The History of the 22 Rimfire

[John]

Im interested in the history of all things related to the 22. I've looked on wikipedia and found a wealth of info.

Can anyone recommend a book on the subject? preferably one with lots of pictures. lol

One thing i couldnt find is when they introduced 22 long rifle high speed ammo. And when it became the norm over the standard velocity LR cartridge.

I've been considering getting a marlin 1897 for some time. I've been looking at the modern ones, either the texan or the cowboy models. But i would probably get an original if i was sure that modern ammunition would not damage it. I've been told that high speed long rifle ammo would cause undue wear on it and eventually failure. But i cant see how it would as it's only 200-300 fps faster then the standard velocity stuff. And the action of the gun i believe would take it.

what do yall say?

[Rollis]

Over on THR, there is a huge 39A thread. From what I, have gathered from some of the post there, the late 20's, early 30's, is when the hi volocity ammo started to appear, and that is when the 39a, started to be made to handle it.

[D. Manley]

Im interested in the history of all things related to the 22. I've looked on wikipedia and found a wealth of info.

Can anyone recommend a book on the subject? preferably one with lots of pictures. lol

One thing i couldnt find is when they introduced 22 long rifle high speed ammo. And when it became the norm over the standard velocity LR cartridge.

I've been considering getting a marlin 1897 for some time. I've been looking at the modern ones, either the texan or the cowboy models. But i would probably get an original if i was sure that modern ammunition would not damage it. I've been told that high speed long rifle ammo would cause undue wear on it and eventually failure. But i cant see how it would as it's only 200-300 fps faster then the standard velocity stuff. And the action of the gun i believe would take it.

what do yall say?

I don't know if it would fit your need but I would recommend "THE RIFLEMANS GUIDE TO RIMFIRE AMMUNITION" (http://www.zediker.com/books/rimfire/rimfiremain.html) by Steve Boelter for anyone interested in rimfire ammo. I've had several informal exchanges with Steve and he's a super guy and a wealth of information on all things rimfire. This book gives a quantified comparison of virtually all the rimfire ammunition available at it's printing as well as in-depth looks at other aspects of rimfire...rifling, chamber design, etc. He presently has 2 follow-up books in the works which I'm looking forward to.

To hazard a guess on your specific question, IF the round fits the chamber, I doubt you'd see any negative results. In a .22 LR, there are essentially 3 types of ammo...subsonic (including most match/target), High Velocity and Hyper Velocity (such as Velocitors & Stingers). I wouldn't fret over any of the subsonic or normal high velocity rounds a whit through a factory chambered gun and a normal 1:16 twist. The hyper velocity stuff can be different as in the case of the Stingers which actually have a longer case than the normal LR round. These will not chamber in Bentz or tighter chambered guns and are expressly prohibited by manufacturers of such barrels. If in doubt, a drop test similar to checking for fit of reloads is a decent guide. In a normal SAAMI factory chamber, most anything will drop flush and be OK to shoot. True match chambers are both far tighter and shorter designed to engrave the rifling to varying amounts and on these, the hyper rounds and some HV stuff will not go. Autoloaders with match barrels will either have a Bentz (tighter than SAAMI but not as tight as true match) or a custom "tweener" chamber. My Kidd barrels use a chamber that is .002 tighter than a Bentz and .050 shorter and are designed to engrave the rifling .002. These handle all match/target and most common HV stuff with no problem and I've seen post from those shooting Velocitors through 'em but a Stinger don't even come close to chambering.

It may be wothwhile to drop in over at RIMFIRE CENTRAL (http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php)and do some searching or drop a post in whatever sub-forum (Marilin, maybe?) you like. There is a lot of BS there but there's also a ton go good information on all things rimfire. Like most internet forums, don't take long to see the difference.

[John]

i'll definitely pick up a copy of that book. thanks for the info.

[John]

Cartridges of the world informed me that the 22 high speed came about in 30, but from all i can gather its widespread use was not until 1932.

I have learned from marlinowners.com that the model 39 was changed around 32 to handle the new high velocity ammo. I've also learned that i can get a model 97 or older 39 and replace the bolt with a newer one and it will handle the peppier ammo.

For me, this is a world of info as i do love vintage 22 arms. I appreciate the help from everyone by the way.

[D. Manley]

Cartridges of the world informed me that the 22 high speed came about in 30, but from all i can gather its widespread use was not until 1932.

I have learned from marlinowners.com that the model 39 was changed around 32 to handle the new high velocity ammo. I've also learned that i can get a model 97 or older 39 and replace the bolt with a newer one and it will handle the peppier ammo.

For me, this is a world of info as i do love vintage 22 arms. I appreciate the help from everyone by the way.

The .22 Long Rifle evolved from the European Flowbert round and has been popular since the 1800's...originally, black powder of course. The first hyper-velocity stuff was by Remington, circa 1930. Keep in mind, the "hyper" velocity stuff is not your normal high-velocity ammo (i.e., Mini-Mags, Power Points, etc.) which, I've no doubt would be just fine in any sporting rifle. The "hyper" stuff is generally that with velocities above 1300 FPS...Stingers, Velocitors, Interceptors, etc.