Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires BB, CB caps vs. CB Shorts

Many moons ago I had occasion to purchase a couple of boxes each of Dynamit Nobel BB and CB caps. They have seen little use although a few squirrel and armadillos have met their end with this ammo. I have talked a bit about my use of CCI CB Shorts in my battle with pigs, but one of the things that puzzled me was the report of the "Caps" was louder than the shorts.

Having grown weary of life in prison, along with the rest of America, I went out to the backyard range with the Chrono and a small supply of ammo just to find out what these little things actually do. I was shooting on the 20 yard line with a bag rest. The numbers surprised me and made me smile a bit too. CCI advertises 710 fps for their CB ammo by the way.

CCI CB Shorts - 10 shots
Hi - 907
Lo -798
Avg - 845
Group - .47"

Dynamit Nobel CB Caps - 6 shots
Hi - 1016
Lo - 894
Avg - 952
Group - .57"

Dynamit Nobel BB Caps - 5 shots
Hi - 924
Lo - 897
Avg - 908
Group - 1"

FYI, the CB caps bullets mic .222" in diameter while the BB caps mic at .220". I'm surprised they shoot as well as they do. Don't be mislead by the "6mm" on the can, it is a measure of the case length, not caliber.

Many folks are not conversant with the terminology of "caps", so I'll toss a picture of them. CB caps are on the left, BB's on the right. I ASSUME most know what a short looks like. The ammo is still available from a number of sources but today's prices are absurd. I paid around $6/box of 150 back around 1985. Today's prices run around $60-70 for the same box, or 40-48 cents per round. Curiously enough, I have an ancient but very capable Zimmerstutzen rifle of .177 caliber and ammo for that is still reasonable at about $30/100.

Using a rifle?
Whats the projectile weight of the German ammo?

Thanks for the CCI actual FPS

T/C Contender w/20” barrel, short match chamber. As I recall the BB cap weighs 17 gr they say, but I can’t verify that. My guess for the conical is about 20.

i have a box of those cb caps that have been in my family since at least the 60's. i remember shooting a couple when i was a kid and they've sat since.

They'll still shoot. Note of caution however, clean the bore after doing so. Something in the primer mix is corrosive.

Dunno what it is, but over the years I've had a number of .22 rifles that were accurate with LR ammo, but none of them would shoot CB shorts (or longs), worth a damn.

I used to use CB caps on the chipmunks out at the woodpile. They were quieter than an air rifle and used to knock the snot out of the lil rats.

CB shorts are good cat medicine from a Win 67 or 69. Quiet and very accurate.

Had a Rem 572 years back that was very precise with CB shorts, but otherwise my experience mirrors yours. Shorts generally fare poorly with a LR chamber. Longs....have been pretty much worthless in my experience. If you missed it, I was shooting with a short match chambered barrel.

I like those doggone things. Have used Aguila Colibri & super colibri as well.

But I've not done any real accuracy testing. If I hit leaves in the fall or weeds in the spring on my 25 yard berm I'm happy.

I've killed a few cats with the RWS conical version in my younger days. I shot a cat at approximately 50 yds one time, my longest kill, and it dropped in its track. I still can't believe that kill. I used to buy ammo at the corner drug store when I was about 12 years old, the good ole days.

Thanks for taking the time to report on the CB velocities.

My Grandfather's early 1960s Marlin bolt action feeds CB shorts or CB longs perfectly from its detachable magazine. I use it to occasionally shoot at coyotes behind the corrals when they hang around. At least 20 years ago I was sitting in a chair sipping my morning coffee when a coyote showed up. It dropped instantly to the shot. Turns out it was hit just behind the ear. I ranged it at 92 yds. Not bad for iron sights with a basic notched elevation adjustment. Several others were lung shot to run and die within 100 yds. Those CBs are quite effective.

Some years ago, I shot at a opossum with my sons Red Ryder B.B. gun. Damn thing just hissed. Out came my 39A with a .22 short CB. No more hissing. Blew that sucker clean off the fence. Have a few hundred left and DD is correct; damn things are expensive. But, loads of fun. Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

Digital:

Always glad to see data. Thanks,

Hell, you sound like me. But small leaves, very small.

For some reason, any short cartridges I tried were terrible in two revolvers, but good enough for indoor practice in a couple of semi-pistols and a 14" Contender. I think I'll stick with my Crosman for such stuff unless I score a deal on a barrel like Dan has.

I shoot banana slugs in my backyard out the window with Colibris.

I have both CB longs and shorts, but prefer Quiet .22 when things need quietly whacked harder. The Both CB versions have 29gr bullets at 710fps. The Quiet .22s have 40gr bullets at the same velocity. The noise levels are about the same.

CBs...........Varmints (many) sleep in the soil of one past residence.

Spot em going under outbuilding.
Go dig a hole.

Sit by the deck w rifle w CBs.
Max D was 25 yards.

Bing a coon or chuck in the noggin (shots usually 10 yards) and it worked very well.

Remington bricks of CB shorts used to be 15 bucks back then.

Saw the thread and it prompted me to did through some old stuff!

Back when I lived in Kansas in the mid-90's, I responded to an ad in the newspaper for some rifles and fishing gear and met a real neat older gentleman who was selling some older things that his kids were not interested in. He was an engineer working in the Kansas City area in the WWII era and had a pretty good job for the time. He loved target shooting and fishing and had kept many of his old "treasures" for years afterwards. I ended up buying an old, original Remington 513-T from him as well as his old fly tying kit, complete w/ wood box and supplies including vise and old feathers still in their original packaging. I also bought his handmade wood fishing box, several old baitcasting reels, and his collection of home-made wood lures that he had made and painted himself. Just as neat were all of the old supplies that he still had including old glass eyes, metal spinners for the lures, hooks, and old wood spooled colorful thead for rod wrapping, etc. Finally, he also had all of the original order forms and invoices from the ?Wilmarth Tackle Company, IIRC, where he puchased it from in the early 30's. I'll have to post a pic of some of that stuff next time I pull it out!

To get to the end of my story, after I had paid him the ~200 bucks he wanted for all of it, he informed me that there was a little bit of ammo for the .22 that I should just go ahead and take...



He gave me one box of the Winchester 22 C.B. caps, two boxes of the B.B. caps, and an intact full brick of the B.B. caps. I've done a little bit of research and it looks like they were made in 1945 or 1946 right after the War. I've shot a few of the B.B. caps. They are definitely "minute of squirrel" at 25-30 yards and make very little noise from my old Remington 513-S! I have never opened or messed with the full brick of B.B.s... figured a collector might be interested in those someday. Pictured is a Super Colibri for comparison. The Winchester B.B. cap sure looks more like a conical design to me. Fun stuff.

You and me might be the only people on the planet that own a 513S and T model.