• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

What's the best accuracy/distance I can expect with 22 Short?

Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

NES Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
20,923
Likes
21,228
Location
South Central Mass
Feedback: 66 / 0 / 0
I recently inherited a very nice Winchester 1885 Low Wall rifle from my Dad. It's an old WW I training rifle marked with US and an ordinance bomb behind the hammer in 22 Short. The story behind it is that it was an Army training rifle that "walked" away from the range with one of my great uncles.

I'm wondering what people think would be a good expectation on shooting this rifle. Can 22 Short reach 100 yards or would it be like lobbing a ball with a high arch to even hit the target. I'll start at 25 yards and then walk it out, but just wondering if anyone has experience with 22 Short and it's characteristics.

Thanks

winchester-1885-low-wall-22-short-w10718.jpg
 
Rockrivr1 said:
... just wondering if anyone has experience with 22 Short and it's characteristics.
Click to expand...
That's down near Parlour Rifle land.
Don't risk shooting offhand.
You need to load a pedestal sink with sandbags
as a bench rest to steady it.

Greg said:
22 at 100 yards is lobbing, imagine 22 short would have to take in the coriolus effect lol .
Click to expand...
LTFY.

tuna said:
That looks perfect for the basement / garage.

That actually just looks perfect.
Click to expand...
Basement/Garage Rifles are a whole nother story.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
I recently inherited a very nice Winchester 1885 Low Wall rifle from my Dad. It's an old WW I training rifle marked with US and an ordinance bomb behind the hammer in 22 Short. The story behind it is that it was an Army training rifle that "walked" away from the range with one of my great uncles.

I'm wondering what people think would be a good expectation on shooting this rifle. Can 22 Short reach 100 yards or would it be like lobbing a ball with a high arch to even hit the target. I'll start at 25 yards and then walk it out, but just wondering if anyone has experience with 22 Short and it's characteristics.

Thanks

View attachment 575479
Click to expand...
25 is best, 50 yds is max.
that rifle can be decently accurate, really - if it not rusted out inside completely. try it out. a nice piece of history, anyway.
 

.22 Short Ballistics GunData.org

The .22 Short was developed in 1857 by manufacturer Smith & Wesson and is the oldest cartridge in use to date. Originally designed as a pocket pistol for self-defense, the .22 Rimfire Short is mostly...
gundata.org gundata.org

There is a place in hell for people who do not label their axes.

convincing.png


B_7aI4nWEAAumQf.png
 
See if it can chamber a .22 long rifle. I have a Winchester 1890 .22 short pump gun, and I can load .22 LR cartridges as a single shot.
 
I would zero it for 25 yards. Assuming 29 grain HV ammo.
Rockrivr1 said:
I recently inherited a very nice Winchester 1885 Low Wall rifle from my Dad. It's an old WW I training rifle marked with US and an ordinance bomb behind the hammer in 22 Short. The story behind it is that it was an Army training rifle that "walked" away from the range with one of my great uncles.

I'm wondering what people think would be a good expectation on shooting this rifle. Can 22 Short reach 100 yards or would it be like lobbing a ball with a high arch to even hit the target. I'll start at 25 yards and then walk it out, but just wondering if anyone has experience with 22 Short and it's characteristics.

Thanks

View attachment 575479
Click to expand...
 
Rockrivr1 said:
I recently inherited a very nice Winchester 1885 Low Wall rifle from my Dad. It's an old WW I training rifle marked with US and an ordinance bomb behind the hammer in 22 Short. The story behind it is that it was an Army training rifle that "walked" away from the range with one of my great uncles.

I'm wondering what people think would be a good expectation on shooting this rifle. Can 22 Short reach 100 yards or would it be like lobbing a ball with a high arch to even hit the target. I'll start at 25 yards and then walk it out, but just wondering if anyone has experience with 22 Short and it's characteristics.

Thanks

View attachment 575479
Click to expand...
22 short can be very accurate
Does eley still make 22 shorts
IIRC the 22 short was used for olympic pistol until replaced by air guns in the 2000s

Anyway we used 22 shorts on rats at the dump . Out of my glenfield 25 ( cheap bolt gun) I could hover around 1” with some flyers at 50 yards.

