Who here likes CCI .22 LR for hunting or varmints?

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It seems both cheap and good. Scheels even has it in stock in Sioux Falls, South Dakota right now.

CCI Ammo 22 LR HP Mini-Mag 36gr

13 cents a pop. In a good rifle like a CZ 457 American or Varmint, it accurate and powerful enough for 50-75 yard chucks? 50-yard squirrels? Both animals with center of mass hits. About seven dead small pesky animals for a dollar if this stuff is really worth a damn.

https://www.scheels.com/p/cci-ammo-...#prefn1=storeAvailability&prefv1=048&start=16
 
I have taken many groundhogs at 80 yards with CCI Mini-Mags using a Kimber Model 82. I like CCI Green Tag better. In the Kimber it is considerably more accurate.
 
I have taken many groundhogs at 80 yards with CCI Mini-Mags using a Kimber Model 82. I like CCI Green Tag better. In the Kimber it is considerably more accurate.

Green Tag is not cheap at about 30 cents a pop. It is competition .22 rimfire with lead round nose bullets. It might be accurate enough for head shots but Mini-Mags should have enough killing power and accuracy for center of mass shots.

https://www.cci-ammunition.com/rimfire/cci/green_tag/6-33.html
 
I have taken many ground hogs with both Green Tag and Mini-Mags at 80 yards. You are correct in that the Mini-Mags have more potential killing power because of their higher velocity. The Green Tag is more significantly more accurate than the Mini-Mags at ranges up to 80 yards in my gun. Green Tags, even for center mass shots, give me cleaner kills at this range.
 
I love CCI ammo or should I say all of my firearms. Very accurate and very reliable for a round that is not a premium round like Eley, Lapua, and others. Would also recommend aguila brand is it also does very well in my firearms.
 
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I prefer CCI or Federal 22LR ammo. Don’t see a big difference between solids and hollow points using standard velocity ammunition.
What is it that you are shooting that you don’t see a difference between solids and hollowpoints? I find there to be significant difference.

As for the OP question on the mini mags. Very good ammunition. Accurate and hard hitting with good expansion. I’ve had exit wounds on animals that are as big around as my thumb.

this is a rooster that I couldn’t catch. Shot him with a mini mag hollowpoint.
 
I prefer CCI or Federal 22LR ammo. Don’t see a big difference between solids and hollow points using standard velocity ammunition.
What is it that you are shooting that you don’t see a difference between solids and hollowpoints?
Viers wrote he didn't see a big difference between solids and hollow points using "standard velocity ammunition."
I don't either. And as far as what I am shooting goes, between myself, my wife and our oldest grandson, we figure we've shot (and killed) right around 500 ground squirrels on our friend's ranch in the last 6 or 7 weeks.
Both "solid" and hollow point .22LR "standard velocity" ammo works great on ground squirrels anywhere from 5 yards to 80 yards - even with "center of mass" hits, let alone head shots. Now when you're talking about using "high velocity" and "hyper velocity" .22LR (which I prefer when it's windy) on ground squirrels, hollow points just might be a little more devastating. But I don't know for sure about that because every ground squirrel I've examined that was hit with a "high velocity" or "hyper velocity" .22 rimfire bullet of either type was pretty well messed up anyway. Many had their "lungs blown out." :D
 
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Viers wrote he didn't see a big difference between solids and hollow points using "standard velocity ammunition."
I don't either. And as far as what I am shooting goes, between myself, my wife and our oldest grandson, we figure we've shot (and killed) right around 500 ground squirrels on our friend's ranch in the past 6 or 7 weeks.
Both "solid" and hollow point .22LR "standard velocity" ammo works great on ground squirrels anywhere from 5 yards to 80 yards - even with "center of mass" hits, let alone head shots. Now when you're talking about using "high velocity" and "hyper velocity" .22LR (which I prefer when it's windy) on ground squirrels, hollow points just might be a little more devastating. But I don't know for sure about that because every ground squirrel I've examined that was hit with a "high velocity" or "hyper velocity" .22 rimfire bullet of either type was pretty well messed up anyway. Many had their "lungs blown out." :D
That’s fair my mistake.
That said I still find that standard velocity ( usually marketed as subsonic) hollowpoints do more damage that round nose in my experience. I’ve only shot a few squirrels with standard velocity cci round nose and the one I hit behind the shoulder ran far enough to dive into a creek and was swept away downstream. It was just like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. so that experience and one with a family of tree’d raccoons have put me off round nose for any hunting applications.

That said some subsonic hollowpoints preform better than others. I prefer fiocchi brand, the cavity is bigger than most of the others and it seems to be able yo expand and appreciable amount while passing through a squirrel.
Wish I had a spot for ground squirrels close by,
I really love still hunting them in the tight canyons in Eastern Washington.I use a 12ga with #4 and just quietly walk down the center of the canyon only 30-40 yds wide. Good way to learn to shoot moving targets with a shotgun.
 
