There always seems to be debate on the diameter of the 22LR vs the magnum. I "knew" the LR was smaller in diameter. From what I remembered it was .222 vs .224 for the magnum. Now I "know" WHICHFINGER from RFC and I respect him enough to do some quick research. This is where my mind gets all cornfussed. I measured 3 different loads in 22 mag & 22 Hornet, 1 LR & pulled a random 40gr BlitzKing out of the box it came in (marked .224"). Before I post the results I allowed my self to Google, not as kinky as it sounded, and on Chuck Hawks page, Rifle Bullet Diameter this is what I found:Well, the 17HMR is based on the 22WMR case, so I imagine 17HMR rounds will chamber in a 22WMR revolver. The obvious question is, how bad would accuracy be with a .17 caliber round rattling down a .223 barrel. The less obvious question is, how dangerous would it be to touch off a necked case in a chamber designed for a straight case? I'm guessing at best the neck of the case would be blown out (fireformed to 22WMR), at worst the neck would split. What damage that would cause, I can't guess.
Yeppers on the confusion. I'm still not sure what the bore is supposed to measure in a .22LR. I've seen .221, .222, and .223, all from respected sources (of which I am definitely not oneThere always seems to be debate on the diameter of the 22LR vs the magnum. I "knew" the LR was smaller in diameter. From what I remembered it was .222 vs .224 for the magnum. Now I "know" WHICHFINGER from RFC and I respect him enough to do some quick research. This is where my mind gets all cornfussed. I measured 3 different loads in 22 mag & 22 Hornet, 1 LR & pulled a random 40gr BlitzKing out of the box it came in (marked .224"). Before I post the results I allowed my self to Google, not as kinky as it sounded, and on Chuck Hawks page, Rifle Bullet Diameter this is what I found:
.172" - .17 HMR
.223" - .22 Short, Long, Long Rifle
.224" - .22 WMR, .222 Remington, .223 Remington, .22-250 Varminter, .223 WSSM
What I found was this:
the Federal Automatch 40gr 22LR I randomly pulled out was .224"
EVERYTHING else I listed was .223"
Now, firing an HMR in a Mag chamber or cylinder. I would think there would be more damage to the bore than anything especially in a rifle BUT I am NOT willing to prove it with anything I own heheh
Yeppers on the confusion. I'm still not sure what the bore is supposed to measure in a .22LR. I've seen .221, .222, and .223, all from respected sources (of which I am definitely not one). For .22LR I doubt .001-.003 makes much difference for the average shooter. If you look at the base of any .22 S/L/LR, you'll see it's dished, which helps the round obdurate (expand to fill the bore) in the barrel, completely (in theory) engaging the rifling. That's why .22 revolvers can work with both LR and Magnum through the same barrel simply by changing the cylinder. Jacketed bullets are not designed to puff up to fill the bore (if they were ...
), so a .17 HMR is going to rattle down a .22 barrel.
You got my curiosity aroused, so I grabbed some Lake City 5.56 XM855 ball and some American Eagle .223 JHP. The LC was .223-.224, the AE .222-.224, on the same bullet. Interesting, but not so much that I'm going to dig out the other brands I have and measure them.![]()