The round will kill anything at 50 yards which can be killed at the muzzle with a 22lr.
Theoretically.

 

A week ago, I bought a Ruger 77/22 in .22 WMR at a gun show. I later dropped by a local gun store and they had only one brand of .22 WMR. It was Federal Champion 40 gr. and it was sufficient to get the rifle/scope on paper. It did fairly well but I ordered a number of different brands, weights and bullets from Midway USA (five different brands/bullets) and will sort thru' those this coming week in search of the best results.

I guess where I am going with this is I don't think anyone can recommend the best for your firearm, only what their firearm prefers. That said, using a handgun rather than a long gun may narrow the differences between ammo choices since I speculate the ranges you will shoot at are closer than rifle distances.

Seems to me, it is a great coyote round. I live in South Carolina and we have a target rich environment as far as coyotes are concerned.

 

Your post makes perfect sense but what I mean by suggesting a round was basically which rounds to stay away from. Not really performance wise as grouping or that nature. Just what ammo to stay away from as far failure to fire, not chambering properly, etc. If you see my other thread about the Winchester Target and Small Game rounds you’ll see what I mean. I thought I was getting an ok deal on .22LR only to find these rounds have a bad reputation for being unreliable. I also live in SC and yes there are plenty of opportunities for coyotes if this round is good enough out of a revolver. It only has a 5.5 inch barrel so I’m not sure if that’s good enough for dispatching coyotes or not. If the gun is accurate enough it should be good. Years ago before I got into LE I worked for about a year as an animal control officer and dispatched quite a few varmints with a four inch revolver.

 

Also, with .22 WMR rounds about 3 or 4 times the cost of .22 LR, I doubt I will be doing nearly as much plinking with the Ruger 77/22.

 

I don't think they are unreliable, but they don't have as good a reputation for potential accuracy as some .22 LR ammo has. To the best of my limited knowledge, no one produces "target" .22 WMR ammo but I would not have reservations about buying Remington (.22 WMR, not necessarily .22 LR), Winchester, Federal, CCI, Hornady or other USA produced .22 WMR.

I had a CZ 452 full stock in .22 WMR (do I regret letting that one get out of the gun safe) and I never experienced failure to feed, failure to chamber, failure to fire or failure to eject with the ammo I experimented with in it.

As far as non-domestic ammo, I can't offer a comment. I have never bought any Armscor or Aguila ammo but it may be great ammo for all I know.

 

I have two rifles and a handgun so chambered.

Honestly, all I've ever used is CCI Maxi Mag 40gr fmj.. This ammo from a rifle will easily out penetrate 22lr at any range an impact can be achieved. The question after that then becomes, "to what benefit?"

The newer modern loadings are said to be light years ahead of my experience.

I like the cartridge because it offers a lot for the size. Meaning, a handgun or rifle is small and light, yet likely powerful enough to do anything needed. The cartridges are also the same. Are they worth the increase in price over 22lr???
My answer is maybe some of the time, but not all of the time.

 

Thanks for the replies. Looks like CCI may be my go to round from now on in ether caliber. But I will buy about a 100 rounds of different brands to see what shoots the best out of my revolver once I pick it Tuesday.

 

I don't know of any "bad" .22WMR ammo. The Armscor was not up to the accuracy standards of name brands. Remington, Winchester, Federal, and Hornady have all worked well for me in both rifle and handgun. Fiocchi 40gr JSP is the most accurate out of my Marlin rifle. Winchester 40gr JHP is best in my Single Six. Larger small game and predators are what this round does well within its range limitations. Accuracy can be fantastic. My Marlin is a tack driver at 100yds, and the long Single Six is a laser to 50. Federal 50gr loads may be a good choice for extra punch in your shorter barrel. I have shot the Hornady 30gr ammo, but prefer heavier bullets. I love the cartridge. Enjoy experimenting with it.

 

I know I kinda regret not getting a 22lr in my Henry the 22 mag is fun but expensive I would shoot it more if I had the 22lr

 

Completely unlike the 22lr, 22wmr is very consistent in its performance across different brands. Possibly because the actual projectile is identical in the FMJ category.
If you’re going to hunt, or, god forbid, use it for SD, you’ll want to look into various other bullets and then the long range performance becomes more varied.
I have to say it’s my favorite all-around round to shoot. Always shockingly accurate in a Single-six, sometimes it feels like I don’t even have to aim!
Unfortunately the cost per round is comparable to much bigger and more versatile calibers. And you can’t reload it. .223 is better in every respect except for the lack of available handguns chambered for it.

 

Back in 1975, I bought a Winchester Mod 9422M. I killed tons of prairie dogs and a few coyotes with that gun, using open sights. My eyes went wonky after having cataract surgery so now I have a 6x42mm Pentax scope on it. With Winchester 40gr JHPs, on a good day it will barely hold an inch group at 100 yards. There's just something about a lever gun that gets me excited, even if it doesn't shoot mouse ear groups.

 

I have found CCI to be very dependable. Winchester white box to be the opposite.

