For rabbits and squirrels, I just like the CCI 36 grain hollow points and doing headshots. So, I try not to ruin as much meat as possible.

RWS Subsonic. Head shots for me also.

Subsonic hollowpoints, either RWS or CCI work well for my Kimber Hunter.

CCI mini mags in my 10/22 or Mk4, CCI standards (1050fps) in my Bergara BMR. Squirrels only. I run beagles for rabbits so carry a shotgun for them. If I get low I have a bunch of bulk winchester PowerPoint hp's. They do serviceable work till I get more CCI.

American Eagle 38 grain hollowpoints. Head shots.

I like the Segmented CCI MiniMags now. I used to be a firm believer in the HPs, but considering how much better the Segmented loads shoot, I like them better nowadays. When I can't find the Segmented stuff, I now use Aguila 38gr. HVHPs, which shoot better in my CZs than the MiniMags. I have eight CZ .22LRs, and every single one of them favors the Aguila load. The two Rugers don't seem to care, they shoot everything equally poorly. They is, what they is.

Whatever it is, the load has to be accurate enough for headshots. I have a good supply of the old grey box Winchester truncated cone subsonic hollowpoint that are excellent. Eley SSHP are excellent. The old Winchester Power Points are very good, and I have a good stash of them around here. CCI Small Game Bullet work great and are consistently accurate. Mini Mags are terminally effective, always reliable, but I have never found them to be all that accurate. Mini Mags are always decently accurate, but never the most accurate in my various rifles and handguns. I have a Ruger MKIII Hunter and a MKIV LITE that is sighted in with Mini Mag. Other than those two nothing else shoots them well enough for head shots at longer ranges.

CCI Stingers for raccoons, usually just use the bulk federal 38 grain hp for rabbit.

My CZ's aren't picky but i shoot Norma Tac match or Federal Gold Medal match on head shots for grey squirrels.....Hb

My sporter weight Annie's seem to be more forgiving than the heavy barrel versions. Same with the Savage Annie.

I like SSHPs, whichever one your rifle prefers. I have a fair amount of the RWS, and they do pretty well in my guns and kill well.

I often hear the crack of the HS in the woods, and it’s louder than you might think. The SSs just make a soft pop.

My CZ 452 shoots cheap bulk stuff so well I never thought about subsonic stuff, but you all have me thinking. Great thread…

I have used CCI SV LR for years and it is accurate in ALL my .22s. Have shot a ton of squirrels, with that ammo.

Dinny, was able to help me find some, Hard to Find, CCI .22 Cal. Subsonic lead Hollow Points,
1050 fps. That I was Looking for.

It really works well with a Semi Rural type setting, at the Back end of a Development, and
using a Suppressor!

without a doubt my CZ 453 with a 12x optics is my favorite squirrel rifle.

Eley HVHP-SShp, RWS HVHP-SSHP.SK HVHP-SSHP and CCI 36gHP Anschutz 1415/16 CZ 452american and a 1022 semi bull barrel,,all 3 are bug hole shooters,at 50y 5shot group, head shots are all i shoot,, squirrel gets a pass if it dont show his head,, its a game my hunting pards and I have,, boiler room shots a killers too I kno, its quick dispatch of the game and the perfect shot these are the ammo I prefer,,, all 3 rifles shoot about anything except thunderbolt and golden bullets and will keep those inside a quarter at 50y the SK HVHP could be the best I ever shot,,only a few bricks left,,edit to say dont be afraid of the fiocchi sshp its also a lights out ammo and hits like the hammer of thor

Neighbor,, check with academy sports,, I was in store this week and they tons of that flavor in stock for $11 a 100ct sleeve

Yep. Stingers for any varmint. They kill stuff DRT.

Another one I really like because it's so quite is the discontinued PMC Moderator. Thankfully I saw that coming.

Ive got a few hundred Rem CB ( new type ) and CCI quiet.
My 455 doesn't like either.

Way way back had a 572 that did well w Rem.CB shorts ( 15 a brick.....27 yrs ago ).

That was a fun pest popper

Thanks for the tip!
I do appreciate it, as were good to go at this Time!

White box Winchester 36 grain HP's because they are absolutely decisive on the red squirrels around the cottage. I don't like to see stuff kicking around in the leaves after I shoot it and I just want those red squirrels gone and buried. The wife won't eat anything that doesn't come from the store, so everything else gets a pass.

Huntersdog: I really like the Winchester 40 grain hollow-point Power-Points".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Eley and RWS subsonic hp's

My favorite is the cheapest ,22 LR I can find at the store.

