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I have a Stevens 22-410 that was my Dads. He had rechambered to 22 WMR many years ago, and fired only 22 WRF (special) ammo in it. He bought this gun in 1947, the year I was born. It will not extract a fired case, the cases split when fired. Can this chamber be bushed and rechambered, or what can be done to fix it? I still like to carry it in the fall bird hunting.
was it chamberd for the wmr or the wrf they are two diffrent rounds i dont know the specs on them but know they are not the same
The 22 WRF is basically the same as a 22LR just longer. The 22 WMR has brass that is a slightly larger diameter so it cannot be chambered in a 22LR. If you put a 22WRF in a 22WMR chamber chances are it would be challenging to extract and the case may split due to being fired in a larger diameter chamber.
If its chambered for one or the other, only fire that ammo in it.
The 22WRF (also called the 22 Special) and the 22Wmr are the same diam, but the magnum is longer. I thought it had been rechambered to special but a friend, of of mine who is the local Smith, and did some training under the guy who rechambeed this rifle said he used a 22 magnum reamer. We always used 22WRF in it with absolutely no problems for 60 plus years. The chamber is now worn enough to cause the problem.
I just measured the case diam of the WMR, WRF, and 22LR. 22Lr=.224, WRF=.242, WMR=.239-.240.
I learn something every day. I know for fact that 22LR and WMR are different diameter as you just measured. I do not have any WRF to check for my self. I was getting my information on the WRF from an old magazine article in one of grandpa's 70's-80's era American Riflemans that I had clipped and saved. My appologies and you seem to know more than I, or them for that matter. :)
I talked to the local Smith awhile ago and he said his 22lr reamer measured .234 diam, so that would give .005 clearance on each side. All I want to know is whats the best way to fix it and fire WMR and WRL ammo. Thanks for posting.
Re-lining it with one of Redman's liners and cutting a new chamber is probably the best way.
Thanks for the info on Redmans. I sent them an Email.
You can get all the parts (liner, drill bit, etc.) from Brownells and do it yourself if you have a bit of patience and skill (getting the extractor fit and making the muzzle look good are the two toughest steps). Randy does VERY good work but $$$.
I emailed Randy, and he told me he does not reline this rifle. He didn't say why. Thanks for the info. Luke
It's fixed! We drilled out the chamber, only chamber deep, installed a section of liner, ( cut grooves in liner for more contact) . Smith used an epoxy to glue it in place and left it set for a few days waiting for 22 WMR reamer. Cut off excess liner sticking out of barrel and reamed the chamber. He used a small round cutter on high speed drill to open up extractor groove. Shot it 7 times with WRF ammo and it worked perfect. I'm a happy camper.