A friend of mine has inherited an old Winchester Model 90 rifle which is stamped on the barrel, ".22 WRF."

I'm not very familiar with that cartridge, but a regular .22 LR cartridge will not function in it, will it??

Thanks.

L.W.

It's about like a 22 magnum.You can shoot a 22 WRF in a 22 magnum,but you cannot shoot a 22 magnum in a 22 WRF.I have one in an old H&R 22 Special.

Right ... .22 WRF was also known as .22 Special. Generally fires a 45 grain bullet around 1300 fps, a little faster than a .22 long rifle, not as fast as .22 magnum. It can be used in a .22 magnum in the same way .38 special ammo can be fired in .357 magnum ... and decidedly not the other way around.

At one time I had several Model 90s, mostly in .22 special. During depression years, I'm told it accounted for quite a bit of "early season" venison or some local families.

Tom

.22 WRF = 22 Winchester Rim Fire

The 22 Magnum was created by lengthening the .22 WRF case.
It will fire in a 22 Magnum chambered gun, but not the other way around as the 22 Mag. case is too long (same as a 38 Special will fire in a 357 magnum).


Edited to add :
I type slow - Did not see T O M's post above when I posted.....

Pretty sure you can still get ammo...https://www.targetsportsusa.com/22-wrf-ammo-c-204.aspx

I have a batch of CCI ammo for it that I bought to use in my single six. PM me if interested in buying it.

it would go to a more noble purpose in a rifle than my occasional handgun needs.

Thanks for the info, gents. The Win. 90 .22 WRF rifle does not belong to me. The man who inherited it knows nothing about firearms. I told him now that .22 LR has become more available, I'd check to see if a .22 LR would function in a .22 WRF.

The rifle is not in good shape as it sat in his father's closet for about 50 years, uncleaned, etc. If he wants to shoot it, I'll tell him to take it to a professional gunsmith for cleaning and checking for it to be safe.

I'll also tell him about the .22 WRF ammo info posted here.

Thanks again.

L.W.

Absolutely not ... safely. The case diameter of the .22 WRF is larger. Rim might be thicker. If a LR cartridge did fire in the .22 WRF it would almost certainly split the case body and possibly the rim causing potential injury to the shooter / bystanders.

It would not be accurate, probably, either, even if it didn't burst the case because .22 WRF likely shares the .22 magnum .224 bullet diameter instead of the .22 LR .2225 - .223 inch diameter.

Leanwolf,

DO NOT FIRE 22LR or any other 22 ammo in a 22 WRF chamber.

Use only 22 WRF ammo.



Just as TOM said, cases will split endangering the shooter and not good for the gun. I have seen it done, and every case split. The owner of that gun came to me and asked why his cases were splitting and some were sticking in the chamber.

I explained the difference. The owner thought all 22 firearms shot all 22 ammo. Yeah, right.

If you are not aware, the Model 1890 Winchester rifle was made from 1890 to 1932, so it is at least 85 years old.

Your friend should have the old rifle checked by a gunsmith. Many old 22 rifles that were neglected have very pitted chambers and/or barrels. Badly pitted chambers are not safe to shoot. They will cause splitting and sticking, too.

The early 22 ammo from over 85 years ago was corrosive, so bad chambers and barrels from that era are common.

TOM, Nifty 250, and all, thanks again for the information. This is only the second .22 WRF rifle I've seen and the other was when I lived in Los Angeles and a friend of mine there had a bolt action rifle in .22 WRF. If I remember, he had a hard time finding ammo for it.

This Winchester 90 rifle I saw a couple of days ago is in rough shape. My friend knows absolutely nothing about guns except they go BANG. The rifle and several other long guns he inherited are old and in poor condition. They looked to me like "wall hangers."

I doubt any of them had been shot or cleaned in 60 or 70 years, perhaps even longer.

That's the way it goes.

L.W.

The .22 WRF has a nominal bullet/groove diameter of .226" and the bullet at 45 grains is a bit longer than other .22 RF stock, be it LR or Mag., thus a different twist rate is utilized. A 14" twist is preferred for stabilizing the WRF bullet.

See page 17 of the following SAAMI document:

http://saami.org/specifications_and_information/publications/download/Z299-1_ANSI-SAAMI_Rimfire.pdf

Every now and then, the "special" ammo comes on sale in quantities. About twenty years ago a fellow I know bought twelve cases! He's since died and I'm not sure who got those rimfires; his guns and ammo!