR in my guns (I have CZ452s in .22lr, .22 magnum & .17hmr) Its still my preferred round.

 

[witchhunter]

.22 magnum is a hunting round. It has more energy for hunting than a 22LR. I have a S&W 651 kit gun in my pack right now, a box of ammo and I am GTG. This is what I carry in the woods. It will kill anything I run accross in my area.

 

[ECVMatt]

As others have said, the .22 Mag is more of a hunters round. I like it because it is a huge step up from the .22LR on bigger game such as racoons, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. It also puts rabbits, prairie dogs, and similar sized animals down with authority. I have found the .22 mag to be quite accurate, with the .17 HMR edging it out at distance. I use the .22 mag in places where the .223 or .22-250 might be too loud and the shooting is generally close, like within a 100 yards. I also use the .22 Mag in my Ruger Single Six as a camping and protection round when camped in the desert. I have tested some of the newer SD type rounds and have come away impressed. I haven't got to try these type of rounds on bigger predators yet, but now is the season and I have managed to stock up on some ammo so we will see.

 

[Oleson]

I prefer the .22 mag over the .22 LR on small game (fox and down).
That little extra "umpfh" is nice to have. And in Norway you can use .22 on "animals up to the size of a [mountain] hare, but not hare." So for anything bigger than hare, and smaller than a beaver, .22 mag is perfect. IMHO.

 

[Dr T]

For me, the 22 WRM has about 25-30 yards more effective range than a 22 lr: I will use a 22 lr on jack rabbits out to 85 to 100 yards, and a 22 WRM out to 100 to 130 yards. For larger than jackrabbits, the range goes down. For example, I would take a turkey at 75 yards. (And, I have heard of people using the 22 WRM on small whitetails out to 45 yards.)

However, I think that the 22 WRM really shines as a handgun cartridge.

 

[Glock19Fan]

A lot of different opinions in this thread, but here is mine-

I am a big fan of the .22 Magnum. For small game hunting and pest control, if you can hit it, the .22 Mag will kill it. It has around three times the power of your standard .22LR. It will push a 40 grain bullet close to 2000 FPS compared to the .22LR at around 1250 FPS.

There is also quite a selection of bullets available for the .22 Mag. There are 25 grain bullets which can approach 2400 FPS all the way to 50 grain bullets which are around 1600 FPS. For me, the 40 to 45 grain bullets seem to be the best all around bullet weight.

I did some testing in ballistic gelatin last year with the .22 Mag. The most impressive round was the 40 grain Gold Dot (fairly new), which displayed heavy fragmentation and great expansion (over .40 caliber!). The second best was the relatively new Hornady 45 grain FTX, which also fragmented well but most importantly it held together for the most part and mushroomed very similar to your classic .30 caliber hunting rifles. I tested several others, but one that stuck out to me was Hornadys 25 grain lead free Ballistic Tip. It exploded on impact with only 5 inches of so of penetration but the devastation was pretty impressive. However, it has been my experience that ballistic tips in general for this caliber do not perform well at all past 75 yards. They lose velocity very quickly and have more trouble than any other design when it comes to expansion at low velocities.

My overall top recommendations for this caliber would be the 40 grain Speer Gold Dot and the 45 grain Hornady FTX. The Gold Dot would be best for small game such as rabbits and squirrel but because of the deeper penetration and nice expanded mushroom of the FTX Hornady I think it would be better for larger game such as coyotes and fox. But more importantly I would use whatever shoots best for you.

Overall, the .22 Magnum is a great caliber for varmints and small game up to 40 pounds or so out to 100-150 yards. It has no recoil, and is easy to shoot without hearing protection. Ammo is fairly cheap and easy to find, and advanced technology designs previously used for high powered rifles is now being used for the .22 Magnum, where as the .22LR is stuck with simple lead hollow points. I would highly recommend this caliber and for me its one that I will probably never get rid of.

 

[arspeukinen]

.17hmr is better and .22lr is much cheaper.

