.22 Long came up pretty short today

[TTv2]

Speaking about .22 Long, not Long Rifle. I've never bought or shot or even seen this ammo in person before, so when CCI finally had some in stock on their website I figured I'd buy a couple boxes and see what the deal was as I have an H&R revolver chambered in .22 Long.

The good news is that .22 Long fed and cycled well thru semi autos (I only shot pistols today, dunno how it'd work in rifles, but I assume fine) with any issues likely being general rimfire issues. It also did appear to be fairly accurate, I was only shooting steel, but my POA and POI did not shift much between .22 Long and .22 LR.

The bad news is that .22 Long is extremely weak, at least this CCI ammo I have is. On the box it says 1215 fps, which I know is for a rifle, but from the pistols I shot today Aguila .22 Short was actually faster with the same 29gr bullet. Compared to general 40 gr standard velocity .22 LR, the .22 Long is maybe 20-30 fps faster, but that's with a 29gr bullet.

My opinion is don't buy this ammo unless you can get .22 LR. About the only use for .22 Long is if nothing else is available it will work or for those with old guns that are only chambered for .22 Long and not .22 LR, the .22 Long does appear to shoot more accurately than .22 Short does.

Thanks for making such crap ammo, CCI!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Did it all go bang when fired?

If so, sounds like it did what it was designed to do- its not supposed to be high pressure or velocity. You even state that you found it accurate. Hardly sounds like crap to me.

 

[TTv2]

Did it all go bang when fired?

If so, sounds like it did what it was designed to do- its not supposed to be high pressure or velocity. You even state that you found it accurate. Hardly sounds like crap to me.

It all did go bang, but I don't find ammo that costs 15 cents a round that goes slower than ammo that costs half as much and is equally or more accurate to be anything but worthless.

 

[Bwana John]

CCI Long CB is very good stuff, as CB type ammo goes.

 

[gobsauce]

I think it's labelled Pest Control on the CCI boxes, as it's meant to be weaker on purpose. Like their .22 short.

I find it to be really good ammo, I just wish I could find some, I have a pistol that needs to bed fed.

 

[AK Hunter]

A lot of .22 ammo is junk these days. I pulled down a hand full of Federal .22lr yesterday there was no priming compound around the rim of the case. It's no wonder it was a dud when struck.
The .22long is just a light round on a .22 short case.

 

[TTv2]

I think it's labelled Pest Control on the CCI boxes, as it's meant to be weaker on purpose. Like their .22 short.

I find it to be really good ammo, I just wish I could find some, I have a pistol that needs to bed fed.

That's not what it says on the box or even the CCI webpage.

https://www.cci-ammunition.com/rimfire/cci/22_long/6-29.html

 

[TTv2]

Speaking of the CB Long tho, given how low the velocity is on the "high velocity" .22 Long ammo (high velocity... CCI, you're so full of it) I should try and find some of the CB Long ammo tho and see how it compares to the standard .22 Long ammo. Actually, there's no point, if I want a quiet .22 round, I'll just use CCI Quiet. It's cheaper and has a heavier bullet that is also likely more accurate.

 

[tubeshooter]

I don't think I've ever seen "high velocity" .22 Long as per that link. All I ever run into is the CB Longs.

The CB Longs are officially rated as 29 grains @ 710 fps. So if you were underwhelmed by the high velocity version then yeah, don't bother.


I think most guns chambered for .22 Long and not LR would be on the old side of old. This may explain the lack of performance. Or maybe the OP's expectations were simply overly optomistic...

 

[Riomouse911]

A lot of .22 ammo is junk these days. I pulled down a hand full of Federal .22lr yesterday there was no priming compound around the rim of the case. It's no wonder it was a dud when struck.
The .22long is just a light round on a .22 short case.

Its the same case as the .22 LR, but a lighter bullet.



It is what it is, an 1880’s lower powered rimfire round. I have guns that’ll chamber it, but I have no use for the long so I do not ever buy it.

Stay safe.

 

[reddog81]

It’s not supposed to be as strong as .22 LR. It’s the predecessor to .22 LR.

Use it in guns chambered for .22 Long. Using it in guns chambered in .22 LR is kind of pointless as .22 LR is better and cheaper. It’s more expensive because thousands of rounds of .22 LR are made for every 1 round of .22 Long.

Complaining it’s not as good as .22 LR and more expensive is kind of stating the obvious.

 

[Zygodactyl]

Back when my father was a kid in the 20's and early 30's 22 short and 22 long was cheaper than long rifle and every penny counted. I tried them in an old Mossberg semi-auto and they didn't have enough power to lock the sliding hammer back, so it doubled a lot. Use them in the rifle or pistol they were intended for and you will be happy.

 

[TTv2]

I don't think I've ever seen "high velocity" .22 Long as per that link. All I ever run into is the CB Longs.

The CB Longs are officially rated as 29 grains @ 710 fps. So if you were underwhelmed by the high velocity version then yeah, don't bother.


I think most guns chambered for .22 Long and not LR would be on the old side of old. This may explain the lack of performance. Or maybe the OP's expectations were simply overly optomistic...

I will admit that I did have a belief that out of a short barrel I thought the 29gr bullet from the Long would be pretty fast, at least faster than .22 Short and maybe fast enough that it would have been better than some .22 LR options. That did not end up being the case and thus disappointment is an understatement.

Bottom line is this: when you have advertised on the box for .22 Long a higher velocity than what is advertised on .22 Short and the .22 Short ends up being faster, out of a pistol no less, there's a problem.

 

[TTv2]

It’s not supposed to be as strong as .22 LR. It’s the predecessor to .22 LR.

