Posted on 09/14/2015 9:41:48 AM PDT by w1n1
The creation of an accurate .22 Magnum autoloader has long been plagued by cycling challenges caused by the cartridge shape and construction. The long, skinny case has a lot of surface area and resists extraction. Extracting it while the gas pressure is high runs the risk of blowing out the thin case head typical of rimfire ammunition. Balancing these conflicting requirements was a huge technical challenge to overcome – until the Magnum Lite.
Magnum Research calls the action “gas-assisted blowback,” but it is not. Gas assistance uses a muzzle booster to move the whole barrel (as on a Maxim machine gun), or diverts a small amount of gas that is tapped off just in front of the chamber and uses it to move a piston impinging on the bolt. The gas is then diffused and vented into the forend. The Magnum Lite uses neither, and the mechanism is more simply described as blowback with a gas pressure regulator. According to the manual, it keeps the pressure curve consistent for reliable and safe cycling. The manual sternly warns about using ammunition under 30 grains. My best guess is that the pressure curve spikes sooner in the cycle, leading to ejection failures and possibly blown-out brass.
The heart of the Magnum Lite is the graphite-wrapped barrel, which is 19 inches long and tipped with a stainless-steel cap. While the extra 3 inches over the minimum non-NFA (National Firearms Act of 1934) length gives no more than a 100-feet-per-second advantage with some loads and none at all with others, it does reduce the muzzle blast a bit and moves it further away from the shooter. Read the rest of the Magnum Lite .22 story here.
This is my rifle....this is my gun.
Gun porn?
WTF.
 |
.22 Magnums are too hard to find.
I wanted one of those stainless AMT .22WMR auto pistols with the 30-round magazine, but stopped short after I considered how much it would cost to feed the thing for an afternoon’s worth of goin’ nuts at the dump.
I think savage licked that in their new semi auto by using a delayed blowback gizmo.
True, but could be priceless in an Urban Ute Mall assault.
The .22 WMR is the most difficult ammunition to find on the shelves.
Yes, it would scramble their [what passes for] brains...
I don’t see the rifle?
I have more than I will ever shoot, theoretically...
I prefer my SS Marlin 882 with the Leupold 3x-10x scope on it. It is absolutely on the money out to around 125 yards. It is the varmint dispatcher.
I see some almost every day in and around central Texas.
Wait...there’s a gun in that picture?
I recently bought a S&W Model 48. I’m having a hell of a time finding ammo. I wish I had known that before I bought it.
Magnum Research has been building Ruger 10/22 clones in .22LR for many years; I'm glad to see them innovate the .22WMR version a bit. Ruger was too quick to give up on the .22 Magnum model, IMO.
Ain’t that Edgar Winter’s little girl?
It is rare in the Atlanta area.
America's rimfire cartridges, left to right: .22 Short, .17 HM2 (Mach Two), .22 LR, .17 HMR, 22. WMR. The .17 HMR seems to have caught on around here. The HM2 I see a lot less of, and a lot less ammo. I haven't seen a .22 short in ages. Remember shooting them as a kid at my friends house. His dad gave us about four little "lady's guns" to go shoot and none of them worked well. Stuff like Raven Arms .25.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.