Tips for Rimfire Success:
Choosing the Right Load
CCI makes a large number of rimfire products for different shooting sports. This guide will help you select the best CCI product for your needs.
Small Game Hunting
The most common small game taken with rimfire ammo are cottontail rabbits and squirrels. The requirements for small game hunting are to obtain a quick and humane kill without spoiling edible meat. Round nose rimfire bullets do not spoil much meat but may not provide the stopping power needed. Hollow point bullets will stop these animals just fine, but can spoil a lot of meat.
CCI has the middle ground covered. Our excellent Small Game Bullet (SGB) 22 LR load has a flat-tipped lead bullet moving at the same speed as high-speed round nose. The flat tip delivers plenty of stopping power without spoiling dinner.
Some small game hunters who are exceptionally skilled use the head shot to avoid the above issues. For them, any class of rimfire ammo from target loads to hypervelocity hollow points will do nicely as long as it shoots accurately. Our original Mini-Mag High-speed with a 40 grain bullet is an excellent and accurate choice. For the rest of us, the SGB is a great choice.
For longer shots, the 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge (22 WMR) can be used with our Maxi-Mag® 40 grain TMJ load. A flat tip on the non-expanding, jacketed bullet has similar effect as the 22 LR SGB. However, realize that the 50 percent velocity advantage of the 22 WMR will do more damage than an SGB. Often, the increased range afforded by the speedy 22 Magnum more than offsets tissue damage issues.
Varmint Hunting (Open Country)
Varmints are defined as critters you don't eat. For varminting, accuracy to hit tiny targets at long range and instant take-down are the prime considerations. That means high-velocity hollow points. CCI Mini-Mag™ hollow point 22 LR ammo has been around for nearly 40 years yet is still a great choice for smaller varmints. It is remarkably accurate across a wide variety of gun types, and the tear-dropped shape cavity opens fast. It expands nicely on small varmints even when fired from 5-inch barreled semi-auto pistols. Talk about a challenge! Try ground squirrel hunting with a target pistol when you start to think you're good!
For even greater effects, choose Stinger® 22 LR, the hypervelocity CCI round that set the rest of the industry into catch-up mode. Stinger is loaded with a 32 grain varmint bullet at an astounding 1640 ft/sec nominal velocity. At that speed, the bullet shatters on impact. The extra velocity means a flatter trajectory for those long shots. It is the ultimate 22 LR varmint load.
Similarly, Segmented Hollow Point 22 LR has the same performance specs as Stinger. The special segmented HP bullet is designed to break into four parts (three nose sections and a base section) on impact. This gives Segmented Hollow Point an edge on larger varmints like woodchucks.
Also excellent for larger varmints up to the size of woodchucks, fox, and coyotes is Velocitor™, the world's fastest 40 grain hollow point. At 1400+ feet/sec, Velocitor carries energy farther. The hollow point design, inspired by Speer® Gold Dot® pistol bullet technology, holds the bullet together for the deeper penetration needed for larger critters.
The 22 WMR is a natural for varminting. Plenty of velocity and dedicated varmint bullets mean great performance. Our premier varmint load for the 22 WMR is Maxi-Mag® TNT®. A 30 grain Speer® TNT bullet with a huge cavity and over 2200 ft/sec velocity is potent medicine. From a rifle, this bullet turns into lots of little pieces on impact. An older load, Maxi-Mag +V (that's a "V" as in "velocity"), is also a great choice. The bullet has a more conventional design that expands more like a 22 LR hollow point.
For long shots on windy days, Maxi-Mag hollow point is a great choice. The 40 grain bullet is less likely to fragment than the 30 grain versions, so this one is also excellent for larger varmints where some penetration is required.
Of course, the new 17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (HMR) was designed from the ground up as a premier rimfire varmint cartridge. CCI's 17 HMR TNT® is the first hollow point load for this exciting cartridge, something many varmint shooters requested. The 17 grain bullet leaves a rifle barrel at 2525 ft/sec for plenty of rimfire excitement.
Varminting (close country)
Sometimes you need to control varmints in areas close to population centers. Quieter is nicer. We have a round that works great there, too. Our Sub-sonic Hollow Point is loaded with a 40 grain bullet at a sub-sonic 1050 ft/sec. The bullet is bare lead with a large cavity for excellent expansion at modest velocities. The report is a "pop" rather than the "crack" of supersonic ammunition.