Use it in guns chambered for .22 Long. Using it in guns chambered in .22 LR is kind of pointless as .22 LR is better and cheaper. It’s more expensive because thousands of rounds of .22 LR are made for every 1 round of .22 Long.

Complaining it’s not as good as .22 LR and more expensive is kind of stating the obvious.

Forget it being as strong as .22 LR, this .22 Long ammo isn't even as powerful as .22 Short is and every gun chambered in .22 Long can shoot .22 Short, thus my point is that there is no reason for CCI to even make the ammo if they're gonna make it weaker than .22 Short. The entire reason I bought it was I was expecting it to have more power than .22 Short and it does not, even tho it is advertised as having more velocity.

IDK about you, but when I buy something and it doesn't deliver what's advertised, I'm not happy.

 

[Demi-human]

You are surprised that it didn’t gain the speed from a short barrel because it uses very slow powder to avoid high pressure in ancient rifles?

And you know that firing shorts in a long or long rifle chamber can “ring the chamber”, yet you don’t know what the extra case length is for?

CCI makes the 22long to the proper specifications. I’m sorry you didn’t know those specifications and you found the performance in an improper firearm unsatisfactory.

I am similarly dissatisfied when a #3 Phillips bit won’t turn a #2 Torx head screw.

 

[Remington1911]

I have three old rifles, winchester pump from 1906, Mauser single shot from the 30's, and a polish wz48, as well as a colt automatic 22, a pre woodsman. First off the woodsman will kill itself in short order if I shoot modern 22LR in it, It is just too hot, the springs are not correct for it. Now you can swap out the springs for some stiffer springs and that moves the gun into the "doable" area, however it will group like a shot gun. In this I generally run LR sub sonics and they group just fine. The rifles like the longs best, will shoot ok with the sub sonics, and again shotgun pattern with "normal" LR. Don't really care who makes it, bottom line if it is moving over 1200fps any of them will not shoot for anything, weight of bullet means nothing, in my testing all these guns like slow speeds.

For the fun of it I tried the slow stuff in some "modern" guns, the only "modern" gun that I have that will eat all three is a 552, and it really did not care for anything but modern LR, to the point of not hitting an 8" plate at 100 yards, and trust me I have the drop figured out, this is the distance I ding plates with the other 22 rifles.

I love the longs as I love shooting those rifles, and on a good day with fresh paint I can hit the smaller plates, with these rifles and this ammo I can hit it if I can see it, they are all with irons.

Everytime I come across this ammo I will grab it, as I know it is what these guns just love.

So Please CCI don't listen to the guy that started this thread keep making this stuff, some of us know what it is used for and know how to use it.

 

[kidneyboy]

Everytime I come across this ammo I will grab it, as I know it is what these guns just love.

Me too. Great round in my Henry. I also buy 22shorts for the same reason.

 

[Autodidactic]

A lot of .22 ammo is junk these days. I pulled down a hand full of Federal .22lr yesterday there was no priming compound around the rim of the case. It's no wonder it was a dud when struck.
The .22long is just a light round on a .22 short case.

That’s not true. .22 long was originally an in between round, .22 short, long, and LR

 

[MedWheeler]

I bought a Charter Arms Undercoverette in .32 S&W Long a few months back. Included with the gun was a box of ammunition in that caliber (six rounds of which had clearly been stored in the gun for some time.) If I shot those rounds in a gun chambered for .32HRM, I'm pretty sure I'd expect beforehand that they would be weaker, though still properly made.

 

[Rule3]

Well I am glad we got this settled
Good Grief.

 

[Speedo66]

.22 Long weak? Tell that to the world record grizzly killed with one.



Bella Twin is shown with the hide from the world record grizzly bear

Here's the story: https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/be...-world-record-grizzly-and-more/#axzz7VSK1uDPK

 

[Remington1911]

.22 Long weak? Tell that to the world record grizzly killed with one.


View attachment 1082705
Bella Twin is shown with the hide from the world record grizzly bear

https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/be...-world-record-grizzly-and-more/#axzz7VSK1uDPK

Goes to the old saying, it will kill, but is it ethical. But I would think if there is a chance of me becoming bear poo I am going to use every and anything I can lay fingers on.

 

[Speedo66]

Goes to the old saying, it will kill, but is it ethical. But I would think if there is a chance of me becoming bear poo I am going to use every and anything I can lay fingers on.

True.

I think it also goes to "shot placement is everything".

 

[rust collector]

In case anyone is interested in the development of the 22 rimfire, here is a good article. https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/development-rimfire-ammunition The 22 long was an evolutionary step from the original short to the eventual long rifle. Though at one time less expensive than long rifle ammunition, it is now more expensive because of reduced demand and low volume. It is produced to feed guns designed for it, and that is the only thing at which it excels.

 

[TTv2]

You are surprised that it didn’t gain the speed from a short barrel because it uses very slow powder to avoid high pressure in ancient rifles?

No, I was surprised that it wasn't faster than .22 Short was out of handguns, especially when the advertised velocity of the Shorts were over 100 fps slower than the advertised velocity of the Longs.

And you know that firing shorts in a long or long rifle chamber can “ring the chamber”, yet you don’t know what the extra case length is for?

What does the chamber ring from a shorter case have to do with anything? I had no issues with that in the revolvers I was shooting Shorts with.

CCI makes the 22long to the proper specifications. I’m sorry you didn’t know those specifications and you found the performance in an improper firearm unsatisfactory.

I wouldn't call a Ruger SR22 an improper firearm, it's actually a very proper one and well made.
Other than the H&R which is chamber for .22 Long, the .22 Shorts were fired out of .22 LR chambers, which is a much more "improper" ammo to shoot than .22 Long is, which is the exact same case length as .22 LR, yet the Shorts achieved a higher velocity. This was the case in the H&R .22 Long revolver as well.