Various .22 LR Ammunition Velocities




The first time out, I fired the following .22 LR ammunition out of my Mossberg Model 144LSB rifle. It has a 27.25" long barrel and a Simmons 6-18x40 ProHunter scope. I had the scope set at 6x when I clocked the loads through the CHRONY (so I could see my reference points and avoid shooting my chronograph!), and at 18x for maximum precision when shooting groups. The 27.25" barrel length I cited is the total barrel length, including the chamber. I used a CHRONY Beta Model (Master) that was set up about 12 feet away from the muzzle. These tests were run at an outdoor range on a sunny (I had to set up a shade over the chronograph), somewhat gusty, warm (temperature was about 70 degrees) day. I was careful to keep the ammunition out of direct sunlight to avoid heating it. These velocities should be considered relative to each other, as your firearm will certainly produce velocities differing from those produced by my rifle. Accuracy in my rifle is discussed below.

Well, I made it out to the range again, this time with 3 new .22 LR loads, and the 'Davey Crickett' from Keystone Arms that I bought to teach my children, nephews, nieces, and friends children firearm safety, marksmanship skills, and responsibility with a firearm. The 'Crickett' is a neat little rifle. It is about 30" overall in length, weighs 2.5 lbs., has a 2.5 lb. trigger pull, front blade and rear peep sights, and a 16 1/8" barrel - just over legal minimum. It is fun to shoot, and is pretty accurate. After sighting in, we were consistently hitting an 8" circular target at just over 100 yards offhand. These tests were run at an outdoor range on an overcast, fairly calm, warm (temperature was about 80 degrees) day.



Ammo BrandAmmo TypeBullet Weight (grains)Bullet Style
CCIStinger31copper-plated RN HP
RemingtonViper36copper truncated cone
WinchesterSuper-X HV37lubaloy RN HP
RemingtonYellow Jacket33copper truncated cone HP
FederalSpitfire33copper-plated HP
WinchesterSuper Max34RN Lead HP
PMCMatch Rifle40Lead RN
American Eagle22's38copper-plated HP
PMCTarget40Lead RN
WinchesterWildcat40Lead RN
RemingtonCBee30Copper Coated RN
RemingtonThunderbolt40Lead RN
FederalChampion TargetLead RN



I expected that the velocities in the 27.25" barrel would be relatively slow compared to .22 LR rifles of "standard" (16" - 20") barrel length. Maximum velocities for the .22 LR are usually produced by firearms with barrels between 16" and 18". Once the barrel gets much longer than this length, friction takes over and actually slows the bullet down. This occurs due to the very small case / bore volume ratio. Relative to most ceterfire rifle cases (e.g. .223 Remington, .308 Winchester, etc...), the case volume of a .22 LR is dwarfed by its bore volume. Therefore, in longer barrels, the powder is completely burned long before the bullet exits the barrel, and the expanding gases literally 'run out of gas' - no longer providing an efficient 'push' on the bullet. The following table is for the Mossberg with the 27.25" barrel ...

A data given are velocities in feet/second.


AmmunitionCCI StingerRemington ViperWinchester Super-X HV HP Remington Yellow JacketFederal SpitfireWinchester Super MaxPMC Match Rifle American Eagle HPPMC TargetWinchester Wildcat
Vel 114121302120113011412 14001030115810981211
Vel 214531257119712591402 14381085114810851223
Vel 314031282115013341378 14041086115111011224
Vel 414241245117513011269 *14871082114810851231
Vel 513721241118012841358 14071066112111111222
Mean Vel.1412.81265.41180.61295.81363.8 1427.21069.81145.21096.01222.2
Advertised Vel.14101500
S.D.29.5925.9720.3327.4257.02 36.6723.6714.1311.147.19
Extreme Spread81615175143 8756372620

* eliminating this seemingly anomalous data point yeilds:
Mean : 1387.5
S.D. : 24.30
Extreme Spread: 54


Here is the data for the Mossberg on the second outing, with the three additional types of ammunition:

