My new love...the 22 Short

[Dave]

We recently moved and a lot of our stuff was still boxed up when I awoke one night about 2:00 am to what sounded like people bowling in the attic. I have been through the squirrels in the attic thing before and don't want to do it again. However, these sounded like some mighty big squirrels.

I have used CB caps for many years in the battle against urban squirrels but couldn't find them packed away in all the stuff. I did find half a box of 22 shorts. I am not sure where they came from. I started using them to cut down the squirrel population and was very impressed with how hard they were hitting the squirrels. Much harder than a CB cap. I started really liking them.

Is a Long Rifle really too much for a squirrel? Maybe so. Plus a Marlin 39A holds a lot of shorts. But one day a couple days after the midnight bowling in the attic I saw my true adversary. Mr Coon. No wonder it sounded like poltergeists up there. He was about 40 yards away in a tree. I yelled at him and he turned toward me. I held the end of his nose and sent a short his way. In the bag.

I can't believe a CB cap would have done that. The shorts are louder than the CBs and I did find them and have been using them on bushytails, but after my experience with the shorts I am considering switching to them for squirrel hunting. They hit a lot harder than you think.

[Hobie]

I have my idea of a power rating, generally, for .22 rimfire ammo:

- Aguila Colibri and Super Colibri (I can't tell the difference in terminal performance)
- CCI CB shorts and longs
- Remington CeeBees
- CCI .22 Quiet ammo (the difference is the 40 gr. bullet, put a flat nose on it and watch out! PLUS it functions in my Remington 241, loads of fun)
- Short HPs.
- Long Rifle RNs
- WRF FNs
- Long Rifle HPs (most of them but PowerPoints are the best IMHO)
- WRFM solids
- CCI Stingers and the like
- WRF HPs
- WRFM HPs

[ollogger]

Years back Dad would only let us kids use 22 shorts for squirrels, he said it knocked em
out of the tree better, well I got some what older & tried the 22 LR & found out Dad
was right, I used 22 shorts & a revolver trapping & running coon dogs for years
there a deadly load


ollogger

[AJMD429]

Use them for dispatching things caught in the Have-a-Hart trap (other than the things that shouldn't have gotten caught and we release). Never need a second shot even on big raccoons, cats, and - - - a skunk. . .

[Ysabel Kid]

I have my idea of a power rating, generally, for .22 rimfire ammo:

- Aguila Colibri and Super Colibri (I can't tell the difference in terminal performance)
- CCI CB shorts and longs
- Remington CeeBees
- CCI .22 Quiet ammo (the difference is the 40 gr. bullet, put a flat nose on it and watch out! PLUS it functions in my Remington 241, loads of fun)
- Short HPs.
- Long Rifle RNs
- WRF FNs
- Long Rifle HPs (most of them but PowerPoints are the best IMHO)
- WRFM solids
- CCI Stingers and the like
- WRF HPs
- WRFM HPs

Great list Hobie! I agree with your order too.

I started using the CCI .22 "Quiet" loads with my supressed rifle. A lot more power than the Colibri rounds!

[GoatGuy]

Hobie - you missed one of my favorites, ...the Aguila Sniper SubSonic. A really weird looking cartridge with that 60 grain bullet atop the .22 short case, but it works a treat for me on squirrels. And no problems at all using it in my 10/22.

[Lefty38-55]

I have my idea of a power rating ...

- Aguila Colibri and Super Colibri (I can't tell the difference in terminal performance)

Wow, I can ... I have a few 'tight' bore match rifles that the Aguila Colibris won't even make it out of the ends of the barrel with ... have to use the Supers in them ...

I've used both out of a Ruger Mk II with a red-dot when I hd a red squirrel problem. Other than aiming 2" higher than my 50' indoor bullseye setting, all were 1-shot kills ... the bazztards ... they ate the wiring in the attic and almost caused a fire! I went on a rampage ... Pftttttt ... got another one .

[Hobie]

Hobie - you missed one of my favorites, ...the Aguila Sniper SubSonic. A really weird looking cartridge with that 60 grain bullet atop the .22 short case, but it works a treat for me on squirrels. And no problems at all using it in my 10/22.

I know about it but it only stabilized in my Mountie and I've never shot anything with it.

[Hobie]

I have my idea of a power rating ...

- Aguila Colibri and Super Colibri (I can't tell the difference in terminal performance)

Wow, I can ... I have a few 'tight' bore match rifles that the Aguila Colibris won't even make it out of the ends of the barrel with ... have to use the Supers in them ...

