The .22 Magnum As A Revolver Cartridge

American Handgunner, Nov, 2001 by Mike Cumpston

Since its introduction in 1959 and in subsequent load development, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) has been seen primarily as a rifle cartridge. Nevertheless, with the early introduction of WMR chambered revolvers, a large percentage, if not the majority, of rounds fired emanate from handguns.

Personal experience with the WMR centers around one of the early Ruger New Models with a 9.5" barrel. This was a replacement piece for an all-stainless model of the same description, which displayed exceptional accuracy from the WMR and Long Rifle cylinders and accounted for a considerable bag of small game and varmints.

When the revolver was "gonified" in a house burglary, the stainless variation was out of print and in demand by collectors. The carbon steel model quickly demonstrated its capacity for taking a significant amount of the challenge out of the general run of sporting handgun activities. With the Long Rifle cylinder in place, it walked away from a Ft. Worth-area Hunter Pistol match with the blue ribbon, competing successfully with, premium target autos and revolvers.

It also did quite well at rimfire competition at the then-new Heart of Texas Silhouette Association in Coolidge, Texas, coming in first in a match I don't remember. At least I have a nicely struck medal from Blackington's to remind me of something I have completely forgotten.

With the magnum cylinder in place, the Ruger fits in nicely with my penchant for subsistence camping--an activity where the food supply is heavily dependent upon small game and semi-edible varmints gathered in the field. This activity was popularized by such notables as Earl Standley Garder back during the Cold War scare and I have never quite lost my enthusiasm for it.

Original Load

The original Winchester load, a 40 gr. JHP with lead exposed above the jacket, provides a real advantage over any Long Rifle load and will definitively shut down a jackrabbit at reason-able revolver ranges. I learned that the CCI Maxi-Mag HP also works well out of this long barreled revolver and from Contender single shots, but does not expand quite as readily at reduced velocities.

During the last decade, there have been a few additions to the .22 WMR cartridge line-up and I have tried several of them as they became available. When Federal introduced the 50 gr. JHP loading, it got good reviews from rifle shooters. From my Ruger, velocities peaked at 1,147 fps affording no expansion and a pronounced tendency to tumble after impact.

The CCI Maxi-Mag V ripped out of the buntline barrel at over 1,700 fps. Unfortunately, my best 25 yard groups measured 6.5 with the stinger-like bullets.

Recently, Federal Cartridge has come Out with a load using a 30 gr. Sierra JHP rated for 2,100 fps from a rifle and Remington has introduced a 40 gr. JHP load that breaks 1,700 fps from rifles. I realized it was time to update my .22 Magnum data base by seeing what these loads might offer the rimfire handgunner.

Reality Check

I would also do a reality check on the old favorites from Winchester and CCI. To make the whole thing more interesting, I arranged for the loan of a Smith Model 17 with the more commonly encountered 6" barrel.

The owner of this revolver is one of those "better shots" I mentioned earlier. He does all his competitive shooting in the Leppert mode and has converted this revolver to DA-only. This modification, while it suits the owner perfectly, put a strain on my ability to shoot small 25 yard groups.

Five round groups from the Model 17 ran a consistent 2" to 2.5" while the same rounds from the Ruger provided accuracy hovering around the 1" mark.

All of these loads provided consistent in-flight stability and produced nice round holes on target. All loads, with the exception of the CCI FMJ, demonstrated hollowpoint-type disruption of water-filled cans at 25 yards. Shot-to-shot velocity variation was somewhat more consistent in the long Ruger. This was particularly true with the hypervelocity Federal load.

CCI Maxi-Mag 40 gr. FMJ: This load was selected as a "control" to determine whether the hollowpoints were actually providing a disruptive effect on water-filled containers. It did provide through-penetration of water-filled cans with none of the dramatics associated with bullet expansion or tumbling. The load is quite accurate and remains popular among silhouette shooters.

Remington 40 gr. JHP: This relatively new load is a streamlined JHP with no exposed lead at the nose. While suitably accurate in the revolvers, it is probably more at home in rifles or the Contender. Upon striking water-filled cans, the bullet would begin to tumble. While no significant expansion took place, the effect on the target was spectacular.

Federal 40 gr. JHP: At 1,744 fps from the Ruger and providing groups of just over 1", this load has a lot to offer. It expands explosively on water-filled cans. Like other rimfire magnums, it seems to thrive on the longer barrel lengths. The 6" Smith showed a high velocity spread, but still produced a group of just under 2".