.22 ammo question

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Can anyone explain briefly the advantages of these types of .22 ammo -- applications, situations in which one of these might be better than regular/cheap .22, etc. This stuff is quite expensive (2-3 times more than the cheapest .22):

hyper velocity (1750 fps) (CCI "Stinger" or other) -- about $20/brick

sniper subsonic (60 gr; 950 fps, 120 ft lbs) -- about $30/brick

-- alan (foo@bar.com), November 29, 1999

Answers

I use only CCI 22 CB Long. About $205 a case of 5000 rounds. CCI 22 CB is 29 gr bullet in 22 Short brass @ 675 fps. CCI 22 CB Long is 29 gr bulelt in 22 LR brass @ 675 fps. 22 CB Longs feed well in lever-action and semi-auto. It is all but silent from a rifle with 24 inch or longer barrel. You would not hear a CB fired fifty feet away. From my venerable Rem 580 singleshot with 4x it puts them one inch at fifty years. I have made one-shot kills on cat, rabbit, pigeon. I do not know the storage life of 22 rimfire ammo. I also have two RWS-DIana .177 cal spring-piston pellet rifles that shoot into 3/8 inc at thirty feet, and 10K pellets. The storage life of unopened lead pellets is forever. Meaty litle volunteer will cheerfully come to a feeder placed convenient to your back door. I suggest that you read Mel Tappan "Survival Guns"; and Ragnar Benson "Live off the land in the city and country". www.paladin-press.com

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.

drat! that should read " my Rem 580 puts 'em in one inch at fifty yards" ...... not years ........ yards .......

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.

drat! mea culpa. that should read " my Rem 580 puts 'em in one inch at fifty yards" ...... not years ........ yards .......

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.

My experience with the low velocity target match type ammo is that it doesn't generate enough recoil to cycle a semi auto in either my 10-22 or my high-standard sporter. I suppose if you were shooting in competition it might be justified, but it seems to me that cci blazers, federal hi-velocity, etc. shoot nearly as straight so why spend the extra money for a weaker bullet that doesn't shoot any better?

-- Roger (pecosrog@earthlink.net), November 29, 1999.

Alan,

In a word, salesmanship is the major difference, and any advantages are not likely to be worth the difference in price for general rimfire uses. Most of the time your best bet is whatever your particular rifle or handgun likes best (that is, shoots most accurately). This is likely to be a standard velocity load, but some high velocity loads do well in some guns. Take a variety of ammo to the range and do some testing (from a solid sitting rest- you're testing the ammo, not your marksmanship). Once you find out what works best, buy a bunch. A good .22 rifle with a decent scope should be reasonably effective on pest-sized targets (rats, armadillos, skunks, rabbits or birds) out to 100 yards or so, if the shooter performs properly. Kept in a cool dry place (I suggest in a GI ammo can from the surplus store), modern ammo will store for decades.

The "specialty" stuff is for specialty situations. I use Stingers and CCI shot cartridges exclusively in my North American Arms mini revolver, for example, and a box of 50 will last for years. It needs all the help it can get, with its 1" barrel. I have tried the 60 gr. subsonics in a standard-sized pistol (4" Ruger auto) and, while they functioned well, I wasn't impressed enough with their performance to invest in another box. Your mileage may vary of course, but if I need more "oomph" than an ordinary .22LR can deliver I'll use something bigger. The suggestion regarding a high quality .177 pellet gun is a good one, for pest control or potshooting at closer ranges. Be careful about the late lamented Mel Tappan's book- his advice is generally good, but (like me) he always seemed to want at least one of everything made that went 'bang'. Keep the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) in mind- that means keeping calibers and types of firearms (and the attendant accessories, magazines and spare parts) to a minimum.

-- Lee (lplapin@hotmail.com), November 29, 1999.



I concur with Vlad's comments on .22 CB Long Caps and .177 air rifle pellets. A noisy gunshot advertises your presence for miles. Until things settle down, do you really want strangers to know your location and that you are armed?

.22 LR CCI "Stingers": I think these are too destructive for squirrels and birds; they destroy the meat. Good for killing larger varmints and, in a pinch, they can be used as self-defense rounds, though they wouldn't be anyone's first choice.

-- Not Whistlin' Dixie (not_whistlin_dixie@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.


The application I expect from my .22 is hunting. I've stocked only the cheapest ammo I could find, (Federal 36 grain, 1280 fps, 131 ft lbs - $9 for a brick of 550). They are plenty accurate and powerful for my needs. My nearest neighbors are too far to hear it, not that I'd care if they did. At those prices it is easy to stock for years of steady use.

I don't have a reason to want anything fancy. The regular stuff can take out anything around here, except the bear that wanders through about once a year to check out our bee hives - and I have no intentions of ever shooting it.

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), November 29, 1999.


Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond.

"A noisy gunshot advertises your presence for miles. Until things settle down, do you really want strangers to know your location and that you are armed?"

....... right. I did not mention that another round I am considering (actually have decided to buy a bunch of) is the Colibri, which is supposedly quiet enough to fire in the living room of an apartment without alerting the neighbors (assuming, obviously, an adequate back-stop!). They are also very economical at about $14/brick. Anyone have any experience with this round? I wonder how it compares (in terms of the noise) with Vlad's CCI 22 CB long? It is cheaper...

-- alan (foo@bar.com), November 29, 1999.


CCI 22 CB Longs penetrate about 3/4 into soft pine -- yet I have made 40 yards one-shot kills on rabbit, pigeon and cat with them.. A thick city phone book would be an adequate backstop for silent rifle practice in your living room. Nota Bene. If you must kill a dog with CBs. Place food on ground. Shoot dog in flat top of head. Place muzzle against head for second shot. A dog's head is sloped. If you fire from in front of him the CB will probably glance off. I don't know how CBs do on men. I would think that a shot through the eye socket would give him an instant stroke. In the book "Unintended Consequences" killed several federal agents with close range head shots with CBs. My only kills were in Korean War One with Garand and BAR both 3006. Very satisfactory.

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.

Never tried a low velocity .22,....do know I've had really crappy luck with Federal .22 ammo...anything from it not shooting [I mean an actual misfire...reeeaaallll fun to have to wait five minutes to clear in a desperate situation...] to actually seeing the bullet leave the barrel and flop into the dirt 10 feet away...I avoid Federal ammo if anything else is available.... I've always like the CCI minimags tho. Got two 'bricks' of Winchester 12G 3" slugs....100 rounds for $50 last week...I'm tickled. Getting a Mosin-Nagant soon and stocking up on my 30-30, .22 and anything else I can grab ammos...pellet gun..Hmmm.....

but I really miss my Mac90....~sigh~

-- Satanta (satanta@zdnetmail.com), December 02, 1999.



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