I've used both out of a Ruger Mk II with a red-dot when I hd a red squirrel problem. Other than aiming 2" higher than my 50' indoor bullseye setting, all were 1-shot kills ... the bazztards ... they ate the wiring in the attic and almost caused a fire! I went on a rampage ... Pftttttt ... got another one .

have yet to have one stick in any of my guns but others say that they will indeed stick at least sometimes. I've been through several bricks of the Colibris, 2 through just my Winchester Model 47 with 24" barrel.

[vancelw]

I have an old Remington catalog from 1974 and it lists the muzzle energy of the .22 short as more than the .25 acp. No surprise there.

[Mescalero]

I have some old Winchester shorts that break up on impact.

[1894c]

i really like shorts...found some, ok found a whole bunch of them five months ago, bought 4,000 worth, they shoot great, accurate... :)

[Bridger]

Dave, as a trapper let me confirm your suspicions and tell you from experience a .22cb is no good for dispatching anything bigger than a squirrel. I have tried them more than once on accident on beaver dispatches and I honestly don't believe they know they have even been hit when shot at with a cb. I once unloaded a cylinder full on one, and thought I was just a terrible shot or I had the world's toughest beaver on my hands, and realized when I went to reload that I had forgot to take them out after I got through shooting at some cans with them. I felt terrible about the ordeal, but at least I learned. Unfortunately, it later happened again, and after that I just put them away altogether.

[AJMD429]

I know about it but it only stabilized in my Mountie and I've never shot anything with it.

You have to be especially careful about that in a suppressed gun; my Ruger 96/22 levergun wears an integrally-suppressed 10/22 barrel (Thompson Machine 'Operative'), and the literature that came with it says NOT to use the Aguila Colibris because there is a chance they can keyhole while in the suppressor and cause a baffle-strike. The GOOD news is that even with regular 22 LR fodder, the loudest thing you hear when you fire that gun is the hammer hitting the firing-pin. In fact, when you shoot it, even into the leafy, damp, loamy soil behind the range backstop, from 120 yards away, the sound of the bullet impact is distractingly loud, when you're trying to listen to the gun's noise. Shooting it into snow you just don't hear anything.

Due in part to the addition of the suppressor, my Ruger 96/22 is among my favorite Leverguns...!

By the way. . . . WELCOME to Leverguns, Lefty38-55

[BenT]

I use shorts in my revolvers , it is a lot quieter than LR. I've used the Aguila also. My dad bought this revolver after coming back from Korea for coon hunting and all he used was shorts.

[Hobie]

I know about it but it only stabilized in my Mountie and I've never shot anything with it.

You have to be especially careful about that in a suppressed gun; my Ruger 96/22 levergun wears an integrally-suppressed 10/22 barrel (Thompson Machine 'Operative'), and the literature that came with it says NOT to use the Aguila Colibris because there is a chance they can keyhole while in the suppressor and cause a baffle-strike. The GOOD news is that even with regular 22 LR fodder, the loudest thing you hear when you fire that gun is the hammer hitting the firing-pin. In fact, when you shoot it, even into the leafy, damp, loamy soil behind the range backstop, from 120 yards away, the sound of the bullet impact is distractingly loud, when you're trying to listen to the gun's noise. Shooting it into snow you just don't hear anything.

Due in part to the addition of the suppressor, my Ruger 96/22 is among my favorite Leverguns...!

By the way. . . . WELCOME to Leverguns, Lefty38-55

We were talking about the SSS not the Colibris not stabilizing. The LOOOOOONG bullet of the SSS (60 gr. LRN in a short case) will not always stabilize in 1:16 twist barrels, all the Colibris and Super Colibris have what is really a .22 Pointed Pellet for a bullet and they are pretty accurate at the shorter ranges.

[Borregos]

I use CB shorts in my Marlin 39A, I can shoot 'em in the back yard with no neighbour complaints
Shorts do not work well in my 9422 however.

[AJMD429]

We were talking about the SSS not the Colibris not stabilizing. The LOOOOOONG bullet of the SSS (60 gr. LRN in a short case) will not always stabilize in 1:16 twist barrels, all the Colibris and Super Colibris have what is really a .22 Pointed Pellet for a bullet and they are pretty accurate at the shorter ranges.

You are right. It is those long-for-caliber ones that are the problem.

[North Country Gal]

I have taken a great many squirrels with 22 HV HP Shorts and they did just as well or better than 22 LRs for dropping squirrels and killing them, quickly. Big plus was that the Shorts were quieter, so the woods calmed down, quicker, afterwards. Only negative I've found with using 22 Shorts in the field is that they aren't as accurate as 22 LRs in most guns, so for longer shots, I still prefer the the 22 LR. Up closer, though, Shorts have been very effective for me.

[3leggedturtle]

I have some old Winchester shorts that break up on impact.

