I’m looking at J-sized .22 revolvers, Smith & Ruger, for utility carry and varmints. In your experience, does the Magnum make a significant difference from a 2” revolver?

I found a pretty neat website called Ballistics By The Inch. They have ballistics tables for both the LR and WMR with different barrel lengths and several different loads. Their tables don’t show a huge difference. I would say the rough averages were around 860 for the LR and 950 for the WMR and both cartridges had a few loads that got Up to around 100 fps faster.

Thanks,
Expat

Check to see if the WMR revolver has full length extraction.

I bought my wife the 7 shot J frame 22 magnum. I think it’s a 351.. Hornady makes Critical defense ammo for 22 magnum. I’m pretty impressed with the little snub over all. Trigger is a little stiff in double action. Hasbeen

I went with the LCR 22 lr. I practice with it & CC a LRC 38. I see no real advantage in the 22mag out of a 2" revolver. Plus you get 8 shots over 6.

Have had several rimfire S&W J-s with 2-3.5" barrels..would never bother with a fixed sight 2" again unless one really need a compact carry piece with little recoil...shootability is tough....

Best of them going right now is the Ruger LCRX3"...light, compact, good trigger....would get the .22 Magnum for hunting/defense over the LR.

Bob

I have a Model 34-1 snubnose made in the mid-60’s. It’s very high quality but it doesn’t take too many rounds for extraction to become difficult and the cylinder to start dragging on the barrel forcing vine due to gunk. Definitely not a gun to take out for high volume plinking. Maybe the 22 Magnum is cleaner with less issues.

I prefer 22lr because I've had terrible luck with duds and misfires across multiple brands of 22 WMR ammunition in the past decade.

S&W makes a titanium snub nose 22 MAG that I think would be an awesome concealed carry gun with hollow point bullets

I've put a lot of miles on a Ruger LCR 22LR. No need for the magnum.

I had a smith and wesson ss j frame 22 magnum with a 2 inch barrel once upon a time. Firing it once casually while I was hiking convinced me once my ears stopped ringing that I had no need for a 22 magnum in a 2.5 inch barreled revolver. The 22 LR from that kind of a gun would be my choice.

I don’t have any chronograph results from a 2 inch barrel, but I do have results from 1 inch, 1-1/8 inch and 3 inch barrels. The .22WMR 40 grain Gold Dots gave me about 200 extra fps from the 1-1/8 inch barrel than .22 LR JHP 36 grain Mini-Mags out of the same barrel (convertible NAA mini). The .22 WMR Gold Dots out of a one inch barrel were still 80 fps faster than the Mini-Mags out of the slightly longer barrel. I also have shot .22 LR bulk pack type ammo out of a 3 inch S&W, and the results also were slower, some drastically slower, than the .22 WMR out of the much shorter barrels. It is not until I started shooting stuff like .22 LR Stingers and Velocitors out of the 3 inch LR barrel that the velocities started to beat the .22 WMR out of the 1-1/8 inch barrel. Also note that extreme spreads with 10 shot strings of .22 LR and .22 WMR ran 100 fps with a lot of loads, so you never know if the round you shoot next is going to be at the high end or the low end of the spectrum. Is WMR worth an extra 20 cents per shot over LR? I can reload .380 with 95 grain jacketed flat points for my 3.25 inch Glock 42 and get 900-950 fps for about 13 cents a shot.

This is the bestest advice you're going to get...

I'd say 90 to 100 FPS more is significant

NEVER shoot a .22 Magnum without hearing protection, painfully loud and sharp.

Slightly off topic but a couple of years ago a father and young teenage son were at the range shooting a Kel-Tec PMR 30, their 30 round .22 WMR pistol with a 4.3" barrel. The kid was having fun blasting out strings of 10 and 15 shots at a time.

This was around noon on a bright summer day and the thing that still stands out in my mind is that yard wide fireball in front of the pistol with every shot.

Yes, Magnum is significantly faster, even from a snubby, but their bullets likely will not expand from a snubby revolver, so penetration on a human target may not be much different.

The exact reason I sold mine, haha

If you compare 40 gr loads, the WMR is closer to 200+ fps faster in the 1.8" LCR. That's per testing done by Gunblast.com.

Numbers are here if anyone really gives a shhhit,

https://gunblast.com/Ruger-LCR22.htm

https://gunblast.com/Ruger-LCR22Mag.htm

CCI segmented 22LR mini-mags will take the wind out of most furry, little critters RTFN.

