.22 WMR Recommendations

Briggz

Briggz

Joined
Oct 18, 2002
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1,575
looking at several different ones

CZ
Savage
Henry
Ruger

Pump vs bolt vs lever action

And this maybe a stupid but can you put a .22 LR in any .22 WMR chambered rifle?

Thanks,
 
It really depends upon what you will be using it for. If it going to be a hunting rifle only. I would look at the H&R Ultra Varmint Rifle http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/hunter.aspx. I have one and just love it.


I also have a few other calibers of theirs that are also fine hunting rifles.

Nick:)
 
NO! Do not put a .22LR in a .22WMR. Thay are not compatible.
For the cost and weight of the rounds I would suggest going with .22LR over WMR.

I have a CZ 452 in .22LR I love it but it is on the heavy side. I like the bolt action because it is conservative with ammo and ultra reliable.
That said I wouls also like a Ruger 10/22 with a synthetic stock to add to the collection.
 
The 22lr is a healed bullet, and as such the case is .22. The 22WMR the bullet itself is .22 give or take and the case is larger, and uses thicker brass. You WILL bust the case of the 22lr and possibly causing damage to yourself or your rifle. There are several revolvers that will fire both, but require the cylinder to be changed. Also be forewarned that 22WMR has gotten prohibitively expensive IMO, I would prefer 22lr for basically all of the tasks except dedicated varmint hunting, and there are better loads for that even still.
 
I have fired the Marlin, Ruger (77-22M), and Winchester 9422M. All were very acceptable as far as accuracy, weight, and reliability. My personal favorite was the Ruger.
 
I would perfer the Ruger first and then the CZ. Definatley get the bolt action over the pump. Bolt action guns normaly give a higher degree of accuracy over pumps.,,VWB.
 
Smash05 said:
The 22lr is a healed bullet, and as such the case is .22. The 22WMR the bullet itself is .22 give or take and the case is larger, and uses thicker brass. You WILL bust the case of the 22lr and possibly causing damage to yourself or your rifle.
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Exactly right! No 22 LR's (or shorts or longs) in a 22 WMRF ever.

There are several revolvers that will fire both, but require the cylinder to be changed.
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And they aren't that accurate when firing .22 LR through the 22 WMRF barrel because the 22 WMRF barrel is slightly larger as discussed Smash. 22 WMRF pistols seem to be going the way of the Dodo bird.

Also be forewarned that 22WMR has gotten prohibitively expensive IMO, I would prefer 22lr for basically all of the tasks except dedicated varmint hunting, and there are better loads for that even still.
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And 22 LR is a bunch better these days than it used to be. The high velocity ammo used to be 1200 fps is now closer to 1600. There are many loads that approach the 22 WMRF velocity even with heavy bullets (velocitor etc). If I didn't want to use 22 LR for survival, I would personally look at .223 rather than a 22 WMRF.

Don't overlook the versatility of the 22 LR. The 22 WMRF is nice especially if you are trying to take larger animals in a survival situation. But all in all, we are only talking about 200 fps difference between the high end LR hp's and a 22 WMRF. That's not enough difference to justify the cost IMHO. And it's not enough additional energy to change the 22 WMR from a "behind the ear of the deer" to a "center chest on the deer" kind of round. Much of the "survival shooting" I imagine in my minds eye would be squirrels and rabbits. On those types of animals, standard velocity RN lead is preferable for both the superior accuracy of the ammo and the less damage the ammo does to your dinner.

Just a comparison (using prices from Midwayusa.com):
High Velocity HPs
22 WMRF Winchester SuperX 40 grain JHP (1910 fps) $8.49 per 50
22 LR CCI Velocitor 40 gr JHP (1435 fps) $4.19 per 50 (some high velocity HPs are as low as $2.00 per 50)
Round nose ammo
22 WMRF Fiochi JSP 40 grain (1900 fps) $7.69 per 50
22 LR CCI Blazer RNL 40 grain (1070 fps) $1.79 per 50

I just bought a 550 round brick of Federal 22 LR from Wally yesterday. I think it was less than $10. Whatever it was, it wasn't enough for the price to register in my memory and I COULD carry the entire brick in a pack with little notice. And any place that has ammo will have 22 LR. 22 WMRF seems to be less and less common these days.