CCI subsonic or Quiets. Want to try the segmented subsonics but haven't been able to get any yet

The most accurate ammo that my rifle likes. Typically that’s standard velocity and usually solids. If head shots are used it really doesn’t matter what ammo is used - like others have said.

PennDog

CCI Subsonic HP, Aquila Standard Velocity(really good in my new Bergara BMR) really like shooting suppressed so I don’t use HV to much. Really liked the CCI subsonic Segmented and may have to try to get some more.

Grandpa's old Savage Model 19 loves the CCI SGB round. The Marlin 39a likes the CCI short HPs. If I can't find them, I shoot whatever rather than stay home.

Federal value pack works for me

cci mmhp

SK subsonic, works very well. I will also use CCI mini

I’ve always used CCI Minimags in my 452, but my 457 MTR shoots the Norma TAC-22’s so well, I’m going to try them out on squirrels when I get a chance to site my 452 in for them.

It’s amazing how much better the subsonics usually shoot, for anybody that hasn’t done much testing- when prices come down to somewhat normal levels- you owe it to yourself to try a few different flavors!

+1, they kill, love shooting sparrows with them out of the feeder, not much to find

The old winchester Power Points were my favorite, the newer ones don't shoot as well. I killed a bunch of small game and one wounded whitetail with the old ones, Generally for bunnies I use CCI standard vel hps. now For prairie dogs I shoot whatever available ......

I like Winchester Wildcat 40gr plated dynapoints. Cheap, accurate enough at 50 yards, fairly fast, nice hybrid expansion profile.

I use CCI MiniMag solids or Federal High Velocity lead solids (the bulk kind in the blue box).

Federal HPs for me.

The one that shoots the most accurately in the rifle I use..

Same here. I get excellent 50 target groups with this ammo.

if I'm carrying my suppressed 22 I like subsonic HPs. SK, RWS and CCI all usually shoot well and perform fine. I do like the flatter trajectory of mini mags though.

If I’m shooting suppressed CCI suppressor 45HP or RWS. If not suppressed I always liked with white box WW hp bulk ammo. But whatever my rifle shots most accurately.

I use both Wolf and Norma Tac 22 40 grain solids, which are both subsonic. Then I use a D Rock tool to hollow point them. Even subsonic they expand in squirrels but dont fragment, and hit with a nice "plop". Both shoot in the .4's (with an occasional flier) out of my Tac Solutions 10/22.

Manny

I usually use CCI standard velocity lead or Federal Match.

What is everyone's acceptable level of accuracy for a hunting round? Taking into consideration head shots on squirrels. What size 5 shot group at 50 yards does your hunting rifle need to shoot in order to be adequate enough to hunt with? Mainly speaking of the rifles and loads each have already mentioned here.

Five shots under a nickel at 50 yards. Somewhere around five shots in 1/2" - 3/4" at 50 yards at most. Any groups bigger than that wouldn't be considered as acceptable for my preferences.

CCI Mini Mag HP in my older Marlin gives dime sized at 50 for head shot nut munchers.

I prefer a ragged hole at 30sh since I rarely shoot 50 yards in the timber.

Winchester Power Point HP have also been very good.

I assumed a dime or nickel. I just bought a Ruger American compact and I'm experimenting. I've tried AE 38 HP, Mini Mags, CCI SV and SK+. I've been over 1" for 5 with all of these. I'm going to try some cheap Remingtons that I have when it warms up a bit. Availability is cramping me right now.

Try some Norma Subsonic or RWS Subsonic. The Norma Tac 22 shoots well in some rifles.

Any idea where I may be able to pick some up? Thanks.

Norma Tac22

Thanks, K22. Damn the shipping, though.

I know. It's getting ridiculous.

CCI Mini Mag. standard velocity with the lead bullet. It is a very forgiving bullet if the head is missed and has a quiet report. I quit hunting our Alaskan snowshoe hares about 20 years ago, but it worked well on head shots. I still pop a few spruce grouse every year from mid August to mid September.

My early 70's made in Belgium Browning T-Bolt shoots them very well, if I do my part.

If you have a Rural King around you- they all seem to have the TAC22 in stock. They aren’t cheap at $90/brick or $8.99/50, but they do shoot great in my CZ’s.

The CCI segmented subsonic hollow points often kill almost as fast as a 17 HMR.