Much better ammo choices for a 22lr revolver, by a factor of a billion.

I'd give the 22LR the win, for target/plinking.

If choosing between them for personal protection, I'd take the WMR, probably load it with the 50 grain Federal load. That load because I would weigh penetration over anything else with a mouse-gun.

The .22 Magnum in any revolver is a gun that uses ammunition that is harder to find and costs 6 times as much as .22 LR, and delivers no worthwhile difference in performance on target. Also, the.22 Magnum in any handgun, particularly short barreled revolvers, has an awful, ear-splitting report that will leave you deafened and in pain after a few shots. .22 LR all the way if it was my choice.

The real difference between the LR and the Magnum is apparent only in rifles. And a dramatic difference it is.

So, for S&G I averaged the speed of all 40gr loads listed in the Gunblast reviews of the LCR 22, and 22 WMR.

22LR - 873 fps (avg of 7 40gr loads)

22WMR - 1074 fps (avg of 3 40gr loads)

Is the extra performance worth the cost in money and noise? For a plinker, no...for personal protection, hell yes! In my opinion.

I beg to differ. I've killed lots of stuff like ground squirrels, jack rabbits, skunks, racoons, rattlers ( w/ .22 mag bird shot), and what not. From a 5.5 inch Ruger SS in .22 RFM, vs. a 6 inch K-22 S&W, there is a big difference. E

There us a definate difference even in handguns on game. At least I've always seen a difference in my experience.



Exactly.

When 9x19 with 2-3x the muzzle energy is available for the same or lower price than 22 WMR, there's not much point in buying a 22 Mag. handgun.
Besides, the long sticky 22 Mag. cases never made for a great handgun round.
.

Sometimes the 22WMR handgun makes sense for different people, or different situations. Think about old arthritic hands that hate recoil. Then there are places where one can only carry a rimfire while out for a stroll.

I've only got one 22WMR, and that is a 6.5" Ruger Single Six convertible. It's probably getting 1450-1500 fps from the WMR. It's a real step up from 22LR in the same handgun.

The real hawkeye: First off - I am NOT a contrary.
So this real life experience is a direct first hand observation.
I worked for a police department that used to aggressively attack first class felons/criminals.
Negro's were constantly robbing a particular trio of bank on Seattle's Capitol Hill (negroey area at the time).
So our Tactical Squad decided to train some Poh-lice (negro term for police!) to be plain clothes bank tellers!
About 8 of the teller trained police were deployed in banks all around Capitol Hill. First week out a hoodied negro youth comes into one of the banks and displays his gat, and demands money or our teller would be shot!
Our local hero policeman/teller reaches over a few inches get his secondary gun, a High Standard22 Magnum derringer, and fires ONCE right into said negro's 10 ring!
Said negro was dead when the Medic One crew picked him up and transported him a few blocks to Seattle's Harborview Hospital (at the time our nations finest emergency room hospital) there the Doctors revived said negro after heroic efforts.
Said negro went on to a lengthy prison term at the Federal prison on MacNiel Island!
I have seen two human beings "kill't" with 22 Magnum pistols.
I don't recall a shooting with the 22 magnum pistol where the human lived?
"I" would NOT want to be shot center mass with a 22 Magnum hollow-point (or round nose for that matter).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have the smith scadnium snubby in 22 mag. I carry the speer gold dot short barrel load in it and it works pretty well. I killed a coyote with it. The speer load expands a bit even at the slow speeds. The hornady ftx didn't seem to expand but it does well from my 5" Taurus revolver because it picks up a lot more speed in the 5" barrel.

I bought a bunch of ftx for under $7 a box on sale. There's been some good sales on 22 mag ammo making it not much more than my preferred 22 lr velocitors.

The trouble with all 22 revolvers is the heavy hammer spring. I had a 3" 101 in 327 that I should have kept and just loaded some light 32 loads. Full house 327 are extremely loud and muzzle blasty. I have a ruger single seven 327 now with a 5.5" barrel that I'm going to work a light cast load up for.

Bb

^^^This^^^

Great advise !!!

On a related note, I stopped by my LGS today and someone had traded in one of the old High Standard Sentinel Model Revolver in .22 magnum with the 9 shot cylinder that still looked in-fired! It was the all steel blue model with the 2.75” barrel and nice wood grips. I always wanted one as a kid because my best friend’s dad had one when we were growing up.

