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Thread: Feel like I bagged a unicorn!

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy Rockingkj's Avatar
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    Feel like I bagged a unicorn!

    Went to Sportmans Warehouse mainly for the exercise. Found two boxes of .22 WRF! That’s right not .22 Mag, but old time, shoot it thru your 1890 Winchester .22 WRF. That was hard to get even before “shortages”. Sorry had to crow.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 83670B03-3B81-4C01-88DD-489040093252.jpg  

  2. #2
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    georgerkahn's Avatar
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    That's quite the find! Maybe in the mid-1980's I recall a manufacturer turning out a lot, and if memory serves me correctly, the labels surely resemble those you purchased! I purchased two boxes and having nothing to shoot them through passed them on to a club member who did.
    Congrats!
    geo

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Shhhh! Unicorns are a protected species!
    Cognitive Dissident

  4. #4
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    Now and then, they make a run of 22 WRF. I bought a bunch several years ago. They make a dandy small game round in 22 WMR chambers.

  5. #5
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    I not too long ago just about shot up a 200 round box of those in my 22 Magnums. They are pretty accurate too!

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy michael.birdsley's Avatar
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    Feel like I bagged a unicorn!

    i have a box of those that bought probably 10 yrs ago . that i bought on accident. thinking that it was .22wmr


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    You fellas shooting WRF ammo in your .22 mags ought to reconsider that a bit. The WRF ammo that CCI makes is jacketed, and WW is lead. Both are larger diameter than the mag bullet. .228" vs .224" respectfully....
    I have danced with the Devil. She had excellent attorneys.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master WILCO's Avatar
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    Score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  9. #9
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    Do you shoot Unicorns ... or just hold them and admire them .

    Tough Choice !
    Gary
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  10. #10
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    dtknowles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digital Dan View Post
    You fellas shooting WRF ammo in your .22 mags ought to reconsider that a bit. The WRF ammo that CCI makes is jacketed, and WW is lead. Both are larger diameter than the mag bullet. .228" vs .224" respectfully....
    I just pulled down a round of "Limited Edition" Winchester WRF that was in a cardboard 50 round box, it has a hollow base, flat point, plated bullet of 0.224" diameter. I have fired a fair amount of this ammo in a Ruger Single Six, it is ok to use in place of .22 WMR. I have older vintage .22 WRF ammo with plain lead bullets and H and U headstamps but they are too rare to sacrifice for just measuring bullet diameters. I have never seen CCI WRF ammo (see correction), but I would be surprised if it has jacketed bullets even some of their WMR ammo as plated bullets not jacketed.

    Tim

    Correction, I checked my stash, because on second consideration those plastic boxes look familiar. I found I have two of them, one unopened and the other full but the seal was broken so I took a look at one of the rounds of that CCI WRF ammo. They have the cutest hollow point bullet you can imagine. They do seem to be jacketed with a big cavity and a segmented jacket folded into the cavity. I measured the biggest part of the exposed bullet and it is 0.226" Since it is a full box I am not going to sacrifice a round to get a better measurement. I am not sure what I think about shooting this ammo in a .22 WMR, probably not a great idea unless it is a modern gun in good condition. I am pretty sure my single six could handle it but I am not sure every .22 Mag gun can.
    Last edited by dtknowles; 07-11-2023 at 05:22 PM.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    Do you shoot Unicorns ... or just hold them and admire them .

    Tough Choice !
    Gary
    I don't shoot Unicorns but thems not really Unicorns, not even endangered. I shoot them. I got hundreds. The Unicorns have H or U headstamps not the big W.
    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have a few thousand Remington 22 Specials, same round as a 22 WRF, I bought them for $3.50 a brick in 1972 when our PX ordered them by mistake, I have some loose ones I will measure.

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy
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    SAAMI left the bbl groove dia spec for the 22WRF at .228, but changed the bullet dia spec to .226 a few yrs ago.

    That change in bullet dia from .228 down to .226 might have been in response to some ammo mfg'rs loading the round with jacketed bullets (?).
    Still oversize for the .224 22WMR bore but maybe they decided it was a better and safer fit. Must be a very thin jacket at that.
    The older Lead bulleted .22WRF ammo at .228 dia likely just swaged down to size w/no issues.

    The old .22WCF cartridge was another that used a .228dia bullet (lead) and was from the same era as the .22WRF.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Yeah, I started shooting in the real early 70's and 22WRF's have always been practically non-existent. Not really sure I've ever seen any except in books or catalogs.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    The local Murdochs has the CCI WRF ammo on the shelf, and has had it for a long time. I don't know if it doesn't sell, or if they constantly get it in.
    I inherited a 1890 and 4 or 5 boxes of ammo several years ago from my father in law, but before I had a chance to shoot it my son laid claim to it. Since he had memory's of shooting it with his grampa, I figured he needed it more than I. I guess I should pick up several boxes for him.

  16. #16
    Boolit Man
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    I see a box or 2 occasionally every few years and buy it in case I get something to shoot it in and needs it.
    I shot a box in my colt frontier scout using its 22 wmr cylinder.
    Thanks
    HawkEye

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check