That rifle may or may not shoot well? Give it a try. No problem shooting that out to 100 yards

You will never know until you try
That old and possible used as a trainer probably well worn.
Think the primer compound was corrosive?
 
Last edited:
I think I read somewhere that the twist rate of 22 short barrels are even slower than 22lr. 1/20 or 22 or something like that. Olympic Rapid Fire was at 25M I think.
That rifle has value.
 
PatMcD said:
I think I read somewhere that the twist rate of 22 short barrels are even slower than 22lr. 1/20 or 22 or something like that. Olympic Rapid Fire was at 25M I think.
That rifle has value.
Click to expand...
I think those where less than 15k made for US?
 
PatMcD said:
I think I read somewhere that the twist rate of 22 short barrels are even slower than 22lr. 1/20 or 22 or something like that. Olympic Rapid Fire was at 25M I think.
That rifle has value.
Click to expand...
Most likely 20 but I shot shorts through a 16 .

I think the problem with something that old is chamber/throat wear
 
In my testing 22 short yielded 7.5 MOA at 200 yards. I think the bearing surface on a lot of .22 short loads is too short. So the bullet ends up coming out of the barrel off axis. Same issue with calibri/super calibrate ammunition.

I'd look for .22 shorts with the longest possible bearing surface but I bet that extra drag lowers the velocity further.
 
I use .22 CB shorts for plinking while hiking, once I find a safe backstop. Out of a revolver it makes a little bang, ear plugs not really necessary, but out of a rifle it's like a mild hand clap decibel level. I find them accurate to about 50 ', although I haven't tried longer distances. They might not stop a bear or two legged savage, which is why I carry something bigger at the same time.
 
I have a Winchester 1890 that I got very cheap. Apparently no one wants a .22 Short but it's fine. I'd start at 25 yards and work out to 100. If you can hit soda cans at 100 yards with an air rifle (and you can) then I don't see why you can't with a .22 Short.
 
Guy at my club let me try his .22, that shot bot l.r. and shorts. Memory a bit foggy, but pretty sure it was 25 yards, and zeroed for .22lr, the short was 6" low, just catching the bottom of the target. Very nice gun you inherited there, and betting it won't be on any future ban lists for at least another year.
 
There are a few posts here that are talking about .22 shorts as though they were CB shorts. This is not really right. Regular .22 short rounds are pretty close to .22 LR standard velocity, while CB rounds are far less powerful.

A normal .22 short round is 29 grains at approximately 1050 feet per second. This is only a bit short of .22 LR standard velocity which is 40 grains at about 1080. CB rounds are very different since their 29 grain projectiles are only going around 700 feet per second.
 
i have a ted williams pump that takes .22 short. Used to shoot that all the time when i was a kid. but not farther than 25 yards.....
 
Bullet Bill said:
In my testing 22 short yielded 7.5 MOA at 200 yards. I think the bearing surface on a lot of .22 short loads is too short. So the bullet ends up coming out of the barrel off axis. Same issue with calibri/super calibrate ammunition.

I'd look for .22 shorts with the longest possible bearing surface but I bet that extra drag lowers the velocity further.
Click to expand...
At some point I will pull out some 22 shorts and compare.
I never really shot shorts in a “accurate” rifle.
Mostly in the glenfield 25 for rat hunting.
Using 22 shorts in a 22lr chamber for accuracy is most likely useless as the lead/throat will be a tad to long and really cause some inconsistency in velocity.
Growing up 22 shorts where cheaper than 22lr so we used them
 

Similar threads

Recommend barrel length for best accuracy out of 10/22
Replies
24
Views
703
dcmdon
dcmdon
Why is .22 CB Short louder than .22 CB Long in my rifles?
Replies
10
Views
233
Bigfudge16
Bigfudge16
The cause of poor accuracy was the stock? Maybe……..
Replies
7
Views
304
Taipan01
Taipan01
newly produced m1 carbines: who makes the best
Replies
24
Views
679
PappyM3
PappyM3
Internet accuracy claims put to the test! (Backfire long range challenge.)
Replies
16
Views
455
Chevy 2 65
Chevy 2 65
Back
Top Bottom