.22 WMR

About .22 WMR

.22 WMR — .22 Magnum — sits between .22 LR and the smallest centrefires. It roughly doubles .22 LR's energy and extends useful range on small game and pests to around 125 yards, which is a real difference rather than a marginal one.

It costs several times what .22 LR does, which rules it out as a practice round, and it will not chamber in a .22 LR firearm. Where it has found a genuine niche recently is in lightweight defensive revolvers and pistols: recent purpose-built .22 Magnum carry guns give a recoil-sensitive shooter meaningfully more than .22 LR in a gun they can actually operate.