Anyhow, I was all set to buy it until I saw the $450 price tag !!!

Guess that’s not so bad when you consider a new Ruger LCR in .22 mag is about $400 and a new Ruger titanium j-frame in .22 mag is about $650.

Anyways, wondered if any Camp 🔥 Members here had one and if theirs was accurate or not ???

What say y’all on the $450 price tag ???

Started to offer him $400 but I chickened out 🤠

The Ruger LCR in .327 Fed Magnum with a 3” barrel and adjustable sights would be just about the PERFECT “Kit Gun” IMO.

I’ve suggested it SEVERAL times to Ruger on their “Tell the CEO” part of their website.
Apparently Ruger isn’t interested in manufacturing a cool little functional “Kit Gun” that might actually SELL.

A fellow Camp 🔥 member who is in “the loop” at Ruger told me they were going to release the very same gun over a year ago. I’m still WAITING...... But not holding my breath. 🤠

Just read where someone did a water jug test with that load on the Kel-Tec Owners Forum.

He said he also shot the Gold Dot load out of NAA Mini Revolver with the 1 5/8 “ barrel and the bullet fully penetrated two water jugs and stopped and got stuck on the back edge of the 3rd water jug and EXPANDED with a nice mushroom shape. I’d say that was pretty impressive out of that little barrel!

For plinking the LR, for any animal hunting or shooting the WMR

I've done that with the Gold Dots from a 1 inch Pug. (Labradar 10 shot average of 983 fps with 100 fps extreme spread.) Shooting from a few feet away, the round sailed through 4 water jugs and kept going. I also did a contact shot with the Gold Dot. If I recall correctly, I recovered the first round in the third jug with a big mushroom. I probably have a picture of that somewhere. I also shot a Hornady 45 grain Critical Defense from a few feet away and recovered the mushroomed round in the third jug. However, I had numerous malfunctions with the Critical Defense in the Pug, so that round is off the list for that gun.





I was so surprised at the result of the contact shot, including being splashed with a lot of water, that I hesitated and then decided to keep shooting. I really flubbed the manipulation of the gun for some of those!

I've owned a few snub revolvers in various chamberings over the years. I never warmed up to them.

I think one of the best .22 revolvers for the money these days is the 4" Charter Arms pathfinder with adjustable sights.

A snub .22 sacrifices too much velocity and you can't hit anything with it.

My choice for a .22 revolver is a 70's era S&W model 17,...which shoots like a carbine. I wouldn't have one of the new production models and those from when they were worth having will hit your wallet pretty hard.

Charter Arms is one of the few manufacturers still making a .22 revolver that can be bought without hocking your car.

Charter Arms Pathfinder is okay but it's not svelte and only holds 6 shots.
Functionally, the 8 shot Ruger LCR is appealing if you don't mind dropping $500 on a glorified cap gun.
I'd like to see someone make a true pocket revolver in something like 380 ACP but that's another story.

Have you seen the Taurus M380?

https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/09/taurus-m380-revolver-a-deep-cover-snubbie/

Yes, but I never handled one.
Any good?

It’s a Taurus. 😬

I've never handled one either.

+1

for personal protection there are a whole lot of better options than the 22 magnum. The logic of paying $5-600 for a gun that is neither fish nor fowl escapes me. Personal protection buy a bigger caliber, walking, plinking 22 LR. If making an objective list of Pro's and Con's the extra power of the 22 magnum is marginal and debatable in a personal defense situation.

https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/alternate-look-handgun-stopping-power

my apologies to all for posting this link, as it actually seems to show that it takes fewer hits with a 45 to "incapacitate" than with a 9mm. I know this is heresy.

Very interesting study in that link, jimmyp. Thanks for the link.

+P!!

Thank you! I love gun gack and ruminating over data. I'm going to send that link right now to a few guys from church so we can have a good discussion in the lobby today.

EDITED TO ADD: To keep it relevant to the original topic, the study from the guy in Ohio lumped all .22 data (long rifle, long, and short) into one category. And, that category DID NOT include the .22 WMR. Was that because the author could find no shootings involving the WMR? If there were none, why not? Too few handguns chambered for the round? Is it possible that a few investigators misidentified a bullet from a WMR as having been fired from a .22lr?

Like I said before, I find this stuff fascinating. I'd be very interested to see some data, comparing the .22lr to the .22 WMR, but there probably isn't enough out there to make it statistically significant.

