Stinger Magazine Add
CCI Stinger
Manufacturer: CCI
Design: 32 grain hollow point
Bullet Type: Lead core with thin copper plating
Listed Velocity: 1640 fps (499.8 m/s)
Muzzle Energy: 191 fpe
Tested Velocity: 1622 fps average
Velocity Deviation: +/- 34.5 fps
Test Rifle: Anschutz 2013 / 24" Lilja barrel
There have only been a handful of rimfire cartridges that changed the industry with their release, and without a doubt the CCI Stinger is one of them. Not only did it launch an immediate rimfire arms race as to who could build the fastest .22lr round, but it also gave birth to the term “Hyper-Velocity.”
Up until that point there were only a few high-velocity rounds which reached speeds in 1300 fps range, so when the Stinger came flying out the test barrel at over 1600 fps, a new marketing term was needed and “Higher-Velocity” sounded a bit odd.
Even though the ammunition industry unofficially agrees upon a starting point for Hyper-Velocity at 1500 fps when speaking of .22lr ammunition, there are a few SAAMI references of Hyper-Velocity loads with a velocity as low as 1385 fps. Anything above 1400 fps would be sufficiently fast enough for the Hyper-Velocity name in my opinion.
From my first shooting experience with the Stinger, I’ve been both impressed with its terminal performance on targets, and somewhat troubled at times by less than acceptable accuracy in a few different rifles. As many shooters have seen, the Singer is somewhat picky about which rifle it will shoot well in. Before we launch into the technical causes behind this, there’s something uniquely special about the first Hyper-Velocity round and I wanted to share some of the history surrounding its inception.
History Lesson
In 1975 at the CCI facility in Lewiston, Idaho – the heart of rimfire ammunition manufacturing, a discussion took place putting into motion the creation of the fastest .22 caliber rimfire round for the day. I was unable to ascertain specifically who lead the idea, but it’s more than likely that both Darrel Inman and Ken Alexander were originators of the Stinger project. During the initial discussion, which more than likely took place in the office lunchroom, there was no specific muzzle velocity goal identified, but one could imagine that a blistering speed was at the forefront of the conversation.
The first move for this project was to decrease the bullet’s weight, looking to see how much velocity was gained. By dropping from the standard 40 grains to 32 grains, they were able to significantly increase the speed (I was unable to track down what that actual velocity was), but ended up with a somewhat stubby looking .22lr round.
The next obvious step was to use a longer case. Not only would this bring the overall length (OAL) back towards the traditional one-inch length, but also allowed for a smooth pressure curve inside the chamber. Eventually the Stinger case ended up being slightly longer than the standard Long Rifle case (approximately 0.71" versus 0.595").
This gave engineers more room for the newly designed powder for the Stinger, which initially was a flake powder type, but then later changed to a crushed ball type for improved metering. The final powder charge weight was 2.2 grains. This is quite a bit when compared to the average of 1.0 grain powder charge in a Standard Velocity load.
Manufacturer: CCI
Design: 32 grain hollow point
Bullet Type: Lead core with thin copper plating
Listed Velocity: 1640 fps (499.8 m/s)
Muzzle Energy: 191 fpe
Tested Velocity: 1622 fps average
Velocity Deviation: +/- 34.5 fps
Test Rifle: Anschutz 2013 / 24" Lilja barrel
There have only been a handful of rimfire cartridges that changed the industry with their release, and without a doubt the CCI Stinger is one of them. Not only did it launch an immediate rimfire arms race as to who could build the fastest .22lr round, but it also gave birth to the term “Hyper-Velocity.”
Up until that point there were only a few high-velocity rounds which reached speeds in 1300 fps range, so when the Stinger came flying out the test barrel at over 1600 fps, a new marketing term was needed and “Higher-Velocity” sounded a bit odd.
Even though the ammunition industry unofficially agrees upon a starting point for Hyper-Velocity at 1500 fps when speaking of .22lr ammunition, there are a few SAAMI references of Hyper-Velocity loads with a velocity as low as 1385 fps. Anything above 1400 fps would be sufficiently fast enough for the Hyper-Velocity name in my opinion.