Sounds like the Gallery loads that were made out of sintered/powdered iron and formed under pressure. Think they 15grs and had a velocity of 1500fps or so. Made that way so there would be no ricochets when shooting at the County Fair type Shooting Gallery's. Any one else remember or use these?

[gamekeeper]

My old Winchester 9422 has German (Frankfurt) proof marks and the S has been striked out on the LR.L.S on the barrel but it shoots shorts with no problems and it's pretty accurate too. Finding someone who stocks them is the problem I have in the UK.

[3leggedturtle]

In 1982 my Aunt worked at Federal Cartridge. She could get .22 shorts, the 2nd's for $.01 cent each. I asked for 10 boxes thinking they came in 50 round boxes or 500 per case. The rounds came in boxes of 300. x 10 came to 3000 Shorts. Everyone thought I was goofy for buying that much. They were mixed Lead and Copper-plated. Chronoed them over the last few years and they averaged 920-950fps. With a few dropping to 780-850fps. Probably why they were classified as 2nd's. I only have 250 or so left.

[El Chivo]

I tried a box or two of the 60 grainers, with the 22 short case and big bullet. I was surprised that small case powered the big bullet. I thought they might be good for silhouette, they were, but not quite accurate enough in my gun.

[w30wcf]

I would love to have a rifle chambered in .22 Short. I really like the little round but as North Country Gal indicated and my testing has shown, at 50 yards, group size has been 2X - 3X larger than the LR cartridge and I have tested several different brands of ammo.

Here's my collection of .22 Shorts.
Hollow points on the right, some CB's on the left. With the 3rd and 4th stacks, newest at the top getting progressively more vintage down the rows.......



w30wcf

[magyars]

Years ago I traded into a Ruger 10-22 converted to 22 Short w/ Volquartsen parts and mags....never did play much with it until moving to the Farm.
I have taken rabbits out to 40-45 feet, & coons in the barn loft without the rounds penetrating the metal sides..
I keep this rifle next to the back door as my go-to gun now.....except during deer season.

[John in MS]

My experience with .22 shorts started at summer camp, where the highlight of each day was
"riflery class." There, we were issued a whopping 10 Shorts and practiced prone on small
bulls eyes, using old single-shot rifles which required you to pull the striker back to cock them
after loading. To us, ages 7-10, they seemed really cool, and powerful. The highlight of my summer
camp experience was the day I somehow wound up in a 5-shot match against the instructor (never
part of the program), and beat him handily! I was one proud 9-year-old!

My next big adventure with Shorts came a couple of decades later at a deer camp in Alabama. We had some
lush rye grass fields, and while the deer never seemed to show, I always saw a rabbit or two while
I was on my stand. Going home empty-handed was rather frustrating, and I didn't have a .22 rifle then
(poor college student), so I borrowed the "camp .22" from the owner. This was a beat-up old Marlin bolt-action
that was, perforce, a single-shot, as the magazine had been lost somewhere back in the dark ages. It also
lacked an elevator for the rear sight, which had been bent up enough to zero it. He'd picked it up for $35
to keep at the camp as it wouldn't be a financial loss if stolen.

The owner, in his late 70's, was a long-time shooting enthusiast, and when I looked a bit dubious about
the rig, he assured me it was well-zeroed, which he then proceeded to prove by hitting a couple of small
targets at about 20 yards, offhand. He doled out 5 or 6 shorts from a vintage box of Canadian C.I.L. ammo
(never seen, even back in those days), and I noticed they were copper plated, but standard velocity...
not even hollow points. Ugggh. Oh, well, beggars can't be choosers...

4:30 that afternoon saw me snap to alertness as a large cottontail showed himself a loooong way down the field I
was watching. My, he was a big 'un! After admiring him in the 7x Leupold on my Winchester 70 FWT, I picked up
the .22 and contemplated how I was going to bring this mighty heifer of a bunny to bag. Stalking was out --
the woods were full of dried leaves that crunched like potato chips, and the lush, green 6" tendrils of rye grass
concealed a bed of deep, oozing, boot-sucking muck. Nope, I was gonna have to try the shot from here.

Only problem was, I had NO idea how much drop a .22 short might have at this rather longish distance, which I judged to be something well past 50 yards. Mr. Bunny bent down to nip a stem of grass, and then sat up to eat... nicely vertical,
which definitely helped with the elevation guesswork. I put the front bead on his head, and dang if it wasn't bigger than
his head! Again, he bent down, grabbed a bite, and sat up to chew. Same exact spot... I then walked the bead over from the left until it just covered his head, and waited for him to take another bite. Obligingly, he bent down, and when he sat up, his head went right back behind the bead. I knew I had a few seconds before he'd move again, and after re-checking my sight alignment, let out half a breath and squeezed...

