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.22lr Subsonic Ammo
- Thread starter scotjute
- Start date
I've shot quite a lot of the subsonic .22LR. Mostly Federal (900 A & B), Lapua and several types of Eley mostly out of a 10/22 bull barrel with lots of aftermarket parts I've added to it.
Accuracy: excellent for all. Obviously, some more excellent than others. Some guns like one type, some like another.
Will it kill the critters?: Absolutely, they won't be able to tell the few fps difference, at least not for long.
Out of a Mk II pistol, it is obviously a little slower, but the two answers still apply.
Now, if your talking sub-subsonic, like the Colibri round, then the answers are 'no' and 'probably', that is if you can hit them just right. But it is still fun to shoot the stuff, it is sooo quiet. Out of a 10/22 or a Marlin 39, all you hear is the hammer and the plunk when the bullet hits the target. Out of a Mk II pistol, it is fairly loud sort of like a high power air rifle.
Accuracy: excellent for all. Obviously, some more excellent than others. Some guns like one type, some like another.
Will it kill the critters?: Absolutely, they won't be able to tell the few fps difference, at least not for long.
Out of a Mk II pistol, it is obviously a little slower, but the two answers still apply.
Now, if your talking sub-subsonic, like the Colibri round, then the answers are 'no' and 'probably', that is if you can hit them just right. But it is still fun to shoot the stuff, it is sooo quiet. Out of a 10/22 or a Marlin 39, all you hear is the hammer and the plunk when the bullet hits the target. Out of a Mk II pistol, it is fairly loud sort of like a high power air rifle.
tried it in a 10/22
tried both the 60gr SSS and the 40gr Aguila "rifle" subsonic. Both cycled the action fine, and were very quiet. This was at a range, so I had other louder shoters around as well as hearig protection.
so I dont know if its quiet enough for indoor practice!
dunno abt the killing thing, but i would imagine it would be OK. I think Paco Kelley at sixguner.com has info n that.
C-
tried both the 60gr SSS and the 40gr Aguila "rifle" subsonic. Both cycled the action fine, and were very quiet. This was at a range, so I had other louder shoters around as well as hearig protection.
so I dont know if its quiet enough for indoor practice!
dunno abt the killing thing, but i would imagine it would be OK. I think Paco Kelley at sixguner.com has info n that.
C-
rennaissancemann
New member
Greetings Scott,
My experience mirrors Mal's.
I've shot Aquila SSS out of my Anschutz 64, enjoyed excellent
accuracy, and the power is definately there for pest control.
Cheers
My experience mirrors Mal's.
I've shot Aquila SSS out of my Anschutz 64, enjoyed excellent
accuracy, and the power is definately there for pest control.
Cheers
Ambidextrous1
New member
I've found the Aquilla SSS to be VERY accurate in my 10-22 with 18 inch bull barrel; the Remington subsonic has been erratic in my weapon - but "your mileage may vary". it's amazing to me how accuracy of the same ammo can vary so much from gun to gun.
Likey, quite abit of the "standard velocity" stuff will shoot sub-sonic in a handgun. They are tailored more to rifle-length barrels & lose velocity in a shoter handgun tube.
For the manufacturer-listed sub-sonics I've shot, Rem's SubSonic round has been very accurate in all platfroms I've used. It's inexpensive & plenty good enough, same-same for all the CB caps, etc. within their range (small game to 25 ydsor so).
They'll all do small game to 25+ yards if you put the bullet where it's supposed to go. Head shots are preferred (smallish birds = doesn't matter). Don't count on much expansion - doesn't matter.
The Aguilla (sp?) "no-powder" stuff works good enough within 10 yards, but requires better shot placement & you're looking at pellet gun power factors. + you're sights'll probably need readjusting. Just shoot to see where it prints.
Lower powered rounds sometimes don't effectively cycle an auto - zip problem in a revolver.
For the manufacturer-listed sub-sonics I've shot, Rem's SubSonic round has been very accurate in all platfroms I've used. It's inexpensive & plenty good enough, same-same for all the CB caps, etc. within their range (small game to 25 ydsor so).
They'll all do small game to 25+ yards if you put the bullet where it's supposed to go. Head shots are preferred (smallish birds = doesn't matter). Don't count on much expansion - doesn't matter.
The Aguilla (sp?) "no-powder" stuff works good enough within 10 yards, but requires better shot placement & you're looking at pellet gun power factors. + you're sights'll probably need readjusting. Just shoot to see where it prints.
Lower powered rounds sometimes don't effectively cycle an auto - zip problem in a revolver.
Yes, I have shot subsonic .22lr ammo. Yes it was accurate; subsonic is the most accurate .22lr ammo made. Yes, I suppose it would kill small animals within a reasonable range.