From my first shooting experience with the Stinger, I’ve been both impressed with its terminal performance on targets, and somewhat troubled at times by less than acceptable accuracy in a few different rifles. As many shooters have seen, the Singer is somewhat picky about which rifle it will shoot well in. Before we launch into the technical causes behind this, there’s something uniquely special about the first Hyper-Velocity round and I wanted to share some of the history surrounding its inception.
History Lesson
In 1975 at the CCI facility in Lewiston, Idaho – the heart of rimfire ammunition manufacturing, a discussion took place putting into motion the creation of the fastest .22 caliber rimfire round for the day. I was unable to ascertain specifically who lead the idea, but it’s more than likely that both Darrel Inman and Ken Alexander were originators of the Stinger project. During the initial discussion, which more than likely took place in the office lunchroom, there was no specific muzzle velocity goal identified, but one could imagine that a blistering speed was at the forefront of the conversation.
The first move for this project was to decrease the bullet’s weight, looking to see how much velocity was gained. By dropping from the standard 40 grains to 32 grains, they were able to significantly increase the speed (I was unable to track down what that actual velocity was), but ended up with a somewhat stubby looking .22lr round.
The next obvious step was to use a longer case. Not only would this bring the overall length (OAL) back towards the traditional one-inch length, but also allowed for a smooth pressure curve inside the chamber. Eventually the Stinger case ended up being slightly longer than the standard Long Rifle case (approximately 0.71" versus 0.595").
This gave engineers more room for the newly designed powder for the Stinger, which initially was a flake powder type, but then later changed to a crushed ball type for improved metering. The final powder charge weight was 2.2 grains. This is quite a bit when compared to the average of 1.0 grain powder charge in a Standard Velocity load.
CCI Stinger case compared to standard 22lr case
Unlike many lubricated-lead bullets of the time, the 32-grain Stinger bullet was copper plated, accomplished through an electro-chemical process. Even though the technology was in use since the 1930’s, it still was not a simple process for mass production.
The initial test runs were promising, with the first production run averaging 1685 fps (most sources list the original velocity as 1640 fps, but this is not the case. As late as 1979 CCI was still promoting the Stinger at 1685 fps). With CCI’s Marketing department ramped up and samples were sent across the county, quite a few varmint hunters were curious as to just what this new product could do for them.
While the flatter trajectory and explosive performance were commonly cited, the unofficial slogan was; “It kills stuff 30% deader.” One could surmise this comment is based on its 30% greater energy claimed over regular High-Velocity rounds of the day.
Something else worth noting is that while the common squirrel rifle uses a barrel anywhere from 18" to 22" in length, the Stinger is tested at the factory in a 24" industry standard test barrel (a SAAMI spec barrel). The large charge of powder is thought to have the bullet reach its peak velocity around 22".
Other testing performed at CCI’s facility has shown that velocity for the Stinger round remains about the same, within a 25 fps range, in barrel between 16" and 27". Larger deviations in velocity between barrels are most likely due to internal differences in the barrel’s dimensions rather than being caused by the Stinger round itself.
Understandably the velocity deviation found within the ammunition itself is often a wider range than 25 fps, thus there will be multiple variables when trying to conclude an optimal barrel length for the Stinger. CCI included a few other features in the Stinger such as a highly polished nickel-plated case and fancy hollow-point opening. Looking into the Stinger round will show a small hollow-point in the bullet, not appearing to be much more than a pin hole. But as you will see in the following tests, the bullet readily blows apart upon impact.
The initial test runs were promising, with the first production run averaging 1685 fps (most sources list the original velocity as 1640 fps, but this is not the case. As late as 1979 CCI was still promoting the Stinger at 1685 fps). With CCI’s Marketing department ramped up and samples were sent across the county, quite a few varmint hunters were curious as to just what this new product could do for them.
While the flatter trajectory and explosive performance were commonly cited, the unofficial slogan was; “It kills stuff 30% deader.” One could surmise this comment is based on its 30% greater energy claimed over regular High-Velocity rounds of the day.
Something else worth noting is that while the common squirrel rifle uses a barrel anywhere from 18" to 22" in length, the Stinger is tested at the factory in a 24" industry standard test barrel (a SAAMI spec barrel). The large charge of powder is thought to have the bullet reach its peak velocity around 22".
