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.22 rounds - is it only .22 shorts that are quiet?

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I was watching a Hickok45 vid yesterday and he was shooting a Henry .22 lever. What ever he started the video with was a loud BANG. He loaded up some .22 shorts and all you heard was the hammer drop *click*.

That got me thinking....I could probably shoot those in my back yard!

I've got a Remington 597 and it won't shoot the 22 shorts. Only the 22LR. My question is are there any other 22 rounds that are as silent as the 22 shorts? What should I look for when I go shopping for some?

Thanks!

Here's the video. And at about the 4:50 mark he shoots the 22 shorts

 
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Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Oh I should have mentioned that bit...I'm fully aware I will have to manually cycle.

(One of these days I'm going to get a Henry)
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
I have a Henry .22 lever, and shoot a lot of the Colibri powderless rounds in the backyard - there's little sound.

Barrel length matters with these things; that same gallery load makes a loud POP out of a handgun.

And YMMV applies, that Colibri can get stuck in, say, a CZ-452.


AA

Edit: Hickok .45 rules! Can watch his vids all day.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Has anyone shot the subsonic in close proximity to neighbors? Or the shorts
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Remington subsonic again depends on barrel length and the neighbors ability to hear ... For some reason, that round is quiet and cycles a Nylon 66.

Shorts don't seem to offer a noise reduction, in my experience. Those Colibri rounds, though, are very quiet out of that Henry.


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garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I've tried in the long years of the Gopher Wars using my old .22 single shot. My house is on a residential lake/pond, which amplifies the sound of the shots a great deal. Both the subsonics and old fashioned .22 shorts made too much noise for my backyard. These days back there it is the Air Force Talon SS that will bowl the gopher over, assuming I make the shot ..

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The match ammo I shoot is subsonic. We sit a few feet behind the shooters at matches without hearing protection on and carry on normal conversations. Subsonic doesn't "crack" like supersonic. It is about as loud as a cap gun in a longer barrel. I have a CZ Ultra Lux with a 28" barrel. It is about as loud as a pellet rifle.
 
I have a suppressed Ruger Mark III. I shoot .22 shorts with it inside my pool cage into a phone book backstop. Quieter than a pellet rifle, and it cycles the action. It is hell on the squirrels!
 
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CB rounds come in short and long rifle sizes.

I use the long CB in my scoped Brno/Mauser bolt action to drop ground hogs around here.

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There are .22 subsonic rounds, but I don't believe they will cycle your action.
Depends on how well your action has been broken in. Subs will cycle my 59 yo Ruger .22LR piphtol.
Has anyone shot the subsonic in close proximity to neighbors? Or the shorts
I shot a squirrel once with a sub out of a piphtol at my parents' house. I was in the kitchen at the time, and only partially opened the door to the backyard. It was still loud enough to scare the crap out of everyone in the living room. Neighbours never mentioned it, however.
 
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I have the Aquila Colibri and Super Colibri and these are very quite. I cant recall which one was which, but one of them is so quite, its like shooting a red ryder (at least, when shot from a rifle). but you do have to be careful, I did one one of the bullets lodge in the barrel. I since started using them in either a cricket, or revolvers just in case. they have no powder at all, and are going solely off of the primer.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
For a truly quiet, effective and accurate round, you need a suppressor. The accuracy of most of the "gallery " rounds, like those made by Aquila is very inconsistent. Subsonics without a suppressor are still going to be too loud for most urban environments. High velocity through a suppressor are still too loud due to the super sonic "crack". My Ruger 10/22 and 22/45 Mk III both cycle fine with "full power" subsonic .22LR rounds, but not reduced power .22LR length rounds. Of course short range plinking and pest control does not require the utmost in accuracy and so most of the rounds I found lacking would suffice at urban backyard distances.
 
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Yeah, the MKIII are great for cycling with low energy rounds because the mass of the slide is so small. They are my favorite .22 pistol. In addition to my integrally suppressed MKIII, I also have the MKIII hunter model. They are a pain in the butt to disassemble and clean though (at least until you break them down a few times).
 
For a truly quiet, effective and accurate round, you need a suppressor. The accuracy of most of the "gallery " rounds, like those made by Aquila is very inconsistent. Subsonics without a suppressor are still going to be too loud for most urban environments. High velocity through a suppressor are still too loud due to the super sonic "crack". My Ruger 10/22 and 22/45 Mk III both cycle fine with "full power" subsonic .22LR rounds, but not reduced power .22LR length rounds. Of course short range plinking and pest control does not require the utmost in accuracy and so most of the rounds I found lacking would suffice at urban backyard distances.

I fully agree they do not compare. however, there is a minor price difference between a hundred rounds of specialty .22 and a decent Suppressor. I gifted my father some of the Colibri's to use at his house as he is in an Urban Environment and while its perfectly legal to shoot on your own property here, he doesn't care to bother the neighbors. no need for a suppressor there, he isn't shooting far enough to notice a difference in accuracy. and so far they have killed every squirrel he has hit with them ( they have issues with squirrel getting in the attic. after replacing all the duct work, twice. they now shoot on site and to kill any time a squirrel is on there property. we make stew out of it and find various uses for the hide). he does get in pretty close first..... so there is definitely a good market for such rounds depending on your purpose and environment.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Yeah, the MKIII are great for cycling with low energy rounds because the mass of the slide is so small. They are my favorite .22 pistol. In addition to my integrally suppressed MKIII, I also have the MKIII hunter model. They are a pain in the butt to disassemble and clean though (at least until you break them down a few times).

Upgrade with Tandemkross parts and things become a lot easier!
https://www.tandemkross.com/High-Performance-Kit-for-Ruger-2245_p_185.html
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I fully agree they do not compare. however, there is a minor price difference between a hundred rounds of specialty .22 and a decent Suppressor. I gifted my father some of the Colibri's to use at his house as he is in an Urban Environment and while its perfectly legal to shoot on your own property here, he doesn't care to bother the neighbors. no need for a suppressor there, he isn't shooting far enough to notice a difference in accuracy. and so far they have killed every squirrel he has hit with them ( they have issues with squirrel getting in the attic. after replacing all the duct work, twice. they now shoot on site and to kill any time a squirrel is on there property. we make stew out of it and find various uses for the hide). he does get in pretty close first..... so there is definitely a good market for such rounds depending on your purpose and environment.


Most assuredly. I just want others to know the limitations of such rounds. For my purpose, at the time I tried these, I was wanting top accuracy for target practice out to 25 yds. Accuracy at even 15 yds was inconsistent for my purposes, but would be fine for less precise applications.
 
I have a box of CCI Quiet/Fragmented. They also make a Quiet that is not fragmented. These are 40gr bullets that only fire 710 fps out of a rifle. They really cut the noise down. And yes, they are long rifle.
 
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