Reloading .22lr and .22 WMR

[libertasdon]

A company called Sharp Shooter sells equipment for reloading 22s. Has anyone used their tong tool and primer compound to good effect? Any tips? Art Merrill of NRA Shooting Sports wrote a very good article on reloading the .22 WMR, but that was 4 to 5 years ago. I wonder if he kept up with it.

[Shadow9mm]

Welcome,
I have looked into it before. The main issue I found was that, in general, the primer compound was corrosive, so be on the lookout for that.

[stagpanther]

I spent a lot of time and money on reloading--or more accurately 1st stage loading (I used pre-primed brass) in 22lr.

My conclusion after trying very hard was that for me, anyway, it is a fool's errand.

It all boils down to the diminutive dimensions that you have to deal with in order to get any kind of consistency. For the close range casual plinker that is satisfied with low-grade bulk ammo consistency--you can approach that "doing it yourself." Otherwise, dreaming of "better than commercially produced" is a pipe dream IMO.

[ghbucky]

looked into it a while back. I concluded after looking through the steps that I would probably be able to produce 2 or 3 rnds an hour.

[FrankenMauser]

I have hand-loaded .22 WMR using factory hulls.
I stopped after the priming compound initiated and a case popped during bullet seating. Luckily, I was using a universal seating die, so pressure was not contained like it would be with a bespoke seating die. It was more of a scary pop and angry fizzle, than danger bang. But there was still shrapnel.

I have not reloaded WMR or LR myself. But I know probably a dozen people that have done it.
One of them continues to do so for BP-rated firearms and is helping develop tools for large bore rimfire cartridges.
One of them keeps the kit around for killing time while camping.
None of the others have continued to mess with it. Too many issues with inconsistent priming, and too much time required. They have kept the tools and priming compound on hand, but don't use them any more.

[44 AMP]

Never tried it, just doesn't meet my cost/benefit requirements.
(my cost includes my time as well as tools and components)

[Mannlicher]

I just don't see any reason to load rimfire. Not from a cost/ availability/quality standpoint

[Unclenick]

The corrosive priming mix is what stops me from doing it. I'd considered trying for an apocalyptic scenario but decided that buying commercial 22 rimfire ammo made more sense. Now, larger rimfire BP rounds, if you can find or make the brass (or copper), are another matter and I would do it for those if shooting those early metallic cartridge guns was a hobby of mine.

According to Hatcher, back before bore corrosion was understood, people noticed they got a lot of bore rust when shooting smokeless powder in humid climbs. They did not see nearly as much rust with black powder, so they blamed smokeless powder for causing the corrosion. Just after WWI (in this country; the Swiss worked it out almost 20 years earlier), the Bureau of Mines figured out that primer compound was actually to blame. The reason for the confusion was the thick fouling from black powder would encapsulate the potassium chloride combustion product from potassium chlorate-based primers and would impede its rusting effect for a time, making the rust problem less of an issue with black powder than it is with relatively clean smokeless propellants.

So, for BP applications for obsolete style cases that you can't buy new copies of, running your own corrosive priming mix makes sense. There may be no other way to shoot the gun again. And since one normally cleans BP bores with hot soapy water, that dissolves and removes the potassium chloride at the same time.

[MarkCO]

Yeah, not worth the effort.

I tried the .22 Cooper Centerfire Magnum for a few years, and then just gave up on it since I could load .223 reduced loads to 2300 fps for less money.

[MSD Mike]

Might be worth having on hand when the ████e hits the fan and you have to go full prepper. 22lr is back to cheap and available again so it’s certainly better to load up an an emergency stash in stead. However, if simply want to do it to have something to mess around with and add a new angle to the hobby then you should go for it.


Mike

[stagpanther]

I was cleaning my two 22lr rifles today and it got me to thinking I may give it another try since I still have tons of cases and bullets. On the other hand, it's hard to argue that it's a better option than buying ready-made ammo. I just scored a 1,000 rounds of Norma Tac 22 for 100 bucks--it's not match ammo but it is awfully good, better in my rifles than any other budget grade 22lr stuff.