CCI now marketing a self defense load

[AUhiker]

I was scrolling the other day and came across 22 Plinkster and he’s trying out the CCI uppercut. A new round released that’s intended to expand out of a handgun and go 9.5 inches deep in ballistic gel. I don’t trust 22 lr for self defense as my main carry, but if you do this seems like an interesting load worth checking out. It expands and looks very similar to a gold dot/hst. I haven’t seen any on the shelves yet. Just thought I would share.

 

[Riomouse911]

It has been advertised since June, I haven’t seen any on the LGS shelf anywhere yet.

Allegedly a JHP .22 LR bullet that is supposed to expand from micro revolver/auto barrel lengths.

Neat idea, I hope to someday see some to try out.

Stay safe.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I got curious about this and did some checking around. CCI seems to just be touting bullet expansion, remaining mute on the real problem with rimfire reliability for self defense: priming.

Certainly CCI is much better than average when it comes to rimfire ammo going bang, but until they (or some other manufacturer) comes up with rimfire priming system with ignition reliability on par with centerfire, I'd personally continue to limit the self-defense application to .22 LR revolvers.

 

[halfmoonclip]

This. ^^^^
If CCI is going to market it as a premium round, make it a package with better priming.
CCI may fear too much of a price bump; folks expect .22s to be cheap.
Moon

 

[Walkalong]

If CCI is going to market it as a premium round, make it a package with better priming.

I would assume they would make that a priority, they aren't new to .22 LR............. interesting ammo for sure.

Would be nice from a bolt gun..........very nice I think.

 

[Leon tP]

The CCI website says coming soon so it might be a while before it starts popping up on gun store shelves.

New Products

CCI Ammunition

www.cci-ammunition.com

I might try it on a jack rabbit or other critter but it won't take the place of any current SD/HD/CC option currently in rotation.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Penetration will always be more important than expansion.

You can't put a hole in vitals if the bullet stops short. Underpenetration is as much of a "miss" as a bullet that isn't well placed.

Vitals in the torso are the heart, great vessels (aorta and vena cava), and upper spinal cord. They're all conveniently located at armpit height on the upper torso. Unfortunately, arms have a pesky habit of getting in the way and blocking the path of the bullet, which is why 12-inches is the established minimum penetration depth.

 

[halfmoonclip]

When our daughter left home, I got her a Smith Airlight .38. Liked the simplicity, but she didn't like the recoil.
I turned it into a .22 Centennial; not ideal, but it solves the chances of a misfire with .22s. I'll keep an eye out for this ammo; it does sound like an improvement.
Moon

 

[nettlle]

My feeling on CCI meeting the demand on anything is somewhat mixed.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

When our daughter left home, I got her a Smith Airlight .38. Liked the simplicity, but she didn't like the recoil.
I turned it into a .22 Centennial; not ideal, but it solves the chances of a misfire with .22s. I'll keep an eye out for this ammo; it does sound like an improvement.
Moon

Get her a box of Federal Gold Medal Match .38 Special 148gr Wadcutter. Recoil is very mild while the wadcutter bullet cuts a full .38 caliber hole in soft tissues and reliably penetrates to vital depth - 16" from a snub. This is the load of choice for snubbies.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Get her a box of Federal Gold Medal Match .38 Special 148gr Wadcutter. Recoil is very mild while the wadcutter bullet cuts a full .38 caliber hole in soft tissues and reliably penetrates to vital depth - 16" from a snub. This is the load of choice for snubbies.

Shawn, concur, and we load a "Full Charge Wadcutter" for that purpose.
But even my M52 target wadcutters were more than she could deal with. I probably should have tried to find her a steel Centennial to calm the recoil.
Moon

 

[TTv2]

My feeling on CCI meeting the demand on anything is somewhat mixed.

Like all other ammo companies they're not increasing their production capacity. They have no interest spending money or getting a loan to buy more machines, buildings, and hire/train workers when they have a concern the demand will not be sustained.

 

[Mizar]

Why would I need a hollow point .22LR for self defense, when even a standard LRN bullet barely meets the (almost universally) accepted FBI penetration criteria when fired from a short barreled handgun? It's simple physics - more expansion equals less penetration... It's like a hollow point .380 ACP - the round has anemic penetration even with FMJ bullets, but you still insist to carry expanding ammo that penetrates even less, why?

 

[sparkyv]

I agree 100% with both of these posts:

I got curious about this and did some checking around. CCI seems to just be touting bullet expansion, remaining mute on the real problem with rimfire reliability for self defense: priming.

Certainly CCI is much better than average when it comes to rimfire ammo going bang, but until they (or some other manufacturer) comes up with rimfire priming system with ignition reliability on par with centerfire, I'd personally continue to limit the self-defense application to .22 LR revolvers.

Why would I need a hollow point .22LR for self defense, when even a standard LRN bullet barely meets the (almost universally) accepted FBI penetration criteria when fired from a short barreled handgun? It's simple physics - more expansion equals less penetration... It's like a hollow point .380 ACP - the round has anemic penetration even with FMJ bullets, but you still insist to carry expanding ammo that penetrates even less, why?

 

[someguy2800]

I got curious about this and did some checking around. CCI seems to just be touting bullet expansion, remaining mute on the real problem with rimfire reliability for self defense: priming.

