.22 pistol and rifle ammo help ?

Question

when to the store to buy some .22 ammo for my 10/22 ruger
and the guy was kinda of a dick , I asked for some .22 ammo to see what they had he kept telling what type i didint understand onther then myabe the brand?

then he said for a pistol or rifle '
i thought all .22 rounds could be fired from anny .22 rifle or pistol....

growing up we had both a rifle and pistol semi and a revolver
we used the same .22 ammo on all 3 weapons with out a problem..

do they know make them only for each one?
i didnt buy anny i thought that was odd .

I wanted to make sure what i need and if its so to this day i use the same ammo on all 3 have i been doing this the wrong way?

Answer 1

I believe JD is correct.

I can go along with the guy asking whether the ammunition was for a rifle or handgun due to the age restriction on handgun ammunition. I hear that question sometimes when buying 9mm and .38 Special ammunition too. Usually it's at Walmart.

.22 long rifle is pretty much the standard any more. There ARE a lot of different loadings and/or manufacturers, so somebody MIGHT ask "what type?" depending on what you want it to do.

There are polite, helpful ways to ask these questions without sounding like a jerk. Some people in sporting goods and firearms stores like to show off how much they know . . . unfortunately they usually just come off looking like jerks at best, and at worst, convincing new shooters to find another hobby. Gun enthusiasts already have an image problem. Jerks like this don't help.

If you are just wanting to get some target practice in, Federal, CCI, Remington and Winchester all sell decent quality 500 packs of standard velocity 22 long rifle ammunition that will serve you well at a fair price in either a rifle or pistol.

Answer 2

The history of .22 rim fire ammo is as follow's, 22 rim fire(short) 22 long , 22 long rifle a 22 magnum is just a hair bigger i guess they where scared someone would cram it in a regular 22. but thats it if a gun is chambered for 22LR all others will fire in it except for the mag rounds, an automatic chambered in 22LR wont cycle if short or long are fired in it, by the way .22 Long is no longer produced ,so you dont have to worry about that.

Answer 3

Some stores have store policies against selling ammunition that is interchangeable between rifles and handguns to people under 21 years of age...Walmart and K-Mart are famous for this. If you tell the clerk it's for a rifle, you'll have no problems...

You are correct that the same 22 Long Rifle ammunition can be fired from any Handgun,Revolver,Semi-automatic Pistol, or Rifle chambered for the 22LR caliber cartridge.

You have been doing it the right way the whole time...

Answer 4

There are 22 BBcaps, shorts, long, long rifle and magnum. Some early revolvers and rifles only shot shorts, I shot one the other day.

Now when someone says 22 it is generic for 22 long rifle. If the pistol and rifle are both 22 long rifle then you are correct and you can use the same bullets in both.

Answer 5

Your 10/22 uses long rifle ammo. the semi auto magazine has a tough time with shorts or rat shot.A revolver can hold both of those.There are a lot of variants but basically the man should be helpful and communicate to educate.

Answer 6

Read Tom's answer,
In WI you can buy 22's for a riffle but not a pistol at the age of 18 but if you say it is for a pistol you must be 21. stupid I know cuz it's the same round.

Answer 7

Look at the barrel of your Ruger, (or any other gun).
The name of the proper cartridge will be there.
(10-22s come in .22 LR. and .22 Rim-fire Mag.
so the guy wasn't being a jerk).

Answer 8

They make a regular 22 caliber which is short.. maybe called the 22 short...

Then there is the 22 long rifle which is the most common and can be shot in some 22 pistols.

then there is the 22 magnum...which is long..even longer than the "long rilfe" ammo.

Most likely the 22 long rilfe is the ammo you need.

Answer 9

I think he probably wanted to know if you wanted .22 short, long or long rifle, regular, magnum, high speed or hollow point. With the possible exception of the magnum load, all three of your weapons would most likely fire any of these cartridges.

Answer 10

The issue is your age, as others have said. If you are under 21 and present a permit to carry a handgun as proof of age, it is ILLEGAL for them to sell you the ammunition. Dumb, yes, but they didn't do it and don't want to end up in front of a Federal magistrate for illegally dealing with a minor. And yes, the Feds are not above deliberately sending someone in to see if they will sell to him/her, just like alcohol control people do.