I’ve often bitched about the high cost of .22 Mag / .22 WMR ammo before — and yes, I know it’s all driven by its (non-)popularity, which drives its price up.
And yes, I’ve also been an ardent supporter of the rimfire cartridge (not that it’s helped at all) because it just adds a little extra reach to the .22 LR: the Long Rifle bullet just flat-out runs out of steam past 50 yards, whereas its magnum counterpart is still providing some oomph at 75 yards and further.
“Okay Kim, but you’re only getting about 25% more performance, so you should expect to pay more.”
I know, and I accept that. I would even be prepared to pay double the cost of .22 LR for the added performance of the .22 WMR. But it’s not that, not even close to it.
Right now, premium .22 LR (but not target, which is a lot more expensive) is going for about (say) 7-8 cents per round.
WMR? Here’s Eric’s Christmas sale price:
…which, while an excellent deal, still works out to 32 cents per round, or over four times the cost of .22 LR. And that’s just not worth it, as much as my trigger finger tries to persuade me to throw the old MasterCard at the thing*.
So my much-loved Marlin SSV is going to have to remain idle for a while longer… [sigh]
* The Hornady V-Max, by the way, is absolutely wonderful, and will easily reduce even a fox or coyote to a bag of fur and bones at up to 75 yards. The stuff I have on hand cost me a ton (more than 32 cents each, more like 50), but it has been an excellent and consistent performer.
The major cause of the price difference between the .22LR and .22WMR is (I believe) the projectiles.
The Long Rifle projectiles are simple lumps of lead, sometimes coated with a “copper wash” of some kind. The projectiles on all the WMR ammo I’ve ever used are all constructed of lead cores with a proper copper jacket, just like a centrefire round.
There’s a substantial difference in complexity and hence manufacturing cost between the two projectiles types.
That being said, the ammo manufacturers are still gouging their customers, because they can.
I like the 22 WMR as well. The price has steadily climbed for sure. I will still buy the round as the recoil is minimal and it offers a good punch. In the lower 48, other than moose or bear, you could fend off most threats with a 22 WMR if you had to.
That said, not only have ammo prices gone up, but I think we the consumer are also at the mercy of the foreign entities who now own a large handful of the ammo manufacturers. Even though some or much for now of the ammo is still CURRENTLY made in the USA, who’s to say that manufacturing won’t ever be moved overseas. Or maybe the import of components won’t be banned.
The fact that the current administration let this deal go through shows treason.
Check out the article below. Very sad.
https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/ammunition/vista-outdoor-announces-agreement-for-sale-of-ammo-brands-to-csg-group/
The only 22WMR in the collection is my wife’s Ruger Single Six with cylinders in 22lr and 22WMR. I’d love a rifle in 22 mag but it’s not high enough on the list yet. I think it is a fine cartridge.
JQ
Same here. Got the 4.62 inch blued with both 22 LR and 22 WMR cylinders. Has wood grips. Bought it used 5 or so years ago, after reading a post from Kim about how the Single action is fun. Kim is a genius was my comment on his article.
Contacted Ruger and ran the serial number and it was made in the 1970’s. Has a couple of small wear marks but nothing major.
Quality and a great tool.
Ruger makes good stuff.
At some point I think I want to also get one of the new fangled Super Wranglers from Ruger. Yes it’s a budget version of the Single Six but it’s under $ 400 bucks. Be good to have the spare.
I think value wise the Single Six is one of the best deals going.
I also want to at some point get the Ruger LCR X 3 inch in 22 WMR. That’s a great tool as well.
Gotta save. Inflation sucks.
My first ever gat was a no-name hardware store variety single action .22lr, with an extra .22Mag cylinder you could swap out. Thus I bought a box of 50 .22Mag to have as somewhat defensive minded rounds. Probably never shot more than 12 total .22Mag’s through that pistol, but plenty of .22lr (still have it, used it to teach my kids to shoot).
Couple of years ago I ended up buying a North American Arms Black Widow, in .22Mag (because, that’s why). So I decided to beef up my .22Mag ammo inventory.
Good sweet hell. A box of 50 was $40, IF you could find it. It may have dropped a bit because of scarcity concerns at the time, but any recreational shooting of THAT ammo, at THAT price, is out of the question.
Another thing to consider. Some people can not handle the recoil of 380 or 9MM
Right now I’m relatively young and in decent health. But if one is older or has Arthur itus or just can’t rack a slide etc then a 22 Mag is a good choice.
Ruger makes the a couple of LCR in 22 WMR
One is a snubbie. Pocket size. One is a 3 in barrel
S&W has the 351 pd j frame.
Great tools. Low recoil
Ruger discontinued the LCR in .22WMR a couple years back, but still makes the LCRX (visible hammer) in that caliber.
Your incorrect.
They still made a 1.87 in and a 3 in
“ Ruger makes the a couple of LCR in 22 WMR
One is a snubbie. Pocket size. One is a 3 in barrel”
My statement is 100% correct. Please re read what I wrote.
They used to have a hammerless one. If that’s what you mean
The pocket size snubbie (1.87 in) with a hammer is still available and so is the 3 in.
Snubbie pocket side is model 5439
3 in is model 5437
https://ruger.com/products/lcrx/models.html
The nomenclature for the hammerless revolvers is LCR;
those with a visible hammer is LCRX.
As an FFL, you learn this stuff.