Other testing performed at CCI’s facility has shown that velocity for the Stinger round remains about the same, within a 25 fps range, in barrel between 16" and 27". Larger deviations in velocity between barrels are most likely due to internal differences in the barrel’s dimensions rather than being caused by the Stinger round itself.
Understandably the velocity deviation found within the ammunition itself is often a wider range than 25 fps, thus there will be multiple variables when trying to conclude an optimal barrel length for the Stinger. CCI included a few other features in the Stinger such as a highly polished nickel-plated case and fancy hollow-point opening. Looking into the Stinger round will show a small hollow-point in the bullet, not appearing to be much more than a pin hole. But as you will see in the following tests, the bullet readily blows apart upon impact.
Stinger Penta Point ( L ), modern Stinger HP ( R )
Looking back in history, some shooters may remember when the Stinger featured an unusual hollow-point opening called the
“Penta-Point.” Up until fifteen years ago, the Stinger was offered with this small, five-sided hollow point opening that really was more of a marketing and product recognition tool than any real technical advancement.
It was also not easy to make during the manufacturing process, giving both Engineering and Production staff fits.
Around 1995, CCI performed some testing with the Penta-point and as well as a new standard hollow-point and found that the high velocity of the round maintained the same level of accuracy, and when tested in ballistic media, there was no noticeable change in explosiveness or penetration.
This slight alteration to the hollow-point cavity was tested in detail, making sure that the change didn’t hide some unknown ailment. Since Coca-Cola’s fiasco with New Coke in 1985, many companies took note to carefully test out any changes to an established product before releasing it to market. Rather than announcing these small modifications to the Stinger, CCI just moved forward with the changes and very few hunters ever noticed.
The current loading features a 32-grain copper-plated hollow-point bullet with a listed muzzle velocity of 1640 fps. The same nickel-plated case is used, but the bullet geometry is slightly different with the driving band sitting a bit more forward on the bullet’s ojive. The bullet also has a very thin dry wax coating. Like many other CCI products, the Stinger is very well made and retails for approximately $5.00 for 50 rounds.
“Penta-Point.” Up until fifteen years ago, the Stinger was offered with this small, five-sided hollow point opening that really was more of a marketing and product recognition tool than any real technical advancement.
It was also not easy to make during the manufacturing process, giving both Engineering and Production staff fits.
Around 1995, CCI performed some testing with the Penta-point and as well as a new standard hollow-point and found that the high velocity of the round maintained the same level of accuracy, and when tested in ballistic media, there was no noticeable change in explosiveness or penetration.
This slight alteration to the hollow-point cavity was tested in detail, making sure that the change didn’t hide some unknown ailment. Since Coca-Cola’s fiasco with New Coke in 1985, many companies took note to carefully test out any changes to an established product before releasing it to market. Rather than announcing these small modifications to the Stinger, CCI just moved forward with the changes and very few hunters ever noticed.
The current loading features a 32-grain copper-plated hollow-point bullet with a listed muzzle velocity of 1640 fps. The same nickel-plated case is used, but the bullet geometry is slightly different with the driving band sitting a bit more forward on the bullet’s ojive. The bullet also has a very thin dry wax coating. Like many other CCI products, the Stinger is very well made and retails for approximately $5.00 for 50 rounds.
CCI Stinger ( L ), CCI Green Tag ( R )
As mentioned before, the Stinger is somewhat finicky as to which rifle it performs well in. Some shooters love it and others can’t get it to group better than minute-of-pie plate. Aside from equipment or shooter error, much of the inconsistency in accuracy is due to a simple reason: chamber dimensions.
Even though the Stinger has similar dimensions to most rimfire ammunition, the issue is that the driving band of the bullet sits much further out towards the nose of the bullet when compared to other sporting ammunition.
This means than when you chamber the round in either a target gun (don’t do that), or a slightly tight-chambered sporting rifle, you are jamming the bullet hard into the leade angle / throat of the barrel. This can force the bullet back into the case, shearing off some bullet material onto the sides of the case mouth and changing the crimp pressure on the bullet.
Results of erratic velocity changes and wild shots on the target are commonly due to this.
Among sporting rifles there does exist a general uniformity in chamber dimensions, with most manufacturers opting to use a SAAMI sporting chamber for their rifles. This is a large chamber what will offer plenty of room for just
about any rimfire cartridge, including the Stinger.