Formal Target Shooting
Whether with a rifle or handgun, competition shooing is a demanding sport that needs accurate ammo. CCI has a number of rounds for rimfire competitive shooting. Green Tag® is our mainstay competition product. Built to strict standards for accuracy and velocity, it can be used in either rifles or handguns. At the request of some of the nation's top shooters, we now load all our match ammo to sub-sonic velocity (1070 ft/sec). This means bullets never get buffeted as they pass through the transonic zone like some other match ammo that's sonic or slightly supersonic.
For best-quality semi-auto match pistols, we have Pistol Match. These pistols need great attention to detail from ammo makers. We use single-die tooling for bullets and cases to eliminate variation. Then we test in the pistols that experts use-Hammerli, Walther, Pardini-to drop a few names. Every lot of Pistol Match is a work of art.
The demanding sport of International Rapid Fire is highly specialized. Pistols are semi-autos chambered for the 22 Short cartridge. Top-accuracy, low recoil, and 100 percent function must go hand-in-hand to progress in this Olympic sport. We make 22 Short Target expressly for IRF competition.
Rimfire Metallic Silhouette competition and Sportsman Team Challenge share a common goal-knocking over small steel targets at ranges to 100 meters The cartridge has to be accurate, yet provide enough energy to topple a relatively heavy target. We make 22 LR Silhouette to meet those needs. Silhouette is Mini-Mag 40 grain high-speed ammo that we lot-select for top accuracy. You get great accuracy and the power needed to pound steel.
Really good target shooters expend many more rounds for practice than they do at matches. They need economical yet accurate training and practice ammo. Our 22 LR Standard Velocity is loaded to the same velocity specs as Green Tag and Pistol match, but is sold for much less. You get realistic practice without breaking the bank.
Short Range Pest Control
We have four loads that are great for this need. We make two reduced velocity loads, 22 CB Short and 22 CB Long. Both are loaded with a 29 grain lead bullet at under 750 feet/sec . They are accurate and quiet. The longer 22 Long is for repeating firearms that cannot feed a 22 Short. Neither have enough velocity to function stock semi-automatic firearms, but they can be hand-cycled. CCI CB is fun in a box!
Want to turn your rifle or handgun into a short-range shotgun? We make 22 LR Shotshells and 22WMR Maxi-Mag Shotshells. Small lead pellets are contained in a plastic capsule. Shotshells are good for small, hard-to-hit targets within 15 feet. The spin induced by rifled gun barrels puts this limit on effective range. We load these rounds down to around 1000 ft/sec to minimize the spin degradation of the pattern. This lower velocity means shotshells have to be hand-fed in semi-automatic firearms.
Special Guns-Special Needs
Some older rimfire guns are chambered for the 22 Short or the 22 Long cartridges. 22 Long Rifle ammo is-well-too long for them. CCI has 22 Short High-Speed, 22 Short Hollow Point, and 22 Long High-Speed. The high-speed versions use a solid 29 grain bullet; the hollow point is 27 grains. Rifle velocities are nearly equal to 22 Long Rifle, but the lighter bullets produce less energy. Of course, these loads can be used in firearms chambered for 22 Long Rifle, although they won't cycle 22 LR semi-autos.
For owners of Winchester pump-action rifles chambered for the old 22 WRF cartridge, we make CCI 22 WRF hollow point ammo. We load a special 45 grain jacketed HP bullet that's sheathed in pure copper to be easy on old gun barrels. Do not use jacketed 22 WRF ammo in revolvers; most we've examined bores that are grossly under the standard 0.226 inch 22 WRF bullet, and are not suitable for jacketed bullets.
Plinking
Plinking is defined as "shooting at very informal target and nobody keeps score." Lots of ammo types work for this, but many people like to keep the cost of plinking down.
We Are the Rimfire Innovators
CCI has made a habit of forcing the other ammo companies to catch-up or eat our dust We keep coming up with new and useful rimfire products that delight our customers with their performance and quality. Keep checking back- there's always something new on the drawing boards at CCI.
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