American Rifleman – September 2019

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

The Long And Short Of .22s

Q

What is the purpose of .22 rim-

 re Shorts and Longs?

A

In order to rationalize their
existence, I suppose one must
 rst study the history of the
.22 rim re to see where they  t.
The .22 Short is actually the oldest
American cartridge, developed by Smith
& Wesson in 1857. Its origin is the
European Flobert BB Cap from 1845.
The early Short was loaded with 4.0 grs.
of blackpowder, as that was essentially
the only powder in existence. When
more power was desired, more powder
was necessary to accomplish the task,
so the case was lengthened to hold
5.0 grs. of powder, and, in about 1871,
the .22 Long was born. Note that until
the “Long” was introduced, there was
no “Short.” Both the Short and the
Long utilized a 29-gr. bullet.
In about 1887, in an effort to improve
the effectiveness of the .22 rim re,
especially in ri es, the .22 Long Ri e

was introduced. It utilized the same case

as the Long, with 5.0 grs. of blackpowder,

but with a 40-gr. bullet. Velocity was not

as high as the Long, but effectiveness on

game was improved.

Once smokeless powder was devel-

oped, the need for different case lengths

was reduced, and .22 Long Ri e really

came into its own. Indeed, most ammuni-

tion manufacturers loaded .22 Long only

a small degree of performance above

.22 Short. Still, considering that a variety

of  rearms had been, and were being,

produced for all three chamberings, it

was necessary to continue manufacturing

all three cartridges. In addition, for

certain applications the .22 Short, in

particular, remained a popular choice.

Today, a number of competi-

tive shooting disciplines, including

International Slow Fire and Biathlon, are

conducted with the .22 Short cartridge.

High-velocity hollow-point Shorts are

also a favorite among squirrel hunters.

Demand for the .22 Long is not high, but

they  nd favor with folks who desire a

lower level of performance—and noise

—from a cartridge with the same case

length as the .22 Long Ri e.

—JOHN W. TREAKLE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

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Illustration from Winchester Catalog circa 1905