Unfortunately the gain in this wide margin for ammunition type is balanced by a slight loss in overall accuracy. This loss is minor for general hunting and sporting rifles, but some premium rifle manufacturers such as Anschutz and Cooper, where a high level of accuracy is expected, their use of a tighter chamber on their sporting rifles prevents the use of Stinger and similar sporting ammunition. When a shooter tries to use Stinger ammunition in these rifles, the round tends to become stuck in the chamber well before the bolt can be fully closed.
Even though the Stinger has similar dimensions to most rimfire ammunition, the issue is that the driving band of the bullet sits much further out towards the nose of the bullet when compared to other sporting ammunition.
This means than when you chamber the round in either a target gun (don’t do that), or a slightly tight-chambered sporting rifle, you are jamming the bullet hard into the leade angle / throat of the barrel. This can force the bullet back into the case, shearing off some bullet material onto the sides of the case mouth and changing the crimp pressure on the bullet.
Results of erratic velocity changes and wild shots on the target are commonly due to this.
Among sporting rifles there does exist a general uniformity in chamber dimensions, with most manufacturers opting to use a SAAMI sporting chamber for their rifles. This is a large chamber what will offer plenty of room for just
about any rimfire cartridge, including the Stinger.
Unfortunately the gain in this wide margin for ammunition type is balanced by a slight loss in overall accuracy. This loss is minor for general hunting and sporting rifles, but some premium rifle manufacturers such as Anschutz and Cooper, where a high level of accuracy is expected, their use of a tighter chamber on their sporting rifles prevents the use of Stinger and similar sporting ammunition. When a shooter tries to use Stinger ammunition in these rifles, the round tends to become stuck in the chamber well before the bolt can be fully closed.
CCI Stinger in various chambers
For some semi-automatics chambered with the “Bentz” chamber, a chamber significantly tighter than the standard SAAMI sporting chamber, the spring force of the recoil system will not have enough energy to mash the bullet into the chamber deep enough for the bolt to fully close, creating a
"Jam-O-Matic" out of a semi-auto.
The photo to the left shows the differences among chamber dimensions when a Stinger round is inserted. At the top of the photo is a barrel chambered with a Pacific Tool & Gauge (PT&G) ECX match reamer.
Almost half of the round still hangs out the end of the chamber, yet the bullet has already become stuck against the chamber walls and throat. The second from the top barrel is chambered with the PT&G Eley #5 match reamer. While the Stinger was able to fit a little deeper inside, it still has quite a ways to go before the bolt could be closed. The third from the top barrel was chambered using the same method for the two Lilja test barrels in this article. The reamer used was a PT&G SAAMI Sporting reamer, but not run to its max depth. I stopped just short to allow bullet to engrave into the leade angle as the bolt closes.
The final barrel at the bottom is from a semi-automatic rifle and chambered with the same PT&G SAAMI Sporting reamer, but run to its full depth. Here you can see the case rim sits on the breech face, allowing the bolt to fully close.
"Jam-O-Matic" out of a semi-auto.
The photo to the left shows the differences among chamber dimensions when a Stinger round is inserted. At the top of the photo is a barrel chambered with a Pacific Tool & Gauge (PT&G) ECX match reamer.
Almost half of the round still hangs out the end of the chamber, yet the bullet has already become stuck against the chamber walls and throat. The second from the top barrel is chambered with the PT&G Eley #5 match reamer. While the Stinger was able to fit a little deeper inside, it still has quite a ways to go before the bolt could be closed. The third from the top barrel was chambered using the same method for the two Lilja test barrels in this article. The reamer used was a PT&G SAAMI Sporting reamer, but not run to its max depth. I stopped just short to allow bullet to engrave into the leade angle as the bolt closes.
The final barrel at the bottom is from a semi-automatic rifle and chambered with the same PT&G SAAMI Sporting reamer, but run to its full depth. Here you can see the case rim sits on the breech face, allowing the bolt to fully close.
CCI Stinger Components
Inspection Notes
The CCI Stinger is comprised of a nickel plated brass case, topped with a 32 grain lubricated lead hollow-point bullet. The bullet is covered with light copper plating, and then further lubricated with a thin, semi-opaque wax lubrication.
