Is it even possible to reload .22 LR

[Saint]

Some of my family was doing some cleaning in their house and they found my dads old Winchester .22 model 190. I happen to have a mould for .22/250 but I was wondering if it could be used to reload .22 LR or if there is even a way to reload a rimfire cartridge. I know it would probably be more work than it's worth but i get bored easily and still wanna try. I used to know a guy who loaded his own .22 LR but he used pre primed cartridges. Also, does anybody know anything about this rifle? Is it any good?

[357maximum]

Reloading rimfires would expose you to substances that would remove your fingers/hands/life if it went wrong...BOOM........it can be done, but don't. Buy em they are cheap.

Loading pre-primed cartridges is handloading not re-loading, re-loading is what you do when the gun is empty.

[Bret4207]

It can be done, but it's not a practical operation. Now in a survival situation things would be different, but it's just not something thats even close to efficient.

[357maximum]

Now in a survival situation things would be different, but it's just not something thats even close to efficient.


I'll take a sharp stick Bret, gonna git further with it, I'll make meat while the fulminate or permegreate(sp) is drying in the brass. In a survival situation strike anywhere match heads could be used, but them are getting harder to git seeing as how they are a hazmat item now. I'll take the sharp stick especially if I have another stick with a piece of string tied taught to each end. It is definately not something "even close to efficient"...good call.

[beagle]

There's an article on the net...somewhere .......on this subject.

Some guy in old Rossia was doing it successfully but I don't recall the details.

I can see many drawbacks to the project. The major drawback would be supporting the case rim during loading ops since it would be primed.

I'll have to look for that article but to me, it's easier to roll down to Wally World and buy a brick./beagle

[jonk]

I read about a guy who did it for .41 Swiss RF. He would scrape the strike anywhere part off matches, grind it up, mix it with something (acetone maybe) put a dallop in the center of a case, spin the case in a drill to throw it to the edges, and let dry. He supposedly had about a 60% success rate.

FAR more trouble than it is worth.

[44man]

First the boolit needs a rebated base because the boolit is the same diameter as the case.
Then a LOOOONG time ago I heard the special machine used to spin the priming compound in the rim cost $10,000. I don't have any idea what it would be at todays prices. Then you also need the compound which is exceedingly dangerous unless kept in a wet form.
.22's are dirt cheap compared to everything else we shoot so why even think about it? [smilie=1:

[Saint]

Like I said, most of what I do is out of pure boredom. I can pick up a 550 round brick at my other home (AKA Wal-Mart, you know you spend to much time there too.) for about 11 bucks. When you cast lead roundball for muzzleloader it is almost always more trouble than it's worth but that is what makes it fun. Either way I still think I will leave the idea alone. I have bigger fish to fry. This rifle was in bad shape. With the exception of a Glock that I have only fired a few times this is the first non muzzleloader firearm I have worked with. It has not been fired since 1995, I know this because it was at my hunters safety class, and it has been in a case and has not been maintained since then. The action was jammed at first and once I got it to move the case ejector would not work at all. I had to strip it down until nothing more could be disassembled and found that the inside of the action had turned to a solid block of fouling. It took me about six hours but I finally brought it back from the dead. The action works like a charm now but there is some nasty rust on the exterior of the bore to deal with and the stock looks pretty bad. I think the next step is going to be a reblue and refinish. Anybody know where I can get a recoil spring for this rifle.

[fireflyfather]

Do yourself a favor and turn those spent .22 cases into .223 jackets for CB. There's tools for it out there.

[Ghugly]

You can try Numrich for parts. http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=0950z190

If you were trying to load some sort of obscure rimfire round, that just couldn't be had, it might make sence. I talked to a guy in a gunshow a while back who was doing it with some success. I have to agree with the others on this one. It's just too dangerous for the possible rewards.

[Leftoverdj]

More trouble than it's worth, but not all that dangerous. I'd want good eye protection and leather gloves, but we're talking tiny amounts here, 10-20 grains in a batch and less than half a grain to the case. I ain't a chemist, but I know that there are impact explosives that are mixed wet and are safe as a skunk in church until they are dry.

Spent a weeking camping trip long ago with a gal who was a chemist and who brought along a nail polish bottle of stuff she had made. Think it was iodine based. She'd paint it on any likely surface, and after it dried it would explode on contact. Nice bang, but no more power than a toy cap. Might scorch you a little, and she was mighty careful not to let any get on the outside of the bottle.

That particular stuff was too sensitive for priming, but Eley is using water activated priming. Powder is inert, but once it is in place a tiny bit of water makes it explosive. A good chemist could probably come up with something suitable.

[Shiloh]

The tip of strike anywhere match heads are a sulphide of phosphorus, Thats why they are harder to get. I think that they are a hazmat now, but still available at Ace Hardware or camping stores. I ask for camping matches.

One might make some sort of priming mixture from it but at $!5 a brick for .22 LR why risk loosing a hand, eye, face, or life. :( Sure, in a survival situation, but were not there yet. I think the heads of regular book type matches are potassium chlorate.

Shiloh :castmine:

[longbow]

After all the warnings I almost hate to admit that long long ago when I was a young'un I did exactly what you are talking about.

I remembered reading about reloading rimfire cartridges buy making a hooked punch to remove the pinched rim where the firing pin hit it then priming with a percussion explosive like potassium chlorate and sulfur, then of course powder and boolit.

This may have come from depression era memoirs or was used for larger than .22 LR so there was some point to it. A .22 LR reloaded this way is hardly a serious hunting round and not much use for self defense.

Anyway, I was 13 maybe 14 and in a remote summer place my parents had and I had run out of .22 ammo but happened to have a can of black powder and .22 pellets. A friend and myself who were desparate to shoot decided we could reload .22 LR the same way.

We very carefully ground up match heads just a bit at a time (just the phosphorous end - we didn't have any other priming compound). We used a little hooked scraper made from a 1/8" brass rod to poke it under the rim then added BP and a .22 pellet. You just had to load single shot and orient the rim so a fresh bit was under the firing pin.

We actually had very few duds as I recall and they seemed to shoot pretty well. However, I would agree that it was a lot of work and if you were actually in need in an emergency a spear, bow or snare would be more expedient to get food or for self defense. Also, playing with serious priming compounds is not particularly safe nor is using smokeless powder to reload such thin brass.

I am not recommending that anyone try this but just responding to the question. Yes it can be done. Is it worth it? No - not worth the risk and not worth the effort!

Longbow

[OeldeWolf]

She was using nitrogen tri-iodide. It is a well known trick to most chemistry students. I agree, though, that it would be too unstable for use as a priming agent. And enough of it going off at a time can be physically dangerous.

[Goatlips]

Well, I almost sorta did it. I shoot Cowboy Black Powder, and at the last .22 side match I attended I pried out the slugs from ordinary ammo, stuffed the case with 4f BP and pressed in bullets I bought from North American Arms they sell for loading their teensie .22 "cap 'n ball" revolver. They worked fine in my Single Six but the smoke and flame were barely noticable. But I knew it was the Holy Black. :mrgreen: :Fire:

Goatlips