In my experience shooting nutra rats with 4" &6" revolvers with both 22 LR and 22Mag the 22 Mag is a night and day more reliable stopper with 2 shot

That's been my experience with sage rats. A sage rat is roughly the size of a chipmunk, and a .22lr doesn't explode them. If you gut shoot a sage rat with a .22lr he'll live long enough to try to crawl to his hole, making me feel like a bad person. But, a gut shot with a .22 WMR is a one-shot kill.

I'd still like to see how that compares/translates to shootings involving people.

It would be impossible to argue that point. I've never relied on anything less than 9mm myself, but even the 22LR can be very lethal.

Lots of folks choose mouseguns for various reasons that make sense to them, and often successfully defend themselves.

Yep. 9mm is my minimum. Followed by .380. .22 mag would be next in line.

If being able to source ammo locally is part of the equation, then .22 magnum is a non-starter. 9 X out of 10, BassPro doesn't even have it. In a LGS, it's non-existent.

Try the 78 gr lasercast over 3.0 gr of Universal at 1.33 inches COAL. It shoots about like a 22 WMR in a four inch SP 101, and an LCRx, and a couple of 4 5/8" Single Sevens, and a Henry carbine.

Or just buy 32 S&W, or 32 S&W long, or even 32 ACP. They will shoot just fine in your 327.

My grandkids love to shoot my reduced loads.

And in true 'Campfire tradition, I would highly recommend the LCR in 327 over any 22 for trail or SD carry.

I am still waiting for the LCRx 3 in 327.

I'm not a big .22mag fan.

I owned a Taurus 4" .22mag revolver for a while.
It was a nice handling gun, but the cylinder was an absolute bear to push out the empties.
I think I shot it without hearing protection "once". That was all it took!
I killed a few ground squirrels and sage rats with it and moved on to a S&W 63 kit gun.
I decided that if I needed more power in that size handgun that I would be better served by a good .38 special.

I would choose the .22LR cartridge just based on my own leanings and experience.

It does seem that availability of cartridges is a factor though. And It must be that availability is different by region. There's not an LGS or big box store that sells ammo in my area that doesn't have a really good selection of .22WMR on the shelf.

I never was severely affected by the rimfire shortage as I have always bought more than I shot going back nearly 50 years.

I will say that the production increase by the rimfire manufacturers seems to have come at a cost. Just this year had a misfire with new CCI mini mag hp, in a rifle, for the first time ever.
I've hadf rare misfires in rifles a few times over the years with other makers. And when shooting DA .22 revolvers have always had the occasional failure.
I was shocked and dismayed when our savage cub mini clicked on a mini mag...

I wanted a short barreled 22 revolver for carrying around the farm. Ended up with a Charter Arms, stainless, 2 inch barrel. Had to file the front sight down in order to hit anything with it, but otherwise, it's functioned perfectly..........and I've shot it a bunch. I cannot imagine shooting anything louder than a 22 LR without ear protection, and even then, this pistol is loud enough.

I'm not carrying it for personal protection, only those times when I'm figuring I might need it for such things as dispatching an animal caught in a trap, or when I'm packing a rifle, and just want a handgun along. Otherwise, I pretty much carry a 9mm all the time.

i got both ruger lcr rimfire revolvers. the 22wmr went away: way too much flashbang for not much more result and only six shots. the 22lr stayed to be a sometimes ccw: i can’t do much recoil and 8 reliably well placed cci stingers will deter most likely daylight threats in my quiet locale.

Anyone check out the 50 gr 22 mag? Seems like it would be the most useful 22 mag round, especially in short barreled pistols.

I've got some of the 50g fed. They were quite a bit slower through my scadnium snubby. I don't recall what they chronicled but it was significantly less than the 40g gold dot short barrels I usually carry.

I haven't fully tested it but the 50 doesn't expand at all from a short barrel. I bet they penetrate better than most. I've kept a few boxes around in my hunting truck etc. I've loaded with the 50s in a bear area on a little family hike one day when I only had the 22 mag with me. Not saying its ideal but it was the best I had with me that day.

I was hunting with a friend George Duncan in Northern idaho years ago and he told me he's had very good luck killing black bears with a 22 mag revolver. He's probably been part of taking more black bears or mtn lions than anyone else I know. I think he used a bit longer barrel on his 22 mag revolver than my scadnium has. Mu Taurus revolver has a 5" barrel and it really puts the smack down on small game. The trouble is the hanmer is small and so heavy to pull my wife can't even shoot it double or single.

