The .22 rimfire rifle has been around the firearms world since the mid 1800s and has maintained a popular following among shooters since its inception.

My first introduction to the .22 caliber rifle was with the shooting gallery rifles popular at amusement parks and fairs. The allure of popping metal targets or other pop ups was highly popular among many a youngster and adult alike.

The rimfire principle was an inexpensive way to create a self-contained metallic ammunition. The rimfire cases were constructed with the priming compound spun inside the brass case, which in turn was crushed by the blow of the firing pin to ignite the main powder charge.

The cartridges made for the .22 caliber included the Extra Long, Long Rifle, Long and the Short. The modern firearms of today often are chambered for the latter three with the Extra Long Ammunition being discontinued around 1935.

Realistically, I have seldom seen any of the ammunition available except for the Long Rifle and the .22 Shorts in a sport shop. When perusing a gun shop or gun show, you may find a collector or dealer that has an offering of the rarer ammunition.

For my purposes, I will concentrate on the Long Rifle cartridge and its history. The Stevens Arms Co. is given the nod for developing the .22 Long Rifle. They used a .22 Long case with a 40 grain round nose bullet. It was originally loaded with five grains of very fine black powder until the change to smokeless powder.

Modern .22 LR ammunition is now loaded to a muzzle velocity of about 1,085 fps with a 40 grain RN bullet. Bullets can be found in many compositions from copper jacketed, lead and hollow points mainly for use in hunting small game and varmints.

Some of the new cartridges are hyper velocity pushing a 32-grain bullet up to 1,640 fps. The .22 LR shot cartridge fires a very fine #12 dust shot for mice and such very effectively and can be found as snake shot or bird shot and is rather expensive.

Over the years, I have collected many .22 caliber firearms from handguns to rifles. One of my first was a .22 single-action Colt revolver. Each time you wanted to fire the revolver, you had to pull back on the hammer.

I actually got pretty accurate with that revolver and somewhere along the line it ended up on the auction block because my mother found a better use for the money it brought in to the household.

Since then, I have collected many others and enjoyed them all. True .22 collectors have paid top dollar for many of the models displayed out in the gun world.

The .22 rifle comes in a variety of actions: there is the semi-automatic offered by Ruger, Marlin and Remington among others; the bolt-action rifles by Winchester, Remington, Savage and Anschutz; and the pump actions like the Remington model 572. The selection of older .22 rifles is very broad and many fine rifles are available from $100 to $1,000 on any given day.

The Winchester model 94-22 lever action and the Henry Golden Boy .22 rifles are very collectible and sought after by .22 enthusiasts.

There are some variations of .22 caliber rifles that are not interchangeable with the standard .22 Long Rifle. These cartridges include the .22 magnum and the .22 WMR (Winchester Magnum Rimfire) and the .22 Hornet, which is a center fire cartridge. You need to pay attention to what is recommended for your firearm and to be especially vigilant to any older firearms that you may acquire. Wrong ammo can cause your firearm to malfunction in the least or block your barrel at the worst.

The cost of .22 ammunition has been very reasonable, for a bulk purchase of 325-525 cartridges for under $20 in recent times. However, there was a period not that long ago when the ammunition was at gouging prices and nearly unavailable to casual plinkers. Ammunition manufacturers appear to have a better handle on the supply and demand, which has allowed all of us to relax on our purchasing angst.

Remember that the Pennsylvania Game Commission now allows the use of semi-automatic .22 calibers for small game and varmint hunting. The use of a .22 rifle can really sharpen your marksmanship skills at a reasonable price.

Also keep in mind that the range of a .22 caliber cartridge can be a mile or further, so we all need to be conscious of our targets and the backgrounds in which we can shoot safely.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.