SPR GOLD DOT 22WMR 40GR SHRT BRL 50

Description

Most .22 WMR ammunition is engineered around rifle-length barrels, which means firing it from a compact revolver or subcompact pistol produces dramatically lower velocities — often not enough to drive reliable hollow-point expansion. Speer’s Gold Dot Short Barrel addresses that directly. The load is tuned to reach adequate expansion velocity from barrels as short as two inches, making it a genuinely usable self-defense cartridge rather than a compromise.

The bullet itself uses Speer’s bonded Gold Dot hollow-point construction, where the jacket and lead core are electrochemically bonded together. That bonding prevents the jacket from separating on impact, which matters in a rimfire context where velocities are already modest — a jacket that peels away early robs the bullet of the mass it needs to penetrate to effective depth. The hollow-point cavity is sized and shaped to initiate expansion at the lower end of the velocity window these short barrels produce, so the round performs closer to design intent across the range of compact firearms chambered in .22 WMR.

At 40 grains, the projectile sits at the heavier end of the common .22 WMR bullet weight range. Heavier bullets sacrifice some velocity but retain momentum better after expansion begins, which supports consistent penetration depth. Muzzle velocity from a short barrel is listed at 1,050 fps, producing 98 ft-lbs of muzzle energy — figures that reflect short-barrel reality rather than the optimistic numbers derived from test barrels that appear on many rimfire boxes. Each box contains 50 rounds loaded in brass cases.