This copper plating completely coats all surfaces of the bullet, including the base of the bullet as well as the hollow point opening. The copper plating is performed after the bullet is fully formed.
Encircling the bullet is a single cantilever/ lubrication groove. The primary reason for this groove is to hold lubrication, but it also aids in the manufacturing process of the round. The overall case length averages around 0.700” with a hollow point depth of 0.200”.
The opening on the nose of the bullet is narrower than most, but it is uniform from bullet to bullet. Holding the bullet in place is a smooth and even crimp at the case mouth, with an even radius curving into the bullet’s base.
Inside the case is a light green primer material that is evenly placed around the case rim. A few of the inspected rounds showed some primer streaked up the side of the case wall, but none of the inspected cases were missing any primer material.
In this in this particular lot of ammunition I found the powder charge ranging between 2.4 grains to 3.0 grains of a clean crushed powder. This was surprising and in the future I will inspect a few more lots and see if this variation continues.
The CCI Stinger is comprised of a nickel plated brass case, topped with a 32 grain lubricated lead hollow-point bullet. The bullet is covered with light copper plating, and then further lubricated with a thin, semi-opaque wax lubrication.
This copper plating completely coats all surfaces of the bullet, including the base of the bullet as well as the hollow point opening. The copper plating is performed after the bullet is fully formed.
Encircling the bullet is a single cantilever/ lubrication groove. The primary reason for this groove is to hold lubrication, but it also aids in the manufacturing process of the round. The overall case length averages around 0.700” with a hollow point depth of 0.200”.
The opening on the nose of the bullet is narrower than most, but it is uniform from bullet to bullet. Holding the bullet in place is a smooth and even crimp at the case mouth, with an even radius curving into the bullet’s base.
Inside the case is a light green primer material that is evenly placed around the case rim. A few of the inspected rounds showed some primer streaked up the side of the case wall, but none of the inspected cases were missing any primer material.
In this in this particular lot of ammunition I found the powder charge ranging between 2.4 grains to 3.0 grains of a clean crushed powder. This was surprising and in the future I will inspect a few more lots and see if this variation continues.
Something else I did notice this preponderance of powder sticking to the base the bullet. On every bullet pulled there was a little clump of powder stuck inside. It’s such a small amount that chances are it has no impact on performance.
I did run a few dozen rounds of Stinger on the concentricity machine, and on average they were between 0.003” to 0.006” out of round, making then on the more concentric side for sporting ammunition.
I feel one contributing factor is the short bullet sticking out of the long case; there is simply less to bullet projecting to be angled off to a side. Looking at the remaining rounds, this is obviously a very well made sporting round by CCI.
I did run a few dozen rounds of Stinger on the concentricity machine, and on average they were between 0.003” to 0.006” out of round, making then on the more concentric side for sporting ammunition.
I feel one contributing factor is the short bullet sticking out of the long case; there is simply less to bullet projecting to be angled off to a side. Looking at the remaining rounds, this is obviously a very well made sporting round by CCI.
CCI Stinger at 50 meters
Accuracy Results - 50 Meters
50 Meter Accuracy Average: 1.108”
50 Meter Standard Deviation: 0.246”
Number of Lots Tested: 2
Group Size: 10 shots x 3
After setting up the 2013 test rifle inside the Lapua Testing facility, I ran two different lots of Lapua Midas Plus ammunition to check the rifle and rest setup.
Once the rifle proved to be operating properly, I installed a tuner on the barrel and adjusted the weights until I was able reduce the vertical
dispersion at 50 meters.
Even with a tuner, there was always some degree of vertical to nearly every group. I feel that is just the nature of the Stinger round.
Once the tuner setting was found, the rifle was cleaned and the testing conducted. There is a full description of the testing procedure under the Ammunition Research heading. The 50m test groups consist of three consecutive 10-shot groups, creating a total of 30 rounds for measurement.
For the Stinger, I had two different lots on hand, so this process was repeated twice. Looking over the groups, the Stinger seems to be a 1” at 50 meters kind of ammo. For 5-shots groups, I have seen plenty drop down into the 0.5” range, but when you push the number of rounds, it seems to always end up hovering around the 1.0” range.
