Historical Notes:
Designed by Charles Newton and introduced as a commercial cartridge by Savage Arms Co. in their Model 99 lever action rifle about 1912. The cartridge was first called the "Imp". In the United States only Savage produced a commercial rifle in this caliber, although a great many custom rifles were made for it. In England the BSA Martini single shot was chambered for it about 1912. In Europe it is known as the 5.62x52Rmm and has been chambered in various drillings or combination rifle and shotgun arms. The 22 Savage is based on the 25-35 case necked down. It has been obsolete since the 1930's. Norma still manufactures ammunition in this caliber.
General Comments:
The 22 Savage High Power enjoyed considerable popularity through the early 1900's. Unfortunately, like some later high velocity 22's, it did not prove very accurate in some lever action rifles chambered for it. The bullets then available may have held some share of the blame. It was originally advertised as a small game and deer cartridge, but it quickly proved to be rather undependable for the latter. Nonetheless, the 22 Savage High Power was used in Africa and Asia on such unlikely beasts as lion and tiger, with some glowing reports on effectiveness. It is a perfectly adequate small game and varmint cartridge, but no big game number by any standard. It has been rendered obsolete by new and much improved modern cartridges such as the 222 Remington. For single shot rifles, most modern shooters prefer the 225 Winchester because of the availability of ammunition and cases, plus the fact that the 225 uses standard .224" diameter bullets, as opposed to the .228" bullets of the 22 Savage.
Source: Cartridges of the World
