AusVarmint

Hi gurus, can anyone explain why .22mag is less accurate in the same brand of rifle than say a .22 or a .17hmr. Your opinions would be appreciated as I can't think of any logical explanation for this phenomenom, considering the barrel from a given brand of .22 would be the same, only the chamber would be different. There is a classic example of this in a sako quad review on ahn at the moment.
Regards Alpal

Probably because the lead 22lr bullets are slightly larger in diameter so therefore they swage and engage the rifling better then the 22mag... I thought 22mag bores were .224" in dia and the 22lr's are a bit smaller at like .223 or something and that the 22lr bullets are around .225 or so..???

G'day Alpal, I reckon that the difference in accuracy would most likely be ammo related. If you've floated it and bedded it and the trigger is reasonable, the more likely its ammo.
I've got a Brno model 2, a CZ.17hmr and they both shoot excellent, my mate was keen on a CZ after using mine often, and decided on a 22WMR, he wasn't happy because it would only shoot about 1.5" @ 50 yards.
We floated it and tried half a dozen diff types of ammo and the dearest stuff shot several under half an inch but most brands were around three quarters of an inch after floating.

My opinion ... R&D money. The 22RF is used heavily in competition so there has always been money floated at getting all the components right and to tight specifications in ammunition, reamers, barrels etc...
The 17HMR benefited from the same R&D money.
22Mag has been neglected to some degree as it was introduced and is still viewed as a hunting cartridge.
Cheers...
Con

They are two different barrels, yes the .22 mag is .224" groove diam. and the .22 lr usually run at around .222-.223" on most factory hunting rifles. i have seen .22 LR barrel that have been .224-.226" which is way to large for god accuracy, i have seen barrels like this shoot from fair to very very poor.

When i build .22 match rifles i like to work with a bore that is .2205"-.222" for excellent accuracy.

Yes the .22 mag ammo is not given a lot of accuracy imput like the other rounds get and it wont get any better now these new rounds are here but saying that a well made .22 magnum will shoot very well if you find an ammo it loves.
cheers,
Shane

agree with shane and knackers on the need to match ammo with rifles

my main shooting partner uses a 22mag marlin stainless synthetic for rabbits and in close foxes. his accuracy with this rifle loaded with winchester dynapoint solids is pretty good. We shoot regularly together and under 100m he is as accurate as i am with my CZ 17hmr. Over 100m and i think i have the edge due to better balistics of the 17 (and i have better optics).

Feel free to disagree Kev

I've never come across a tack driving 22WMR. Anschütz, Walther, Brno, Marlin, and Ruger.

This is interesting, I was in Goulburn's Tackle World (aka Fish 'n' Shoot) the other day. The lads there were telling me that the ratio of selling 17HMRs to 22WMR is 18:1!!!!!!

Does this mean the 22WMR is plummeting into obscurity?

I think so Drew and I don't think its a bad thing!!!!

I used to have a 22mag and thought that it was great at the time. But if i was going to buy a smaller rimfire rifle now i would definitly go with the 17hmr.

G'Day all,
my Annie 1516 is bedded & trigger tuned and used to like win 40gnHP but they must of changed something with the ammo becuase it now shoots about 1.5moa, good enough for foxes, but my brother put me onto stirling HP ammo and it shoots around .8 moa.
As a walkabout rifle this is very suitable, but if I want precision I use my .223 and wish I had a walkabout 6ppc for everything!
Cheerio Ned

Greetings all, I disagree that the 22wmr is headed for obscurity. Yes the 17hmr is more accurate, but a good 22mag with suitable ammo will still shoot with respectable accuracy. The reason the 17 is outselling the 22wmr I reckon is because it is a fasssst rimfire catridge & is very accurate but also because it is still a bit of a novelty. The 22mag is in my view (& I own both in CZ) a more versatile cartridridge in terms of the range of game you can take down with it- ie. everything from wabbits to hogs (if you ain't too far away & hit the right spot). If I could only own one rimfire I reckon I would choose the 22wmr for that reason alone, but thank god I don't have to make that choice (hope little johnny isn't reading this...... wouldn't want to give him any more gun restricting ideas).

I dont know about this, but if the .22 WMR was built on a strong action could a .22 lr barrel be fitted and chambered for the magnum, with the slightly undersize bore would that help out with accuracy?
Cheers
Steve

Drew Jaeger wrote:I've never come across a tack driving 22WMR. Anschütz, Walther, Brno, Marlin, and Ruger.

This is interesting, I was in Goulburn's Tackle World (aka Fish 'n' Shoot) the other day. The lads there were telling me that the ratio of selling 17HMRs to 22WMR is 18:1!!!!!!

Does this mean the 22WMR is plummeting into obscurity?

I can never walk out of that shop without opening my wallet!!! Great shop that one!!!

I am with the rest of you with the ammo theory being not so good,
the 40gn projies used to be pretty sweet out of my 222 for foxes out to 200yds...cheap too, from memory $8 a hundred

I loved my old Marlin 22 mag and wish I never sold it now, it was pretty effective within it's range

Ned,

So that Stirling stuff is still available I agree it is good stuff when I was a young fella I used to buy it from K-Mart.......jeez that was a long time ago

Aussie steve,

I dunno if it would work or not. With the pills being copper jacketed it may not have enough grunt to 'extrude' them. It is probably more of a fault of the loaded ammo.

KY

Several years back I bought a CZ lux 22 mag. And 12 boxes of different brands and types of ammunition. The expense of ammo alone was high, what with shipping, etc. As soon as I carefully shot, cleaned, recorded, retested and then bought ten boxes of the best shooting, on a whim I bought four more kinds. Darn if one brand didn't give me a .196 inch 50 yard group and a couple almost that nice. Luckily I was able to get the supplier to sell me 6 more boxes of the same lot of the new No. 1. I don't think most 22 mag shooters go to that amount of effort and thus end up with less than the best results. The better the rifle the more you have to have great ammo. pogy