Last week I had to go to Academy for something or other that New Wife wanted me to get… and as any fule kno, this is dangerous for Yer Humble Narrator because Academy has frequent sales of ammo.
And so it came to pass that yea, they had a sale on ammo — specifically on CCI Subsonic 40gr, of which type I had absolutely none on hand in Ye Olde Ammoe Locquere.
So I picked up a few boxes thereof — at 4c per round yippee — but on the road home, a thought occurred to me:
Would the lighter-loaded subsonic ammo have a different point of aim than the Mini-Mag 40gr?
Two hours later found me at the range, duly equipped with Marlin 880SQ, ammo and sandbag to make the test.
Poop: the rifle range was closed for maintenance, so I had to use the 25-yard pistol range. The distance was not really a problem — it’s just an informal comparison test after all — but sadly, the shallow shelf in the pistol bays precluded using a sandbag, so I had to shoot off the bipod, which tends to be less accurate than a big sandbag. Oh well.
I’d recently cleaned the 880, so I popped off a few fouling shots, and then got down to business.
Double poop: since the last time I did a .22 test, my eyes have gone totally shit, ergo:
If I stare through the scope long enough, the two lines eventually resolve into one, but after while, as we all know, the gun starts to shake a little after a prolonged hold. Ugh. This getting old shit really sucks. Anyway, I decided to shoot using the right-hand cross-hairs, but it wasn’t an optimal situation. [le sigh]
Anyway, I observed the usual discipline: no fiddling with the scope between shots or strings, same hold on the target (dead center of the diamond), and so on. So we have the same rifle, same scope settings, same location, same day, same shooter (gawd help us), same bullet weight, same ammo manufacturer.
Here are the first two 5-shot strings with the Mini-Mag 40gr.
(with called flier)
…and here are the two best 5-shot strings with the Subsonic 40gr.
There’s some drop, but not a substantial one methinks. When I fired a full magazine (10-shot) string, however, the group tended well towards the bottom-right quadrant of the target circle.
On the whole, however, the Mini-Mags are consistently more accurate than any other .22 LR ammo I’ve ever fired.
Anyway, I fired off a few more strings of the subsonic, with no appreciable difference, and put the gun down to let the barrel cool and to take a bathroom break.
Comment 1: even with hearing protection, there was a pronounced difference in the sound between the Mini-Mags and the Subsonics — I mean, I’m pretty sure I could have fired the Subs without hearing protection. (I couldn’t test that, of course, because there were other shooters on the line, and they weren’t using subsonic ammo, believe me.) In the open air, though? Hmmm.
Comment 2: I’m not sure why all my shots were pulled to the right, unless I should have used the left-hand crosshairs. Aaargh.
When I came back, I decided that I’d had enough testing, and instead fired off some other .22 ammo I happened to have in the shooting bag — mostly just cheapo plinking stuff. The results were quite interesting:
To be fair, I think the Remington Golden is actually a 36gr bullet (not 40 as noted), so maybe that would explain the different fall of shot.
But the Aguila? I think MOAR TESTING is required…
…but I maintain that the CCI Mini-Mag .22 LR ammo is my go-to feed for my Marlin 880SQ rifle, and pretty much every .22 gun I’ve ever fired. YMMV.
I’ll bite with the obvious question for someone unpracticed with guns: how is it that one 40 grain round can be supersonic and another 40 grain round subsonic?
Less powder behind the bullet = slower bullet.
So the grains refers to the weight of the bullet head, not the charge?
turnkey is correct. Further, both bullet weight and powder charge weight are expressed in grains. 1lb. = 7000 grains. Just out of curiosity, it would be interesting to know the specific powder(s) and charge weights for various .22 ammo.
Fully concur with the CCI Mini Mag.
If you are serious about tack hammer accuracy from retail ammo, CCI is the “go to” option.
Plinking and other fun shooting in .22, go cheap and enjoy yourself and save your wallet.
Nice!!
This summer I’ll start matching up my 22lr firearms with the ammunition that works best in them.
I tell you what…getting old sucks.
I was at the range this weekend with the boy. Got to shoot my brand new M&P Shield .45. First shot – right where I pointed it. The other two I brought were my 1911 and .22 buck mark.
They all performed well. But I had a hell of a time focusing on the sites vs. the target. Damn old eyes.
Worse yet, my busted&repaired rotator cuff started acting up. So towards the end of the shoot, it seemed everything I shot hit lower to the left. Last gun I shot was my son’s AR. By that time, my left arm was useless.
Guess I need to start shooting one handed.
Don’t grow old.
Maybe I can help you with your vision. I’ve been fighting this battle for decades.
Try an aperture. Experiment with something like a 3X5 index card. Poke a hole in it about 1/16 inch diameter to start. Hold it up in front of your shooting eye with your weak hand and aim at a target using iron sights. When you compress your field of view, you expand your depth of focus. I have made my own apertures for years using clip-on shades.
If it helps, give me a holler here. If you like, I can contact you through your blog with details about making your own.
And yeah, getting old sucks.
Take a scale and weigh your bullets. Group them by weight to shoot them. It will tighten up your groups. There is a lot of deviation in a box of bullets.
Maybe if I was still doing competitive shooting…
There are a few choices of .22LR in my locker. I’m not an expert shooter, one brand is pretty much the same as the others in my hands. However, some are more reliable than others.
The one I’m most happy with is a brick of subsonic RWS 40 gr. hollowpoint. They have stopped the depredations of two cougar kittens in separate years.
Your results with the Aguila confirm my own. For me, it shoots as well as my long serving Winchester Super-X. Since we Olde Phartes love telling stories from back in the day (and from what used to be California, no less)–
There was a family that lived out in the farm lands around Corning, CA. The old man was ranked in the top ten of trap shooters in the U.S. He ran a wholesale business on the property supplying reloading components to various retailers. Later, they opened a small retail gun shop (circa 1980-ish). Around the late 1990’s they decided to close down the wholesale end. They had a sale. Oh, my.
All of us in the gun community circled like buzzards. I bought a case (5000 rds.) of Winchester Super-X for $99.99, plus tax. Also bought a second case of hollow points.
Have similar vision. Eye doc recommended I try REFRESH with MEGA 3. It is a situation where my eyes, the cornea has slight “wrinkles”. Just a problem of age. The eye drops have an oil in it and FILL UP the wrinkles. Creating a smooth surface. I was surprised how it helped clarify vision for a period. Worth a try Kim.