The Invention of the .22 Long Rifle Cartridge

   The .22 long rifle is the most popular and widely produced firearm ever. The reasons for it's popularity are numerous but I think the main one is they are just pain fun to shoot. And given the fact both the ammo and gun are so affordable this makes it the ideal gun for plinking or small game hunting. But where did this awesome cartridge come from? 

   The earliest beginnings of this little cartridge can be traced back to its even smaller predecessors and probably owe a lot to Smith and Wesson. The earliest .22 caliber rimfire cartridge was the Flobert 22 BB cap and was initially created  by pressing a .22 caliber round ball into a rimmed version of a percussion musket priming cap. This cartridge was first introduced in 1845. These were used primarily in "Parlor" or gallery rifles and pistols which were actually used for indoor target practice and recreation, much like a dart board game would be used today. At some point these fell out of favor for indoor use probably after some unlucky participant put his eye out or  damaged the parlor decor. Think of them as the Yard Darts of the 19th century. They were also used for killing "small pests" which either means small rats or large roaches, that must have been great fun! No need to leave the house for the thrill of the hunt just sit in the "parlor" and wait for some unlucky vermin to come along. I wonder if they ever baited the field with a bit of cheese or bread crumbs. Or if you really insisted on going out of doors there was always the veggie patch where you might even bring down a crow or take out a small bunny with a well placed shot. You'd probably just put his eye out though. Okay that's the last Christmas Story reference I promise. 

   As the parlor gun craze was drawing to an end in rides Smith and Wesson to the rescue. In 1857 the .22 short was developed specifically for the first Smith and Wesson revolver the Model 1. The new .22 short had a longer case than the 22 BB and packed a whopping 4 grains of black powder. The projectile was also redesigned to have a conical shape and flat bottom. 

   In 1871 the .22 long cartridge was introduced in an effort to provide a little more powerful pistol round than the .22 short. The cartridge case was lengthened and another 2 grains of powder added, the projectile remained the same. The .22 long was well received and soon rifles were also being chambered in the round for use in small game hunting. 

   In 1880 the 22 Extra long cartridge or 22-7-45 was brought to the market to provide and even more effective small game rifle round. This cartridge had a much longer case length and used a 45 grain conical projectile with a 7 grain charge of black powder. There were problems reported with this round quickly fouling up rifle barrels and it never gained popularity. No rifles were manufactured in this chamber after 1916 and the ammo was dropped from production around 1935.

L-R .22 BB, .22 Short, .22 Long .22 Long Rifle

   In 1887 J. Steven Arms & Tool Company developed the 22 Long Rifle cartridge. It was based on the .22 long cartridge case but replaced the 29 grain projectile with a 40 grain conical and used 5 grains of fine black powder. Stevens also concluded the heavier projectile would preform better at a faster rifling twist rate and provided this in their rifles. The results were the most miraculously popular cartridge of ammunition ever conceived.

   Riding on the .22 LR coattails with varying success were three other descendants of the .22 family. The longer and more powerful .22 Winchester Rimfire or WRF was introduced in 1890 along with its twin the 22 Remington Special. The advent of the high velocity .22 LR cartridge using more efficient cleaner burning powder pretty much killed the .22 WMR as it eliminated the advantages of the longer case. The sheer number of .22 LR chambered firearms and the fact they were cheaper also contributed to the WRF demise. In 1959 Winchester introduced the 22 Rim Fire Magnum which was a success and filled a niche for people who needed something a little more powerful for medium size game. 

   Today the .22 rimfire still remains king of the small caliber realm. Even the recent shortages couldn't lessen it's appeal. If anything it only highlighted it's popularity when people panicked at the very thought of running out of it. I think this is one round that's here to stay.

Gimmick and Fad Ammo...or Innovation

   Gimmick Ammo to me is kind of like those fishing lures that are designed more to attract the hapless angler than the fish. But like the fishing lures a few of them turn out to be real innovations and advancements in the field. Only time tells which category most of these new fad thing-a-ma-jiggys fall into.

   There has been a lot of talk and hype about this new R.I.P. ammo and it set me to thinking of some of the other memorable wacky ideas that have come along over the years, you know like those silly hollow pointed bullets and smokeless powder. Seriously here's some winners and losers and some you'll have to judge for yourself.

R.I.P. ammo "will cut through human tissue like a “hole saw.”" ..only time will tell. It looks like it might be a nightmare feed for any finicky semi-autos. And of course these will be an easy point of criticism from the anti-gunners..., can anyone say Black Talon?

Jihawg Ammo "PEACE THROUGH PORK!" Well... you'll just have to visit there website! The bullets are infused with pork to fight terrorists through their fear of "unclean" swine. Namely the effects being tainted with their blood might have on the number and quality of Virgins waiting on them after the double tap.

Z-Max Zombie Ammo, yes we've all bought into this one, a genius marketing move by Hornady back in the days when ammo sales were slow. These are just fun, but course you never know. Better safe than sorry!

 

 Aguila Minishell shotshells are only 1-3/4" long but will almost double the capacity of your shotgun! Nifty idea right? I guess so but I haven't  been adventurous enough to try these yet. Opinions are all over the place on these.

The Dardick Tround was a  triangular cartridge that was used in a magazine fed revolver called the Dardick 1500. They were said to be “versatile as a six-armed monkey” Well maybe but I never really had much need for a six armed monkey either. The pistol could be converted from a .38 to .30 or .22 caliber, converted into a rifle, and could also use standard round ammunition through the use of an adapter. The open cylinder chambers made the gun lighter and faster than a standard revolver. Unfortunately it was never really accepted by the general public and very few were ever produced, would've been a good investment though considering the collectors value today! 

UPDATED: I ran across some new ammo that may fall in to the "fad" classification or could turn out to be truly innovative. Only time will tell, here are some new offerings I have found in 2019.

STREAK’s patented formulation incorporates a non-flammable phosphor material that utilizes the light emitted during discharging of the round to make STREAK glow. The manufacturer states: “STREAK is not on fire and does not generate heat, therefor making STREAK safe for indoor range use where the illumination is best seen.”