Taking the 22 RF Colt Trooper used to test 22 ammo in parts one and two on rimfire ammo...I rechambered it to 22 RF Magnum. Since this gun is so large, pressure wasn’t a concern...but striking power was.

The Colt Trooper in my articles part one and two...was just too heavy to leave chambered to 22RF. So after the tests were done I rechambered the big revolver to 22 mag/RF. Two things happened almost immediately...velocity went way up and accuracy improved a good deal. The accuracy improvement was because I recut the chambers carefully cleaning up two of the RF chambers that were slightly out of line. Who ever had owned the gun before I got it also knew this because he had marked those two chambers.

Mike Cumpston’s article THE 22 WINCHESTER MAGNUM RIMFIRE IN SPORTING REVOLVERS on SIXGUNNER was excellent. And it well pointed out how different guns act and react in rimfire persuasion to various brands of ammo.

My article on the 22 MagnumRF in handguns and rifles last year (The Sleeper...in back issues) shows velocities in the AMT 6 inch and the 4½ inch barrels, also in a old Ruger S/Six 4 and 5/8ths inch barrel. I had also recut the cylinder and set the barrel back to a minimum gap in that gun also. And two rifles the Winchester 9422M and the newer Henry 22RF mag. The Winchester is a 20 inch barrel and the Henry is a 19+inch barrel. I added the velocity chart from that article to the end of this one.

While playing with the Colt...I pulled the barrel and set it back, re-throated it with a smooth and gentle angle. All that’s easy to do...but it takes time, I don’t like doing it, and it already had a fairly tight gap. But taking up a little over one thousandths upped the velocity almost 70 fps average with CCI MaxiMag+V and CCI Maxi TNT ammo. These are the two highest velocity 22RF mags from my guns...from the Colt the MaxiMag+V runs the highest with 1645 fps, but it still doesn’t come close to the AMT 6 inch at 1668 fps with the same ammo. Still at this velocity the 30 grain bullet is nasty on small game. Basically we are getting Hyper Velocity 22RF Rifle ballistics from handguns. And about 300+ fps more than some 22RF High Velocity ammo from rifles in this Colt Trooper. So the work was worth it.

And as Mike Cumpston observed it makes a big difference when one is shooting jack rabbits. 22RFs from handguns just don’t make it with those tough old jacks. But the rimfire magnum ammo sure changes the picture. And Arizona Jacks are made out of bailing wire, hard tack, and thick leather...or so it seems when you shoot them. I once put a 22RF Blazer from a Colt Trooper thru a jack rabbit...saw the fur fly from the opposite side. But it just sat there enduring the pain I guess...I then shot it in the head. But most times jacks don’t just sit there...and normally they are running, and you don’t get the possibility of head shots. So you need the power of the 22RF mag.

As I have stated before, I am not to ready to shoot animals over a few pounds in body weight with 22 RF ammo even out of a rifle. Except for Quik Shok ammo...their bullet is designed to open into three projectiles in the animal, and causes a good deal of damage and shock. Of course we have to remember the velocity with it from rifles, is up around the 1700 fps level, almost 22RF mag levels. Giving it’s 36 grain bullet over 230 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy, or about the same as a 38 Spc. 158 grain round nose ammo from a six inch revolver.

I intend to call up a coyote in the future and whack him with the Quik Shok from my 24 inch CZ rifle, just to see how that bullet does in large varmints. I have no problem varmint hunting the larger animals like coyotes and javelina with a 22 RF Magnum rifle. By the way I consider javelina a pest and a varmint...all you have to do is live somewhere where they roam, and try to plant a garden or fruit trees....big pests. It wasn’t until 1976 that Arizona made them a game animal officially...before that they were in the varmint class. Under 50 yards I would use a 22RF magnum handgun on these critters also, with the right ammo.

There is a large disparity in velocity between the CCI MaxiMag (40 grn bullet) and the CCI MaxiMag+V (30 grn bullet) almost 400 fps...the 40 grainer went 1250 fps from the Colt....vrs. the +V’s 30 grain bullet at 1645 fps. Federal’s Premium Classic 30 grain load ran just under 1600 fps and RWS broke 1640 fps. But the best part is the accuracy. Where the 22 RF chambering in this handgun went from a 1½" on the low side to three inches at 25 yards...with always two chambers opening up the groups by 25 to 30%...the new RF Mag chambering runs ½ inch with Federal’s 50 grain lead load to under two inches with the worst ammo for this gun now....Winchester’s full metal jacket 40 grain load.

So it was worth the work...the gun still hardly even moves on firing, and seeing the target hit is the usual happening...if of course the target is hit...but after all that now is not up to this gun anymore...is it...?????

CHART FROM THE ARTICLE...THE SLEEPER...IN SIXGUNNER’S BACK ISSUES...

PACO45@worldnet.att.net