Sk subsonic hp (or eley)

after trying a myriad different .22s in my Marlin M25 over the past 40 years, I've come to the conclusion that the CCI Mini Mag 36 gr. HP's shoot the tightest groups in that particular rifle. However, I recently picked up a Heritage Rough Rider single action revolver......Something to play with for the grand sum of $139 bucks.

This revolver shows a marked preference for the Aguila .22 Super Extra 40 grain solids. Since the rifle shoots darn near anything into a 1/2 inch group at around 50 yards, I ordered 10 boxes from Brownells.

After testing them out in the rifle, I may have a new favorite.

same for me

I like the Federal bulk pack plated hp. Shoots consistently good groups in pistols and rifles, and drops rabbits right now.

been shooting Aguila 40 gr. shot great and kill what i aim at

I have always kind of liked the CCI stingers. I was raised with them and they have never let me down

A short in either in rn or hp.

CCI Stingers

what ever I can find

CCI Blazer as it shoots well in several rigs.
For polite pest control CCI CB

Have shot chucks w Stingers and Yellowjackets. Does help.

But id rather just bump up to .22 mag, and there i run WW HP

I have two CZ 452 that both really like SK Rifle Match. So that's what I use for hunting squirrels and bunnies.

I like various stuff out of several different guns...but more importantly is to get a Neal Waltz HP'r. That way you can make solids more effective terminally.

These are some of the most underrated killers out there. They expand perfectly, are accurate as hell, and the 40gr. bullet brings just the right amount of thump without beating up an action or giving that loud ass Stinger/Aguilar snap.

Browning sells the same load/bullet combo under their banner.

The best hunting ammo as far as I'm concerned.

CCI Quiet-22 40 grain always worked well for me

CCI Mini Mag solids.

Eley Tenex mostly. Head shots only = dead critters, including a half dozen groundhogs in the backyard. Don't need any fancy high vel hollow point whiz bangs to kill a small animal if bullet is placed right.

CCI Velocitor without a doubt

I have actually had very good success with CCI Velocitor in my 22 rifles. It is accurate and performs well on ground squirrels and varmints.

My 10/22 loves WW Power Points. Bolt rifles and the odd single shot are enamored with SK Standard +. Pigs and small game? CB shorts or BB or CB caps, depending on my mood. Saving my LR ammo for the revolution.

And just for the record, if a .22 ain't enough...well...

CB Shorts for most encounters.

Winchester 333 white box. Or the standard super x hollow points. Pretty much the same thing. Voth say super x on the back.

My suppressed Clark 10/22 shoots the 45gr CCI HP Subs pretty well, and a 40yd hunting zero gives a 60yd zero with CCI Standard Velocity for practice, which is close enough. Both are fairly quiet.

For Hi-Vel ammo, it generally shoots the W-W 333 White Box hollowpoints.

CCI Mini Mag hp's.

CCI mini mag solids

For you fellas handicapped by having only LR chambered rifles I have a couple of suggestions:

WW Power Point targets




Wolf MT/SK Standard +


Norma TAC

Remington Thunderbolts..........................

Amen, Brother.

If your rifle likes them, any short HP. I've killed lots of squirrels with them and they're quiet enough not to scare game a mile away.

For early season squirrels I like an accurate subsonic hollow point, currently using Fiocci, since the squirrels are in the midst of leafy camo and shots are likely to be short. For later season squirrels and for rabbits I like CCI Mini Mags for the extra distance.

I just set a new personal record on 9/1/22 of six squirrels {daily bag limit here} in 30 minutes flat shooting Mini Mag LRHP's. My previous record was six in 47 minutes. In both cases all six were killed from the same stand without moving so you'll have to excuse me for not being too terribly worried about quiet ammo.

In these days of Biden scarcities, its anything that I can find. Just about any brand will shoot good enough for close range small game from my Rem 541 T or one of my .22 pistols.

About 50 years ago I was a temporary employ in the Engineering department on a National Forest. One fall the Forest was having a review of the roads being built on that Forest. Many of the big wigs of the Forest Staff were there: The Rangers from each District, the Forest Engineer, the Forest Admisistrative Officer (who was a retired Navy guy that still had a flat top haircut), and me, on my 3rd or 4th year of summer employment there. We were all driving around evaluating the newly constructed roads.

Back then the Forest didn't encourage employees from having guns in the field, but they didn't prohibit them either.

So on this one day I'm in a suburban with all of these Staff Officers, and the Forest Engineer, who was driving, stops and asks me if I brought a gun and if I would like to shoot a blue grouse standing on the road. I said yes and got my Govt Model 1911 .45 acp out and shot three of the birds. Then when we all got back in the vehicle the Admin Officer said "I thought that you would have a .22 in your pack, then you pulled out that cannon and with 3 shots you shot the heads off 3 of those grouse!" Those were the good old days!

