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robert38-55
Posts: 3,621 Senior Member
Will the .22 short ever become a cartridge of the Past?
robert38-55
Posts: 3,621 Senior Member
I know most of us grew up with the .22 caliber in some type of firearm be it a single shot rifle or maybe a Mom's or Dad's hangun. I have always had a special place for the age old .22 cartridge. It's cheap (well used to be anyway) fun to shoot and practice with. A great caliber for introducing a new shooter to the world of firearms,etc.
We as gun owners and hunters have seen many a good cartridge come and go, some made it to the big time, some cartridges fell by the wayside many years ago. I remember when I was a kid and on Saturdays my dad would take me and my younger brother out to shoot the single shot .22 bolt rifle I had as a kid. My dad always seemed to have a pocket full of .22 shorts. I remember a box of .22 shorts back in the 1960's was about .50 cents or so. Then the .22 long came along,or it may have been there all along I just wasn't aware of it. Then a short while after that it seemed that every .22 rifle and handgun was being chambered for the .22 long rifle cartridge.
It seems like back in the day I had a hunting buddy who had an old semi-auto Remington .22 of some type, and IIRC (Correct me if I am wrong here),but I think that rifle he had, one could actually mix .22 shorts,long and long rifle in it. This was back in the mid 1970's so I don't recall 100%. I don't think Marlin, Winchester, or Henry is producing any rifles that chamber a .22 short specifically now a days.. Anyway the point is, I still use the .22 short in my single shot .22 rifles, and in my Hawes,.22SA revolver. I hope that little cartridge never completely disappears.
We as gun owners and hunters have seen many a good cartridge come and go, some made it to the big time, some cartridges fell by the wayside many years ago. I remember when I was a kid and on Saturdays my dad would take me and my younger brother out to shoot the single shot .22 bolt rifle I had as a kid. My dad always seemed to have a pocket full of .22 shorts. I remember a box of .22 shorts back in the 1960's was about .50 cents or so. Then the .22 long came along,or it may have been there all along I just wasn't aware of it. Then a short while after that it seemed that every .22 rifle and handgun was being chambered for the .22 long rifle cartridge.
It seems like back in the day I had a hunting buddy who had an old semi-auto Remington .22 of some type, and IIRC (Correct me if I am wrong here),but I think that rifle he had, one could actually mix .22 shorts,long and long rifle in it. This was back in the mid 1970's so I don't recall 100%. I don't think Marlin, Winchester, or Henry is producing any rifles that chamber a .22 short specifically now a days.. Anyway the point is, I still use the .22 short in my single shot .22 rifles, and in my Hawes,.22SA revolver. I hope that little cartridge never completely disappears.
"It is what it is":usa:
Replies
Of course, any .22 LR revolver will fire Shorts too. I don't know if it has faded down to the popularity level of say a .38 S&W or .32 S&w yet, but it's getting there.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
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:that:
― Douglas Adams
Midway lists 6 loads including a hollow point so it seems the .22 short is still fairly popular. I might have to get a couple boxes to keep on hand for old times sake.
Huh ??? :yikes:
I think a toy revolver in .22 short is loads of fun, I can't see that changing any time soon.... not by any means a serious tool, but a fun toy....
Jerry
Here in Florida, we are constrained during small game seasons by "Wildlife Management Areas". If you choose to hunt on one of these lands, you are required to use only shotguns or rimfire rifles/pistols. The .22 of any design is invaluable to me, for example. And I thoroughly enjoy taking critters with my Winchester 62A pump using .22 shorts. Squirrel's worst nightmare.
-Jason
It used to be worse with corrosive primers. At least now you can remove the fouling with a brush.
Here's what I've read on this issue. If you fire a steady diet of shorts in a barrel designed for shorts, longs and LR you get, I guess erosion or what ever. Then when you fire a say LR, we know what brass does at ignition in the chamber, and the brass fills that spot. You have an extraction problem or even a stuck case.
This never happened to me nor have I ever seen it happen but I have read of it. I would think it would take a lot of shorts over a long time. Personally I haven't cleaned the bore of my .22 rifle in many years.
I've read many times that shorts will foul the chamber more than longs or long rifles, but I don't think it's enough to worry about. If you're worried about it, just remember to clean it well in the chamber area. I've also heard the same about overusing .38 Specials in a .357.
I would love to find a Browning 22 Auto chambered for Shorts only at a good price. They go for twice what you'll pay for the LR version. It's another one of the many guns I wish I'd bought years ago, long before the collectors discovered how neat and rare they are.
I'm not sure but I think Longs are now obsolete. The Long is merely the Long Rifle case with a Short bullet.
Jerry
The first firearm I ever used was one of those, an old Sears model 41 single shot that my Dad bought in 1968.... still have that gun....
I didn't say erode, I said build up residue. Of course, if it's an old gun that shot corrosive primed .22s, it would, indeed, erode the chamber. The .22 LR will also leave residue where the case ends, eventually necessitating you clean the chamber before it will chamber a round.
Also, Metalurgy has improved over the years so a regular .22 short shouldn't erode the chamber (or a .38 special cylinder, for that matter) but it will foul the chamber and cause extraction problems, after shooting a lot of rounds or no so many rounds, depending on the extractor.
I shot about a dozen short cb caps in my O/U 22/410 and had to clean the chamber before it would eject.
Keep in mind, however that what's really driving the .22 Short sticking around. My understanding is that it's very popular among trappers precisely because it's even lighter shooting than the 22 long rifle - a good thing when you want to not only minimize pelt damage, but bone deformity that could cut into said pelt with something like a CCI Stinger or MiniMag. My beef wit hthe short is that I've found it to be even more expensive than .22 LR in most cases around here. I want to plink with it for for, but for the cost of two 100 packs, I can get a 500 round brick of bulk .22 LR rounds.
I haven't seen any LR that replicate the .22 short.
Close enough for Government work.....
By the way my local WalMart has 22 short(s) as does the LGS.
The newish CCI Quiet 22lr round is very close to their 22 short TARGET round in numbers and MUCH less expensive. The Aquila SuperExtra is very close in numbers to their 22 short high velocity round. Then there is the Aquila Super Colibri. Or you may prefer the Remington CBee.
AHHHHHH I do remember that form my Carolina days woods... hog brain with scrambled eggs Yum Yum!!!! Been a long time for me. I also like the chitterlings too, sometimes spelled chitlins!!!!!!
Teach wrote:
Got to agree with ya Teach. I know when I was a youngin in NC and went squirrel hunting I also had some .22 shorts with me. I probably carried some longs and long rifles too, bu IIRC it was the .22 short that was my go to cartridge then.
NN wrote: I hope it doesn't disappear either I like the littel .22 short, getting kind of hard to find now a days, but when I do, I usually buy a box or two.