I think I'd like a 3" lcr in 327 with adjustable sights. Down load it with a few hot loads on hand if needed. Probably more reliable with s reasonable pull than any rimfire.

Bb

I carry the NAA 22 mag as a pocket pistol, for what that's worth.

When I was a kid my neighbor shot a guy breaking into his shop behind his house. He shot him in the knee with a 22 mag Ruger single six, they had to amputate the dudes leg.

I got a fake stainless J-frame 4" 22lr(s,l). Real nice little gun and 4" aint too long to stuff in a back pocket.
It has the advantage of 9 shots, and I can load CB caps if I want.
Trigger is hard to pull in double action compared to a centerfire. But I figure I won't notice if I ever needed to pop off nine quick shots. It usually gets shot single action.

Single-Nine would be the way I'd go if I wanted a 22 mag pistol.

Sounds just like a 9mm to me.

T

the ruger single six is the sweet spot handgun for 22wmr. my 5.5” rss shoots 22wmr like a laser, way more accurate than i deserve and is fun too. even handgun barrel specific 22wmr ammo really needs a 5”ish minimum barrel to do well, imho. a rss is in my get-home bag. 100 rounds each of 22wmr/lr is highly portable, and since i can reliably hit with both rimfire ammos, is more efficient for me than a heavier caliber.

+1 have the same revolver just had the trigger reworked by local gun smith.Great little gun.

I carried the 4" 22 mag S&W for many years loaded with 40gr FMJ ammo and its finished a number of animals and then I sent my M-63 back to the factory where they installed a 2" barrel. Loaded with 40gr solids its has taken over from the 4" and works just as good with a shot to the ear plus a little easier to carry..

I'm really leaning towards the Ruger LCRX 3in, been deciding between it, a 317, and 63.

I had a 317 S&W 1-7/8" and liked it for a light carry but they don't make em anymore.

I think if you check the specs you'll find out that your snubby is aluminum alloy, not scandium. Still an Airlite gun, just not scandium.

I've got the 43c.
Been thinking about upgrading to the 351c. I would gain WMR performance, but lose one round.
I would have much higher ammo cost, along with more noise and muzzle blast when shooting.

From watching gel tests from snubnose guns on YouTube, if you pick the best penetrating lr rounds, you will be within 1-2" of the penetration of the WMR rounds.

Shootingthebull410 at the 9:49 mark
CCI 36gr .22 cphp, avg. penetration 11.8".

Gold Dot .22WMR 12" avg penetration.

It looks like WMR hunting rounds will give better penetration, but at the cost increased blast and flash.

I think for now I'll stick with my .22.
These guns are for low threat times when I want to carry something light.

Yes I have a LCP, and usually carry a Glock 43, but variety is good.

I'd have no use for a 2" revolver in 22 magnum. They are incredibly load out of a 5 1/2" single six barrel. I gave up shooting it with unprotected ears. Any gains in velocity are completely nil to the pain of using it.

41

Several years ago I picked up one of the LCR snubbies in 22lr (and one in 357). I've carried the heck out of the 22lr while working on our farm and in the woods. I really like it. That said, if the LCRx 3" in .22lr had been around I'd have gone with it. I might not have liked it as well as I'm not sure it would slip in my back pocket and stay out of the way as well or as comfortably....may need to get one just to see....

I've never really been a fan of the .22WMR. Ammo is a little on the expensive side and can be scarce in certain backwater locations. Plus I really never cared for it in a handgun. Too much blast. With the hyper-velocity .22lr available and now loads with 42 and 45gr bullets in the 1300+fps range, I'd take the .22lr over the .22WMR.

Out of the snubby, that will be more like 900 fps. The WMR will be around 1150 fps.

I traded into a High Standard snubbie 22mag 9 shot a couple years back and it's ok but I always seem to carry something else and this one gets left at home.
It would be far better than harsh language or a strongly worded letter if that was my only option..

.22wmr all day every day. Besides the increased velocity it also uses proper jacketed bullets as opposed to copper washed lead in the long rifle.

Same thought here, if it is meant for personal defense. The WMR ammo is also sealed tighter, less susceptible to moisture, and possible ignition failure.

Some say the WMR ammo also has a lower rate of duds.