THE ITTY-BITTY MAGNUM
The quest for improved performance has led to many new products.
Although the .22 Short came earlier, the .22 Long Rifle became far more popular because of its performance. Rifles in this caliber perform admirably for general shooting, pest control and small-game hunting. The .22 Long Rifle can dispatch larger game and varmints such as groundhogs, foxes and coyotes, but only with very carefully placed shots.
Before I had any centerfire rifles, I managed to reduce the groundhog population of some pastures with a rimfire shooting .22 LR ammunition, but I also saw some make it to their dens. Many varmint hunters have had the same results and wished for a more potent rimfire.
One incremental step along the way resulted in the .22 Winchester Rim Fire (WRF) cartridge. It uses a slightly larger case than the .22 LR and drives a 45-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1,300 fps, giving a muzzle energy of almost 170 ft-lb.
Although no new rifles are currently produced in .22 WRF, the
