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There’s been a lot of thought and counter-thought given to the question of what’s an ideal packing pistol and packing caliber for casual carry in the woods and across the fields. For 99 percent of our roaming adventures, my vote goes to the ever versatile and deadly .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire chambered in whatever handgun suits your fancy.

The .22 WMR, as debuted in 1959, was designed at Winchester to do one thing well — to kill something. It’s not a plinking round. It’s not a target round. It’s not cheap. It uses jacketed hollowpoints. And in its present array of loadings, it’s better than it’s ever been in the 48 years of its existence. The little Maggie is one terrific cartridge today.

Little Big Brother

Separating the .22 WMR from the .22 Long Rifle is more than just velocity and sometimes bullet weight. The basic .22 WMR case design has its origins in the earlier .22 Winchester Rimfire (.22 WRF), introduced in Winchester’s 1890 pump action. In its day, the .22 WRF was a radical step up in power over the .22 LR and was offered with a 40-grain HP at 1,475 fps. More intriguing still is the case design.

Standard .22 rimfire ammunition is assembled with a two-diameter outside lubricated bullet, known as a “heeled” bullet. The diameter of the bearing surface of the bullet runs between .223" to .224" while the mouth of the case is crimped into the reduced-sized, cupped heel portion of the bullet. The result is the outside diameter of the case is the same diameter as the bullet — plus-or-minus .224".

When the Winchester engineers designed the .22 WRF, they selected a lubricated bullet without a heel seated down inside the case in a conventional manner. To accomplish this, the inside diameter of the WRF case was drawn to full bullet diameter. In short, the inside diameter of the WRF and the modern WMR case is equal to the outside diameter of the standard .22 rimfire case. In addition, the WRF case was drawn to a length of .965" whereas the standard LR case measured only .613".

The WRF never received the attention in terms of manufacturing tolerances the .22 LR did. It could have been a very accurate round, notwithstanding the firearms chambered for it were not precision models. It was simply perceived as an improved small-game hunting cartridge, offering the rimfire hunter a bit more power and range than the .22 LR of the day.

Ironically, the WRF was resurrected with the advent of the explosive .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, produced by lengthening the WRF case to 1.06" and stuffing it with jacketed bullets. One of the lessons .22 WMR hunters quickly learned was small, edible game — like rabbits and squirrels — were subjected to excessive meat damage when hit in the midsection with the new rimfire magnum.