Читать книгу The Gun Digest Book of .22 Rimfire. Rifles·Pistols·Ammunition онлайн

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Several other rimfire cartridges were developed about the same time as the 44 Henry. As is now the case with 22 caliber cartridges having different lengths, larger caliber “short” and “long” rimfire cartridges were common in the latter half of the 1800s. Examples include the 30 Short and Long; the 32 Extra Short, Short, and Long; the 38 Extra Short, Short, and Long; and the 41 Short and Long among others. Revolvers were often designed with cylinders to accept the shorter cartridges while the extra long types were most often used in singleshot rifles. They were, of course, loaded with black powder. Although there is no need to review the development of all of these cartridges individually, it is necessary to mention several of them in order to trace the evolution of the rimfire cartridge design. It is interesting to note that of the approximately 75 rimfire cartridges that existed in the late 1800s, only about 10 remained in production after WW II.

Two cartridges that were developed somewhat later were the 25 Stevens Short and 25 Stevens Long (sometimes referred to as simply the 25 Stevens) that were introduced around 1900. These cartridges were produced until 1942, and they were popular in rifles like the Stevens single-shot models. Firing a 65- to 67-grain bullet that was driven at approximately 1,200 ft/sec by a charge of 11 grains of black powder, the 25 Stevens had a good reputation as a small game load. Compared to any of the 22 caliber rimfires, the larger diameter, heavier bullet of the 25 Stevens, which had a muzzle energy of approximately 208 ft lbs, dispatched many species more dependably. It would still be a useful cartridge, especially in a modern loading that would improve the ballistics.