.22 Remington Special

[26Charlie]

Could not help it on this one. Saw a Remington M12 on gunbroker in this caliber, in addition to seeing a 250 round brick of .22 WRF on Cheaper Than Dirt for 26 cents a round. Got the ammo, won the bid on the rifle (made in 1931) which makes 9-shot (capacity of tubular magazine) groups of 3/4 inch at 25 yards. Happy as a clam with it.
For those who don’t know, .22 WRF was the ..22 Magnum of 1890, and Remington copied it as the .22 Rem. Special. .22 WRF can be fired in most .22 WRM rifles, but not vice versa. I say most, because I had a Marlin whose tubular magazine was not happy with some of an older run of Winchester .22 WRF.

[richhodg66]

Interesting. I'd heard of the .22 WRF, never knew it was called something else.

Pot a pic or two of the rifle when you can. That's pretty expensive ammo, don't see that rifle getting shot much at that price.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Aguila made a run of WRF some years ago.

[roysha]

Aguila made a run of WRF some years ago.

So did CCI, not too long ago. My brother picked up a box at Sportsmans in Cheyenne, about a year ago, thinking it was 22 MAG, it was on the shelf with the 22 MAG, so he didn't pay much attention till he got home. He is one of the very few folks that actually reads stuff and pays attention. He is relatively new to the shooting world and did not realize there was a 22 WRF cartridge. The box specifically stated not to shoot them in revolvers. He asked me why. It took me a bit to figure what he had was not 22 MAG. Even the yoyo at the counter at Sportsmans could not tell him why there was the note on the box not to shoot in revolvers.
Perhaps, had CCI labeled the boxes 22 REM SPEC instead of the very similar 22 WRF, there would not have been the confusion. I have often wondered how many folks bought this ammo and shot it in their 22 MAG revolvers and what the results were.

[Mk42gunner]

I remember Dad telling about one of his uncles that had one when he (Dad) was a boy. From what he told me his uncle regularly hit running cottontails with it.

Absolutely no idea what happened to the rifle, that uncle died about four or five years before I was born.

I do have a single box of the small run that Winchester made a few decades ago. There for a while it was common to see at not too outlandish prices at gunshows.

Robert

[dtknowles]

So did CCI, not too long ago. My brother picked up a box at Sportsmans in Cheyenne, about a year ago, thinking it was 22 MAG, it was on the shelf with the 22 MAG, so he didn't pay much attention till he got home. He is one of the very few folks that actually reads stuff and pays attention. He is relatively new to the shooting world and did not realize there was a 22 WRF cartridge. The box specifically stated not to shoot them in revolvers. He asked me why. It took me a bit to figure what he had was not 22 MAG. Even the yoyo at the counter at Sportsmans could not tell him why there was the note on the box not to shoot in revolvers.
Perhaps, had CCI labeled the boxes 22 REM SPEC instead of the very similar 22 WRF, there would not have been the confusion. I have often wondered how many folks bought this ammo and shot it in their 22 MAG revolvers and what the results were.

I got a few boxes of Winchester 22 WRF ammo. I knew what I was getting when I bought it. 40 years ago I got my first box from my brother in law who accidentally bought it thinking it was 22 mag. (.22 WRM) I don't remember which brand. I shot it in my Ruger single six. I could not tell it was any different than 22 mag. Whenever I see this ammo for a good price I buy it unless I already still have a bunch. The box says to use only in firearms with markings exactly matching the ammunition. Do what they say not what I do.

Tim

[26Charlie]

The Winchester WRF is a copper plated lead 45gr. flat nosed bullet, the CCI is a copper jacketed 45gr. hollow point bullet. CCI may have worried the bullet might stick in revolver barrels and cause trouble on succeeding shots.

[Bent Ramrod]

The .22 WRF/Rem Spl. is a very under appreciated cartridge. Mostly, I think, because cartridge books are always careful to note that it isn’t as “accurate” as the regular .22 rimfire.

This is a pretty hyperbolic argument. Both the Winchester reissue and the CCI HP are as good as or better than the general run of bulk or regular issue Hi-Speed .22RF, and will hold its own with the regular Standard Velocity stuff as well. It only looks deficient when compared to Green Tag, Eley Tenex and other expensive stuff, fired in dedicated target rifles. The WRF is also a better hunting cartridge, with an inside lubed heavy bullet with a flat point. (The Rem Spl had a round nose, and, I think, is totally obsolete.)

I lined a Remington #2 Rolling Block and ran a .22 WR Magnum reamer in just deep enough for a .22 WRF chamber and cut the rim seat with a lathe tool, just to see how a partial box of old .22 WRF would shoot. I figured when I was finished with “the Experience,” I’d run the reamer in the rest of the way and make it a .22 RF Magnum. I was impressed enough with the WRFs that I started buying cartons of the stuff whenever I could find it at Gun Shows. I’ve never done anything to that chamber; it’s a .22 WRF for permanent now.

It does cost more than regular .22s, but not more than most .22 RF Magnum.

[Art in Colorado]

Shot them in the magnum cylinder of my Single Six with no problems at all. Then thought to my self why when 22 Mags were much more plentyful.

[dale2242]

Dad had a M90 Winchester in 22 Special.
Ammo was available for a reasonable price in the early 50s.
I spent many days in the woods hunting squirrels with this rifle.
This thread brings back good childhood memories.

[Gewehr-Guy]

A buddy of mine has one of those mini revolvers in 22 mag, much more pleasant to shoot WRF in it.

[AntiqueSledMan]

I believe the only difference in the 22 WRF & the 22 Remington Special was the fact that the 22 WRF
had a flat nose bullet while the 22 Remington Special had a round nose bullet. The cases were identical.

AntiqueSledMan.

[26Charlie]

Regarding accuracy, Bent Ramrod is correct - the 1931 M12 with Win WRF or CCI WRF holds group sizes the same as a .22LR Rem 552 with scope, at 25 yards, Win or Federal bulk box ammo. My aging eyes may have something to do with this, but I do load a full magazine each time & shoot them all from rest. Regarding cost, ammo now not being available anywhere for anything except maybe British express calibers, .26 wasn’t so bad.

[too many things]

rem was a copycat they done many of their try --280, 30rem. the 22 spl, they didnt do good till the 870, that made them

[Bushrat]

I got an old 1890 Winchester when I was 15, it was expensive to shoot in 1965 but I love that gun. I shot a few deer with it and my father shot an elk with it next to the barn one morning. I had the rifle reclined and chambered for 22lr. I still shoot that rifle from time to time.