22lr in a 22 mag cylinder?

[jimlj]

What happens when you shoot 22lr in a 22 mag cylinder?

First off, I'm not suggesting you try it, nor am I planning on doing it. I was recently gifted a Single Six with both cylinders. I can't see any marking on the cylinders, but it is obvious which is which if you try to put a 22 mag in the 22lr cylinder. Also a little less obvious is the diameter of the different rims. Mine came with the 22 mag cylinder in the gun. It would have been easy to assume it had the 22lr cylinder in it, based on the cost difference of the two rounds and spending habits of the person giving me the gun.

With the thousands and thousands of Single Six revolvers out there, someone has either inadvertently or intentionally done it. What happens?

[Chill Wills]

Yup. Its been done.

Makes a hollow sound too.

ooops!

I didn't do it on purpose but I don't think it hurts the revolver. Poor accuracy on the only shot I made!

[Walks]

I've done this shooting my Dad's old model Single Six; .22Mag only Revolver.
The case splits most of the way down to the rim. Never tried it on paper, but I managed to hit a 12" steel plate at 25yrds 5 outta 6 times.
After almost 50yrs I finally got a.22LR cylinder fitted to it.
So I'll never have to do that again.

[Bazoo]

I traded a heritage off a gent once. When he arrived he handed me the loaded gun and and I tested it in a handy spot. I ejected the empties and they were split down the side and blown out some. He had the magnum cylinder installed. He said oh yeah it works for both.

[sandog]

There was a guy working at my Aunt's ranch in Montana who wasn't a real knowledgeable gun guy. He bought a Heritage and took it up to my range a couple times.
He started to shoot and had only brought the LR cylinder, and had only brought magnum ammo. I lent him some .22LR ammo so he could shoot.
Next time he only had the magnum cylinder with him, but had only brought .22 LR ammo. I lent him some Magnum ammo so he could shoot.

Either he was really dumb, or really smart, figuring I'd bail him out and provide him with ammo.

[NyFirefighter357]

I have tried this on a Model 24 22mag over 20ga. I read this on a forum and it worked. I'm not saying it's the best idea but I had no ill effects, but might not be easy to eject from a cylinder.

I'm not sure this was the exact post but it's the same as was described & worked well enough. I also was able to remove it easily later.

"Have been following the thread on .22 LR in a .22 Mag chamber, and have a comment on how it can be done. I suspect the gun manufacturers wouldn't like this trick, but it does work: I did it years ago with a Savage 24 in .22 Mag and I suspect it will work in any other gun if you can get to the chamber the right way.

Take a fired .22 Mag case, and with a fine file, remove the entire head until
what you have is an open-ended cylinder. This can be inserted into the
chamber to form a "sleeve" inside it. This case will accept a .22 LR case
just fine, and will provide enough shimming that the LR case won't split. The length of the sleeve should be as long as possible, but not long enough to interfere with extractor action, and of coure the entire .22 Mag rim has to be removed to prevent the sleeve from being extracted with the fired round. Shooting one or two .22 LRs will seat this sleeve tightly and it won't come out until you deliberately remove it. This can be done by folding down one edge with a fine flat tool and pulling it out with a pair of needle nose forceps or a hemostat. It's possible a broken-case extractor might be needed, but I didn't have to go this route.

This is of course a "jury rig" and not really a good way to do things, but it
works, and if you're in a position where you absolutely can't get .22 Mag, it may be a viable alternative. Just be careful not to damage the chamber wall on removal.

One problem I did have was that increased clearance of the head of the .22LR case from the extractor cause it to bulge a bit at that point--not enough to rupture, but enough to cuase a noticeable dimpling of the head."

22 short, 22 long, and 22 long rifle are .223. 22 mag is .224 which why this actually works."

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/backwoodsman-files-shooting-22-lr-out-of-22-mag.744295/

[GhostHawk]

I will admit for now my Heritage convertible shoots both (Each in its proper cylinder) almost equally well.

.22mag is a bit tighter, as I expected.

I did have a quick surprise and solution one day. Popped the cylinder out and went to load 6 .22mags, and they would not go in.
At all. I'm sitting there scratching my head. Now I know this is the same cylinder I just pulled 6 .22mag empties out of. So whats the hang up. Turned the cylinder over and they dropped right in. OK, noted, don't try to insert ammo wrong way too.

I guess I am one of the few who does not complain about the "high" cost of .22mag ammo. Compared with other rounds that bring similar capacity to the table. IE 12 ga shotshell 24 to 30 cents each. Most any modern rifle ammo but perhaps most common would be .30-30, what do they cost apiece? Close to a buck a round or higher isn't it?

If I can do it quick, easy, (not too quietly) with .22mag it makes that 24 to 30 cents a round look fairly efficient IMO.

