href="#litres_trial_promo">Remington 597
CHAPTER 14 Shooting Some Vintage Rimfire Rifles
CHAPTER 15 Evaluations of Some Current Rimfire Handguns
Ruger Super Single Six Convertible
CHAPTER 16 Shooting Some Vintage Rimfire Handguns
Smith & Wesson Model 34 Kit Gun
APPENDIX A Suggestions for Further Reading
APPENDIX B Sources for the Rimfire Shopper
APPENDIX C Sources for Hunting Information
Chapter 1 DEVELOPMENT OF RIMFIRE AMMUNITION
As you look at the rimfire section of the ammunition counter in a sporting goods store you will see stacks of boxes labeled 22 Long Rifle (LR), 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR), and 17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (HMR). If the store has a comprehensive line of ammunition, you may also see boxes of the new 17 Mach 2, 22 Short, 22 Long or perhaps those dinosaurs known as the 22 CB Short and 22 CB Long that live on for some reason. It is possible that you may also see a box or two of 22 Winchester Rim Fire (WRF), a cartridge that was introduced in 1890 along with the Winchester Model 90 pump rifle that was chambered for the cartridge. As this is being written, another 17-caliber cartridge or two are being marketed or are under development.
The frame of the Smith & Wesson opened at the bottom and was hinged at the top.
The Smith & Wesson No. 1 First Issue was the first revolver chambered for the 22 Short black powder cartridge. Shown here is a No. 1, Second Issue model.
Pinfire cartridges were produced in several calibers including shotgun rounds.
If this list of approximately 10 cartridges makes it seem like there are many choices in rimfire calibers, look again. The 22 Short, Long, Long Rifle and the two CB rounds are all used in the 22 LR chamber. The 22 WMR is a separate caliber as are the 17 HMR and 17 Mach 2. We can ignore the 22 WRF for the moment. What we have is really a short list of rimfire cartridges most of which can be used in firearms of one caliber, but as we shall see it has not always been so. In this chapter, we will provide a brief history of rimfire ammunition and a description of some of the most significant obsolete and current rimfire cartridges.
Cartridge Development
One should not lose sight of the fact that developments in different areas of science and technology are interrelated. For example, it would not be possible to build a long-range rocket without developments in rocket fuel (which is a problem in chemical science). It was not possible to produce the atomic bomb until methods of enriching uranium were developed. The high performance of cartridges today is in great measure the result of improvements in propellants and metallurgy. Some of the basic principles involved in cartridge performance will be described in Chapter 7.
