That’s right! Winchester is releasing a subsonic offering in .22 WMR. The Super X Rimfire Subsonic is, to my knowledge, the first and only subsonic .22 Mag round commercially available in the U.S. (Winchester Australia has been selling subsonic .22 WMR down under for years). Sending a 45 grain expanding lead hollow point at 1,060 FPS, it should be extremely quiet when suppressed. What’s the point, you say? . . .

Sure, if you want to shoot a 45 grain projectile at subsonic speeds you can do that less expensively through a .22 LR firearm. No argument there! But if you want to shoot a 45 grain pill at 1,600 fps or a 30-grainer at 2,300 fps, like you can with .22 WMR, .22 LR need not apply.

Shoot supersonic for twice the muzzle energy of a .22 LR. Shoot subsonic for hush hush use. In this way, .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire has taken a page from the 300 BLK playbook. One gun, one caliber, now with more options.

Considering how many times I’ve been asked if I knew of a subsonic .22 WMR offering, I expect Winchester will have no issue selling this new round. TTAG will try to get its hands on a couple boxes for review ASAP.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. Wouldn’t that negate the magnum in a .22 magnum and make it the same as a 22LR subsonic? Just more expensive!

    • It would properly chamber in a .22 Win Mag rifle.

      That’s not insignificant. It gives owners of those weapons *options*.

      It’s not like using .38 Special in a .357 Mag. You can’t just use a .22lr round in a gun chambered for .22 Win Mag…

    • It’s always those pesky density altitude details.

      I had the NAA Mini with two cylinders, and every .22 Win Mag I ever bought for it was copper-jacked.

      I have to admit, seeing “.22 Win Mag” and “subsonic” in the same sentence is nearly as shocking as seeing “Corvette” and and “four-cylinder” in another…

      • My first thought was that they’re cutting it pretty close at 1060fps since the speed of sound is usually around 1080, so I looked it up. Most sub-sonic ro unds are under 1000fps.

        As far as 4 cylinder and Corvette, Chevy’s free to make one but they should call it something else, like Corvettette. I won’t be buying one anyway after they took $85 billion in my taxpayer money. On the other hand I’m thinking of getting a new truck in the next year or so and Ford’s got a 2.7L V-6 that makes 40 more horses than my 5.3L V-8. The twin turbos probably help.

        • Why don’t you get a Toyota? They are made by Americans in America. Lots of Fords are made in Mexico.

          Buying American ain’t what it used to be. Brand names are only skin deep.

        • I’m not against buying a Toyota or Nissan, but Dodge and Chevy are right out. (I used to be a Chevy guy.) However, I’m probably going with what I’ve got now, regular cab, 6.5′ box, which isn’t offered by Nissan or Toyota. Also that 2.7L gets 3 or 4 more mpg than the Toyota V-8s, and I like Ford’s new aluminum box and body – trucks get rusty around here and I think it will hold up better in the salt.

          I can’t remember where I got the 1080fps number, maybe that was a lower end in most conditions, but it can vary by about +/-100fps off that 1125 number.

        • I was also a Chevy man but now I drive a Land Rover and two ford trucks. And as far as a subsonic round goes, a 60 gr. Lead hollow point would have been awesome.

  5. CCI makes a 22 wmr that is 40 gr @ 1875 fps good for 312 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Why did Winchester use such a light bullet and only achieve 1060 fps? That’s like regular velocity .22lr territory. It seems they should have been able to achieve 1060 fps with a bullet twice as heavy, no?

  6. This is a good thing.
    22WMR will tear the head off a squirrel or rabbit, and 22WRF which has comparable power is inaccurate.

  7. Pointless. CCI makes a .22 LR that’s also 45 grains and also subsonic.

    Good job Winchester, you could have focused on producing .22 Magnum PDX1 defense ammo that is almost impossible to find right now, but you had to make this stupid decision. Idiots.

    • “Pointless. CCI makes a .22 LR that’s also 45 grains and also subsonic.”

      Really? What happens when you stick that .22lr into a .22 Win Mag chamber and fire it?

      Just how is having the proper chambering for the ammunition you are firing in it pointless?

      Do you fire 20 gauge in a 12 gauge? It kinda fits, you know…

      • Almost everyone that has a .22 mag. rifle also has a .22lr rifle. If they don’t, then they should.

        This subsonic .22 mag isn’t totally pointless, but it is close.

        • Well, you’ve certainly made it clear that it is pointless for you. What you haven’t made clear is why it is pointless for the several others commenting here who are glad to see it and seem intent on buying some.

        • Here in conellville pay 22win mag ammo is non existent I simply can’t find any anywhere what the hell I sent to Midway USA about four weeks ago they said they had it now they claim it’s on backorder it seems to me Thier advertising ammo they don’t have and haven’t had so maybe Winchester CCI federal Remington and other ammo makers need to ramp up production like 100 times more than their producing it’s been three years since I was able to buy 2 boxes of the 22magnum and the prick scalped me twenty one dollars a box nice guy huh!I wish I had the money to set up an ammo plant I’d speacialize in R I M f I r e ammo only and get rich as the Rothschild’s!! Really this stuff should sale like crazy

  8. Cool.

    Now by changing up ammo, you can either blow up a small varmint or kill a rabbit without making a mess and having something left over to eat.

    Versatility is never a bad thing.

    • After you figure out where your alternate aiming point is, or re-zero your scope/sights.

