22 LR king of speed, boasting a velocity of 1640 fps. With the extra powder and a lightweight 32-grain bullet, the Stinger was the. 22 LR a step faster in 1977 with its Stinger, using a case. 22 LR was introduced in 1887 and followed by high-velocity loads in 1930, new loads continue to boost. The spinner target provided some movement, but it lacked the pursuit of hunting. A Champion DuraSeal with a rubber-like ground squirrel target spun around and around with each shot. Clay targets shattered and the pieces turned to nothing. One pleasant afternoon I shot up an entire carton of CCI Blazers like a kid tearing open Christmas presents. Only three loads averaged over an inch, which is better than I can shoot while sitting and standing. All the loads listed under the plinking heading in the accompanying chart shot quite well through my Cooper rifle. Shooting is the only way to determine which loads a rifle favors. 22 shells were sporadically available-or did without.Īvailability of ammunition has vastly improved, and with that come more choices, as every. We either paid the often exorbitant price when. During the years of rimfire ammunition shortages, there was scant choice. However, we don’t want to pay all that much for shells. 22 LR cartridges to dependably feed and fire through all types of actions, and with satisfactory accuracy to propel pine cones and crunch clay targets. However, its 45-grain round nose bullets, with a muzzle velocity slightly slower than 1000 fps, did not expand in water-soaked paper.įor casual shooting, we expect. However, Quiet-22 40-grain Segmented Hollow Point bullets split into three pieces on contact when they hit ground squirrels.įederal’s American Eagle Suppressor Subsonic loads were also fairly quiet. CCI Quiet-22 40-grain Round Nose bullets fail to expand much. My son will tell you the bullets wreak ruin on ground squirrels out to 40 yards. 22 LR shells, but with the addition of four shallow slits around its hollow point to initiate expansion. The 33-grain Lead Truncated Cone Hollow Point bullet loaded in Remington CBee cartridges is essentially the same bullet loaded in Remington’s Yellow Jacket. Getting bullets to expand can be difficult at these slow velocities. Remington CBee 22 Low Noise 33-grain HP bullets only fly about 850 fps. But I don’t tell him my Cooper is shooting Lapua X-ACT cartridges.

22 target rifles ever made and the CCI Mini Mag shells he shoots are great for shooting ground squirrels. To soothe his ego, I tell Gene his Winchester is one of the finest. The rules are simple, with 10 contestants firing one shot apiece at a + in the center of a 1-inch circle at 50 yards and the closest shot to the + wins a frozen turkey. My cousin refuses to believe my Cooper Model 57-M can beat his Winchester Model 52 at the local turkey shoot every fall.

Values are the average of two 5-shot groups. 22 LRs are loaded with a variety of bullet weights and styles for everything from small-game hunting, to plinking on a pleasant afternoon.Īll testing conducted with a Cooper Model 57-M rifle, and Leupold VX-2 Rimfire 3-9x33 mm scope. Subsonic target loads are the key to decisive accuracy on targets, while hyper-velocity cartridges provide striking bullet expansion on small varmints. 22 LR loads, though, turns a person’s head every which way. Wh en the sun finally shines, a marksman’s fancy turns toward shooting a.

22 lr subsonic rounds