5mm rimfire

[top predator]

i don't understand why the rifle manufacturers (hopefully savage with hornady making the ammo) start reintroducing the 5mm rimfire. interest in that caliber really picked up a few months back with centurion making the ammo. with the success of the "new" .17, and all the odd ball centerfires introduced almost on a weekly basis, why would it be such a gamble?

i would think with today's manufacturing processes, and doing some research on how the 5mm rimfire performed in the past, i would think that if reintroduced it would blow away the 22 mag and 17hmr and probably would become be the #1 choice for hunting, and possibly target as well.

it's characteristics are between the .17 and .22 mag, so it would pick up on the 17's shortcomings (dealing with wind and being a bit of a light bullet), and the .22 mags shortcomings (being not as flat shooting as the .17). so you'ld essentially have a flat shooter with the bullet weight that would be the best of both worlds.

now i never shot one of the 5mm remingtons, or personally know of someone that has one i could "test", however i think it would be an accurate all around use shouldered cartridge.

i know if savage came out with a bolt for it and hornady came out with the ammo tomorrow, i would be on the list instantly for it to be under the christmas tree.

 

[gunman123]

i don't understand why the rifle manufacturers (hopefully savage with hornady making the ammo) start reintroducing the 5mm rimfire. interest in that caliber really picked up a few months back with centurion making the ammo. with the success of the "new" .17, and all the odd ball centerfires introduced almost on a weekly basis, why would it be such a gamble?

i would think with today's manufacturing processes, and doing some research on how the 5mm rimfire performed in the past, i would think that if reintroduced it would blow away the 22 mag and 17hmr and probably would become be the #1 choice for hunting, and possibly target as well.

it's characteristics are between the .17 and .22 mag, so it would pick up on the 17's shortcomings (dealing with wind and being a bit of a light bullet), and the .22 mags shortcomings (being not as flat shooting as the .17). so you'ld essentially have a flat shooter with the bullet weight that would be the best of both worlds.

now i never shot one of the 5mm remingtons, or personally know of someone that has one i could "test", however i think it would be an accurate all around use shouldered cartridge.

i know if savage came out with a bolt for it and hornady came out with the ammo tomorrow, i would be on the list instantly for it to be under the christmas tree.

Honestly for most people it's just about as cheap to step up to centerfire.223 rem is about as cheap to shoot as the premium 17hmr or 22mag.

My friend used to have a 5mm when we were teenagers.I could not tell the difference in performance between 5mm and the 22mag I had.

Steve

 

[nwcp]

Years ago I had a Remington 591. To be honest with you my .22WMR was more accurate. I never really warmed up to the round, or the rifle all that much. It's comeback is a boon to owners of the old Remingtons, but hasn't seemed to catch on as some folks had hoped. I own .22WMRs, .17HMRs and a .223. The 5mm is a bullet trying to find a niche that doesn't exist. That doesn't mean it won't survive, but it hasn't been burning up the range in my neck of the woods.

 

[GBA1776]

I also dont really get the 5mm mag ammo it is a little faster than .22WMR and either the same wieght or 5-20 Gr lighter.

I wont compare to the .17 rimfires cuz ive never shot one

I recently replaced the rings on my Savage 93 .22WMR so i had to resight the rifle wich i did with a $20 bushnell bore sighter to get a general placement then i did fine tuning at 50yds i use fiocchi 40gr JSP ammo @1910fps and when i moved to 100yds i was shooting about 1" high so with my 1/4 moa scope 2 clicks up i was basically dead on im not sure if its the gun the ammo or me but i shoot 1/2" high or low or dead on( i think its me) because its the same with any ammo i try, I also shoot an 8" plate at 200-250 yds depending on where it was put that day, and the CCI vmax 30 gr ammo @2200fps is only 2 1/2 " group at 250 and 2" at 200yds thats sighted at 100yds with an 15 " drop .

I think the WMR has an unfair reputation for not shooting with a flat trajectory scince ive never shot a .17 i cant compare the two but that drop at that distance seems very reasonable to me with the High velocity ammo, now the slow 1910 fiocchi groups about 4" at 250 i still have no trouble hitting the center of the target out at range even with a 20"drop.

Ive also shot 45 gr winchester dynapoint 50 gr CCI gamepoint and every other brand and velocity i can find and the group is between 2" @200yds and 6" at 200yds usually about 3-4"with fiocchi ammo i use @1910 fps , all other 45-50gr bullets are about 1500-1750fps with a group of roughly 4-6" at 200yds

So basically what im trying to say is for a smaller bullet and half again more expensive the 5mm mag doesnt seem to offer anything that i cant get in the .22WMR given the choices of wieght,bullet type and velocity out there. and i cant imagine that scince i only see one brand making it availability would be all that great either.