      ‘Cause I gair-run-tee that this will NOT shoot to the same POA/POI as the full-power .22 WMR stuff of any bullet weight.

      • About aiming point. In some guns adding the suppressor changes the point of aim, in some it does not. I have 8 or 9 guns that take the same suppressor. You do realize we are talking “sub”sonic here, right? What that means is we are dropping 8 inches at 100 yards in 22 long rifle, and we are dropping 8 inches in 22 mag and we are even dropping 8 inches in 9mm or 357 mag, because they all have about the same ballistic effects at such low speed. Even with my 300 BLK, whether I use a 110 grain or 220 grain, at 1050 fps, they both drop much the same and power levels even with the 300 are only about 300 foot pounds…..so shootings

  10. I mean… I get the advantage, such as it is. But I started on a .22 Magnum (not knowing much) as a kid and just ended up buying a .22LR because it was quieter and cheaper to feed. These might be quieter but something tells me they won’t be cheaper.

  11. It makes about as much sense to me as Remington’s power level ammo offering in the ultra mag chambering a if I didn’t want a magnum rifle I should have got a standard cal non mag and had a much lighter wieght rifle to pack around. Even with lower power leveles the gun is still to big for young hunters or women???Having said all this I suppose Winchester sees a market for it!But I’d rather buy the high speed offerings if I want a regular 22 long rifle I’ll just take one from the safe!I do hope it’s a success though the gun companies need all the help they can get!!

  12. I know twist rates matter, but the bowling pin people already pull wmr bullets and install heavy .223 bullets… I have no idea how, but I know it’s done, and done accurately.

    I would be more interested in a 55-70grn pill with a normal load behind it. Let me keep as much of the 300 fps as I can.
    It’s not like there’s a ton of semi wmr firearms so I guess they can go nuts with load design

    I’d really like to see what a hot loaded wmr would push a 30 grain to energy wise. For That matter I’d like to see a 60 grain and see the energy

    • People are going to buy this to shoot WMR suppressed. Many .22 WMR-chambered guns will probably struggle to stabilize a longer, heavier projectile traveling way slower than what the caliber typically does. Knowing that it’s going to be shot through a suppressor, it would be a huge risk to sell something that likely won’t be stable.

      IMHO if you wanted to use AR projectiles (and many of those are so long that you wouldn’t have room for powder haha) you’d have to get a barrel just for this use and go with a 1:7 or even tighter twist rate (standard .22 WMR twist is 1:16 or sometimes 1:14). Basically, buy a blank that was intended to be used with .223 and, instead, chamber it for .22 WMR.

  13. Most people who do not own suppressors really say ignorant stuff, not dumb just uniformed. First, when shooting varmints, a suppressor captures the muzzle “blast” and most often, the missed animal or a second varmint will just stand there and try to figure out where the shot came from. Even deer will do this, because they do not automatically know the direction of the shooter. Secondly, it does not matter what caliber you shoot when it goes this slow, it has a trajectory like a 22, dropping 8 inch at 100 yards and a couple feet by 200. Even my 300 BLK has that much drop. So if you are shooting little stuff like coyotes, and of course good enough to only take head shots, the little 45 grain bullet is just fine at 100 yards. I love this ammo, not for beginners, but in a suppressed bot gun this stuff is great. The only other option is the 60 grain Aquila, but it simply is too slow, about 900 fps is all and way too much drop. Been using them 10 years and really do not care for them.

  14. Bought 2 boxes super sonic 22 mag, found several dudes in both boxes, also left of power compared to regular 22 mag. No more super sonic for me.

    • Not sure what you are saying Paul, but there are lots of people who have killed cougars, and coyotes and poach deer with the 22 mag. Many of us shoot suppressed and the 22 mag subsonic gives a 45 grain bullet instead of the 38 grain one, so a little extra power. If you are a precision shooter and use a suppressor like in removing pests for cities, they work quite well. I love em suppressed and will always keep a couple boxes around. I shot about 100 rounds suppressed 22 lr today. Shot 25-30 of the 60 grain Aquila. Nasty dirty rounds, just do not care for them. These little subsonic 22 WMR fill a need. Remember, lots of us still buy the old 22 WRF for a little slower round. I have a Ruger with both the 22 LR and 22 MAG cylinder…..I think the mag cylinder just shoots better. If I just want to blast cans, I go to my semi autos in 22 lr, put on the suppressor and blast away. If I want to shoot an animal, the 22 mag is much preferred. My 2 cents.

    • Very unlikely. I only a Henry Golden Boy and a Ruger Precision Rimfire in 22 Mag but I shoot a lot of suppressed semi autos, where most subsonic rounds may have an issue in functioning in semiautos. Same with the 22LR CCI quiet loads in my 1022. They do not have enough power to slam the slide back and chamber a new round. But I do not care, I simply shoot them as a single shot. After I fire I just pull the little handle back and chamber another round. Should be the same with the 1022 WMR. You are a lucky man to own one, they are pretty rare.

      When first sighting in my Ruger Precision with these I could not see where I was hitting, because at 25 yards, they were all going into the same hole. Being unsure, I just loaded a 15 round mag and fired all 15 at a 16 penny nail head. Surprise, all 15 went into the head of the nail which is barely over 1/4 inch. They are that accurate in the little Ruger Precision Rimfires, which I also highly recommend. Possibly the most accurate of about 50 rifles I have owned. FWIW Buy a box and try them.

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