CCI Quiet accuracy and loudness

[North Country Gal]

Thought I would refresh an old topic, but given how popular CCI Quiet 22 LR ammo is, still pretty useful info. Hope it helps those who want to shoot this ammo what to expect in accuracy.

The rifle I used for testing is actually an old friend I use for a lot of my backyard shooting. It's a vintage Winchester 67 single shot. These are very common 22 single shots, but this one is a bit different. It is equipped with an equally vintage Lyman Targetspot 10x scope and special Lyman mounts.


Accuracy
As for accuracy of this scoped Model 67 Winchester, with quality target ammo it will do half inch at 50 yards. Yeah, it was an economy gun in its day, but these old Winchester 22s can shoot.

As for the CCI Quiet, it is backyard rimfire ammo, not 50 yard target ammo. This isn't exactly headline news to anyone who uses it. Just the price you pay for low noise and that low noise is mostly the result of the low 710 fps velocity, basically the same as 22 Short CB rounds. The advantage of Quiet, though, over shooting 22 Short CB rounds in a 22 LR rifle is no crud ring buildup in a 22 LR chamber with the Quiet. This means you can use the CCI Quiet in fine match 22 LR rifles with no concerns.

What I hoped to demonstrate today was at what distance will CCI Quiet shoot one hole groups with a rifle that could basically do the same at 50 yards. Also, if not one hole groups, what distance would at least produce approximately one inch groups. After all, one inch groups would still be plenty good for plinking and some pest control.

Here are my results. Didn't take much shooting with the Winchester to basically show what CCI Quiet can do in a good rifle from a rest. All I did was move the bullet trap from 20 yards to 30 yards. Did pull one shot on the 20 yard group.


Bottom line, one hole groups doable at 20 yards. That 20 yard spot has 8 shots through it. 30 yards and still very useful with one inch groups possible in a good rifle. That's plenty good enough for ammo designed for backyard and garden use.

Past 30 yards, I can't recommend Quiet as ammo that will do justice to a decently accurate 22 rifle. Groups really open up and fliers make it tough to get good groups. By all means shoot this ammo past 30 yards if that's your thing, but just be realistic about what to expect.

Noise
Barrel length makes a big difference with noise produced with CCI Quiet. The Winchester has a long 27" barrel. In this rifle, CCI Quiet is even quieter than my spring piston air guns. The bullet hitting steel is noticeably louder than the shot.

In my 24" barrel guns such as my Winchester 1885 Low Wall, CCI Quiet is still very quiet and backyard friendly, but a touch louder with the shot being not quite, but almost as loud as hitting the steel bullet trap.

In my 20" barrel guns, I start to get a recognizable 22 LR "crack", but still a long way from needing to use hearing protection. Any close neighbors who know what shooting sounds like will know you are shooting, though. At this point, I prefer to switch to my air guns. Some of them are no quieter, but they have a different sound, quite unlike the sound produced by 22 rifles.

Wish I could report that Quiet makes shooting 22 pistols backyard friendly, but just not so, at least in my neighborhood.

Hope this helps.

[BrokenolMarine]

Very nice shooting, as always. I gave a similar rifle to my granddaughter. I bought the rifle for my girls when they were young and they all enjoyed shooting it very much. The rest of the grandkids all live in the city, or suburbs and can't shoot at home, but Jo lives on her mom's horse farm in Southern Oklahoma and I was going to completely restore the rifle, but her mom said, as I would have, to leave the dings and bumps, as they were "Family History."

Ours has a much shorter barrel, about 22" I believe.
Still great for the kids to roll golf balls and break ice cubes.

[Sir Henry]

Thanks for the post. If you ever feel like doing this with CCI SV I would find it just as useful.

[North Country Gal]

Marine, there was a Boy's Model of the Winchester 67 that had that shorter barrel. I had one, back in the day, that I used for squirrel hunting. Great rifle, just like the standard model.

Yesterday, when I was shooting the Winchester, I was thinking about how every brand of gun in those days offered single shot bolt action 22s and there were even some single shot lever guns like the Ithaca Model 49, which I once owned, too. Every gun maker offered single shot bolt action 22s, though. Marlin, Savage, Stevens, Winchester, Remington and so on made some great ones.

Where are these single shot bolt action 22s, now, though? All gone. Kind of sad.


Gene, I can guarantee you that CCI SV is legit 50 yard target ammo, but the only claim it can make about being quiet, of course, is that it is quieter than HV ammo. I've shoot many great groups at 50 yards with CCI SV with various rifles. CCI SV makes a good starting test ammo for judging potential accuracy for that reason. When a gun shows potential with CCI SV, I then move up a grade or two in ammo as needed. In fact, here's a a sight in group I shot with CCI SV earlier this summer in my Contender Carbine, which is anything but a bench rest rifle. The two shots at the edge of the orange were prior to scope adjustments.