BULLET BULLETIN: RIMFIRE

BULLET BULLETIN

Rimfire projectiles come in different shapes and sizes, and are of varying constructions.

RIMFIRE RIFLE PROJECTILES: FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW

Sometimes modern .17 and .22 designs work best and others it’s ‘classic loads from yesteryear.’

STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP

Istill have the first rifle I ever owned: a Ruger Model 77/22 bolt-action rimfire chambered for the unequalled .22 Long Rifle cartridge. That rifle was a gift from my father – Ol’ Grumpy Pants – for Christmas in 1985, and to this day remains the only .22 LR that I own.

The rimfire rifle is built like the Ruger Model 77 centerfire rifles, with the exception of the detachable rotary magazine. Fine iron sights, a full-size stock, a decent trigger and the ability to mount a proper scope all add up to not just a great choice for small game and plinking, but one of the best training tools for a hunter preparing for safari. The lack of recoil, the wonderful accuracy and the similarities to a big game rifle make this one of my favorite rifles of all time.

I’ve spent over 35 years with that rifle, experimenting with all sorts of different types of ammunition for the little gun, and it definitely has opinions when it comes to accuracy. Thousands of rounds have been sent down that barrel, with varying degrees of success; I’ve done my best to keep notes on what ammo the rifle likes best. Remington Thunderbolts rank high on the list, despite the simple 40-grain waxed lead bullet, in the classic roundnose conformation.

Author Phil Massaro’s 1985-vintage Ruger 77/22; it remains his favorite rimfire rifle.

THESE EXPERIENCES BEHIND the Ruger’s trigger got me thinking about the evolution of rimfire rifle bullets, and how they have enjoyed nearly as radical an evolution as the centerfire cartridges have. Rimfire cartridges are well over a century and a half old, yet remain an extremely popular choice for small game hunters, target shooters and tin can assassins alike. In comparison to their larger centerfire counterparts, they are economical and much, much easier on the ears and shoulder. The rimfires are still a fantastic means of teaching marksmanship to a new shooter of any age, without the risk of developing a flinch from recoil and report.

Let’s take a look at the wide selection of rimfire projectiles among the differing cartridges, and highlight their benefits and weaknesses.

The original projectiles used in the .22 Short, .22 Long, .22 Extra Long and .22 Long Rifle of the late 19th century were very similar to those Remington Thunderbolts my rifle likes so much: a simple lead bullet, roundnosed and lubricated with wax. The wax helps to reduce fouling in the bore, and I’m pretty sure we are all aware of the pleasures and pitfalls associated with the lead projectile. But in spite of recent efforts to ban the use of lead projectiles, lead remains both an affordable and effective metal for small bore projectiles at relatively low muzzle velocities. For the original rimfire cartridges – those developed in the late 1800s – whose muzzle velocities have a hard time breaking the sound barrier, these lead bullets work just fine, in both trajectory and terminal performance. But if you increase the velocities a bit, the issue of lead fouling in the barrel becomes a reality.

Whereas the centerfire cartridges benefit greatly from encasing the traditional lead bullet in a jacket of copper (a harder material than lead), as the copper jacket slows expansion and greatly reduces lead fouling, the rimfire cartridges are a bit different. The centerfire cartridges are often called upon to deliver deep penetration on large game animals with thick hides and heavy bones, but the rimfire cartridges are predominately reserved for small game species, predators and varmints, all of which are thin-skinned and susceptible to hydraulic shock. So plating the lead bullet rather than using a traditional copper jacket is a perfect method to minimize lead fouling yet maintain frangibility, which is an important factor to a quick, humane kill. The famous CCI Stinger is a classic example of a copper-plated lead bullet.

Many rimfire ammunition

Remington Thunderbolts are a classic design – a wax-coated 40-grain lead nose bullet at 1,250 feet per second – and are wonderfully accurate in the author’s Ruger rifle.

While a simple lead hollowpoint design, these Lapua match-grade cartridges are held to extremely stringent tolerances.

The CCI Stinger: a lighter copper-plated bullet loaded in a case just a bit longer than the standard .22 LR, which gives a bump in velocity.

(CCI AMMUNITION)

Hornady’s 20-grain .17-caliber V-Max bullet is a polymertipped boattail with a very thin jacket for rapid expansion.

(HORNADY)

The CCI GamePoint in .17 HMR is a jacketed hollowpoint, which helps take advantage of the cartridge’s velocity. manufacturers will use hollowpoint bullets to initiate expansion. Some examples of hollowpoint rimfire bullets loaded in .22 Long Rifle ammunition include Remington Viper; CCI MaxiMag, Velocitor and the aforementioned Stinger; Speer Gold Dot; and Federal Premium Hunter Match.

WHILE THE .22 Long Rifle is probably the most popular of all of the rimfire cartridges, there are many choices, and almost all are considerably faster. The .17 HMR, the .17 WSM and the .22 WMR all offer a significant velocity increase over the .22 LR, and they sport the bullets designed to best serve that velocity.