Aguila sub sonic H.P.'s In my Ruger American H.B. Target.

With my suppressor on it, I hear the bullet "smack" the Vermin.

Virgil B.

I’ve had surprisingly great luck with Thunderbolts on head shot rabbits.

The Ruger For my 22 rifles/handguns. I found the next best to Stingers was the Velocitor ammo. Slightly more accurate in my 10/22 out to 75 yards

I’m dealing with rabbits in the yard in a semi rural area, but with neighbors around. I tried those Aquila Colibri 20 grain .22 LR cartridges at 420 fps and two rabbits down convinced me that they aren’t worth a darn as a rabbit load. While not my favorite as yet, I did find a box of CCI .22 LR 40 grain Quiet Segmented HP loads at 710 fps and I’m expecting way better results for the yard varmints.

Federal standard loads. Keeping it simple.

kwg

But, But, but simple isn't as much fun as complicated!

For squirrels in town CCI quite segmented, squirrels out of town get CCI mini-mag hollow points. Ground hogs are in for CCI velocitors.

Love that rifle Marty except for the bolt being on the wrong side!

Thanks, I thought I would treat myself to a new .22 a couple of years ago. Its a great little gun, it took me awhile to find one left handed.

.22 40 grain thunderbolts were very accurate and deadly on gray and fox squirrels. Probably killed 2 dozen or so with that particular bullet.

For early season with leaves still on I use subsonic hollow points, currently Fiocchi. For late season with open woods I like CCI mini mags.

CCI mini mag have worked for me for years.
The most reliable 22 ammo I've ever used.

Federal

Mini mag HPs for me. Available, affordable, good accuracy in all my guns, and I like how they do on game.

SK Rifle Match in both my CZ 452s for small game and vermin.

CCI Suppressor, 45 gr HP, 970 fps. I shoot suppressed and they are quieter than any pellet gun I've ever shot. Heck my farts are louder.

I like the Winchester and the Remington hollow points.

I noticed Lapua now makes 22 ammo i will need to try some this spring

CCI Quiet segs for rats. CCI sub-HPs for most everything else. Lately been making HPs with the Waltz die and CCI SV. They shoot a bit better than the sub-HPs.

Less frequently use CCI Minimags for semis and Win 36 gr bulk HPs for bolts. Latter don't cycle in 10/22s. That wide HP makes for good terminal effect tho.

Honorable mention to Rem GBs, what I used as a kid in the '70s.

Never tried Stingers or Velocitors. If I need more power, the WMR comes out.

Honestly, whatever is handy. Never got to spun up on 22LR ammo. All my rules will shoot most brands well. Some minute of a thumb tack at 25 yards, others minute of a squirrel’s head.

That being said, a few years ago I was invited to shoot a bunch of feral rabbits at a friend’s place. Neighbor moved and turned his domestic rabbits loose. I killed a bunch with the CCI SGB. I was impressed. Solid kills and minimal meat damage on body shots.

I guess it better be my Win 62a, it's the only one I have. Actually I don't shoot 22's much but if I did I go out and get another Marlin mod 60!

Oops! Say's ammo. I like the least expensive I can find!

I just bought some of the CCI Sub-sonic/Clean stuff. Supposed to be 60-80% cleaner to avoid buildup when shooting suppressed.

Eley sub-sonic hollow point 40 grain. I haven't tried any of the new 38 grain.

I used whatever is accurate enough in my rifle for headshots. I value that more than the bullet weight or design.

Open sight 10/22 for rabbits - Winchester 555 HP
Buckmark for squirrels - CCI Mini-Mag HP's

Used to be Federal and CCI, however, the last box of federal I bought recently, has about a 30% odds of not cycling and are anemic and have to be cycled by hand in multiple different guns. So, I'm going to say CCI now.

Haven't tried winchester in a while now, and not really even sure if they're still making them, but I never have gotten what I consider stellar accuracy from them seeing is how their velocity varies so much that you can tell just by how it sounds that some have a distinct pop like they should and other times you pull the trigger is more of a thud.

That round has to create the most devastating wounds of any .22LR I've ever seen. And it out penetrates the Stinger.

I've kept Yellow Jackets in my supply for 40 years.

Remington or Eley SS hollowpoints for my 541-S. CCI SS hps are really hard to chamber the tight throat of the 541.

CCI stingers.