The earliest reference to the 5,6 Vierling was in the RWS/Utendoerffer c1900 catalog. It was listed in the section under Winchester cartridges as effectively the same as the 22 WCF. It was intriduced for use in Vierling rifles, a form of European Drilling rifle with four barrels, usually two shotgun barrels together with two smaller caliber barrels. It was a very popular cartridge in Europe and was offered by most European manufacturers up to the 1980’s. It was launched much earlier than the 22 Hornet, which dates from 1930 and the earlier Vierling loads are not as powerful as the 22 Hornet. (Dixon Ref. T69)

     RWS Function dummy