.22 CB Safety in Rifles?

[Brass Rain]

So I was thinking of sometimes using .22 Long CB caps in a bolt-action .22 LR rifle in the backyard when I get it, right now thinking of the Savage Mark II, but is there an issue of these incredibly low-powered rounds not making it out of the barrel? Of course I don't plan to only use the CB ammunition, or even mostly, but the low energy and noise it has would let me safely shoot it without having to go to a range or the middle of nowhere. The barrel length of the Mark II is 21" and I know that ammunition is always tested in a test rifle barrel before being commercially sold, so what's the rifle barrel length the .22 CB is tested in to be safe? Thanks for the help.

 

[bryank30]

Shoot into something noticeably moves or reacts everytime you fire and you should be good to go.

 

[bpl]

I don't know the answer for sure, but I'd be reluctant to use them in a 21" barrel.

 

[vanfunk]

I've never had an issue with CB's in rifles. I have had consistent issues with Aguila Colibris not making it out of the barrel of my CZ 452, but the CB's run about 700 fps and are decently accurate out to about 25 yards.

HTH,

Vanfunk

 

[Paladin38-40]

CB's work

I use CCI CB Long's in a Marlin 39 and they give t&t penetration on squirrels. Most shots are at 25 - 30 yards. Never had one lodge in the barrel. Be sure you have an appropriate backstop for any back yard shooting so as not to endanger the neighbors.

 

[Cop Bob]

vanfunk I've never had an issue with CB's in rifles. I have had consistent issues with Aguila Colibris not making it out of the barrel of my CZ 452, but the CB's run about 700 fps and are decently accurate out to about 25 yards.

What he said............ +1

Just clean the "soot ring" out of the chamber when you change ammo.. Been many a squirrel bit the dust around my place with several long guns using CB's

 

[Art Eatman]

CBs are very quiet in an old WW II Mauser training rifle. What, 24" barrel? Great for in-town squirrels, since the neighbors don't hear them.

 

[CraigC]

I've shot thousands and thousands of them through barrels ranging from 16" to 28" and never had one stick. More through a 24" than any other. A non-issue if you ask me.

 

[bigfatdave]

They don't stick in my Henry (H001L) and they haven't stuck in my 10/22s the few times I tried them out.

But a reactive target would be the best insurance for target shooting, establish confidence before shooting at anything that doesn't react to a hit OR close miss.

 

[Fast Frank]

Well, if you are going to talk about safety and CB caps, then you have to mention the ricochet issue.

A normal Mini Mag or what have you .22 bullet moves pretty fast out of a rifle barrel.

So fast, in fact, that it will pretty much obliterate the bullet if it hits something hard. You've probably seen the slow motion videos of bullets slamming into steel and splashing like a water balloon.

The good part about this is that the regular .22 bullet really doesn't offer a ricochet danger. If it skips off something hard the pieces are small and poorly shaped to fly any distance or do any real harm.

Not so with the CB bullet. It's moving a little more than half the speed of a "Real" .22 round.

It's quite possible to "Skip" one of those off a sidewalk or anything hard and because it's not going fast enough to splatter the bullet it could continue for some distance and get you in trouble.

I've actually heard them ricochet off of a pine tree before and whistle off into the distance.

Sure, the CB doesn't have serious power, so it's not going to skip off a trashcan, go through the neighbor's house, and kill a whole school bus full of kids...

But you need to know that causing a band-aid size cut on somebody standing in the yard two houses down by hitting them with a ricochet is not cool at all and a good lawyer will be required shortly afterward to keep ownership of your house. They can sue you up one side and down the other for negligent gunshot wounds.

Be careful with those things in the "Urban" environment. Think about your background. Be aware that a shot at hard ground can skip over a fence.

Have fun and get those varmints, but BE CAREFUL!

 

[natman]

I've fired a lot of CBs without a problem, but I do keep an eye out to be sure that every one of them actually hits something.

+1 on the ricochet issue. The slow round nosed bullets love to bounce off things.

 

[NG VI]

I have had consistent issues with Aguila Colibris not making it out of the barrel of my CZ 452, but the CB's run about 700 fps and are decently accurate out to about 25 yards.

I had the same problem with Colibris in my 452, I almost thought they were the same thing and was going to recommend against it, but if the CBs have a little more power behind them then go for it.

 

[ThePunisher'sArmory]

Be careful with those things in the "Urban" environment. Think about your background. Be aware that a shot at hard ground can skip over a fence.

Very sound advice! they work fine in all of my rifles to answer the question. As far as a target I use old shoe boxes with magazines layed in them in them. These targets stop the bullets at 15yrds. Also as mentioned using "reactive targets" like shoot-n-see allow you to make sure you are hitting the target. Good luck, and good shooting.

 

[cthulhufan]

I use CCI CB Longs and Remingtion CBEE22 in my CZ bolt that has a 24.8" barrel and have never had a problem. The Aguila Super Colibri, however, is very problematic for me in that rifle so I use it in my pistol only.

 

[DM~]

I also have fired a LOT of CCI CB's, both long and short, in many different 22 rifles. I've never had one fail to leave the bbl..

I also like the low noise Rem. Cee Bees, with their much better designed HP bullet. They have a lot more power than CCI's, but more noise too. They are rather hard to find around here though.

DM

 

[FLNT4EVR]

I don't know where you live ,but some places have very strict regulations on how far you must be from any habital dwelling you don't actually live in,school,church,ect, when you discharge any type of firearm. Here in NY,it's 500 ft. and they are trying to expand it to 1000.If you have any neighbors ,churches schools, ect,within that distance you must get permission from all of them,in writing, or it's no -go. Of course you also have any and all city and county regulations to deal with also.So ,make sure it's legal to fire that rifle where you are,because if it's not,you may not have a rifle to shoot, ever.

 

[Brass Rain]

Thanks for the advice and warnings, I guess I have my answer. I do live outside the city limits, and it is legal to discharge firearms where I live. I just choose not to because although I don't have close neighbors, they're not very far either. And it would be a huge nuisance with the noise, so would not be a neighborly thing to do. With CB ammunition, that wouldn't be an issue. I will keep very aware of ricochet possibilities, though. I'll make sure any bullet that doesn't hit a target or goes through it will hit simple grass. So, question resolved.

 

[willypete]

I've shot colibris (20 gr, 375fps) and super colibris (20gr, 450 fps) and CCI CB caps (29 gr, 710 fps) out of a 24" micro-grooved barrel with nary a stuck bullet. The hammer hitting the firing pin is louder than the cartridge . Lots of fun, no recoil, low noise.