I have taken many ground hogs with both Green Tag and Mini-Mags at 80 yards. You are correct in that the Mini-Mags have more potential killing power because of their higher velocity. The Green Tag is more significantly more accurate than the Mini-Mags at ranges up to 80 yards in my gun. Green Tags, even for center mass shots, give me cleaner kills at this range.

I would say Mini-Mags get their killing power from bullet construction (copper-plated hollow point) vs sheer velocity. Sufficient penetration with good expansion. I would say rule number one is never shoot at a critter any farther out than you can actually hit him. Regardless of velocity and bullet style/weight, you simply can't kill what you can't hit to begin with.
 
Killing comes more from an accurate shot than bullet construction. If one has the both in round then it's the perfect .22 caliber round. From my testing both on targets and shooting ground hogs (or anything else) the more accurate solid out performs the less accurate hollow point. Buy a couple of boxes of both and give them a try. That's what I did.
 
Killing comes more from an accurate shot than bullet construction. If one has the both in round then it's the perfect .22 caliber round. From my testing both on targets and shooting ground hogs (or anything else) the more accurate solid out performs the less accurate hollow point. Buy a couple of boxes of both and give them a try. That's what I did.

It's kind of a shame one must risk subjecting an animal, even a lowly rodent, to a certain degree of suffering to discover how well a certain round actually works out as compared to others. The downrange chuck therefore become some sort of ballistics-testing guinea pig.
 
It's kind of a shame one must risk subjecting an animal, even a lowly rodent, to a certain degree of suffering to discover how well a certain round actually works out as compared to others. The downrange chuck therefore become some sort of ballistics-testing guinea pig.
I have a Kimber Model 84 in .223 hand loaded with Nosler Ballistic tips. There is certainly no shame subjecting a rodent to suffering using a .223 with Nosler Ballistic tips. Your thread is about .22 caliber ammo and groundhogs.

Not the one seeking advice. Maybe a .22 is not enough gun for your needs.

I do kill inhumanly.
 
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CCI Mini Mags have always cycled my semi auto rifles and handguns reliably. They get the job done when I'm in Wyoming culling gophers in fields used to grow alfalfa for winter livestock feed. As long as I do my part, they reliably anchor pocket gophers at reasonable (out to about 75 yards but preferably at 50 yard) ranges. Never felt the need to go to .17 or .22 mag because the LR wasn't getting it done under those circumstances and with that sized target.
 
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Cci blazers are to this day my favorite cheap .22s, but i shot alot of the mini-mags also.
MOST of what i shot were birds and axis deer so no real experience on smaller mammals, besides random pest removal. I still prefer solids, but the hollow points do open larger holes.
 
Cannot shoot mini mags in my Volquartzen! Did a brand test when I got it and Federal HP and Aquila HP both in LR were the best and equal. Did not try the high $ stuff cause it was for ground squirrel shooting. Then I bought enough to last me a looooooooong time :) , when it was whole lot cheaper than I has been for way to long.
 
It seems both cheap and good. Scheels even has it in stock in Sioux Falls, South Dakota right now.

CCI Ammo 22 LR HP Mini-Mag 36gr

13 cents a pop. In a good rifle like a CZ 457 American or Varmint, it accurate and powerful enough for 50-75 yard chucks? 50-yard squirrels? Both animals with center of mass hits. About seven dead small pesky animals for a dollar if this stuff is really worth a damn.

https://www.scheels.com/p/cci-ammo-...#prefn1=storeAvailability&prefv1=048&start=16
I've shot more woodchucks than I can count, but hardly ever did with a .22LR rifle or handgun. Large chucks can run quite a ways to their holes, after being shot with a .22LR, especially from a handgun, due to less accurate shot placement ability than with a scoped rifle. Head or neck shots are best on chucks, using a .22 LR. In my teens I remember firing as many as 10 shots to kill a big woodchuck at about 10 yards. He was in kind of a tangle near an old trolley line embankment and I was disgusted at the lack of killing power. However, shot placement is everything with the .22LR.
 
Generally, I preferred using the .22-250 Rem for woodchucks beyond 50 yards. My buddy and I started hunting "chucks" with our .30-06 rifles as practice for deer hunting. In most states, that would be quite dangerous, but we were very careful about what was behind any varmints before deciding to shoot. Later, we each bought .22-250 Rem rifles and those rounds were much safer, even breaking-up on heavy grass, but we maintained the same safe-firing directions. We learned quickly that there was no "leeway" like we had with the '06 rounds, which we often "bounced" into chucks. Don't think for a minute that you can "bounce" .22 centerfire varmint rounds into woodchucks!!!
 
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