22 short

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I've always wondered what 22 short does better than 22LR except allow you to put more cartridges in a tubular magazine. It must be good for something, otherwise they wouldn't still make it. Anybody know?
 
High velocity 22s's are about the same velocity as standard velocity 22lr's; around 1100fps.
CB 22s's are about the same velocity as CB 22lr's; around 700fps. I shoot these without ear protection most of the time.

The speed of sound doesn't drop to 1100fps until you are around 4000 feet. So 1100fps rounds wont make the crack of a sonic boom unless you are above 4000 feet or if it's extremely cold (-30'C or something before windchill).

I get decent enough accuracy and would use shorts more if they weren't more expensive than 22lr's. As it stands I can buy standard velocity 22lr's for less and they are subsonic and serve the same purpose. If I want really quiet there is no difference between 22s and 22lr CB rounds. Really the only uses for 22s's are more fit in a mag and some antique revolvers are only chambered for shorts.

People still buy them so they still make them; doesn't matter if they serve a unique purpose or not.
 
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I can shoot them cheaply in this Astra Cub. I also have a Baby Browning in .25 ACP. I've probably shot less than 100 rounds through the Baby and 500 or more through the Cub.

 
I have an old Remington pump that would feed 22 shorts longs and long rifles. I used 22 shorts for bush chickens and hares when I was moose hunting back in the day. I also used them to keep the local squirrel population in check. At close range 22 longs or long rifles was overkill
 
I was lucky a while ago getting winchester 22 shorts for $10 per 500 , so I stocked up. They are fun to shoot , I can get 21 or 22 of them in my Henry lever . Weird thing is 1 out of 20 is as loud as a 22lr. Their accuracy is pretty good and they are as loud as a pellet rifle ( most of the time)
 
As indicated above, the 22 Short is quiet and sometimes useful because it does not "overkill / spoil meat.

However, the following also makes the 22 Short the desirable cartridge:
1) It has less penetration than the 22 LR and could prevent or reduce damage when used inside structures, i.e. when used against rodent/vermin.

2) In some target shooting disciplines, all that is needed is to punch a hole in a paper target at 50' during rapid fire, and then the almost non-existant recoil of the 22 Short is better suited thn the 22 Long or 22 LR.

3) Elephant poaching !! Yes! Not that I am encouraging this practice, but as reported by David Westerhout on p 61-63 of the January 2003 edition of the excellent manMagnum magazine (published in South Africa, and can be bought via mail), it has been done. Perhaps out of desperate need, not by choice, but the 22 Short has been used to kill several (not only one) elephant. This story (according to David) was previously related by the respected PH John Northcote in the African Hunter, Vol 8 No1).

RSA1
 
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super quiet round, they are barely louder than the snap of the hammer coming down... after shooting a bunch of LR and my 30-06 for a day, I tossed a handful of the shorts in, I recocked the hammer of the first shot 3 times before i said screw it and cycled the action, realising it shot the first time but I couldn't hear it!

i bought a 100rd box of CCI 22 short CB's (710 fps) for 7.99...

though my 500 rd box of american eagle high velocity .22 LR 40gr was only $25.99
 
Love the shorts! I live in the country and so can shoot right out in my backyard, however, I sill don't like to annoy the neighbours tooo much. Especially on those days I feel like firing off a couple hundred rounds. My Henry lever and shorts get along wonderfully.
 
For the same price (about $8/100) you can get 22lr's that have the same velocity, recoil, and muzzle report of a 22s. All of CCI's 22s cartridges are duplicated in 22lr cases as well for feeding in non-tube mag guns.
 
The first american made metallic cartridge in 1857. ;)

Yes, it was.

A 160 years ago it was used as a target/saloon gallery round and became popular all over the world. When Long Rifle .22 cartridges were designed sometime in the late 1880s as a superior heavier round, it was never intended to compete with the already popular .22short.

So without having a clue of the history or not even attempting a google search, one might wonder what use is this round when the .22 long rifle is so vastly superior in ballistics.
 
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