For a hyper-velocity round, I feel that is acceptable. Some of the groups were considerably larger, so you really have to look at each group to get a feel of what you can expect from the round.
50 Meter Accuracy Average: 1.108”
50 Meter Standard Deviation: 0.246”
Number of Lots Tested: 2
Group Size: 10 shots x 3
After setting up the 2013 test rifle inside the Lapua Testing facility, I ran two different lots of Lapua Midas Plus ammunition to check the rifle and rest setup.
Once the rifle proved to be operating properly, I installed a tuner on the barrel and adjusted the weights until I was able reduce the vertical
dispersion at 50 meters.
Even with a tuner, there was always some degree of vertical to nearly every group. I feel that is just the nature of the Stinger round.
Once the tuner setting was found, the rifle was cleaned and the testing conducted. There is a full description of the testing procedure under the Ammunition Research heading. The 50m test groups consist of three consecutive 10-shot groups, creating a total of 30 rounds for measurement.
For the Stinger, I had two different lots on hand, so this process was repeated twice. Looking over the groups, the Stinger seems to be a 1” at 50 meters kind of ammo. For 5-shots groups, I have seen plenty drop down into the 0.5” range, but when you push the number of rounds, it seems to always end up hovering around the 1.0” range.
For a hyper-velocity round, I feel that is acceptable. Some of the groups were considerably larger, so you really have to look at each group to get a feel of what you can expect from the round.
CCI Stinger at 100 meters
Accuracy Results - 100 Meters
100 Meter Accuracy Average: 2.669”
100 Meter Standard Deviation: 0.427”
Number of Lots Tested: 2
Group Size: 10 shots x 3
The 100-meter groups for the Stinger were about what I had expected, somewhere in the 2.0” range. I only included a few of the test targets because the larger groups were not printer friendly and caused the graphs to be printed a bit too large. These were the two best targets out of six 10-shot groups that were fired.
I still pulled the measurements from the group for the data above.
In terms of accuracy, this is really where you see the hyper-velocity rounds suffer. As mentioned before, anything past 75 meters, and
the accuracy quickly drops off.
100 Meter Accuracy Average: 2.669”
100 Meter Standard Deviation: 0.427”
Number of Lots Tested: 2
Group Size: 10 shots x 3
The 100-meter groups for the Stinger were about what I had expected, somewhere in the 2.0” range. I only included a few of the test targets because the larger groups were not printer friendly and caused the graphs to be printed a bit too large. These were the two best targets out of six 10-shot groups that were fired.
I still pulled the measurements from the group for the data above.
In terms of accuracy, this is really where you see the hyper-velocity rounds suffer. As mentioned before, anything past 75 meters, and
the accuracy quickly drops off.
CCI Stinger Enterance
Media Testing Results
Distance: 10 Feet
With the wax media cylinder set at a distance of 10 feet from the muzzle, firmly secured in the testing fixture, a single Stinger round was loaded into the Anschutz 2013 test rifle (fitted with a Lilja 24” heavy barrel) and fired.
The resulting impact was quite impressive, rocking the 4” media cylinder within its cradle.
There was no following sound of the bullet impacting the catch
box, and subsequent inspection of the bullet catch box indeed showed that the bullet did not exit the media cylinder.
Distance: 10 Feet
With the wax media cylinder set at a distance of 10 feet from the muzzle, firmly secured in the testing fixture, a single Stinger round was loaded into the Anschutz 2013 test rifle (fitted with a Lilja 24” heavy barrel) and fired.
The resulting impact was quite impressive, rocking the 4” media cylinder within its cradle.
There was no following sound of the bullet impacting the catch
box, and subsequent inspection of the bullet catch box indeed showed that the bullet did not exit the media cylinder.
Looking inside the fixture, the media cylinder swelled dramatically from the impact energy of the bullet and cracked along the entire mid-section. The deepest fissures encircled the media cylinder, indicating the bullet’s final location.
Along with these fissures, smaller cracks radiated out from the impressive surface splash at the point of impact and continued on in an almost web-like pattern across the media cylinder’s surface.
Since the bullet remained inside the media cylinder, all 191 fpe of the bullet’s energy was transferred.
In this photo to the left, you can see the considerable cracks and fissures created by the energy of the Stinger.
