Its original loading was a 70 grain soft point bullet with a velocity of about 2790 feet per second.

[2] The .22 Savage Hi-Power's relatively high velocity for the time and "shocking" power led to an initial surge of popularity, and was attributed with almost magical killing powers even on large and dangerous soft-skinned game such as tigers.

The famous elephant-hunter W. D. M. Bell used a .22 Savage Hi-Power to kill forest buffalo in West Africa in the 1920s, and reported in his magazine articles that the cartridge was popular at that time for red deer stalking in Scotland.

[3] Although the .22 Savage Hi-Power is no longer made in the United States, it is still produced by several European makers.

In Europe, the .22 Savage Hi-Power is called the "5.6×52mmR", and is still made by RWS,[4] Norma, Sellier & Bellot, and Prvi Partizan.