.22LR ammo

As to the Indians reloading rimfire ammo, it was of greater caliber than .22, most often .44 for the Henry/Volcanic rimfire rifles and .56 for the Spencer rifle and used blackpowder rather than smokeless. There were many others but those were popular. The sulphur from match heads was soaked off, added to other substances I can't remember off hand, and then spun by hand in an attempt to get the new "priming mixture" into the unused portions of the rim. This was a rather crude and often unsuccessful try but when ammo is not available in any other fashion one makes do as best as possible. I heard of a device from Australia that would spin the case to push the primer into the rim but have never seen one. It wasn't very popular as the price of 22LR ammo is still pretty cheap, even over there. In addition, I am not aware of any priming material nor appropriate powders for sale to the public available for rimfires. I am also curious where you got "reloading dies" for the 22LR? I haven't heard of such a thing let alone seen one though I haven't checked out the custom die makers in a while. I have seen dies for a 17 rimfire that is similar to the 17 Mach II but used unfired cases. I also think you may have trouble finding appropriate bullets as the 22 short, long and LR use a "butt healed" type of bullet that is rather different than the typical bullets used in other 22 caliber guns, especially the centerfires. Again, I haven't seen these bullets offered on the open market though there are custom mold makers who would be glad to make one for you, for a price.
With what is on the market and the effort one would have to go through even if reloading rimfires is possible, it would be easier and more cost effective to find a suitable round already made. Federal, Eley, PMC, even Wolf, as well as others produce very accurate 22LR target loads. With a little seaching you should find what you are looking for.

well i hope i dont get into any trouble from the mods or admins of this site but i do have lots of experience with both low n high explosives n when it comes to primers theyr loaded with a primary high explosive friction sensitive charge such as murcury fulminate but when it comes to .22 rimfire cases they actualy add a small amount of trinitrotoluene (TNT) to the priming mix to give it an extra kick n also to ensure that the nitrocellulose in the smokeless powder ignites properly but if u ask me i wouldnt go fooling around with trying to break out loaded primers cuz even tho its a real tiny pop if they do explode they will throw tiny metal particles that can hit u in the eye but hey if u wanna try it what i recommend is that u go to a gun shop n buy some 209 shot gun primers n then soaked em in pure alcohol or ur everclear which is like 95% i think n keep em soaking until the aclcohol evaporates n what ul have left is the priming mix on the bottom so then all u would have to do is wet the mix again to make it into a paste n then brush it inside the rim of the .22 case

I wish the DIY writers would actually try what they write but I guess they are too busy writing suppositions so they can fleece others.
A rimfire cartridge's brass is of a very weak alloy which is necessary for the firing pin to ignite the primer material. Reusing the case would not be a good idea as the old firing pin strike would be even weaker and could lead to a case failure which rimfires are not really designed to protect aginst. From a conversation I had with a ballistician from one of the Big Three civilian ammo manufacturers, this was a serious flaw with the reloading set from Australia I mentioned earlier. I also don't see how one could punch the old mark out, the case mouth is rather narrow and the angle to it is rather steep.
As I've mentioned many other times, the bullet shape for the 22LR is very different than anything else on the market though I guess a custom mold could be made though the price may be rather steep.
Thirdly, I don't know if there is a powder that can be safely used to reload a 22LR, my acquaintance said their powder is not available in canister form. That doesn't mean there isn't a powder that can be used, just that the one they use isn't distributed to the public.
I also don't know of any dies available for the 22LR though Hornady will make custom dies; prices start at $80.
Lastly, the priming mixture and application would be a problem. Rimfire priming material is mostly potassium chlorate with small amouts of antimony sulfide, copper sulfo-cyanide, and traces amounts of other items. The largest single component (45%) is crushed glass to create the friction to ignite the priming material. TNT has not been used in rimfires as it creates too high of pressures. TNT was used in rifle primers but they were phased out of usage of those was back around 1960.
Applying the priming mixture is not likely possible with a brush as it is too thick to reach into the rim. Manufacturers have to liquify the compound and spin it rather quickly to do so.
Seeing all of this, one can understand why reloading rimfires is not done and am surprised they can sell 22 ammo so cheaply.