Author Topic: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know  (Read 13722 times)

Offline neric

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which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« on: September 09, 2009, 10:12:40 AM »
I went to three places today looking and asking about rimfire rifles and ammo:  a pawn shop,,,the major retailer,, and a hardware store.  No one I talked to today knows which rifles will shoot shorts for certain.

Aaaayyyy.   I'm glad you guys are here.

Thanks
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Offline HILMAN76

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2009, 10:30:15 AM »


.22 SHORT IS MADE FOR MOSTLY PISTOLS.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Short



OLD SCHOOL RIFLES MAy HAVE SHOT THE .22 SHORT BACK IN THE DAYS.



REMEMBER, YOU ARE GOING TO WANT A .22 LONG RIFLE, ALMOST EVERY SUPER STORE SELLS AMMO FOR .22LR



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Long_Rifle



oops, i used all caps, Im not yelling,i was just lazy



If you were looking at the cb .22 ammo, they do make .22 cb long for the .22 long rifles.



CBlong is what you want to use in your .22lr.Some folks have used the cb short in there long rifles.



Stick with a .22lr..Remember the old saying- K.I.S. keep it simple!

If you cant DAZZLE\'em with brilliance, BAFFLE\'em with B.S!!
Remember: Lefty loosey, righty tighty!

Offline RedFeather

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2009, 11:05:39 AM »
It depends mostly upon the feed mechanism.  Some guns, such as the venerable Marlin 39A, will feed Short/Long/Long Rifle.  A standard 10/22 will not.  I think Marlin 60's are strictly Long Riflel, as well.  But there are other guns which can handle the Short, although they are going to be used.  These would be many of the pump action guns, some Mossberg bolt actions, maybe the Winchester 9422.  Oh, yeah, can't forget the Remington 550 semi-auto, precursor to the Remington 552 Speedmaster, a current gun which will handle all three loadings.  10/22 Short conversion kits such as the VQ Firefly can also be purchased.  And any single shot chambered for Long Rifle will shoot Shorts and Longs, plus you can single-load any Long Rifle gun by hand.

The only caveat with Shorts in a gun chambered for Short/Long/Long Rifle is that they may not be as accurate, since these usually have a twist designed for a 40 grain bullet VS the Short's 29 grainer, and a steady diet of Shorts in the slightly longer chamber can foul it up badly or sometimes erode it, making Long Rifle rounds  hard to load/extract.

A super gun fun would be a Browning take down in Short, although it will be pricey.

Upon re-reading your post, the three stores you went to weren't necessarily the most likely to be familiar with guns.  Gone are the days of the local hardware store which sold traps, rifles, fishing gear, etc.  My local Dick's gun department is ignorant in many areas.  Pawn shops are only as good as the guy behind the counter who may have been painting houses last week.  Heck, even some gun shops are weak when it comes to rimfires.  Best to do some reading and check out http://www.RimFireCentral.com.

Offline daveshoot

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2009, 11:19:04 AM »
My Winchester '06 feeds shorts, longs (remember those?) and long rifles. What a cool gun it was- the finish is trashed but it is still a great shooter and a heckuva family relic. This was one of the old pump "gallery guns" and while I haven't shot it in ages, it's still willing to go strong.
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Offline RedFeather

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2009, 11:36:44 AM »
That's WHAT I'm talkin' about!

Offline jwh2

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2009, 12:20:28 PM »
Quote
neric - 9/9/2009  4:12 PM
 which rifles will shoot shorts for certain.
Thanks


My Marlin Golden 39A will shoot shorts, long or long rifle.
James
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Offline Timmyj1959@yahoo.com

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2009, 12:38:21 PM »
My Ole Buddy Red Feather hit it right on the head for sure. While alot of bolt/pump.lever actions will feed shorts,,,, most simi auto,s wont. The important point "Red" made is that shooting shorts in a chamber for long rifles will lead the end of the chamber in relativley short order,, thus decreasing accuraccy. Im not sure if the powder blast will erode the front of the chamber but it may?? I shot hundreds of shorts thru my Dad,s Marlin 22 Mag. lever action gun as a kid when I would sneek it out. I recently cleaned it well when I visited my Mom in Alabama & we shot some pretty nice groups with 22 mags in it!!LOL!! Timbo.

Offline tjk

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2009, 12:51:36 PM »
My Rossi model 62 SA ( a pump action gallery gun) will shoot shorts, longs,...which BTW will and are going the way of the Do-Do bird,..extinct,...and the reliable long rifle cartridges!!! Neat little shooter and like alot of cheapo air rifles,..usually more accurate than the guy pulling the trigger!!!!!! tjk
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Offline Bobber

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2009, 01:08:11 PM »
I doubt shorts will become extinct anytime soon. The HP shorts are very good 25 yd small game ammo. As mentioned above, they aren't as accurate as the barrel twist/and chamber is made for the more popular LR round. As for shooting shorts or LR ammo in a ,22 mag, that would result in a spilt case. Were you refering to the  regular.22 LR  Marlin Levermatic 56 (box mag) or 57 (tube mag), or it's bigger brother, the  similar Marlin Levermatic mod 57M .22 mag , Tim? The 57M IS a very nice .22 mag though, as I also have one. I like the short lever throw they have, compared to a 94. Just don't take apart the trigger group, unless you understand these guns  well. I also have a old Mossberg 42 bolt, tube mag . It will hold 21 shorts in the tube. No need to carry extra ammo in your pockets with that one. It will shoot shorts quite well out to 30 yards or so ,then accuracy falls off. The remington sub-sonic LR are actually better squirrel ammo though.

