Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 22LR rechamber to 22WMR??

Can a 22LR be rechambered to 22 Mag?

Yes, but it might be a challenge to get .22 MAG cartridges to feed reliably through magazines and actions designed for the .22 LR. If the cylinder is long enough, you might be able to convert a .22 LR revolver to .22 MAG.

I've successfully rechambered a couple of Savage 24 combination guns from .22 LR to .22 MAG, including my favorite woods loafing 22M/410.

Opening the bolt face and replacing the extractor is a problem on a lot of bolt guns.

A .22 mag is .224" and a .22 is not...it is smaller. Probably not a great idea.

The bullets are soft lead but I still would rethink it.

The combo guns that shoot both are .224"

Bore size is an issue.
And I’d guess by the time you re bore, deal with feed issues, bolt face change, you’re far better off selling the LR and buying a WRM.

easy to do on single shots

I did it on a Remington 510. Shot it at metal targets. At 50 yards it would knock pigs over, the LR wouldn’t.
I was talking to a gunsmith friend who builds his own actions both bolt and side by side. His words of advice “take that barrel and cut it into pieces so no one gets hurt when the action lets go. So I did as he said.
Not sure if it would really blow up or the bolt shear off the locking lug and send the bolt back into my head( his words). I figured he knew more than I did.

slightly off topic, but I knew an older gunsmith a few years ago that was planning on rebarreling a Marlin bolt action 22 to 25ACP. Im not sure if he ever did it, as he passed away about a year after he told me about his build.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll just buy a 22mag!!

Bellm did em yrs ago and said they usually shot exceptional.
IIRC he told me most .22 lr bbls are low carbon steel.

They may have a shorter life, but usually last a long while.

I again asked last yr, his son shot me a price to convert a Contender .22 lr bbl to magnum.

Ended up w factory .22 mag bbl so abandoned the project.