The little .22 short cartridge is the oldest metallic cartridge still being loaded..1857 was it's birthdate.

You could measure the height of the box and get an idea of which bullet weight it is. Or  accurately weigh the box and compare to known samples. 
You may already know of this site, but I'll post the link anyway.
  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

The long rifle chambering in a short marked barrel has been discussed here in the past. My Winder and most of my Stevens marked short will chamber long rifles. I have a Colt Derringer chambered in short made in the 1960's that will also chamber a long rifle if you force the issue. Won't fire them in it because they are mostly pot metal.

waterman wrote on Apr 29^th, 2014 at 2:34am:


·22" 'Short' (never heard it referred to as Rifle, Short or Short Rifle) are still produced, as are BB, CB and 'Fairground' rounds, but, the 'Short' and the CB are best used in a rifle intended for same.

It is inadvisable to use them in anything intended to take ·22" Long Rifle as the chamber will be slightly burnt and may result in spent ·22" LR cases jamming when you try to extract them, eventually.

I have a Browning semi-auto in ·22" Short, and this is very definitely post-WWII.

BB is charged with just the primer in the rim and no other load, firing (spherical) ball, and can either come as BBC (bulleted breech cap) or with a CB case, very similar to ·22" Short. CB has a lighter than Short bullet, and a lighter powder load than ·22" short. I have ballistic data somewhere if you need it.

(I specify 'spherical ball' because ammo manufacturers call all solid bullets 'ball'.)

--
Aonghas

Old-Win wrote on Jan 25^th, 2015 at 5:36pm:


·22" LR are very variable - some are subsonic while others are well supersonic. It pays to keep to the one that you know unless there is a good reason for changing (like I prefer Winchester subsonic hollowpoint for rabbits, etc, but would use a Stinger on a long-shot at a hare)

--
Aonghas

In answer to Bob's question about were the Semi-Smokeless loads that good?  I think the answer is "yes" because there was a lot of $$ to be made.  Schuetzen matches were big-time sport.  There were high dollar prizes and lots of wagering.  If there was an economic reason, someone would manufacture highly accurate Shorts.  But the Schuetzen game died out and the Short was ruled out of the Rapid Fire Pistol game.

Terry & I used 2 rather old chronographs  in our velocity measurements. We finally gave up on one. They both absolutely devoured 9-volt batteries.  When we began to notice really erratic velocities, we changed batteries.  We shoot on a sheltered outdoor range, not indoors.  And neither of us knew (still don't) what distance the manufacturers measure velocity.  Different distances probably accounts for a lot.   

We used Terry's rifle to test velocities for 3 or 4 lots of Eley Match, just because the velocity for each lot was printed on the box.  Our numbers never matched the numbers on the box.

But the CCI Target Shorts are 97 % as accurate, with 3 or 4 flyers per box.  I think they are completely competitive for our winter gallery Schuetzen.

The earlier Winchester Muskets (before Winder modifications, and both 1st & 2nd Model Winders) were made for the civilian, pre-WW1 market, and were intended for the then-new practice of "military rifle shooting".  Those were mainly ordered by individuals or in small batches by state militia or National Guard units.  They could be ordered in either Short or Long Rifle, with the appropriate chambers & twists.  A rifle set up for Shorts probably would not accept Long Rifle cartridges.   

Third Model Winders (by far the most common) were made as military training rifles during WW1.  They were apparently made in batches of about 3,000 and were chambered to some military specification.  The cartridges commonly used were something called "Government Special", really more of a CB cartridge than a Short.  But for mass production of soldiers, rifles, and cartridges, 22s were 22s.  Everything had to fit.  The same sort of elongated chambers were common in the lower-end rifles, boy's rifles, etc., made by other manufacturers.

Purpose-built target rifles chambered for Short will not accept Long Rifle cartridges.  The Stevens-Pope I am using as a test rifle will not accept a Long Rifle cartridge.

If anyone has a Stevens 404 or 414 with a 22 Short barrel, does your chamber accept Long Rifles?  I ask the same question of anyone with a purpose-built original gallery Schuetzen in 22 Short.  Please check your rifles and post your findings.