.22 no.2 mkiv ammunition

[Capt.Mainwaring]

The most dangerous thing that has ever happened to me shooting was with my No2. I was shooting Federal HV ammo when something flew back and hit my glasses. I opened the bolt to find the rim had completely separated from the case, and it was probably a bit of it that came back.

OK, not a great danger or even a great story, but I've never seen anything like that happen with 22 ammo before or since.

[jmoore]

Try a Polish .22rf Mosin type trainer. They seem to thrive on rupturing cases.

...I opened the bolt to find the rim had completely separated from the case, and it was probably a bit of it that came back.

... I've never seen anything like that happen with 22 ammo before or since.

[jona]

Have a BSA War Office Trainer. Quit shooting it, because every time I did I would feel a puff of air hit my forehead.

[Fozzybear]

I shoot Winchester T22 {std vel} in my #2 Mk4 RFI with good results, have also used Win High vel with no problems.
Also have a 1917 Litgow #2 Mk4 and a 1915 BSA #2 Mk4 that I haven't used yet.

[jmoore]

Have a BSA War Office Trainer. Quit shooting it, because every time I did I would feel a puff of air hit my forehead.

I've a Mauser .22 that's bad about that, but standard velocity CCIs seem to hold up OK.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Has anyone else run into this problem?

Yes, with my No. 8s. Don't waste your time and money on any of that so-called high velocity stuff. At the start, I tried every type of 22 ammo I could find in my No. 8s, and all types claiming to be HV, varmint, super speed, extra hot, turbo or whatever performed WORSE than standard ammo at 100 meters.

My theory (other opinions welcomed): the barrels on Enfield trainers are long enough that they get the last fps out of normally loaded ammo. The hot stuff has "shot its bolt" i.e. effectively burnt out before the bullet exits the muzzle. But the initial pressure peak is higher and distorts the cases, sometimes to the extent that when you pull back the bolt the extractor turns up the rim and the case remains stubbornly stuck. As a hardened muzzle-loader I always have a cleaning rod handy. It just looks a bit daft having to use a cleaning rod to knock a fired case out of a 22!


Patrick

[noro]

Hello All,

Thanks for the many replies. As these rifles were developed for training use in the mid 1920's (I believe) I would assume the British would use the most economical ammo available which would be standard velocity .22's

I was just curious if anyone else ran into the problem of blown out cases with HV ammo. Patrick especially makes a good case for using the standard velocity ammo. AS I said in my initial post, the rifle functions fine with SV, but will have a few blow outs with HV. Also accuracy is much better with SV.