CCI Stingers

[Zoidberg523]

FWIW, while the 22 may not be ideal for self-defense, I would not want to come face to face with a Ruger 10/22 loaded with 25 Stingers... That's a pretty effective home defense weapon. Low recoil, relatively quiet, small flash - you could put a lot of rounds on target in very quick succession.

That's not to say that a good old 12 ga isn't a better option - but only for sheer stopping power in my opinion. In the dark, at night, having just awoken to a noise somewhere in the home, the sound of a shotgun firing is going to be deafening - especially ringing off of the confined walls of a home. It is also going to be bright, possibly ruining your night vision.

You could do a lot worse than a "hi-cap" 22LR.

That said, a semi-auto 22 magnum, loaded with CCI Maxi-Mags, would be better yet.

 

[Tim the student]

After doing a bunch of penetration/expansion tests with this and other .22 ammo, I could not agree more. Inside of 50 meters, the paltry .22 would make quick work of most mortal men... especially from a rifle. As long as you don't have reliability problems, the cartridge can kill rather fast. Not to mention the ability to land multiple hits in rapid succession. The naysayers are ill informed IMO.

8" of penetration in a wet phone book, and .365" will make me pass on calling it a good SD round. If you want to, then have at it.

 

[Werewolf]

Is it as good as other 'self-defense' calibers? No. Will you volunteer to be shot in the face with it? I hope not. Since it is the most reliable .22LR ammo out there that I have seen, it can make for a viable defense round when nothing else is available.

Damian

But WHY would nothing else be available?

 

[Zoidberg523]

But WHY would nothing else be available?

The issue is not, "Why would it happen?". For the truly prepared person, the question is what to do when it does happen.

 

[Werewolf]

Where's the darn delete function?

 

[moxie]

As per the above, a Stinger will penetrate a kevlar helmet, and will destroy a leg bone. Every time I look at the backside of a 2X4 shot with a Stinger, I remind myself how useless they (and many other .22s) are.
To answer the original queation, they do sell Stingers at he Wal-Marts here in Texas.

 

[Rail Driver]

*And any person that found himself with just a 22 in a self defense situation could not be called truly prepared *- well - unless they were a dead eye **** that could place one in the eye of an attacker, running towards you, dodging at 25 yards then a 22 would be just fine.

If a .22 is so useless for self defense, then I can count on you to serve as my moving practice target, right? I'll even purposefully aim at center mass as I was trained.

(disclaimer: This is IN NO WAY meant to be a threat of any kind)

No? Didn't think so. I'll keep my stingers in my .22 pistol and be confident that I can do enough damage with 10 rounds in the event that I'm forced to rely on the .22 for whatever reason.

 

[Tim the student]

If a .22 is so useless for self defense, then I can count on you to serve as my moving practice target, right? I'll even purposefully aim at center mass as I was trained.

So, then .22 shorts will suffice too? .22 CB? Maybe a really mean sling shot? A bow and arrow? Because I won't let you shoot at me with those either. I probably won't let you shoot at me with a pellet rifle either. But, since I don't want to get shot with those, that makes them suitable for SD, right?

This whole "Do you want to get shot with it? No? Ok, then it must be fine for SD" arguments are tiresome to say the least.

So then, who feels comfy with a good pellet pistol as a nightstand gun?

 

[Rail Driver]

So, then .22 shorts will suffice too? .22 CB? Maybe a really mean sling shot? A bow and arrow? Because I won't let you shoot at me with those either. I probably won't let you shoot at me with a pellet rifle either. But, since I don't want to get shot with those, that makes them suitable for SD, right?

This whole "Do you want to get shot with it? No? Ok, then it must be fine for SD" arguments are tiresome to say the least.

So then, who feels comfy with a good pellet pistol as a nightstand gun?

You're taking that a bit out of context, I believe we were discussing CCI Stingers, not .22 shorts, not a sling shot, not a bow, not a pellet gun. CCI Stingers. Please try to remain at least SOMEWHAT on topic.

 

[Tim the student]

Edit - I was needlessly argumentative in this post, and apologize for it.

 

[Orion8472]

Allow me to talk a bit [briefly and generally] about the accuracy issue with Stingers and other high velocity .22lr rounds. This is the basic idea that I've read on rimfirecentral.com [forum for .22lr topics].

Because of the fairly light weight of the projectile, and the speed it travels, when you want something accurate with a .22lr bullet, it is best to stick to the slower rounds. Stingers can break the sound barrier, but quickly drop back below it, and in that transition, the sound barrier can affect the direction the bullet is traveling. Not a LOT, but enough to make it inherantly less accurate than target rounds.

I have found a round that does tend to be a bit more accurate and keep a decent speed. The CCI Velocitors. But those ARE hard to find [at least around here].

 

[TeamPrecisionIT]

*Going off topic momentarily to answer the question "Why?"*
It can be all someone can afford. It can be all someone can handle as far as recoil goes. It can be the only thing they practice with regularly. It can be all they want to have. That's just four quick reasons.
*End off topic transmission*

I just found some this weekend at the Wally World here and at the fun store. So I doubt they are discontinued. They are still showing up on CCI's website, as well: http://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/varmint.aspx

Damian

 

[rugerman07]

Because of the fairly light weight of the projectile, and the speed it travels, when you want something accurate with a .22lr bullet, it is best to stick to the slower rounds. Stingers can break the sound barrier, but quickly drop back below it, and in that transition, the sound barrier can affect the direction the bullet is traveling. Not a LOT, but enough to make it inherantly less accurate than target rounds.

