.22 Short vs .22 Long Rifle
In the world of rimfire cartridges, the .22 Short and .22 Long Rifle are popular among shooters of all ages. Both of these calibers hail from the 19th century and have developed great reputations that persist to this day. Today, we are going to look into these popular smallbore rounds and go over some of their specificities and examine their place in the market today. Without further ado, lets get into it.
.22 Short
The roots of the .22 Short cartridge can be traced back to 1857. Since its inception, the cartridge has seen use in the Olympics, gallery guns, and starting pistols just to name a few ways the cartridge has been utilized. As far as projectiles go, one can find options such as soft point and hollow point projectiles while encompassing a range of 27 to 29 grains as far as weight goes.
.22 Long Rifle
Today, the .22 Long Rifle cartridge is the most common round in the world. The cartridge has become extremely popular and has been the chambering of countless firearms since its inception in 1887. While the word “rifle” is present in the name for this cartridge, the round can obviously be used in pistols as well. This popularity has led to a wide variety of options when it comes to specific loadings. Typically, one will encounter 36, 38, and 40 grain projectiles which can be found a variety of forms such as soft point or hollow point form.
Ammunition Availability
When it comes to availability of ammunition, the .22 Long Rifle cartridge features a more significant number of options than .22 Short offerings. While one can find offerings from 27 to 29 grain soft point and hollow point options in .22 Short, these common offerings are truly eclipsed by the wide variety of .22 Long Rifle loadings. One can often find a wide array of .22 Long Rifle loadings that will encompass the 20 grain to 60 grain range along with a wider variety of specific loadings.
If one were to browse the offerings of .22 Long Rifle we have available at True Shot, one can find a variety of loads that include offerings such as soft point, hollow point, copper-plated, and lead-free options just to name a few. Additionally, “quiet” or subsonic offerings are also commonly found in .22 Long Rifle form, making the round very popular among suppressor enthusiasts.
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Availability of Firearms in these Cartridges
In today’s market, options are very limited when it comes to the number of firearms chambered exclusively in .22 Short. A notable example is the small NAA-22S revolver from North American Arms. As far as rifles go, most prospective buyers will have to look to older models on the secondhand market. Some of these older firearms, particularly certain gallery gun models, will demand a premium however due to their rarity and antique nature. While not as available or prolific as firearms in .22 Long Rifle, one can still find options in .22 Short.
If you were to walk into a gun store anywhere in America right now, you will likely encounter multiple offerings of firearms chambered in the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. These can easily be found in the common forms of revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, lever-action rifles, bolt-action rifles, and semi-automatic rifles.
The variety of .22 Long Rifle firearms can be illustrated by examining Ruger’s current offerings. If someone wanted something more traditional, Ruger offers their Wrangler Revolver, multiple basic Mark IV and 22/45 models, and classic-styled 10/22 carbine offerings.
Want something that goes beyond the scope of what is offered by these classical-styled firearms? Ruger also offers “tactical” options in their Mark IV, 22/45, and 10/22 lines that feature provisions for mounting suppressors and optics. What do all of these options have in common? They all shoot the .22 Long Rifle cartridge.
Overlap
While firearms chambered specifically in .22 Short cannot accept .22 Long Rifle ammunition, firearms chambered in .22 Long Rifle can utilize .22 Short ammunition. This is best done with manual action firearms, such as bolt-action or lever-action examples as semi-automatics in .22 Long Rifle will not cycle .22 Short. Some firearms, such as the .22 caliber lever action offerings from Henry Repeating Arms, will easily accommodate both .22 Short and .22 Long Rifle ammunition.
For example, model H001 from Henry has an advertised capacity of 15 rounds of .22 Long Rifle, 17 rounds of .22 Long, and 21 rounds of .22 Short. Of course, one must keep in mind that these different cartridges will feature different performance in terms of accuracy and one may need utilize different points of aim at the range.
Another thing to note is that these types of firearms will feature a .22 Long Rifle cut chamber and that the shorter .22 Short and .22 Long cartridges will sit further back in the chamber than their longer counterpart. An obvious consequence of these rounds sitting back further is that they will have to travel a small bit of distance before fully engaging with the rifling of the barrel. This is the root cause of cartridges such as .22 Short and .22 Long not producing the same degree of accuracy provided by .22 Long Rifle in these firearms.
This space between these shorter rounds and the rifling will also become fouled up with frequent use of .22 Short and .22 Long ammunition which can make extracting and chambering .22 Long Rifle ammunition harder. This of course can be counteracted by cleaning the bore and chamber of the firearm.
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Suppressor Usage
With suppressors becoming more and more popular these days, it should be noted that both of these cartridges are excellent calibers to suppress. CCI’s CB short .22 Short loadings are subsonic loadings which are a favorite among shooters due to their quiet nature even without the aid of a suppressor.
As stated before, one can find a variety of subsonic .22 Long Rifle ammunition which will work very well when it comes to suppression. In some cases, some standard velocity .22 Long Rifle loadings will run at subsonic velocities depending on what barrel they are being shot out of as well. This holds true for .22 Short loadings as well of course.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, both the .22 Short and .22 Long Rifle cartridges are popular among rimfire shooters. While .22 Short ammunition and firearms chambered in the cartridge are not as prolific as the .22 Long Rifle and firearms that utilize it, the cartridge is still viable and beloved among shooters.
New shooters will typically start their shooting career with a .22 Long Rifle chambered firearm due to how prolific the cartridge is. With the market being what it is today, one can get into either of these calibers and truly find something that makes them happy and provides a satisfactory shooting experience. As always, we here at True Shot Academy want everyone to be the best shooter they can be and hone their skills, whether rimfire or centerfire or anything else. Happy shooting.
Need bulk ammo? At True Shot Ammo, we have a wide variety of handgun ammo and rifle ammo available to purchase. Please visit our website trueshotammo.com, call us at (888) 736-6587, or you can email us at sales@trueshotammo.com for more ammo options.