That's not to say that 22 WMRF is a bad choice. It's still acceptable on even the smallest game so long as you can make headshots and is better on the larger animals. And $8 per 50 isn't a terrible price, it's just much higher in comparison to the 22 LR than it used to be. I choose to stick with 22 LR to feed my rimfire rifles and pistol.

CZ
Savage
Henry
Ruger

Pump vs bolt vs lever action
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Pump vs. bolt vs. lever is discussed on many sites. The bolt will give you the best accuracy in general. Pump and lever give you more firepower. None of your listed companies have pumps though. Remington and Taurus are the only options these days of which I know. I'm not sure why you are ruling out the automatic, some are reliable and accurate. I have an old Marlin semiauto that cost me about $40 25 years ago. It is reliable and has no trouble making headshots on squirrels (though my eyes haven't worn as well through the years-- a scope is pretty necessary these days). If I were forced to defend myself against a person, 17 rounds and the rate of fire of the semiauto would be more comforting to me than any bolt action.

My impressions of the makers you listed:
CZ- premium quality and accuracy for a moderate price. It will probably be the most accurate.
Savages- no personal experience but I've read that the bolts are also quite accurate. (You seem to be ignoring semi autos and I'm not aware of Savage making a 22 WMRF automatic, so I will ignore them too)
Henry- I assume we are talking the lever here although I think they make a pint sized bolt action but to my knowledge it isn't 22 WMRF. I've never heard much bad about them except from purists who don't like the finish or some of the plastic parts. It isn't going to be as accurate as a bolt.
Ruger- Ruger.... I've never like Ruger due to Bill Ruger's involvement in Clinton's gun ban legislation. Anyway, I admit my bias. That being said, the only 22 pistol I own currently is a Ruger. Since you are asking about 22 WMR, and pumps, bolts and levers, I will assume you are looking at a 77/22. Not a bad rifle IMO, but the triggers aren't great. Couldn't imagine buying one with the better options on the market. 10/22 is also available in 22 WMR but I've never shot any stock 10/22 that was accurate.

There are several of the makes that you list that are amongst my favorites, like the CZ and the Henry lever, but I prefer the shorter barrels and smaller stocks especially for "survival" useage. The compact carbine versions aren't available in 22 WMR.
 
My two favorites are a 10/22 and a Savage Bolt gun with bullseye sights. Both are excellent firearms. I do like the versitility of the bolt gun because it can feed a variety of lower powered ammo without any problems. The 10/22 is awesome in its own way.
 
I have a stainless Marlin 22.mag that will put one round on top of another at 75 yds. I routinely dispatch snakes out of my pond with headshops at over 100yds. One heck of a gun for $200.00
 
I have a very old Winchester lever that is simply amazing. Seriously consider this gaun.
 
THE BARON said:
Do yourself a favor and buy a 17 HMR !!!
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I appreciate the information. I had a 10/22 but lost it to a pawn shop back in college.

Looking for the 22LR or .22 wmr to go with my Ruger SS6. Carry 1 type of Ammo.

Not really a strictly for hunting, some, not really a SHTF gun but you never know. A good general purpose gun.

Thanks again and keep it up
 
I would suggest purchasing a .22LR over .22WMR. .22WMR is about the cost of centerfire ammo, making it much more expensive to shoot than .22LR. I own a .22WMR (Basically got it for free), but never shoot it because .22LR is adequate for my needs. I really don't see a need for .22WMR. I would suggest purchasing a .22LR 10/22, and a few 25 round mags just for fun.
 
You already have the ssx and know the cost of ammo, and know the LR is not a substitute for the mag if that's what you want. The Ruger deserves a Ruger companion, but if cost is a factor check Marlin. I took a Marlin mag in trade and was very pleased with the function and accuracy. The walnut is simply outstanding for a production rimfire. Either way, you would keep it in the USA column and that's a worthy consideration.:) Regards, ss.
 
I would say .22lr is an excellent shtf rifle, ammo is readily available, light and small,
and it packs more punch then many would expect. It may not kill a dog easily but it will certainly deter it, and many game animals can be taken with it.

I was looking into getting WMR a while back but much research swayed me back to LR, and now I have a CZ 452 american on the way to keep my marlin 60 company.
The marlin 60 is a tremendous little rifle, 15 semi auto shots in the tube mag, and fairly accurate.
 
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