Again,.....I'm talking about close quarter ranges. Not 100 yards, not 50 yards, not even 25 yards, I'm talking about indoor home defense ranges measured in feet not yards. The CCI Stinger fired from a semi auto rifle at 50 to 75 feet will have a devastating effect on an intruder.

 

[MovedWest]

Again,.....I'm talking about close quarter ranges. Not 100 yards, not 50 yards, not even 25 yards, I'm talking about indoor home defense ranges measured in feet not yards. The CCI Stinger fired from a semi auto rifle at 50 to 75 feet will have a devastating effect on an intruder.

I have a pretty good sized house and I find it a stretch to be able to find more than 30 linear feet not obstructed with a wall. Unless you "curve" a bullet...

I find that most of my confrontations would be expected to take place up to 20 feet or through walls. With the energy transfer from a Stinger at that distance, I'm confident that my wife can distract an intruder without going deaf long enough for me to reach my 12ga or 44mag as well has hearing protection. At that point I stop caring if a Stinger has stopping power.

And Wally World was out of Stingers for a while, but now they seem to be stocking up nicely in my area.

-MW

 

[Hoppes Love Potion]

What about a slower, heavier round like the Aguila SSS 60gr? Would that be good for close-quarters self-defense? Seems to pack a wallop out of my lever-action Henry.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Saw them Stingers at Wal-mart and at the local Gun shop last week down here in TX.

As for a self defense round I don't want to be shot with one.

 

[ThePunisher'sArmory]

If your in southern Illinois, The east Belleville store has them all the time, Ofallon and Collinsville sometimes.

 

[husker]

i dnt care what any one says . its a nasty nasty round if thats all you have. & will kill the CHIT out of some one. Home NINJAS? or HOME DEFENSE???

 

[Orion8472]

rugerman07, I was only speaking to those who were mentioning the accuracy of the Stinger. I would have no problem using the Stinger for self defense, if it was all I had at the time.

 

[Tim the student]

I would have no problem using the Stinger for self defense, if it was all I had at the time.

Nor would I. I also wouldn't have a problem using throwing knives if they were all I had at the time either. However, no rimfire will ever be my caliber of choice for SD/HD. If others want to, they can have at it.

 

[Anothermiller]

just bought 6 boxes today and they had a whole endcap with nothing but stingers.

My son shoots them out of his marlin bolt action.The stingers are effective on woodchucks.

I wont shoot them out of my ruger competition pistol, they are hyper velocity and seem like they beat the parts alil more.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

If you are among those who subscribe to the FBI standard for ammunition performance, you might be dissapointed to know that Stingers out of a rifle barrel will readily fragment in gelatin shot at close ranges (0-20'). The total wound track is about 7-9" long.

I still believe they would be very effective with a clean torso hit, but going through an arm first, they are going to perform poorly.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I have read the Stingers are less accurate due to the shorter lighter bullet that allows for more powder to attain higher velocity.

Out of my Marlin 60 and my 39A when comparing Stingers to Mini mags or Automatch I notice there seems to be some truth to that..... for me.

 

[Manco]

In my opinion, for self/home-defense Stingers are more useful in handguns that have short barrels than they are in rifles. As long as the velocity is reduced enough to keep expansion under control, which increases penetration, and avoid fragmentation, it can be effective, at least in theory (I'd need more test data to figure out just how effective).

Regarding .22 LR in general, personally I think it's underrated as a defensive caliber. Because it's marginal in some ways, we have to pay even more attention than usual to the details, but it can get the job done. For instance, a somewhat hot load such as the CCI Mini-Mag shot out of a 6" barrel can achieve the minimum 12" penetration standard (with no expansion). Aside from shot placement, this is the most important aspect of terminal ballistics, and .22 LR enables most people to put better-aimed shots into the target faster than they could with larger calibers; in handgun calibers, nothing helps shot placement and the probability of making a stop better than multiple aimed rounds fired.

Hotter loads such as the CCI Velocitor will meet or exceed the same standard out of even shorter barrels (the hollow-point bullet does not expand in tests):

http://www.brassfetcher.com/WaltherP22test.html

The CCI Velocitor out of a rifle can exceed the minimum penetration standard with decent expansion:

http://www.brassfetcher.com/var22lrrifle.html

While finding the best combinations of firearms and loads is absolutely critical for .22 LR to be effective for defensive purposes, such combinations do indeed exist. Now, I didn't say that I'm going to trade in my .40 S&W pistol for a .22 LR, but that's only because I've gotten good enough with the .40 through training that I believe it gives me an edge over a .22. But that's all it is--an edge (larger than its razor-thin edge over 9mm, to be sure, but still just an edge). For relative novices who don't and won't practice much, in my opinion a .22 could actually give them an edge over a .40! Seriously, with the right handgun/rifle and .22 LR load, they could empty their guns into bad guys (if necessary) like they never could with a larger caliber.