What would be the chance of someone coming out with a 20 HMR? Maybe a 25 grain bullet with speeds between the 17HMR and 22 Mag. With the current 20 caliber craze, it may have a chance.

20!!!???

Are you getting ringy shooting all those big cartridges or are you just getting old and arthritis is setting in

Mike

NFMike

I do like a big hole.

While I like necking down the 22 mag case, I don't want to go to 17 caliber. I think a happy middle ground could be reached with bullet weight/speed and cases you can toss on the ground.

I'll stop by when I have more money.

You don't need money to stop by. My reservoir of crappy traveling salesman jokes is nearly empty. I need a refill

Let me know ahead of time and I will have some rounds loaded up and we can spend an hour or two chasing p-dogs. It's a good year for them. The east side of the shop looks like it was rooted up by 50 hogs. Six f#$@ing p-dogs did it all. Can't shoot them because my neighbor's big ugly gray mansion is in the line of fire. And don't think the p-dogs don't know that. They sit out there and just dare me to shoot.

As long as you loading, count me in. I need a refill of crappy jokes too.

The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum

By Chuck Hawks



The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum was based on a .22 WMR case necked-down to accept 5mm/.20 caliber (.204") bullets. Factory ballistics called for a 38 grain JHP bullet at a MV of 2100 fps from a rifle barrel, making it the fastest rimfire cartridge in the world at the time.

It was introduced in 1970 in a pair of Remington bolt action rifles, the Models 591 (clip magazine) and 592 (tubular magazine) to a shooting world that could not have been less interested, and it became the shortest lived cartridge introduced since the end of WW II. The Remington 5mm rifles lasted only 5 years (1970-1974), and the cartridge quietly disappeared from the loading list a few years later.

Thompson/Center briefly offered their Contender pistol in 5mm. As far as I know there were no other firearms chambered for the 5mm Magnum, and no other ammunition manufacturer offered the cartridge.

None of that seemed strange to me at the time, as I had predicted the 5mm's demise as soon as I heard about it. The .22 WMR was then loaded with a 40 grain JHP bullet at a MV of 2000 fps. 100 fps more velocity did not seem worth the trade-off of a smaller diameter, lighter bullet, particularly in the case of a weird caliber such as .20, for which there was no previous demand and no accessories.

Today, however, the run away success of the .17 HMR makes me wonder. After all, it is also a sub-.22 caliber cartridge based on a necked-down .22 WMR case. Maybe the 5mm Remington Magnum was just misunderstood, a cartridge ahead of its time. Remington has something of a history in that regard. Evidence the centerfire .350 and 6.5mm short magnums (35 years ahead of their time), and .17 Remington (30 years ahead of its time).

The 5mm Rimfire offered more energy down range than the .22 WMR or the later .17 HMR (217 ft. lbs. for the 5mm vs. 170 ft. lbs. for the .22 WMR and 136 ft. lbs. for the .17 HMR at 100 yards). Its smaller diameter bullet was superior in ballistic coefficient and sectional density to the 40 grain .22 WMR bullet and that, plus its increased velocity, gave it a flatter trajectory and about a 25 yard advantage in effective range over the .22 Mag. During its brief life the 5mm Magnum developed a reputation as an effective and deadly varmint cartridge.

I have never owned or tested a 5mm Remington rifle, but now I wish that I had. The .17 HMR has made me revise my opinion about the capability and usefulness of sub-.22 caliber cartridges, and the 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum was sort of the Granddaddy of the .17 HMR.

You're 36 years too late Snapper.
there are c'fire conversions of this darlin' now just to keep the old Remingtons alive.

Thanks for the info. I always liked the 5mm but couldn't afford one in the early seventies.

The 19 Calhoon (improved hornet case) or 19 Badger (necked 30 carbine case) may be my only chance.

I just got a Fluted 5mm Rem 14" contender barrel in late April from On Target Tech. I had a 5mm 10" octagon T/C barrel that I fireformed some brass in and then made some "dummy" rounds. I sent the rounds to OTT and had Mike make me a barrel. I've listed some load data from the old octagon barrel on SpecialtyPistols.US, but haven't had time to work the new barrel yet. Like I said, I've had it less than 3 weeks and got it a week before turkey season started here in WV. I just loaded up the 32gr hornady Bal tips on top of 6gr AccNo9, topped it with a burris 27 bal plex scope and been hunting for the last 10 days. No birds yet, but it will consistantly shoot 3/8-1/2 at 50yds. When season is over, I'll mount a 3-12 burris on it and see just what the barrel is capable of and do some real load work. I'm gonna do a little heads up comparison with my 17HMR vs the 5mm Rem. Overall, this is one neat little round.

You can additional info in the 5mm at 5mmcraig.com.

I'll be ya huckleberry.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty Marlin:
The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum

By Chuck Hawks



The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum was based on a .22 WMR case necked-down to accept 5mm/.20 caliber (.204") bullets.

You're 36 years too late Snapper.
there are c'fire conversions of this darlin' now just to keep the old Remingtons alive.

One has to wonder about this article. Since it's statement that he 5mm Rem Mag was "based on a .22 WMR case necked-down". Sorry but THAt was one of the problems with the 5mm. It was NOT based on the available 22 mag tooling, but had an entirly different proprietary case with larger ODs in both rim and body than the 22 Mag.
Had Remington based the 5mm on the 22WMR case AND allowed other manufacturers to use/make the round then the 5mm MIGHT still be in existence today. But their attempts to "corner the market" by making it proprietary and non interchangable sealed its fate and it was doomed from the beginning. No matter how well it performed.

Vibe, Thanks for the correction.
Do you have any more historical tidbits for us on the 5mm. Alway hungery for triva and knowledge.

LOL. Not off the top of my head. I found a Rem 591 that I had planned on converting to 5mm Craig (centerfire version - no re4chamber required), but then decided to change directions and pursue a 5.7x28 wildcat instead (as well as my 22 Epperson Cricket - 25acp necked to 22). I'm still trying to decide on the platform for the ??x28 project though...Leaning toward a CZ Hornet action I think.

I remember when the 5mm came out and even had one of the Remington rifles for a time. I found a couple of boxes of the ammo in my stash a few years back and ended selling them for $40 a box. Around the time of their introduction, I recall an article claiming the 5mm case was a stregthened .25 rimfire case necked down. I could be wrong and my ex says I always am but the 2 examples I have of a fired .25 RF case support this. So what is needed is a new .25 Rimfire Magnum round so the 5 can return.