ONLY when you compare it to .22lr bought in bulk which it outperforms considerably can you do it for less.

Or hand loaded moderate power loads for a .38 special or even a .32sw long can you get similar performance for less cost.

And sometimes I just like the convenience of being able to shoot a little without starting the next round of de priming, cleaning, sizing, casting, priming, charging and loading.

[Gunslinger1911]

In my foolish youth I bought a 22 mag Derringer - not realizing the ammo cost.
Ended up shooting a bunch of LR in that thing !
Yup - went bang, yup-cases split but ejected fine.

[scattershot]

I did it when I was a kid. Split the case, not much power, and was inaccurate as I recall.

[DougGuy]

It's like shooting a 44 Special in a 45 Colt cylinder. The 22 WRM chamber is a LOT bigger back by the rim.

[John Boy]

it is obvious which is which if you try to put a 22 mag in the 22lr cylinder. Also a little less obvious is the diameter of the different rims

Also a little less obvious is the diameter of the different rims.
If you own a set of calipers ... you could have determined the answer yourself the 2 different diameters of the cylinders
22 Mag: Case diameter=275 Case rim diameter=300
22LR: Case diameter=220 Case rim diameter=270
The answer is NO ... do not load 22LR ammo into the 22 Magnum cylinder

[beagle]

From the range...Then there's the guys who don't know guns and don't research. One fellow bought a nice .22 LR for his son. Came to the range with a couple of boxes of .22 Magnums because he wanted to shoot powerful loads. Didn't realize that Magnums don't shoot in .22 LR chambers. One of us gave him a couple of boxes of .22 LR so the boy's day wouldn't be ruined. But, he learned something that day./beagle

[John Boy]

From the range...Then there's the guys who don't know guns and don't research.
:drinks:

[tankgunner59]

My wife has a Herritage with both cylinders, but we've never tried to shoot 22LR's in the Magnum cylinder. I store it with the LR cylinder installed.

[trapper9260]

Someone I know that is a gunsmith told me about someone brought there 22rifle in say that they bought a 22 lr and shot it and can not get the empty out and when they bought it at the gun show the one that sold it told them it was a 22lr . I seen the case that he took out of the guys rifle and it expand and then told the guy he had a 22 mag rifle not a 22lr . So the guy found out he can only shoot mags in it .

[steve urquell]

I made some .22 mag->LR adapters to use in my Stevens Favorite 30GM. I found certain cases worked better than others. Accuracy was very good with these.

https://i.imgur.com/Dd2Gcqb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4BOHGTW.jpg

[dtknowles]

I have tried this on a Model 24 22mag over 20ga. I read this on a forum and it worked. I'm not saying it's the best idea but I had no ill effects, but might not be easy to eject from a cylinder.

I'm not sure this was the exact post but it's the same as was described & worked well enough. I also was able to remove it easily later.

"Have been following the thread on .22 LR in a .22 Mag chamber, and have a comment on how it can be done. I suspect the gun manufacturers wouldn't like this trick, but it does work: I did it years ago with a Savage 24 in .22 Mag and I suspect it will work in any other gun if you can get to the chamber the right way.

Take a fired .22 Mag case, and with a fine file, remove the entire head until
what you have is an open-ended cylinder. This can be inserted into the
chamber to form a "sleeve" inside it. This case will accept a .22 LR case
just fine, and will provide enough shimming that the LR case won't split. The length of the sleeve should be as long as possible, but not long enough to interfere with extractor action, and of coure the entire .22 Mag rim has to be removed to prevent the sleeve from being extracted with the fired round. Shooting one or two .22 LRs will seat this sleeve tightly and it won't come out until you deliberately remove it. This can be done by folding down one edge with a fine flat tool and pulling it out with a pair of needle nose forceps or a hemostat. It's possible a broken-case extractor might be needed, but I didn't have to go this route.

This is of course a "jury rig" and not really a good way to do things, but it
works, and if you're in a position where you absolutely can't get .22 Mag, it may be a viable alternative. Just be careful not to damage the chamber wall on removal.

One problem I did have was that increased clearance of the head of the .22LR case from the extractor cause it to bulge a bit at that point--not enough to rupture, but enough to cuase a noticeable dimpling of the head."

22 short, 22 long, and 22 long rifle are .223. 22 mag is .224 which why this actually works."

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/backwoodsman-files-shooting-22-lr-out-of-22-mag.744295/

I couple clarifications. First the sleeve must be installed head end first. A .22 LR will fit in the mouth of a .22 mag case but the .22 mag case is thicker at the head end so the .22 LR will not fit into that end of the case. Second, use a bore brush to remove the sleeve if it sticks. Just push a 6mm or .25 cal bore brush into the sleeve and pull back it should come right out.

