.22 ammo question - trivia

Nimbus · Feb 23, 2012

Most of us shoot .22 long rifles in our 22's. I had several occasions where a .22 shot was useful. I once had my airplane in a large wooded hanger that was infested with pigeons. Not wanting to put holes in the roof I found the .22 shot quite effective in pigeon control.

So my question is this. Why the heck did they make a .22 long & has anyone ever shot one & is it still manufactured?

Mark W. · Feb 23, 2012

Well The .22 short came FIRST then the .22Long came along a few years later and finally the .22Long Rifle and WMR came along. Followed later by the .22Mag and in the last 30 years Stingers and the other hyper velocity rounds.

Yes .22 longs are still made. look for a manufacturers offerings in std velocity and a .29 gr slug. CCI and Aguila and a few others still make them.

Most dedicated target loads are actually a Long.

If you want to read a whole bunch more do a google search for .22 long and read the Wiki page

I have a couple thousand in my .22 rim fire boxes.

shockme · Nov 16, 2012

yes bi mart should have them, i too like the 22 shot works great on rats-or squirrels in filbert trees ,scares them -or freaks them out they jump out and my dogs get them fun for all .!

Sgt Nambu · Nov 16, 2012

Another back in the Jurrasic .22 is the CB Cap (conical ball) this is a tiny little cartridge with a conical slug powered by the primer only. Don't know the history but I do have a few.

Spitpatch · Nov 17, 2012

I would take issue with Mark W's statement that "most dedicated target loads are actually a Long" The .22 Long bullet is of less weight than conventional (even target grade) Long Rifle loads. Basically, the .22 Long Cartridge has the same bullet as conventional .22 Shorts, with slighly more powder (and a case that approximates .22 Long Rifle length).

Without books in front of me now, I might question his chronology of the cartridge development, but he may be right in their order of presentation. The 22 WRF is a very interesting cartridge, in that for modern application, it serves as a ".22 Magnum Reduced Load". It can be chambered in .22 Magnum guns for a less volatile choice on close-range game (the 22WMR is NOT the same diameter bullet as .22 Long Rifle. The .22WRF bullet and case is of the diameter of the Magnum.)

To elaborate on the OP's original question, the 22 Long was in operation for a respectable number of years before the Long Rifle. The reason it is still loaded by cartridge manufacturers is that there survive so many imperviously durable guns chambered only for it (manufactured in that respectable number of years). The Winchester 1890's, 1906's, and Colt's Lightning pump guns were examples of that time period.

A very good cartridge, staunchly defending its position in rimfire development, and still usefull today: Want something milder than Long Rifle for close-range pest control, but none of the chamber scoring from a .22 Short?

The .22 Long might just be what you are looking for.