CRACK! I was startled at the noise of the shot -- I'd expected it to be much quieter. Downrange, all was still. No laughing
bunny dancing off into the safety of the woodline... no wriggling rye grass indicating wounded prey struggling... nothing.
It was as still as if he'd never existed. I reloaded, and began the long slog out to the tree near where I'd last seen him.
And, 71 long paces later, there he was -- stone dead from a round through his neck, killed instantly. He hadn't
even lost the long grass he'd just started munching -- it was still hanging from his mouth, mute testimony to the suddenness of "Death From Afar!" I looked down at the little Marlin with new-found respect, hoisted up my
heavy prize, grass stem and all, and later that night, we feasted on rabbit...

That day, a dedicated small game hunter was born. Before that, I'd largely ignored squirrels and rabbits, focusing almost exclusively on deer. Now, I find myself looking forward to a good small game hunt more than deer hunting, and I'd far rather take a few squirrels in a hunt than a deer, any day. The last pair were taken with head shots using a nice, 1907-built 1892 Winchester octagon-barreled rifle in .25-20. Blessed with a perfect bore, original Lyman folding globe "Beech" (aka no.5) front sight and a Marble's tang sight, it is a squirrel killing machine! The effect of the concentric circles in the sight picture, plus the small pinhead "bead" on a very thin post makes it almost like shooting with a scope, and its' cast flat-nose bullets loafing along at 1000 fps hardly disturb the woods, having a very mild report. So, that lone C.I.L. .22 Short had a lasting impact, as it were, and hooked me on a delightful pastime indeed!

John

[hfcable]

Good story John. i miss getting to hunt squirrels..... you are right, small game hunting is great fun..... and easier to pack out as well.

[John in MS]

Thanks, and glad you enjoyed it! Sorry you don't get to hunt squirrels any more --
maybe you'd enjoy C.S. Landis's book on hunting small game with the .22. (I'm blocking
on the exact title right now.) I really liked that one -- and it is entertaining!
John

[hfcable]

i have heard of it. will look for it.

thanks

[Canuck Bob]

Finding forgotten ammo these days is a real good day! I'm looking into shorts or some of the subsonic 22 ammo for my Savage new model 30 Favorite Take Down for the girls. Sadly the trigger spring is too heavy yet and they have trouble setting the hammer in the sear so it will be awhile yet.

If Ican find them the new Quiet CCI might be permanent ammo for my 9422. It has been burning Rem Yellow Jackets HP since buying it. So far no complaints with the often poorly reviewed Rem 22 ammo. I bought a brick awhile ago and am going to test a few brands once it is gone. CCI gets such good reports and is so available it will likely be one of its products. I like the heavier subsonic choices best. The Quiet's or the Subsonic HP will be tested to see if they stabalize in the 9422.

Would you guys worry about the short burning the LR chamber over time?

[Dave]

Would you guys worry about the short burning the LR chamber over time?

I don't think shorts would do any damage but I imagine they would leave a crud ring. I plan on cleaning my chamber with a 25 cal bore brush before I shoot any LR's but it may not be necessary.

[Malamute]

I like shorts, especially the hollow points. There's a very distinct difference in killing power. The short hollow points arent easy to find but are well worth having.

A couple folks mentioned the killing power of shorts favorably compared to 22 LR, without saying if they used RN solids or hollow points in the LR. I've found the Long Rifle RN solids to be poor killers on most things, hollow points are very much better. The flat points work fairly well, but I dont think they kill as well as the hollow points.

Say a couple mentions of CB shorts. If you havent shot the "regular" shorts, there's great difference between CB's and the real shorts. All CB's are very low power rounds, wether shorts or longs. The case length is different, but the load is essentially the same I believe. "Regular" shorts run a 29 gr bullet at about 1150 fps, CB's run the same weight bullet about 720 fps, regardless if shorts or longs. I've shot a fair bit of game with CB's, but the real 22 shorts are better game killers.

[JerryB]

John, I put a lot of those Remington Rockets through my old Remington 550-1 back in the 1950's.

[3leggedturtle]

Good story John. i miss getting to hunt squirrels..... you are right, small game hunting is great fun..... and easier to pack out as well.

You could go to campgrounds that are closed for the season and thin out the Red/Pine Squirrels and give the Ravens a treat.

[hfcable]

Good story John. i miss getting to hunt squirrels..... you are right, small game hunting is great fun..... and easier to pack out as well.

You could go to campgrounds that are closed for the season and thin out the Red/Pine Squirrels and give the Ravens a treat.

i have very seriously considered it.....under the state regs i would have to either eat them [ if i had enough of them, a stew would probably be quite good ] or 'salvage' the hides. i could do that as well, for the trouble it would be.