Testing various .22 ammo in Rugers.

[Rapier]

The following article I wrote for the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association's IHMSA News after attending the 2001 Shot Show as the director of Industry Relations. In its original form the article appeared in 2001 with the revised article appearing in 2004. I thought you rimfire shooters might find the article interesting and informative. What is not reported here is that a request was made of all clubs in the IHMSA to report any use of the SSS ammo and the results. No match accuracy was reported from anywhere in the world. What is missing here are the photos of the round and its components, with the box.


Aguila’s 60 Grain 22 LR Ammo


Aguila, the ammunition manufacturer from South of the border, has introduced a new type ammunition for the 22 Long Rifle. The new ammo has potential for the silhouette sports or small game. The full and correct name of the new ammo is Sniper Sub Sonic (SSS).
What makes the new ammo noteworthy, in the world of 22 LR cartridges, is the bullet weight. The new cartridge is loaded with a 60-grain bullet!
Think about the bullet weight for one moment. Will the Field/Hunter Pistol 75 yard turkey and 100 yard ram fall to the SSS, if hit properly? You might be able to use a rim fire in a center fire game.
The SSS round is a joint effort of manufacturing. As I understand the process, Eley makes the case and primer. The powder and bullet are from Aguilla. The round looks very similar to a 22 short case with a very long lead bullet sitting up top. The overall length of the SSS has been kept within the tolerances of the overall length of the standard 22 Long Rifle cartridge. The SSS will fit in and feed from a standard 22 LR clip.
Some particulars about the bullet; it weighs 60 grains and is .244 diameter. It is a standard round nose design with elongated sides. The lubricant appears to be wax based and is fairly thin. The bullet pull weight is at least twice that of a standard 22 LR cartridge. The SSS bullet length is .700 as compared to .480 for a standard 22 LR bullet.
The SSS case, in appearance, looks to be pretty much a standard rim fire brass case. The SSS case is the same length as the case used for the standard 22 Short and 22CB Cap cartridges.
The powder in the SSS is gray in color and is a flat ball powder. The powder charge weight is 1.5 grains. When the cartridge is fired, the powder residue left in the case appears to be a liquid.
At 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 50-ft elevation, the average velocity for the round fired from a 10-inch Anschutz barrel is 920 feet per second. The terminal momentum at 100 yards is .23 By comparison, the standard velocity 22 LR cartridge with a 40 grain bullet has an average velocity of 1025 feet per second and .15 terminal momentum. The momentum increase of the SSS over a standard velocity 22 LR is 53%.
How does the new cartridge perform on the Field/Hunter Pistol ram? We ran an informal test at a silhouette match. We used three guns in the test, an XL eight inch, a TC ten inch and an Anschutz 10 inch. After 30 rounds, 10 each gun, only one ram stood to the Aguila bullet. The stubborn ram had a partial bullet impact (about 1/2 bullet) on the “belly extension.” Various hits were recorded, top of back, top of leg, center, etc. The rams were all set on the back of a railroad tie. That is wood, not steel!
The only problem that we could determine was accuracy. We were able to achieve 1.5 to 2 inch groups at 50 yards. One person that I talked to had keyholes at 75 yards during a prior test. The 100-yard groups were almost the size of the ram. The culprit was the twist rate of the standard 22 guns available on the “production” market. The standard twist rate for most 22 LR guns is one turn for every 16 inches of bullet travel.
After pulling a 60-grain bullet and measuring the bullet’s length I ran the information in Carlton Shy’s “Compubal” computer program. The program confirmed what I thought; the standard twist rate of 1-16 is to slow for the 60 grain .224 bullet. According to the computer program, the optimum twist rate for the 60 grain bullet is 1 turn for every 10.5 inches of travel.
There is no reason that the new cartridge will not perform given the proper barrel length and twist rate. However, for silhouette purposes, Field/Hunter Pistol competition requires “production” guns, even in the “Any Sight” category. The Small-Bore competition does not really require a bullet heavier than 40 grains. However, the SSS cartridge would be fun to try out in a fast twist custom gun.
The new round appears to be intended for close up use where additional penetration is desired. It would make an excellent business cartridge for up close social work. I would think that a person using a 22 LR pistol for a defensive gun, ladies, etc., would be well advised to consider the use of the SSS cartridge.
Food for thought; the optimum twist rate for the 40 grain 22 Long Rifle bullet in the Compubal program is 1 in 15 inches. It is possible that a person could get acceptable match accuracy for 40 grain and 60 grain 22 bullets from a 1 in 12 twist. I do not think anyone would want to build a gun just to shoot the SSS bullet. However, a gun that would shoot both weights, hmm, now that sounds like another winter project.

As an up date of this article: The 1-12 twist gun was built by yours truly, using a cheap single shot pistol. The barrel was drilled, re-lined and chambered. The 1-12 twist rate was not fast enough. A friend, in the mean time, built a 1-10 twist barrel for a 10-22. The 1-10 twist gun shoots the SSS like magic, 1/2 inch groups. Just goes to show you, if the computer says 1-10, build it that way.

While at the Shot Show in February I did get to see and fondle the new .17 Aguila. Unlike the Hornady .17, which is based on the 22 mag, the .17 Aguila is based on the 22 Long Rifle cartridge and uses a 33% heavier bullet at around 1700 fps. A neat little package with very respectable stats. The cartridge would work in any rebarreled 22 LR gun. Now a 10-22 in the .17 Aguila, scope, squirrels, hum…..well it is winter.