Offline Jerrycup

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2009, 02:03:04 PM »
OK, RF, a Marlin 30A will shoot shorts, and these will go pffft. I'm interested. It would feed a whole magazine full with a nice cocking lever.
What kind of velocity and FPE?
The Marlin I saw was a 60 (when I bought the Ruger 10/22 DSP), and it did not impress me.
I'm thinking if the 30A is not too high priced, I'd have one, with the objective of knocking out a skunk at 50 yards even if it takes a few shots, or something like that. Nice looking gun on the internet photos. How much you think I could find one in a gun store?
I want to be able to shoot the thing with the same sound to the neighbors as a pellet gun. That's a must.

My 10/22 shooting Remington subsonic LR's sounds WAAAAAY too loud. Had to sneak back in the house and lay low a while when I tried it.
thanks,

Offline Bobber

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2009, 02:30:17 PM »
If you have a copy, or can get one at the library. The 1992 Gun Digest has a very good article on .22 rimfire ammo and  .22 rifle performance. It is  called "Getting the Best from the .22 Rimfire by C.E. Harris, pages 149 to 160. Check it out if you can. This author also wrote another piece on .22 short accuracy , where he used a Ruger 77/22 bolt action , on which he used a barrel chambered specifically for the short, and another one that was left stock.  This was also published in the Gun Digest, in the 1993 edition, called "About The .22 Short" , on pages 16 to 19. The major issue with accuracy with shorts, involves the chamber, not so much the twist of the rifling.

Offline SDale

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Re: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #11 on: September 09, 2009, 02:40:29 PM »
What are your plans for shorts other than being cheap ammo?

If it's sound level, then I'd just get a boltie, pump gun or lever gun. Then shoot CB longs. About the same velocity as shorts, they'll chamber better and are a bit more accurate (in my experience)

If you're dead seton shorts, look for a Rossi pump. I don't remember the model, but the one I had shot short, long & long rifle. There's also other bolt action, tube fed rifles that will fire all 3 varieties. For the smaller stuff I used a Remington 511 single shot. Works great for me,but you may not like the single shot.

Offline HILMAN76

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2009, 02:49:57 PM »


If it's sound level, then I'd just get a boltie, pump gun or lever gun. Then shoot CB longs. About the same velocity as shorts, they'll chamber better and are a bit more accurate (in my experience)



SDALEis spot on.



Get the .22LR, You will be glad you did.



KIS! =keep it simple



CB longs or the colibri rounds in .22LRis the way to go.

If you cant DAZZLE\'em with brilliance, BAFFLE\'em with B.S!!
Remember: Lefty loosey, righty tighty!

Offline SDale

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2009, 03:11:54 PM »
I wouldn't shoot Colibri OR Super Colibri out of anything but a pistol. I have shot them in rifles, but you'll only get 4-5 rounds down the pipe before one gets stuck. Remember, Colibri use Primer as the propellent. That stuff is DIRTY. You could end up stacking 4-5 rounds before you even know they're stuck.

There's also another cartrige that pretty quiet. It's the Aguila SSS. It's basically a .22 short case with a 60 grain bullet. The entire round is just a hair shorter than the .22LR. The only real problem with them is that a normal rimfire 1:16 twist isn't enough to stabilise the round for shots longer than 50 yards or so.  There are certain rifles (mostly CZ) with choked barrels that will shoot them well though!


I've shot them from a Remington 510 with so-so results, but after modifying them with a Paco Accurizing tool, they perform MUCH better for some reason. But then again, EVERY round that I've modified with the Paco works better.

Offline RedFeather

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RE: which rifles will shoot .22 shorts? not many know
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2009, 03:21:18 PM »
There is no Marlin "30A".  It is the "39A" which goes for over $500 new and about $350 - $400 for a good used one.  But, more to the point, there aren't many guns that will shoot a Short quietly.  Rimfires just aren't designed for that.  CB's are well and good but you have to be sure of each shot as any roughness in the bore or a dud will leave the bullet in the barrel.  Next round and you've got a bulge.  I know some guys shoot bricks of these without a hitch but it does happen now and then.

I have one of the older Rossi pumps (copy of the Winchester 62)  which shoots all three loadings, BUT it is an early one.  The later Rossi's (now Taurus since they were bought out) only shoot Long Rifle, so be sure to check on the barrel as to which type you are considering.

Had a Marlin 56 short-throw lever action and I do understand why you don't want to take that action apart!  "No user serviceable parts inside" ought to be inscribed on it.  Was one reason I sold it as the trigger could not be tuned  much if at all.  Still, slicker than deer guts on a door knob.

Anyhow, if you are leery of shooting an air gun in your yard, consider that you can get into a LOT more trouble if caught with the rimfire.  And don't even think about a "lead dust collector"!!!