Different .22 rimfire chambers.

magic_tree

Hey lads I hope I dont seem like a complete idiot that shouldnt have a license for a gun but I have a question and I said I better ask the lads and see what they think or if anyone can help.

I have an old Winchester 68 thats chambered for .22 short-long- and long rifle.. Grand It fires every type of .22 rimfire ammo I need for around the farm therefore no problem !

My grandfathers gun which is a break barrel single shot .22 (old as they come) and on the barrel it is stamped " .22 short "
The gun has not been fired in many years and its on a joint license with my brother as he wants to hand it down to his own kids years down the line. I have kept the gun in good condition as I give it a clean every few weeks with all of mine. I would like to start my nephew out shooting and teach him the ropes (he's 12) and I think this would be a good way to introduce him to the sport as its the same gun myself and my brothers were taught with.
Is it only chambered for .22 short ? Its a "Hamilton" make and theres very little info on the gun as its been worn off over time. What would happen if its only chambered for .22 short and I shoot a .22lr round through it ??

Thanks for any help

Witcher

Yeah you should only use .22 short in it, usually the largest round the gun can take will be specified i.e a .22lr could fire smaller rounds like long, short etc. In your case 22 short is the stamped calibre so don't use anything above it.

If you were to put a 22lr down it you'll probably encounter some problems..like putting a 3inch cartridge in a shotgun chambered for 2 1/2. Just use the proper ammunition, it won't be that hard to get and in an old gun like that I wouldn't want to chance it.

Keep in mind the legal stance on letting an unlicenced person(your nephew) use a firearm outside of a range:)

garv123

Would the .22lr even fit in the chamber?
If its stamped .22short, id stick with shorts.


If it was stamped SLLR is would be ok.

juice1304

If it says .22 short then that is what it was made for can you even fit a .22lr in it? You should'nt be able to i would have thought as it's a much longer cartridge anyway even if you can you should'nt fire it as the chamber was reamed out to .22 short specs so the pressure could spike. you could have a gunsmith ream out the chamber to .22lr though.

magic_tree

The problem is my 2 nearest gun shops which is about a 45 minute drive in opposite directions from where I live dont stock .22 short rounds. When I asked one of the dealers laughed at me and said theres no call for that type of ammo these days. The man in the other shop said he doesnt stock it because no one wants it. I have about 40 short bullets left from years ago but I usually buy a few hundred lr subs at a time which is why I wanted to see if theyd be ok to shoot.

So if I were to fire a .22lr (subsonic or standard velocity) in the .22 short chamber Im asking for trouble basically ??

And yes .22 lr will fit in the chamber but I didnt fire as I was unsure.

Witcher

Would ya not just use your own one that can take long rifle? Bring out your grandfathers gun and fire a few shorts just for nostalgia and then use your own one for most of the time:)

magic_tree

Blay wrote: »

Would ya not just use your own one that can take long rifle? Bring out your grandfathers gun and fire a few shorts just for nostalgia and then use your own one for most of the time:)

The reason I dont want him using my own rifle is that at least my grandfathers gun is licensed to my brother aswell so he can bring him out with the same gun that I had the young fellow out with. I dont mean the nephew would be in control of the gun and would be firing at anything he wanted. Either myself or the brother would be out with him and he would only be given a bullet for the chamber when he is about to take the shot - well thats the way I was taught anyway. So it would be very strict.

It could be that the rifle is chambered for s/l/lr but its just worn away and only the short is visible but Im not sure. I was just wondering what would happen if a lr bullet was fired when its not meant to be.

juice1304

I would'nt risk it, even if it werent to explode in some spectacular way i would'nt like any hot gas in the face. I think i saw some in crescent sports a while ago. Your dealer could get it in for you and if he won't i'm sure another one will.

Witcher

magic_tree wrote: »

The reason I dont want him using my own rifle is that at least my grandfathers gun is licensed to my brother aswell so he can bring him out with the same gun that I had the young fellow out with. I dont mean the nephew would be in control of the gun and would be firing at anything he wanted. Either myself or the brother would be out with him and he would only be given a bullet for the chamber when he is about to take the shot - well thats the way I was taught anyway. So it would be very strict.

It could be that the rifle is chambered for s/l/lr but its just worn away and only the short is visible but Im not sure. I was just wondering what would happen if a lr bullet was fired when its not meant to be.

Ah yeah I know what ya mean...in that case all I can suggest if firing off the few shorts ya do have and talk to a dealer further afield that does carry shorts and that will ship them to you.

You don't know really how a lr might work in it...being an older gun it could be made to looser tolerances or such and would be ok..Im sure there is someone out there that has tried it in their own gun and got away with it and others that have damaged a gun doing the same thing..you might be able to fire 10 rounds of lr in it you might only get one. I wouldn't chance it myself tbh.

cookimonster

It's a pain in the ar*se I know but ring around, you'd be surprised what some of the dealers especially the small country boys who only stock ammo have knocking around. The old fella cleared a lad out of his old stock of BB and shorts a few years back for a song used em for pest control and plinking , oops bad spelling I mean zeroing.