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5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum
Historical Notes:
The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum was announced in 1969, but not actually introduced until 1970. Only the Remington bolt-action Model 591 clip-loading and Model 592 tubular magazine repeating rifles were available for the round. It was not adopted by other ammunition manufacturers. For a time, Thompson/Center furnished barrels in 5mm Remington for the Contender pistol. This was the only modern bottlenecked rimfire case. However, a number of the obsolete blackpowder rimfires were necked, so it is not an entirely new development. Bullet diameter is .2045-inch with a weight of 38 grains and a muzzle velocity of 2100 fps. This round developed the highest velocity of any rimfire at the time (newer, 30-grain .22 WMR loads offer greater muzzle velocity).
General Comments:
The 5mm Remington represented an interesting development, one that exceeds the performance of some of the early .22 centerfires. Its effective killing range on small, varmint-type animals is 25 to 50 yards greater than the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire. This is due to the better sectional density of the smaller diameter bullet combined with 150 fps higher initial velocity. Both are essentially varmint cartridges. In both, the hollowpoint-type bullets ruin too much edible meat for small-game shooting. However, the .22 WMR is available with a nonexpanding full jacketed bullet, or one could switch to the interchangeable .22 WRF for small-game hunting. In summary, the 5 mm Remington has the edge for varmint shooting, but the .22 WMR is more versatile for small game. On the other hand, a good full metal jacket small-game bullet for the 5mm Remington might have changed that analysis. The choice would be largely a matter of use and personal preference. Remington has long since discontinued the Model 591 and 592, and no rifles are currently made in 5mm RFM. Ammunition, likewise, is no longer made by Remington. The 5mm RFM is another good idea that didn’t catch on, although it had a lot to recommend it. Ammunition is available on a limited basis from Aguila (www.aguilaammo.com).
Dimensional Data
Cartridge | Case | Bullet Dia. | Neck Dia. | Shoulder Dia. | Base Dia. | Rim Dia. | Rim Thick. | Case Length | Ctge. Length | Primer |
5mm Remington Magnum | A | .205 | .225 | .259 | .259 | .325 | .050 | 1.020 | UNK/NA | UNK/NA |
| Case Type: A = Rim, bottleneck. Note: Rimfire cartridges dimensions show considerable variation, depending upon manufacturer, specific production lot and production era.  DISCLAIMER: Any and all loading data found here is to be taken as reference material only. This site and it's entities bear no responsibility for the use by others of the data included here. WARNING: For any modern firearm, it is essential that you adhere to the loading recommendations put forth in the reloading manuals of today’s components manufacturers, as well as to the owners manual of the maker of your individual firearm. The potential for things to go wrong is exacerbated in guns long out of production, those chambering obsolete cartridges, and those using cartridges containing blackpowder or cordite. As a separate caution, you must never fire any cartridge in any gun just because it looks similar to, or has a similar designation to, the cartridge the gun is chambered for. This can be extremely dangerous. Almost is not good enough, so if you are at all uncertain about the proper cartridge, have a competent gunsmith check the bullet diameter and case dimensions and firearms chamber and headspace. | ||||||||||
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