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

I know Digital Dan IIRC used/uses the short on hogs/pigs. I passed up some Short ammo the other day, and wondered if I should have grabbed it.

Like to hear from folks on using various Short and subsonic ammo on game. What ammo, results, and how is the accuracy and in what gun, and what range?

Feel free to list your favorites and prices paid if you can.

Thanks.

I like my old Remington 552 Speedmaster (24 inch barrel) and the idea that it can shoot shorts, longs , and long rifles. However Shorts pattern rather than group in it and I haven't seen Longs for sale in 30 years. Wolf Match Target shots very well in it. I sight in at 25 yards and rarely take shots at over 40 yards.

You are not going to get any decent accuracy out of a 22 short unless its fired in a specifically chambered for it along with a 1-20"twist.

Shorts are a pretty dumb idea for hogs unless they are at spitting distances in a trap(as they would be in a packing house).

Subsonics are usually pretty good for hunting if you use the HPs. RWS Subsonkc HPs have proven to be very deadly and quiet in my use for over 30 years.

If I am going to use a solid point Subsomic, it wil be a mid priced target load(which should be subsonic) that is the most accurate in my rifle, and usually that is Wolf MT/SK Standard+.

Yer a funny phuocer.

65BR, shorts are pretty much like the LR in that each gun has its preference. You will find some guns with the LR chamber will shoots different styles of shorts with results ranging from abysmal to superlative. One of mine was a Rem. 572 which shot Winchester shorts better than most LR fodder. It eschewed Remington and CCI shorts.

As to hunting with subs and their accuracy, poke around and you'll probably find something your gun likes. The rest is up to you so far as placement. Target below was shot with a stock 10/22. The CB longs and CCI Quiet fed from the magazine but required a tug on the bolt to make it happen. Others fed fine.



I found that HVHP short ammo suffered somewhat in penetration and quit using it on hogs. The CCI LRSV works OK.

CB shorts thru a 16" twist barrel:



CB shorts thru a skull

Ahhh, found the link I bookmarked on IE.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3795408/1

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.

I've been shooting Remington and Fiocchi sub-sonics on red squirrels, ground squirrels, and rabbits in the garden for a while. I use them in either a Remington 514 single shot or an Iver Johnson Sealed Eight revolver. They have been very accurate in the rifle out to 45 yards, about as accurate as Wolf Match had been.

I originally bought them to use in the pistol as it was recommended to not use High Velocity ammo in it as the gun was not built with these in mind. The little HV ammo I did try shot rather high. The sub-sonics shoot to the sights to a bit over 50 feet making it a good garden gun.

Shorts will not eject from the 514 nor the Marlin 39 I inherited from my dad. They are such a pain to use that I have not shot enough shorts to determine accuracy. Indications were they are not nearly as accurate as bulk 22 LR HV. That is fortunate as shorts are now reserved for a High Standard Olympic so chambered.

CCI LR SV





Misc. bullchips





From a Rem 513



No traps involved with the dead porkers, range in the 15-25 yard ballpark.

Almost makes me wish there were feral hogs around here. Note: almost.

Nice work, paper and pork

Heard a few inklings on the Fiocchi and RWS Subsonic, they looked to be good quality LR. Years ago shot a few tree rats using a Marlin 75 Carbine with RP Subsonics. Quite effective.

I would assume on small game the HPs are a bit more effective than solids across the board using LR Subsonics?

No doubt on Pigs the solids drill skull bones well.

Hey Digitial,


I grew up on ranches.Fully aware of a .22 shorts capabillities UP CLOSE on animals all the way up to 1,000lb + cattle with precise placement.

In my post I never said a 22 LR wont kill a hog. Or a short up close.

Really only someone pretty desperate or ignorant would do it when Shorts cost at least $8 per hundred and you can readily buy more accurate and powerfull 22 LR Standard velocity ammo for less money.

Not much point to it unless you just want to prove it can be done under ideal circumstances.Or its all you had at the time.
But you'd still be better off with 22LR SV loads if those hogs are any real distance from the muzzle.

I would agree with that. Part of that goes to the issue of placement vs. a highly mobile target such as squirrel. I'm not a supporter of wounding. If a fella gets to know hogs, they are predictable and that is their weakness in context of the discussion.

On the dang red squirrels the HPs do seem to kill better, at least the tree rats drop right away rather than hang on to the branch for a bit with body hits. The same can mostly be said for ground squirrels for the most part. Those hit in the brain with either type drop right there, those "gophers" which make it back to the tunnels are an unknown as I don't try to dig them up. It does seem that the solids have more runners than the HPs regardless of velocity.

On rabbits, they just die regardless of bullet type. Hits to the heart/lungs or brain with sub-sonics, standard velocity, high velocity, HP, or solid drop them right there. If shrews were much bigger, they would prey on rabbits also.

Just my 2 cents worth having trapped and shot stuff for a lot of years, shorts box up a few classes

I don't think I said that you said a LR won't kill a pig. I don't think I'm desperate or ignorant; in fact I'm probably one of the coldest hearts you've encountered. I suspect my world is not yours insofar as what I deal with in pursuit of the peegs and don't have a clue what you think "short up close" means. This is my turf.......



I haven't baited hogs in 10 years or more. I'm a still hunter.

I'm not doing this for sport, but rather as a volunteer for the state in a substantially regulated affair. That endeavor began a couple of years after I began culling hogs around the house and on neighboring private property. They tell me to use a .22 RF due to proximity of residential properties to the preserve where this takes place, and from 2007 up until last fall that was the deal, take it or leave it. I had two .22 RF guns at the time, one the short shooter, the other a 10/22. At the time the only ammo I had for the 10/22 was WW Power Point and based on short HVHP performance on a couple of pigs using that combo was a non-starter. Last fall the state legalized use of suppressors for hunting and the Sneezer was born.

I commented earlier that the CCI LR SV works ok and it does for the most part. It is not my preference because the bullets do not track in a straight line thru flesh and bone like the CBs. Nope, they tumble, zig and zag. No BFD on a frontal brain shot, but can be a deal on a broadside neck shot, BTDT. Another factor that is of significance is the report of the CBs versus that of the LR SV. They generally are only confused as to origins of the CB report and followup shots are common. Shoot mommy and the shoats mill around waiting for their demise. I've had that opportunity once with the LR SV. So my experience says advantage goes to the CB shorts. YMMV.

And I really don't GAS about costs. I laid on a significant supply of the CBs going back about 15 years ago and still have enough to load a couple or three semi trailers with pork.

At present all the pork goes to a local bad boys rehab facility. They eat well from time to time. Body count over the years is probably up around 140-150, I quit tracking that maybe 5 years back. 80+ fell to the CBs and only one required a second shot.

That said, if your beliefs work for you, by all means keep on keepin' on. I'm not here to sway your judgement.

Good stuff folks, enjoyed and appreciate the info

Dan,

Have you played with the CCI .22 Quiet Segmented Hollow Point?

I have and was not terribly impressed. Shot some paper awhile back with the 10/22 and a half dozen different ammo types. The Quiets ran in the high 600 fps range but accuracy was poor. They were quiet, I'll give 'em that. Groups in the 2" range with most everything else in the 1/2" range.

Picture of that target is up near the top of this thread....

Try em on pests. Pretty cool.