A .22wmr derringer or mini revolver would be fun, or a pmr-30.

 

[DM~]

.17hmr is better and .22lr is much cheaper.

22LR ammo IS cheaper, it's cheaper than 17hmr's too...

BUT, in MY experience, the 17hmr is NOT better for bigger animals, especially when the ranges get longer.

On bigger animals, i get more penetration and faster kills with the 22 mag. than i got with the 17.

I no longer even own a 17, but i still have several 22WMR's.

DM

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I have been thinking about getting a 22WMR rifle lately.
I like the heavier bullet over the 17 and have been told it performs better than the 17 on our big coyotes out here.

 

[aka108]

I have a 22WMR but don't shoot it much. I have plenty of 223 brass and can reload for just a little more than the WMR costs and get a lot more for the money. If I ever shoot up the 22WMR ammo I have the rifle will go down the road to someone else.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

What's the purpose of this cartridge? Is this a target/accuracy round, a hunting round or a pest/varmint round. I was looking at a single shot recently but when I checked the price of a box of ammo I was shocked. A box of .38 spl cost less. So what the .22 WMR for?

Thanks in advance.

The purpose was to develop a .22 with a higher energy/longer effective range than the .22 LR. At 100 yards, the .22 WMR still has the same energy as a .22 LR at the muzzle.

It is an outstanding small game/varmint hunting round because of that.

The first rifle I ever bought was a Marlin 783 bolt action .22 Magnum...and it was one heck of an accurate/powerful .22 for anything you'd ever consider using a .22 for.

 

[Mike1234567]

Not to derail but have you heard of the Winchester .17 SMR? It's a very potent round for rimfire. I won't buy one right now because it hasn't really caught on yet. But if it ever does start selling and the ammo is cheap, "rimfire cheap", then I just might especially if they offer a .22 caliber version.

 

[Radagast]

Heard of it, but it appears to be dead on arrival. Pity, I would buy one if the guns and ammo were guaranteed.

 

[ThomasT]

I like my 22 mags. They aren't really plinker guns but are best for larger game and varmints than rabbits and squirrels. The gunwriter Ross Seyfreid took a 22mag rifle to Africa and used it on smaller animals the size of whitetails and said it worked very well.

The best thing about a 22 mag is with most loads you get a real jacketed bullet that is not plated or copper washed. That usually means much better penetration.

Keep an eye out at Sportsmans Guide. They use to carry Armscor 22 mag ammo. The 40gr load shoots to the same POI as winchester 40 gr loads in my guns. Plus they load the 22 mag ammo for Fiochhi and everyone likes their ammo. Plus the last time I saw it on sale it was about $5.75 a box. I bought 4000 rounds.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Not to derail but have you heard of the Winchester .17 SMR? It's a very potent round for rimfire. I won't buy one right now because it hasn't really caught on yet. But if it ever does start selling and the ammo is cheap, "rimfire cheap", then I just might especially if they offer a .22 caliber version.

Heard of it...but that round doesn't fill any kind of need (or want) that I currently have. Nothing I would shoot with my .22 WMR is anything which can be better shot with a .17 anything, at this point in time.

But hey...who know what the future will bring, if that round sticks around?

 

[PJSprog]

I picked up a Savage 93G in .22WMR a couple years ago as a companion to my MkII-G in .22LR. I love it. It's definitely better on medium-sized critters like groundhogs, oppossums, and skunks, which seem to plague us around our small farm. Haven't tried it yet on foxes or 'yotes. Yes, ammo is a bit pricier than LR, but still not bad ... during "normal" times, anyway.

 

[Mike1234567]

Heard of it...but that round doesn't fill any kind of need (or want) that I currently have. Nothing I would shoot with my .22 WMR is anything which can be better shot with a .17 anything, at this point in time.

But hey...who know what the future will bring, if that round sticks around?

I hear you, chief. But what makes the .17 HMR shine above .22 WMR (in certain specific ways) takes yet another leap (in those same ways) to .17 WSM. THAT... makes it very interesting to me.