The 22 LR cartridge is popular with both novice shooters and experts. It is one of the few cartridges that are accepted by a large variety of rifles and handguns. The 22 LR uses a heeled bullet, which means that the bullet is the same diameter as the case, and has a narrower "heel" portion that fits in the case. It combined the case of the 22 Long of 1871 with a 45-grain (2.9 g) bullet, giving it a longer overall length, a higher muzzle velocity and superior performance as a hunting and target round, rendering the 22 Extra Long cartridges obsolete. The round owes its origin to the 22 BB Cap of 1845 and the 22 Short of 1857. The 22 Long Rifle is effective at short ranges and has little recoil making it ideal for training.Īmerican cartridge manufacturer Union Metallic Cartridge Company most likely introduced the 22 Long Rifle cartridge as early as 1884. Common uses include hunting and shooting sports. In terms of units sold it is by far the most common ammunition in the world today. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smoothbore shotguns, and submachine guns. The 22 Long Rifle or simply 22 LR (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of 22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. 22 Long Rifle – subsonic hollow point (left), standard velocity (center), hyper-velocity hollow point (right)Ġ.223 in (5.7 mm) - 0.2255 in (5.73 mm)