 

I agree that the Winchester white box are weak. Haven't had much problems with CCI brass cased. The silver cased CCI are erratic. Hornaday 30g red tips are good, more expensive though. My favorite is Fiocchi 40g jsp.

 

22 WMR makes a "more perfect" woods light carry gun than any 22LR. In fact your Ruger Single Six Convertible should be more accurate with 22 WWR than 22LR because the bore is sized for the larger diameter 22 WMR bullet, slightly larger than 22LR. If you're in an area with medium sized varmints, 2-legged or 4-legged like coyotes, the 22 WMR is better suited.

 

Lots of options... And all of them are pretty good. The WMR probably isn't needed in the pistol, though. For the price difference, the LR will probably do 99% of what you want.

And a fun article...

22 LR vs. 22 Mag: Rimfire Caliber Comparison by Ammo.com

22LR vs 22 Mag Caliber Comparison by Ammo.com. Comparing two of the most prevalent rimfire cartridges on the market for varmint and target shooting.

ammo.com

Jon.

 

Where are those two tables from?

 

I typically shoot cci for rimfire ammo in .22 wmr and .22 lr. Lots of options.

 

I really like .22 magnum. I stocked up a couple of years ago, when the price was much lower. Nowadays, .22WMR is more expensive than FMJ 9mm. Unless you have a specific need for that cartridge (such as coyote removal), .22LR is going to be far, far more affordable for plinking.

I have a Ruger Single Six, a Ruger LCRx, and a Rock Island 1911 semi-auto all chambered in .22 WMR. Knock on wood, out of the thousands of rounds I've shot over 40 years, I've never had a dud round of .22 WMR. The revolvers will shoot anything. The semi-auto can be a bit finicky when it comes to feeding because of the long narrow cartridge and the bullet nose shape.

I've shot Federal Small Game 50 grain, CCi MaxiMag, Hornady Vmax, Winchester Super-X, Armscor nickel plated, and I carry Speer Gold Dot in my LCRx. As stated, they all function in my revolvers. I don't hunt with them, so I can't say which is the most accurate. Of course, that often depends on the individual firearm and what it prefers. Happy shooting!

 

Right now Sentry Ammo is having a good deal on 22wmr.

Sad to say this is as good as it ever gets these days.

 

Agreed, that is a good price for .22 WMR. I've bought from Sentry before. Prices are good, just pay very close attention to the shipping cost. Sometimes, when you add up the ammo and their shipping charges, it comes out to about the same price that others are charging ... sometimes even a smidge more.

AmmoSeek dot com is a good place to search. Use the filters, especially the one to narrow shipping charges.

 

To answer your question as to recommending what brand of 22 WMR to use. I have had the best accuracy and reliability from CCI. Followed by Federal. If using for self defense, highly recommend Hornady's Critical Defense and Speer's Gold Dot (which is owned by CCI). Winchester and Aguila tend to run really dirty through my rifles and revolvers. Winchester is the only brand I have had duds.

 

You could do a lot of things with a piece like this. ,,, very nice boss.

 

A 22 Mag rifle has always been in my possession for 40 years. Federal Small Game 50 grain will fill the pot, pick your fur getter load.

 

Since you are running this in a revolver your choices are much greater in scope.
Regular old boxes Winchester or armsacor which would choke my pmr30 or M&P will work fine.
The armscor stuff is likely cheapest there is but leaves too much unburnt powder for me.

I buy CCI, federal and Hornaday for my semi autoes. The federal 50gr works well however contrary to instructions, I have used 30gr vmax types in both.

The old Marlin bolt shoots win cheap stuff just as well as fancier stuff and will take anything.

 

My rule is .22lr for fun and .22wmr for business. Targets get LR but critters get WMR.

 

I only shoot .22 WMR in a Henry lever action rifle. I have two .22 LR revolvers with the .22 mag cylinders but I have never fired magnum ammo out of them.
My favorite .22 WMR ammo is CCI 40gr HP Maxi Mag or Remington 40 gr. HP WMR. Both brands have performed well for me on varmints and pests (coyotes, ground hogs, racoons). I have also tried some of the Hornady, CCI, and Remington 30 & 33 grain plastic tipped ammo. It shoots a little flatter and faster but I still prefer the 40 grain HP ammo.

 

I like CCI Maxi Mag and Federal Game Shock, they are good all around ammo, and great in a revolver or rifle.

 

I have three 22 wmr weapons, a Stainless steel Tarus tracker, a Walther WMP, and a Ruger ranch rifle. For the revolver and rifle I shoot anything I can find, except Winchester. Not a fan. For the semiautomatic Walther, it is ammo sensitive and is not fond of any bullet weight less than 40 grain. I really like the Federal 50 grain bullet, haven’t shot the new Federal Punch yet. The Walther does not like the Armsco bullet. The taper crimp is not as pronounced as CCI and gives some failure to feed problems. Although my revolver loves it. It dispatches raccoons very well. Better than my 9 mm semiauto does. The 9 just over penetrates and requites multiple shots.
I find the cost is about equal to good 9 mm ammunition. But should try a variety and use what your weapon likes.