Rimfire that wouldn't die: new ammunition from CCI sends the vintage .22 WRF back into the game fields

Guns Magazine, July, 2002 by C. Rodney James

Winchester introduced its first pump rifle in 1890, designed by none other than John Browning and chambered in the .22 Winchester Rimfire. Though also known as the Remington .22 Special, we can designate the .22 Winchester Rimfire (WRF) the first ever .22 Magnum because of its similar dimension and ability to chamber in other .22 Magnum guns. But most importantly, even after all these years, the WRF refuses to die.

A More Potent, Modern Rimfire

With a 45 grain bullet lubricated and seated in the modern manner with the bearing surface protected, the WRF proved a significant step beyond the .22 long rifle, whose heel crimp left bullets exposed to the elements. The WRF held 7 grains of black powder compared to the long rifle's 5 grains. The WRF's original muzzle velocity was about 1,100 fps, and its flat-pointed bullet was a better stopper than the long rifle's round nose.

With the arrival of high-speed loadings in the 1930s, which clocked at between 1,400 and 1,500 feet per second, the WRFs trajectory proved flatter than that of the .22 long rifle, making the WRF a better killer of tough varmints such as woodchucks, but without the damage "varmint" cartridges could do to squirrels, rabbits and grouse. The improved lethality made the WRF a reliable tool on the farm for butchering pigs and cattle. Unfortunately, most such rifles hung on a nail in the barn uncleaned from one use to the next

The length advantage of the WRF made it a better shooter than the long rifle in long-cylinder revolvers such as the Colt Pocket Positive and Officer's Match revolvers. During the '20s and '30s, Stevens chambered a number of their heavy barreled 22s for the WRF. A good iron-sighted rifle such as a Stevens, Winchester's 1890 and Model 61, or Remington's 121S, will place it's shots into a 2.5 inch circle at 100 yards.

Accuracy Standard

Machine rest groups recounted in C.S. Landis' excellent book .22 Caliber Rifle Shooting run 1.56 inches, 1.06 inches and 1.10 inches for three consecutive 10 shot groups with the Winchester hollow-point round at 100 yards. This level of accuracy is quite possible with a target rifle and a good scope. But unlike the .22 Magnum, for which no target or true varmint rifles (as of this writing) have been made, the WRF chambering was available in the Stevens 417, one of their best target rifles which was discontinued in the late 1940s.

Sadly, a number of good guns failed to come back into production after World War II, and the WRF chambering was hard hit. The last offering in this caliber was the Winchester 61 hammerless pump, which dropped the WRF chambering in 1955.

After the guns departed, the ammunition was next. The hollow-point loading went first and then the flat-point was discontinued in 1982. Outraged shooters bombarded Winchester with enough requests that the ammunition company calculated the cost of answering letters was greater than doing another run of the ammunition. In 1985, with some fanfare and a new antique-style box design, a "limited" run was produced. Dealers snapped it up almost immediately. A few months later, a second run was made and later a third -- all of which were bought in short order. Finally, Winchester realized there was a real demand. The cartridge again appears in their general line of ammunition as a regular item.

Unique Offering From CCI

This year CCI saw a market opportunity and took the plunge with a newly designed WRF round. Recognizing that many of the rifles for this cartridge had been around for 50 or more years, CCI built a jacketed round with the unique feature of a hollow base. Both features were designed to produce optimum accuracy in less than perfect barrels with possible throat erosion. CCI's bullet is a 45 grain version of the Speer Gold Dot.

We tested using a relined 1890 Winchester, mechanically sound with a reasonably good bore. Because the post and notch sights were not adequate for long-range shooting we limited our shots to 50 yards, with a couple of groups at 75.

Tough Conditions

In Ohio, breezy fall weather remained throughout most of October. The 22nd of October produced 70 degrees and calm conditions with winds gusting up to 15 mph, but mostly staying in the 4 to 7 mph range. We tried to shoot during the calm intervals. As a benchmark we fired a 5 shot group at 75 yards with a bull barrel Winchester 52 and Winchester Power Point hunting ammunition, which is capable of .55 inch groups at 100 yards in this rifle under dead calm conditions. This day it put five rounds into 1 inch at 75 yards.

Three 5-shot test groups with the 1890 put the Winchester copper-plated ammunition into 1 inch at 50 yards. The copper-jacketed CCI went into .7 inch at this range. At 75 yards the CCI registered 1.5 inch to the Winchester's 1.4 inch. Wind was undoubtedly a factor in these results.

When Switching Ammo...

One important caveat is barrel cleaning. The WRF is the only rimfire round currently available with both jacketed and lead-alloy bullets. Copper has a great affinity for lead. The copper fouling left by the jacketed bullets causes stripping and leading on the part of the lead alloy bullets, even those such as the current Winchester which are copper plated. This copper fouling must be completely removed when switching from jacketed to lead ammunition. There are no problems the other way around.