O.K., I've selflessly spent a few hours doing a whole bunch of chronograph testing on my new to me Bobcat.
Below are the results. Please bear in mind that I'm no ballistics expert, and my chronograph isn't perfect. For example, sometimes my chrono will display real helpful info, such as 7083 fps when firing Stingers (I apparently was too close to the chronograph, and it was picking up unburned powder. When I scooted back some more, the wild optimism faded.) At any rate, all this data is offered “as is”. I will say that I've used my chrony for several years, and the results correlate with other published data. As with most other people's findings, my measurements run a bit lower than those of the ammunition manufacturers. Measurements were taken about 6 feet from the muzzle except for CCI's hypervelocity offerings, which were at about 10 feet to avoid wild readings.
I want to stress that these results pertain to my individual gun. Bobcats are said to be finicky about ammo, so others' results may vary.
Unless otherwise indicated, three shots were measured on each type of cartridge. Abbreviations will be as follows: gr=grains, fps=average feet per second, es=extreme velocity spread, e=energy in foot/pounds, m=momentum. I used online energy calculators for the number crunching.
Aguila Colibri 20gr
351 fps, es 41, e 5.5, m 1
So quiet you can hear the bullet hit the backstop. Will feed but not cycle. Cases drop out easily.
Aguila Super Colibri 20gr
560 fps, es 24, e 14.0, m 1
Same as Colibri, but hotter. Still won't cycle. Cases have to be pulled out.
Remington Cee Bee 33gr
488 fps, es 36, e 17.4, m 2
Won't feed or cycle. If they expand at these speeds, though, they could be very useful for low noise pest control.
CCI CB short 29gr
533 fps, es 57, e 18.3, m 2
Won't feed or cycle. Spent cases will drop out if the barrel is clean.
CCI CB long 29 gr
449 fps, es 37, e 13.0, m 1
Will feed but not cycle. Spent cases will drop out if the barrel is clean. The longs are obviously a lot less powerful even though factory ballistics data are identical. I've found this to be true in every gun I've shot them in. I assume that contributing factors are less space in the case, and especially a “head start” in the shorts before engaging in the rifling.
CCI high velocity short hollow point 27gr
854 fps, es 66, e 44.7, m 3
Too short to use the magazine, but will eject and cock the hammer fairly reliably.
Remington subsonic 38gr
668 fps, es 65, e 37.6, m 3
Feeds and cycles, in spite of its low energy.
RWS subsonic 40gr
659 fps, es 29, e 38.6, m 3
Something about this ammo makes the spent cases stick like mad in my gun and not eject. It takes relatively high force to remove them from the breech. Fortunately, it won't try to cycle.
CCI subsonic segmented 40gr
798 fps, es 35, e 56.5, m 4
Great stuff, so far it's cycled perfectly, quieter than high velocity fodder, and the segmented nature of the bullets dramatically improves terminal ballistics. The bullets split into three pieces that diverge into separate wound channels. I suspect that the tissue “inside” the triangle is more or less devastated, making the most of this round's power.
Aguila subsonic 60gr
655fps, es 11, e 57.1, m 5
This is Aguila's unique 60gr offering, a very long bullet perched upon a short case. Fairly loud for a subsonic, and kicks harder than any other ammo I've tried (hardly matters with this gun. NAA minis are a different story.) It often keyholes in guns since the twist rate is set up for lighter bullets. Feeds and cycles fine. The only ammo tested with a momentum of 5.
Federal bulk high velocity hollowpoints 36gr
885fps, es 28, e 62.6, m 4
What a bargain. Feeds and cycles great, produces relatively high energy, and very cheap. I've shot more of this so far in the Bobcat than any other round (O.K., that's only 50-100 rounds so far) with no failures yet. Pundits have pointed out that the original offerings devised decades ago were optimized for their particular cartridge; the ubiquitous 36 grain hollow point is a good example of that.
CCI Velociter 40gr
857fps, es 23, e 65.2, m 4
Cycles and feeds well. Speed and power are a bit disappointing, a trend I've noticed in other firearms with this round.
Remington Yellowjacket 33gr
893 fps, es 5, e 58.4, m 4
This round has also been ballistically disappointing in testing, at least for the one box that I've bought. Feeds and cycles fine.
CCI hypervelocity segmented hollowpoint 32gr
1019fps, es 37, e 73.8, m 4
Hot stuff! These are essentially Stingers that have segmented bullets, loaded in brass rather than plated cases. According to Goldenloki.com, they have about the same penetration as Stingers. They function flawlessly. They and the Stingers are the loudest ammo I've tried in the Bobcat. 5 shots taken rather than 3, at a distance of 10 rather than 6 feet.
CCI Stingers 32gr
999fps, es 71, e 70.9, m 4
Essentially the same as above, but the numbers suffer from a low velocity shot of 957 fps. Stingers are one of the few .22 hollowpoints that will expand when shot from small pistols like the Bobcat.
Like I said, I don't have a definitive way to verify my testing, but this should provide a useful way to compare these cartridges to each other. Cheers.