AmmunitionRemington CBeeRemington ThunderboltFederal Champion
Vel 1544.410551091
Vel 2582.110851100
Vel 3603.91166992.9
Vel 4654.810711087
Vel 5603.011501035
Mean Vel.597.61105.41061.2
Advertised Vel.7201255
S.D.40.0349.5045.85
Extreme Spread110.4111.0107.1


Here is the data for the 'Davey Crickett', taken on the second outing, with 9/10 of the original ammo:

AmmunitionCCI StingerRemington ViperWinchester Super-X HV HP Remington Yellow JacketFederal SpitfireWinchester Super MaxPMC Match Rifle American Eagle HPPMC TargetWinchester Wildcat
Vel 114881290116513171339n/a1089120311401220
Vel 214491278119813061415n/a1067123110691217
Vel 314631283121113661376n/a1080118911031230
Vel 414531274119413461410n/a1098121011031218
Vel 514991284120113521422n/a1084125510911224
Mean Vel.1470.41281.81193.81337.41392.4 n/a1083.61217.61101.21221.8
Advertised Vel.14101500
S.D.22.046.1017.2825.0434.70 n/a11.4625.8225.755.31
Extreme Spread5016466083 n/a31667113

... and the three additional types of ammunition:


AmmunitionRemington CBeeRemington ThunderboltFederal Champion Target
Vel 1623.711121105
Vel 2591.310821081
Vel 3598.310661131
Vel 4658.911591084
Vel 5601.710261137
Mean Vel.614.81089.01107.6
Advertised Vel.7201255
S.D.27.4849.9425.90
Extreme Spread67.60133.056.0


I realize that 5 shots is not a very large sample size, but I think it still gives a pretty good indication of velocity and consistency of the ammunition tested - certainly better than nothing. With all the ammunition I'd like to test (for both velocity and accuracy in my rifle), I didn't want to devote too much time to this task.



Various .22 LR Ammunition Accuracy




The accuracy produced by the ammunition above in my Mossberg rifle is listed below. I fired all types of ammunition at 50 yards, and then tried the most promising at 100 yards. Unfortunately, I believe that the wind gusts really took their toll on accuracy. I'll try it again on a calm day. The impact points are above or below the point of aim of my rifle (this is just the way my rifle happens to be sighted in). All group sizes and impact point measurements are in inches.


AmmunitionCCI StingerRemington ViperWinchester Super-X HV HP Remington Yellow JacketFederal SpitfireWinchester Super MaxPMC Match Rifle American Eagle HPPMC TargetWinchester Wildcat
50 yd 1.161.501.061.601.641.320.951.301.201.10
impact @ 50 yd+2.9+3.2+1.5+2.4+3.2+2.9+1.1+1.6+1.0+1.9
100 yd 3.50 1.60 2.61 2.501.753.25
impact @ 100 yd+0.6 -2.1 +2.1 -3.3-4.5-1.5

I was very pleased and surprised at the performance of the 'promotional' American Eagle HPs (Federal) and the Winchester Wildcats. Both gave very good performance, especially when you factor in price. None of the high-speed hollowpoint ammunition in this group would be a bad choice for varmints, depending on the size and range of the varmint. The PMC Match Rifle and PMC Target gave good results accuracy-wise, but lacked hollow points and were on the low side for velocities. For pure velocity, you can't beat the Super MAX, Stinger, Spitfire, Yellow Jacket, or Viper (in that order). All were within about 160 fps of each other. I don't know if some of these loads are still made (I haven't seen Vipers or Spitfires for a while), so some of this testing may be pointless.

I realize that 27+ inch barrels are not commonly found on .22 LR rifles, but I wanted to find out how they fared in my rifle. Now that I've run the velocities in my little 16 1/8" barrelled .22 LR, here are some observations:

Also - here is a list of ammunition that I have in my coffers, but did not test yet. I will test these for velocity and accuracy also in the 'not-so-distant' future:


I hope you found this information useful. Good shooting from the Spirit of '76 Gun Pages !