Not sure what you are trying to achieve here. If you are talking about "standard velocity" .22 ammo, it isn't significantly more quiet than high velocity .22lr. If you are looking for quiet loads, you need to go to something like the CB caps already mentioned. The point to sub-sonic or standard velocity .22 ammo is that appearently there is some kind of turbulance created when a bullet becomes supersonic and when it falls below supersonic speed. Out of a .22 rifle, normal high velocity ammo starts out supersonic but at some fairly short distance from the barrel, it falls below the supersonic speed level. It has been discovered that because of this ammo that starts out sub-sonic is more accurate and is less effected by wind.
Now maybe you are talking about some kind of super low velocity stuff and not "target" ammo i.e. subsonic ammo ?
Not sure what you are trying to achieve here. If you are talking about "standard velocity" .22 ammo, it isn't significantly more quiet than high velocity .22lr. If you are looking for quiet loads, you need to go to something like the CB caps already mentioned. The point to sub-sonic or standard velocity .22 ammo is that appearently there is some kind of turbulance created when a bullet becomes supersonic and when it falls below supersonic speed. Out of a .22 rifle, normal high velocity ammo starts out supersonic but at some fairly short distance from the barrel, it falls below the supersonic speed level. It has been discovered that because of this ammo that starts out sub-sonic is more accurate and is less effected by wind.
Now maybe you are talking about some kind of super low velocity stuff and not "target" ammo i.e. subsonic ammo ?
Actually was curios about both std. velocity stuff that is sub-sonic and the really low sub-sonic.
I've just bought a box of Aguilla 60 grn. SSS and will try them this weekend. As I've always shot Rem. Hi-vel. HP will be curious to see what difference this will make.
Also bought a box of Aguilla's no powder stuff. Tried one this morning from 6" barrelled auto pistol. It hit target at 10 yds. and buried the bullet into wood up to the depth of the bullet, in other words the back of bullet was about flush with surface of the wood. The noise sounded like a cap gun. Of course as mentioned above, I had to manually cycle the ammo. Will try for accuracy and distance this weekend.
The main instigator in all this was a request to shoot black birds in a peach tree. As this is in a rural area but with several houses within sight I wanted low velocity low noise stuff. I think the no powder will fill the bill, but my curiousity has been peaked so I'm going to try the 60 grn. SSS stuff also.
Thanks for the comments.
I've just bought a box of Aguilla 60 grn. SSS and will try them this weekend. As I've always shot Rem. Hi-vel. HP will be curious to see what difference this will make.
Also bought a box of Aguilla's no powder stuff. Tried one this morning from 6" barrelled auto pistol. It hit target at 10 yds. and buried the bullet into wood up to the depth of the bullet, in other words the back of bullet was about flush with surface of the wood. The noise sounded like a cap gun. Of course as mentioned above, I had to manually cycle the ammo. Will try for accuracy and distance this weekend.
The main instigator in all this was a request to shoot black birds in a peach tree. As this is in a rural area but with several houses within sight I wanted low velocity low noise stuff. I think the no powder will fill the bill, but my curiousity has been peaked so I'm going to try the 60 grn. SSS stuff also.
Thanks for the comments.
Ground shots are safest
Put some bread or seed or a wash pan of water on the ground. I (only) shoot at "pest" birds in trees with a Beeman P3 pellt pistol/2x Tasco pistol scope. I like to keep the songbirds and their eggs safe.
Also, the quietest of all is a CB Long in a long-barrelled gun and a bolt that doesn't open after the shot. Lots of noise comes from the chamber opening. I use a Henry lever action rifle for backyard varmints. Another benefit is it feeds anything: CB's, .22 short, .22 and .22 LR.
Regards and be safe.
Put some bread or seed or a wash pan of water on the ground. I (only) shoot at "pest" birds in trees with a Beeman P3 pellt pistol/2x Tasco pistol scope. I like to keep the songbirds and their eggs safe.
Also, the quietest of all is a CB Long in a long-barrelled gun and a bolt that doesn't open after the shot. Lots of noise comes from the chamber opening. I use a Henry lever action rifle for backyard varmints. Another benefit is it feeds anything: CB's, .22 short, .22 and .22 LR.
Regards and be safe.
I've shot Aguila Colibri, penetration is much less than my 1000 fps air rifle, PMC moderator, louder than hell out of a pistol, my scientific test involved stepping into my city backyard at 12am and dropping one in the ground. Loud. No one noticed. Accuracy decent at 25yds, does not cycle my buckmark.
Agulia SSS, got a bunch of it, going to get a rifle barreled for it only, cycles a buckmark fine, but I'm convinced that the straight holes in the target at 25 yds were because the bullet did a backflip on the way there. Proper twist rate (fast) is a must.
Agulia SSS, got a bunch of it, going to get a rifle barreled for it only, cycles a buckmark fine, but I'm convinced that the straight holes in the target at 25 yds were because the bullet did a backflip on the way there. Proper twist rate (fast) is a must.
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