22 Long is a variety of 22

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore ma ...

(5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. The 22 Long is the second-oldest of the surviving rimfire cartridges, dating back to 1871, when it was loaded with a 29 grain (1.9 g) bullet and 5 grains (0.32 g) of

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate ( saltpeter). T ...

, 25% more than the 22 Short on which it was based. It was designed for use in

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ...

s, but was soon chambered in

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s as well, in which it gained a strong reputation as a small game cartridge, and sold very well. In 1887 the 22 Long case was combined with the heavier 40 grain (2.6 g) bullet of the 22 Extra Long of 1880 to produce the 22 Long Rifle giving a longer overall length, a higher muzzle energy and superior performance as a hunting and target round, rendering the 22 Long and 22 Extra Long obsolete. Many firearms designed for the 22 Long Rifle will chamber and fire the shorter round, though the 22 Long generally does not generate sufficient energy to operate semi-automatic guns. The one prominent survivor of the 22 Long is the 22 CB Long, a long-cased version of the 22 CB. While the original 22 Long loading used the same powder charge as the 22 Long Rifle, the 22 Long bullet was significantly lighter, and the combination did not result in higher velocities for the 22 Long when fired from a rifle. The large barrel volume to chamber volume ratio of a 22 rimfire rifle means that the powder gasses have expanded as far as they can well before the bullet reaches the muzzle of a normal length rifle barrel, and the light 22 Long bullet has less

inertia Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...

than the 22 Long Rifle. This means that the 22 Long bullet actually slows down significantly before it exits the barrel. For farmers, or for those who only hunted small game such as squirrel or cottontail rabbit, the differences in performance between the 22 Long and 22 Long Rifle cartridges were of little importance. The quieter report and lower penetration of the 22 Long cartridge were often seen as desirable qualities. Since the 22 Long Rifle performs as well in a short

handgun A handgun is a short-barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ag ...

barrel as the 22 Long and outperforms it significantly in a long rifle barrel, the development of the 22 Long Rifle assured the 22 Long's path to obsolescence. Descendants of the 22 Long still live on. Modern Hypervelocity loadings of the 22 Long Rifle use bullets as light as 30 grains (1.9 g), and modern blends of powder to make full use of a rifle barrel to generate velocities far higher than normal loads, and chamber pressures high enough to cycle semi-automatic firearms reliably. The most well known of these is the CCI Stinger, which actually goes so far as to stretch the case length slightly, so that with the short, light bullet, the overall length is still within the max overall length for the 22 Long Rifle. The 22 Long is still produced as it survived the change over to smokeless powders. CCI currently loads a high-velocity 22 Long with a MV of 1215 fps and a ME of 95 ft. lbs.

Specifications

* Length: ** Case: 0.613 in (15.6mm) ** Overall: 0.888 in (22.6mm) * Bullet weight: 29 gr (1.88 g) ** Twist: 1 in 20 for dedicated firearms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:22 Long 1871 introductions Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimfire cartridges

Specifications

See also

References