Note, my Single Six .22 LR cylinder has ring cut connecting all the chambers, the .22 mag cylinder fully encases the rims, no cut connecting them.

Tim

[elmacgyver0]

As a kid on the farm a long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
I used to shoot ground squirrels with .22LR rifle from the window of a 56 Chevy along with a neighbor kid friend of mine.
My friend had some kind of pump rifle (borrowed from his sister) chambered in .22 Magnum.
Well like most kids back then he could only afford .22 LR so that is what he used.
He seemed to kill his share of ground squirrels but the ejected shells looked a little strange.
Those were some fun times, and profitable as my dad paid us a bounty of 5 cents per squirrel.
Kind of endeared us with the barn cats too.

[Bwana John]

My first handgun as a kid was a Colt Police Positive in 22 WRF.

I shot mostly 22 short in it, the cases all ballooned and split.

But they all went off, and the projectiles all went into the correct direction.

[Hossfly]

My wife bless her heart loves her Ruger single 6, and has killed numerous vermin with it while me out of town.
Upon returning one Friday evening, she told me about the diller she shot under the Buick on the carport. She said when she shot the thing started jumping around and spewing blood all over. It died there and I was the one to get it out from under car.

Upon checking the said pistol I found out she had been using 22lr in the magnum cylinder. No ill effects, no split cases and amazingly she managed to kill several snakes a opossum, and an armadillo.

Instructed her on the difference, now she thinks she’s Anny Oakley.

[rbuck351]

By the way, very few 22lr rounds are under .224 and some are a bit larger. Get your mics out and measure a few different brands.

[M-Tecs]

Some inserts here http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?215643-22-Magnum-to-22-LR-chamber-insert-questions

22 Short, Long and LR normally uses a .222" bore while the 22 Mag uses a 224" bore. rbuck351 numbers are correct on the bullet size. That being said 22 LR in .224" bores are noticeably less accurate. The early .222" bore single sixs had a reputation to be more accurate than the .224" convertibles. I have very limited experience only having one of each. The 222" bore shot very well as did the .224 bore when using 22 Mags and just OK with 22 LR.

Maybe 15 years ago I set up several 22 Service Rifle 22 LR training uppers with premium barrels. These were the direct chamber not the floating type. The 222" bores had match level accuracy. The 224" bores had 10/22 accuracy.

[gbrown]

Instructed her on the difference, now she thinks she’s Anny Oakley.

MMMM... You gonna argue with her? As wife always tells me, "A WISE man..."

[beemer]

I have tried this on a Model 24 22mag over 20ga. I read this on a forum and it worked. I'm not saying it's the best idea but I had no ill effects, but might not be easy to eject from a cylinder.

I'm not sure this was the exact post but it's the same as was described & worked well enough. I also was able to remove it easily later.

"Have been following the thread on .22 LR in a .22 Mag chamber, and have a comment on how it can be done. I suspect the gun manufacturers wouldn't like this trick, but it does work: I did it years ago with a Savage 24 in .22 Mag and I suspect it will work in any other gun if you can get to the chamber the right way.

Take a fired .22 Mag case, and with a fine file, remove the entire head until
what you have is an open-ended cylinder. This can be inserted into the
chamber to form a "sleeve" inside it. This case will accept a .22 LR case
just fine, and will provide enough shimming that the LR case won't split. The length of the sleeve should be as long as possible, but not long enough to interfere with extractor action, and of coure the entire .22 Mag rim has to be removed to prevent the sleeve from being extracted with the fired round. Shooting one or two .22 LRs will seat this sleeve tightly and it won't come out until you deliberately remove it. This can be done by folding down one edge with a fine flat tool and pulling it out with a pair of needle nose forceps or a hemostat. It's possible a broken-case extractor might be needed, but I didn't have to go this route.

This is of course a "jury rig" and not really a good way to do things, but it
works, and if you're in a position where you absolutely can't get .22 Mag, it may be a viable alternative. Just be careful not to damage the chamber wall on removal.

One problem I did have was that increased clearance of the head of the .22LR case from the extractor cause it to bulge a bit at that point--not enough to rupture, but enough to cuase a noticeable dimpling of the head."

22 short, 22 long, and 22 long rifle are .223. 22 mag is .224 which why this actually works."

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/backwoodsman-files-shooting-22-lr-out-of-22-mag.744295/

I did the same thing but put a couple CCI 22 shot shells in the mag sleeve. I just wanted a couple for my 22 Mag revolver but didn't want to buy a full box, worked fine.

[John Boy]

jimlj, measure the case diameter of Lr and a mag. Mag case diameter bigger, right ... so is the cylinder diameter casing case splits on the lr’s