Certainly CCI is much better than average when it comes to rimfire ammo going bang, but until they (or some other manufacturer) comes up with rimfire priming system with ignition reliability on par with centerfire, I'd personally continue to limit the self-defense application to .22 LR revolvers.

CCI mini mags are probably 99.8% reliable priming already, so still not as good as centerfire, but pretty decent, especially in a revolver where you can just pull the trigger again. I’ve never had a semi auto 22 that fed or ejected reliably enough for me to be completely satisfied with it. For those reasons along with the terminal shortcomings I still don’t think 22 is a suitable defense cartridge except for people that can’t tolerate any centerfire gun. I’m more interested in this as a small game cartridge.

 

[someguy2800]

Why would I need a hollow point .22LR for self defense, when even a standard LRN bullet barely meets the (almost universally) accepted FBI penetration criteria when fired from a short barreled handgun? It's simple physics - more expansion equals less penetration... It's like a hollow point .380 ACP - the round has anemic penetration even with FMJ bullets, but you still insist to carry expanding ammo that penetrates even less, why?

Exactly. I’ve always thought they should make a mini mag wadcutter with just a flat soup can shaped hard cast bullet for revolvers. That would produce a better perminant cavity than a round nose without really giving up any penetration. I’ve seen several tests where truncated flat point 9mm penetrates farther than RN fmj.

 

[wayneinFL]

Shawn, concur, and we load a "Full Charge Wadcutter" for that purpose.
But even my M52 target wadcutters were more than she could deal with. I probably should have tried to find her a steel Centennial to calm the recoil.
Moon

I don't even like the 38s out of an airweight. 32 isn't the best but beats a 22lr.

 

[troy fairweather]

Think I'd rather have the little bit more penitration then expansion. These may make a nice hunting round for something bigger then squirrels and rabbits,

 

[.308 Norma]

I’m more interested in this as a small game cartridge.

I'd like to try them on ground squirrels - if they're not too expensive. Maybe they'll be available around here by spring when the ground squirrels start popping up out of the ground again.

 

[someguy2800]

I'd like to try them on ground squirrels - if they're not too expensive. Maybe they'll be available around here by spring when the ground squirrels start popping up out of the ground again.

Yeah I’m wondering how many inches they take to expand. If they reduce runoffs on chipmunks and squirrels that would be great. I remember when I was a kid watching my brother shoot a rabid coon 30 times with a 10/22 and failing to kill it. We were quite dumbfounded. I’m anticipating something close to 22 mag pricing.

 

[jmorris]

they say its coming soon.

New Products

CCI Ammunition

www.cci-ammunition.com

I find standard velocity ammunition to kill things in a trap, just fine. Wouldn't count on a .22 for a lot more but I have seen it deliver beyond my expectations in the past.

 

[Boom Vang]

When our daughter left home, I got her a Smith Airlight .38. Liked the simplicity, but she didn't like the recoil.
I turned it into a .22 Centennial; not ideal, but it solves the chances of a misfire with .22s. I'll keep an eye out for this ammo; it does sound like an improvement.
Moon

I've seen with many students, a hit with a .22 LR is preferable to a miss with something else, or no firearm at all.

PS. Federal .38 Special Gold Medal 148 grain wadcutter is made from unobtanium, and has been for years now. It also has 4x the recoil of a .22 LR, so for some that simply isn't an option.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Wonder how it will compare to the defense load from Winchester. Winchester Silvertip

 

[jstert]

in my mind civilian defense with a 22lr handgun means breaking contact by disrupting the attacker’s momentum from a hail of fast rounds reliably placed accurately on target, followed by a quick followup reload. penetration versus expanson, one-shot stops, even double-taps are less relevant concerns for 22lr handguns, at least for me and my circumstances.

$10/100 of reliable cci minimags means twice the practice as $10/50 of defensive 22lr ammo. i practice exclusively what i carry.

successive fast ammo dumps with speedloaders from my ruger lcr 22lr dao revolver at some point usually results in short-stroking the trigger and locking up the cylinder, i.e. game over. plus a tired trigger finger from a stout pull.

no such problems with my 20,000 round-count, well-practiced (thus accurate), reliable, fast, ruger sr22 semiauto pistol.

my own personally researched menu for successful rimfire handguns is single-action revolvers and semiauto pistols. ymmv.

 

[ThomasT]

Allegedly a JHP .22 LR bullet that is supposed to expand from micro revolver/auto barrel lengths.

If you want a 22 round that expands from short barreled guns try some Remington Yellow Jacket ammo. I used to test it from a Jennings 22 in clay and water bottles and always got picture perfect mushrooms. But like already stated I would rather have the solid bullets for the penetration.

If you want a lighter recoil gun try a 32 S&W long. The bullets weigh two and a half times as much as a standard 22 round so they will penetrate and the 100gr bullets have very light recoil. Way less than the lightest 38 WC loads. And there are pages of 32 long revolvers listed on gunbroker that are selling in the $500 range. And thats for S&W snubs. And the unexpanded 32 round is as big as an expanded 22 round.

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Lucky Gunner has 32 Long WC ammo for $36 a box. Yes it cost more than plinking ammo but its a better round with centerfire priming. Buy a couple hundred rounds and save the brass. Buy a simple Lee reloading set up and shoot it for less than 20 cents a round. The brass will last about forever.

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