Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires 22 Short and LR Subsonic - for hunting

The only rim fire ammo I can recall any of my old uncles ever using back in the day to kill small game and hogs at hog killing time was solid round nose.22 shorts. Never knew them to use long, long rifle or high velocity .22s of any kind or saw any in their .22 ammo stash.

I remember one time back around the late '80s or so one of my elderly uncles was watching me shoot at aluminum soda pop cans set out about thirty yards away in the dirt and gravel road out front of his house using .22 lr hv rounds. Uncle was teasing me at my lack of marksmanship believing I wasn't hitting the cans at all because they weren't falling over or even moving.

I had to go get some of the pop cans and show him the bullet holes through and through to prove that I was hitting them and explain they weren't moving or falling over because the HV bullets were moving so fast that when they struck the cans they just penciled right through the thin aluminum like it was tissue paper. Shaking his head he said he had never seen nor heard of such a thing.

I have shot 36 coons with CCI CB shorts. They sound like a BB gun, which is best for suburbs or if the wife is asleep.

And lots of Eastern Gray squirrels, but not very many rats or crows, they are smart.

I never had any luck accuracy wise with 22 shorts in a LR chamber, I did however back in the 70s have a 241 Rem chambered for 22 shorts that shot them very well, back then I could get std vel 22 shorts that were made by Rem they were very accurate out to about 25-30 yards and deadly on small game at those distances, I also had a 74 Win chambered for them as well, it was fairly accurate but no match for the little 241

Back before the 1970s, the truly serious old time southern squirrel hunters actually preferred 22 shorts in rifles specifically chambered for them(such as your Rem 241). Back then shorts were cost proportinate to the value the brass powder and lead used to make them and about half the cost of 22LR ammo. Nowadays the efficiency of acale alone, makes 22LR cheaper. Back then, shorts saved a depression era shooters money,were more quiet and in guns with short specific chambers and rifling twists as accurate as a 22 LR at any reasonable hunting distance. With HP rounds ,they were solid killers of small game.

Modern shooters can reap the same cost,noise and accuracy advantages those old 22 short users had by using a good .22 PCP airgun with a shroud. I have seen that with my own eyes. Even a 16g 22 round nosed pellet at about 850 FPS thumps the hell out of Fox squirrels at 50 yards with chest shots.

[quote=65BR]I would not likely use the CBs in my 77/22, but could perhaps in a Win 72....and I knew a fella who got his limit of 8 squirrels via a BL-22 with Irons and Shorts. Not sure the accuracy either would shoot, but perhaps enough.

In a rifle which takes LR, does one get better accuracy using "Quiet" LR rounds and subsonic LR rounds vs Shorts?

Thanks.[/quote

Re: CCI Quite LR rounds. The results in my 552, as far as accuracy, was much like DD's. They would however cycle from mag tube to chamber without assistance.

I have been using the Wolf/SK sub sonic for several years now to kill grey/fox squirrels out to 100 yards. Most shots are under 50, but they do have reach and are very accurate/predictable. Noise level is much reduced. I was a CCI mini mag fan for years when I still hunted with my 541, but most all of my rimfire are now loaded with SK. I have been recently trialing the GECO stuff and accuracy is good, but they are not subsonic in my CZ's, but do shoot subsonic in both my Kimber and Annie.

Not just PCP, but also springers and straight pneumos. I whacked some squirrels long ago and far away with my old Crosman pump. PCP is the hot setup for hunting though, with repeaters and the shrouds. Just saw a new PCP semi-auto on the Pyramyd site. Only a .177 and more of a fun plinker than hunter, but they've got the ball rolling. Airguns are very popular with British squirrel hunters. Some dumbass introduced our gray squirrels to Britain where they've become a huge pest and threat to the cutsey English squirrels, which aren't even hunted as far as I know. Payback for starlings and/or Piers Morgan, I suppose. Anyway, the Brits bait the little buggers and put them down with their $1500 BB guns. Never seen mention of them being eaten, so I suspect they go for ferret food.

More good stuff - thanks all.

I've been whacking coons with CCI Short HPs, as I had some for my Remington M24, and they've worked wonderfully well. I use them mostly in that old M24, but they work well in my little CZ Scout, too, loaded singly.

I bought some CCI Quiets last weekend, and tried some yesterday at the range, as I 'd rather use one of my boltguns instead of the decrepit old M24..


The group size at 50 yards wasn't particularly good, and POI was about 7 INCHES lower than the HV stuff the rifles were zero-ed with. I actually saw them hit the ground at about 75 yards. I'm sure they'll work on coons in a trap, but I sure won't use them for anything else.

At least I didn't buy a whole bunch of the things. As it stands now, I'm gonna stick with the Shorts in the Scout. I like that Scout.

I have CCI CB shorts that are 10 years old and very inaccurate.
I have CCI CB shorts that are 2 years old and accurate.
From the same gun, the same day, on the same target.

5 minutes ago.....
Bang flop, and sounded like a BB gun.

CCI CB shorts in a 24" or longer barrel have subsonic gas escapement from behind the bullet.

None of the segmented loads I've tried group very well for me. The solid Quiet 22s do pretty well in my rifle, certainly good enough for practice.

My everyday carry gun is a 3" Model 63 with Stingers. I'd as like use the segmented load that runs at the same speed for that use. They get about all the velocity you're going to get from a short-barrelled .22 revolver.

While we're at it, none of the subsonics have grouped well for me in either the 63 or a Bearcat. They've done okay in autos and a Contender, again good enough for offhand practice at short range. Generally they hit about an inch low at 10 yards compared to "real" ammo.

In my Rem 541-S, I've had really good luck with Remington SS HP's. CCI Green Tags and SV also do well. My longest shot with the Rem SS HP was at a cottontail at 120-125 yards. Popped him just behind the shoulder and he stood up on his hind legs, did a pirouette, ran about five yards and dropped. That was about ten years ago and my brothers and nephews were duly impressed.

Piroutte, sounds like a spinning fidget I've been reading so much about lately. Lol. 541's do seem to impress.......have to love the lock-time, and accuracy.

More good stuff, thanks all. Oh, is the rubber extension above to improve sight pic? Thanks folks.

Yes, the rubber extension blocks other light. I need all the contrast ratio I can get, when I forget and leave the transparent objective lens cap down.

not to change subject has any one had a head seprate 0n a 17hmr one in a rugar 77/17 blew mag to peices smeard the head on bolt face did not heart gun

No flaming you for posting here 44mc but I think your post deserves it's own thread.

ok new to forum do not no what thread means first time posted on gun writers heading told me to ask hear .i do not no much about how site works .feel free to tell me when i screw up so i do not do it again i need all the help i can get on computer stuff

Welcome to the campfire

Green box Eley Sub Sonic HP's are the most accurate in my LH Rem 581 with suppressor. LH Anschutz is a slightly more accurate. But the suppressed Rem 581 is just more fun. Eley HP's versus Federal UM1B solids are about a toss up on squirrels and feral cats. However, the lot of Federals that I am currently working on occasionally "cracks". No cracks from the Eley's or from the Gemtech load rated at 920 fps...