A quick glance at the .17 HMR ammunition lineup will see the prolific use of the polymer-tipped spitzer bullets; these have a much better ballistic coefficient than do the traditional roundnosed lead designs, and that polymer tip acts as a wedge to initiate expansion upon impact. These bullets are jacketed, though the jackets are extremely thin in order to remain as frangible as possible.

Hornady’s lead-free NTX and lead core V-Max (loaded in not only Hornady’s ammo, but in both Federal

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Hornady’s .17 WSM 20-grain V-Max load gives excellent accuracy and devastating terminal ballistics. (HORNADY)

The .17 HMR can also work well with the hollowpoint spitzer bullets, like the 20-grain XTP load shown here. (HORNADY) The .17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire) is well suited to handle the sleek, polymer-tipped

bullets. (HORNADY)

Winchester’s Super X .22 Long Rifle load is a perfect example of the copper-plated hollowpoint bullet. and CCI ammunition, as well as in Remington’s and Winchester’s offerings), CCI’s Varmint Tip, and Browning’s PolyTip all fit into this category. Jacketed hollowpoints like the famous Speer TNT and VNT, CCI’s GamePoint, and Hornady’s XTP all blend the benefits of a jacketed bullet – read: much less fouling – and a hollowpoint meplat for rapid expansion. And there is even a 20-grain full metal jacket load from CCI for those who are serious about fur.

The .17 Winchester Super Magnum ramps up the velocity by about 500 feet per second over the .17 HMR, and is probably the perfect platform for those sleek polymer-tipped bullets. While it isn’t nearly as popular as the .17 HMR – and the ammunition selections verify that – the .17 WSM is a screamin’ demon, and the projectiles are fully capable of creating the red mist out to 300 yards.

I used this little gem a few years back on a prairie dog shoot on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, and fell for it hard. Pushing a 20-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 3,000 fps, any prairie dog inside of 100 yards was vaporized, and shots out to 325 and even 350 were not off the menu. It’s wonderfully accurate, and those light bullets – bullet weight selection runs from 15 to 25 grains – at that high velocity damned near disintegrate upon

The American Eagle .17 WSM load uses a 20-grain tipped varmint bullet; the author had no problem taking prairie dogs out to 300 yards with it. impact. This is another case where the Hornady V-Max is called on by both Hornady and Winchester.

The classic .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire has been a favorite of hunters since its release in 1959. Driving a 40-grain bullet to a muzzle velocity of 2,000 fps – nearly 800 fps faster than the .22 LR – it is the chosen cartridge for those hunters who prefer a rimfire rifle but want more than the .22 Long Rifle has to offer.

Federal loads the 30-grain Speer TNT at a speed of 2,200 fps, which is enough to deliver all the hydraulic shock you’d want in a varmint or predator cartridge. It will quickly and neatly dispatch woodchucks and rock chucks, yet should be frangible enough not to exit on the furbearers. The Speer TNT Green is a 30-grain lead-free alternative

Aguila’s Silver Eagle .22 WMR softpoint load is a good choice for moderate ranges, and will handle coyotes and foxes on downward.

The CCI 22-Mag V-Max load uses a 40-grain polymer-tipped V-Max bullet, and is as potent terminally as it is accurate.

for those who either prefer unleaded ammo or are required by law to use it. Once again, Hornady’s V-Max is a popular choice, as it improves the BC value when compared to the roundnosed bullets and opens wonderfully. There are simple choices, like the CCI 35-grain jacketed softpoint and the Aguila 40-grain jacketed softpoint. There are full metal jacket offerings – again, with the fur hunter in mind – and CCI makes a 46-grain polymer-coated segmented bullet for maximum frangibility in their Maxi-Mag line.

LASTLY, AND PERHAPS most interestingly, there have been developments in using a rimfire cartridge as a defensive tool. Hornady’s Critical Defense line includes a 45-grain FTX (Flex Tip eXpanding) load designed to leave the barrel of a snubnose revolver at 1,000 fps, with low-flash propellants and nickel-plated cases. Federal has released a 29-grain nickel-plated lead core bullet in .22 LR in their Punch line, which is engineered to give a muzzle velocity of 1,070 fps from a 2-inch barrel (1,650 fps from a 24-inch barreled rifle).

Hornady’s Critical Defense .22 WMR load uses a 45-grain FTX bullet for optimum penetration and expansion.

While you may not think of a rimfire cartridge as a man-stopper, I know some shooters who are highly sensitive to both recoil and report, and I’ll be the first to agree that a small rimfire handgun is better than no handgun at all.

Though ammunition is scarce right now (this, too, shall pass) you can experiment with the varying configurations to see what brand/ weight/shape your rifle or handgun shoots best. Sometimes you’ll find it’s a modern design that works best in your gun or, as I found in my old Ruger, one of the classic loads from yesteryear may be hard to beat. As always, do your best to tailor the ammo to the job at hand and you’ll be a happy shooter. 