Small-frame rimfire revolvers got the “kit gun” title the honest way: they had to ride in tackle boxes, and truck consoles, and pack pockets, until some snake in the camp, or a rabbit in the pot, or a tin can on a stump, put them to service.
Even when polymer semi-autos replaced belt duty, that position never really disappeared. A small rimfire wheelgun continues to provide solutions to everyday problems in the woods with little recoil, with smaller size and a feel of rhythm that makes practice less of a job. The contemporary point of choice is typically the same as it was 40 years ago between.22 Long Rifle or.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, but the tradeoffs become more apparent as the two are fired through the short barrels and cylinder gaps defining what true kit guns are.
The reason why 22 LR remains the most popular is because it is easy, lightweight, and amnesty. The case length of the cartridge was 0.613 inches, and the shape was that of a heeled-bullet, and this length and shape have been used in over a hundred years of rifles and handguns, and they are still used as an instructional tool in that they allow shooters to learn to aim at a target and press the trigger, rather than respond to recoil. It is also diverse: quiet subsonics to high velocity loads that are designed to shoot at small game and casual targets. That flexibility is a quality which is more valuable in the field than it may sound; the one and same revolver can become camp pests and squirrels without requiring the shooter to be re-taught how to use the weapon.
However, 22 WMR was constructed using other geometry and other expectations. Its longer, slightly tapered case and traditional.224-caliber bullets permit jacketed hollow points, full metal jackets and polymer-tipped, which are not available similarly in LR. The cartridge came out in 1959 and the reason why the process of interchanging the ammo between the two is not a simple laboratory experiment is because the cartridge is larger in size. A .22 Lr round can physically be forced into a WMR chamber, although its firing is likely to lead to split cases and gas back-blast; the best and most reliable rule is one that is boring and absolute: marking on a chamber decides what gets shot.
The Magnum should have an extra case capacity on paper, which should be a clear win. Both cartridges have a SAAMI maximum average pressure of 24, 000 psi, although WMR will hold more powder and will routinely surpass LR in rifle barrels. Complication with the kit-gun is that the majority of the rimfire ammunition is mixed in such a manner as to burn effectively in a closed rifle chamber with a long barrel. Dump the same load over a 2 or 3 inch revolver with a hole in the cylinder and speed may drop quickly and erratically the very type of real-world limitation that reduces a so called more powerful cartridge to one that is perhaps powerful.
That is why a controlled comparison is important. The weight, sights, grip shape, and handling remain the same, but the ammunition does the talking by using two physically identical Taurus 942 revolvers, one with a .22 LR round and the other with a.22 WMR round. The all stainless, paired 3-inch. guns weighed 25.1 ounces apiece, held eight rounds and ran without gun-related troubles on mixed loads. The LR outshooted the Magnum by a margin of 1.72 inches to 1.82 inches in overall groups (7 yards) in benchrest accuracy. Still, the WMR gun still demonstrated a more evident energy advantage at the muzzle, with an average of about 40 ft. lbs. higher energy in similar loads than the LR loads but it also caused a more audible report, a brighter flash and more heat at the gun.
The decision is characterized by that gap, additional energy, additional blast. In casual trail use, plinking, and small game where precision and volume practice is important, the.22 LR retains its crown. In the case of a rimfire revolver that might be leaned upon to control more difficult pests or higher ball penetration loads more characteristic of a short barrel, the bullet construction features of a Magnum and its additional strength are the more pertinent engineering benefit, once the revolver has taken a toll on some of its rifle-bred speed.
To those readers who follow the bigger trends of rimfire, the ammunition debate is also occurring with an accompanying culture shift to quieter shooting. Now that the NFA tax stamp is down to zero, rimfire suppressors have ceased to be an esoteric accessory and become common-range hardware, and cartridge behavior flash, blast, and realistic velocity with short tubes has become even more important than it ever was when every kit gun was supposed to be barking.
