I had a rossi .22 lr that i put a nice 3-9x40 scope on it and @ 50 yrds with the Winchester and Remington bulk (550 rnd) it never would group. It shop a 10" circle and never in the same place twice and that was in a vice so the gun could'nt move. I blamed the gun so i bought a Marlin 983T .22 Mag. I started out sighting in that same scope using the bulk .22 long rifle and it shot a 8" circle all over the place just like the Rossi. It took three .22 Mags to get it to group a 2" circle. Then i tryed the .22 lr again and just like before they shop all over the place within a 7" circle. After that i shot 2 more .22 Mags and were right there in a 2" circle. lol!! the lr souded like a pea shooter compaired to the mags

It was the crappy ammo (and probably the gun too). Try some wolf mt, or eley if you want tiny groups.

Also, are you saying you shot .22lr rounds out of a .22mag bolt action? Thats not smart....

To Tighten your groups, try using CCI STINGERS.
22's are no differant than any other Fire Arm.
Shoot cheap, get cheap results.
Aside from shooter error, to obtain best performance
a Fire Arm is capable of, you need to provide it
with the Tools needed to perform the task.
As far as the Shooter part of the equation,
Practice ~ Practice ~ Practice.
Jus Sayen :::::::::::

Are you saying you shot .22 long rifle through a .22 mag? You do understand they are not interchangeable? If you where shooting the long rile rounds through the mag it is no dang wonder the thing won't shoot less than 2 inches.

There both .22 caliber, just a longer case on the mag. Thats no different than shooting a 12ga 2 3/4" shell in a shotgun that was chambered for 3". The point i was trying make in the post was that cheap ammo will give cheap results. I think the cheap ammo is not precise enough to spin and came out tumbling instead. I know someone who shoots .22LR stingers in his mag and will group 1 1/2" @ 50 yrds every shot.

I'm a fan of the stingers.

Thanks for the post

Topwater, that's completely incorrect my friend. You should notify the gun manufactures about this new revelation. If you were going to do that in a tight spot, the heavier grain, the better.

LOL WOW...i repeat again, not a smart move at all.

And by the way, Stingers are almost the WORST choice for accuracy. The slower the velocity, the more accurate (when it comes to .22lr). There is a reason why ALL .22lr MATCH ammo is subsonic.

I just learned something! I guess I can shoot my .30-06 thru my .300 mag. They are both .30 caliber, one is just a little longer than the other.
Topwater, do you work for sporting goods at Walmart? Just because the bullet diameter is the same, it doesn't mean the rounds are interchangeable.

when I want to shoot small groups I use a subsonic round they do cost about 6x more but I can same hole at 50 yrds with it
This is a group at 100yrds with s/s ammo

22 lr out of 22 mag. Yeah I can see why the groups would be terrible.

Topwater, the case diameter of .22 WMR (.22 Mag) is larger than .22 Long Rifle. Shooting .22LR in a .22 Mag chamber will result in case separation. Maybe not all the time, but it will. The reason those groups were crappy was that the velocity spread was huge from shot to shot since a lot of the gas was being vented into the action and who knows where else.

The .22 Magnum is the same case diameter as the old .22 WRF round. Don't shoot .22LR in those guns either.

Dangerous.

While you can shoot 458win mag in a 458 Lott based on it's tappered case, you would never shoot 45-70 out of a 45-110 .. A 22lr would be more than a bullet lenght off the throat, any split cases??

22lr besties -- ely, green tag, and aguilla SS 60gr.

Best 22Mag ammo IMO both groups and preformance is the Winchester Sup 22 mag 34gr hollow point.. (s22wm)

We unwittingly shot several 22LR's out of the 22Mag cylinder of a Ruger single-six convertible. We could not figure out why each fired case had split, until we realized our error.

So, shooting a 22LR in a 22Mag chamber can be done, though I DO NOT recommend it. Situations that cause split cases should not be purposefully repeated.

. . .Not all .22 ammo is the same

Well, you got the thread title right;

.22MAG is JACKETED bullet . . . .
.22LR is plain soft lead . . . .

I'd CLEAN all the LEAD out of the 22mag before shooting any thing else thru it. Your groups (with the CORRECT type of ammo) might just tighten up a bit. At 50yrd, with the 22mag, you should be getting like .5" or better groups with ANY .22mag ammo . . .

Your Rossi will probably shoot much better groups with a different ammo - .22LR's can be very finicky - try some CCI STANDARD velocity (~1080fps), or any 1080fps ammo you can find; should be able to easily get 1" at 50yrd or better. Those cheap winchesters and remington bulk are probably only good for 2" at 50yrd in an average rifle.

One trick to get a .22LR even more accurate is to take a micrometer to match ammo and measure the thickness of the rim. Then sort them by thickness because the rim sets your head space. They make a little insert for doing it as well. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=382448

That's for sure. I worked with a man that was shooting a .308 along side his 30-06. He inadvertently chambered a .308 in the '06 and fired. The gun split just above the chamber, splintering the forearm and completely destroying the gun. According to Topwater, it should have been ok because a .308 is just a shorter version of the '06. I saw Jim's gun, by the grace of the good Lord, he wasn't injured.

Bullet diameter is different as well. The WMR is bigger. I think it is only by a thousandth of an inch, but it can affect accuracy.

My Ruger Single Six has two cylinders, one for .22lr, and one for .22WMR. The barrel is the larger diameter to support the .22WMR. Some folks say that that the pre-conversion models that were only .22lr are more accurate. Honestly, I don't think I shoot well enough to tell the difference.

There both .22 caliber, just a longer case on the mag. Thats no different than shooting a 12ga 2 3/4" shell in a shotgun that was chambered for 3". The point i was trying make in the post was that cheap ammo will give cheap results. I think the cheap ammo is not precise enough to spin and came out tumbling instead. I know someone who shoots .22LR stingers in his mag and will group 1 1/2" @ 50 yrds every shot. [/quote]


WOW
REALLY?

I did'nt say a word about a 30-06 or .308, I was talking about .22 mag and .22lr. This post has alot of Democrats on here, I can tell by the inflation, trying to make a mountian out of a mole hill. LOL

OK guys, I'll be a man and admit i was wrong. I measured the mag and LR cases and the mag is .044 (44 thousands) larger

i like the cci mini mag

the difference is the 22Auto, 22WRF and 22Mag use a larger diameter case so the bullet fits inside the case. The bullet is also about .001 larger if memory serves me right. The 22lr and its stable mates 22cb, 22short and 22 long have a small portion of the bullet usually caled the heel that fits inside the case and is smaller in diameter than the bore or outside of the bullet outside the case.

Part of the logic behind the 22WRF, 22Auto and 22Mag with the bullet and its lube for lead bullets being inside the case makes for a cleaner round than the LR with its externally lubricated bullets, that wax lube sure likes to pickup lint in the pockets and other things as well.