Along with these fissures, smaller cracks radiated out from the impressive surface splash at the point of impact and continued on in an almost web-like pattern across the media cylinder’s surface.
Since the bullet remained inside the media cylinder, all 191 fpe of the bullet’s energy was transferred.
In this photo to the left, you can see the considerable cracks and fissures created by the energy of the Stinger.
CCI Stinger bullet fragments
Once the media cylinder was split in half, measurements showed the bullet traveled approximately ¾” before it began to expand.
Unlike the numerous surface cracks, the inside of the wax media was an opaque white and fused without the presence of cracks. The texture was soft to the touch, almost as if it was blasted into a powder and then recompressed.
This indicates that the mass of the media cylinder prevented the material from being completely blown apart.
At the 1” depth, the bullet began to break apart with the hollow-point nose of the bullet peeling back and separating, coming to rest at approximately 1 ¾” deep inside the media cylinder. The remaining part of the bullet’s core penetrated 1” further into the media before coming to a stop.
Unlike the numerous surface cracks, the inside of the wax media was an opaque white and fused without the presence of cracks. The texture was soft to the touch, almost as if it was blasted into a powder and then recompressed.
This indicates that the mass of the media cylinder prevented the material from being completely blown apart.
At the 1” depth, the bullet began to break apart with the hollow-point nose of the bullet peeling back and separating, coming to rest at approximately 1 ¾” deep inside the media cylinder. The remaining part of the bullet’s core penetrated 1” further into the media before coming to a stop.
In this photograph, you can see the peeled away hollow-point nose of the bullet, often referred to as the “skirt,” which is clearly visible, embedded in the wax media.
This lead ring often breaks up into fragments and found not too far away from the remaining core of most high-velocity bullets.
Unlike gelatin, wax media preservers the temporary cavity, showing a considerable difference in diameter from the .22 caliber bullet itself to the temporarily displaced wax media.
This lead ring often breaks up into fragments and found not too far away from the remaining core of most high-velocity bullets.
Unlike gelatin, wax media preservers the temporary cavity, showing a considerable difference in diameter from the .22 caliber bullet itself to the temporarily displaced wax media.
The initial bullet weight of the Stinger was 32 grains, and after removing
bullet core and small pieces of the fragmented hollow point nose, the overall
recovered weight was 29.8 grains.
The recovered bullet core alone weighed 13.5 grains. Since the bullet’s core lost more than half of its original weight, its performance in terms of weight retention is excellent.
With all of this considered, the Stinger performs excellently in media. To verify these results, two additional tests were performed, yielding nearly identical bullet performance in terms of penetration and expansion.
bullet core and small pieces of the fragmented hollow point nose, the overall
recovered weight was 29.8 grains.
The recovered bullet core alone weighed 13.5 grains. Since the bullet’s core lost more than half of its original weight, its performance in terms of weight retention is excellent.
With all of this considered, the Stinger performs excellently in media. To verify these results, two additional tests were performed, yielding nearly identical bullet performance in terms of penetration and expansion.
CCI Stinger with Penta Point
Continuing on, I decided to test some of the old Stinger rounds featuring the Penta-Point hollow point opening.
Interestingly there is very little different in the media performance, other than the odd trait of the Penta-Point bullet forming a more defined “skirt” in the target.
The lead hollow-point nose tended to stay together a bit more in the media. In application for the field, this more than likely means little if any perceivable difference.
Interestingly there is very little different in the media performance, other than the odd trait of the Penta-Point bullet forming a more defined “skirt” in the target.
The lead hollow-point nose tended to stay together a bit more in the media. In application for the field, this more than likely means little if any perceivable difference.
Field Notes
Heading out to the field for some testing, I was very optimistic about the
performance on this spring’s crop of ground squirrels. In the past I had hunted jack rabbits quite a bit using the Stinger and even taken a half dozen or so skunks with the 32 grain bullet, and it worked very well by anchoring both animal types with a single shot center-mass.
I had a feeling the Stinger would be very effective on ground squirrels. The only thing I’ve never really cared much for about the Stinger is its very sharp muzzle report.
I selected three different rifles to work with for this field evaluation, with the bulk of the testing conducted with my main field rifle; an Anschutz 2013. This rifle selection may raise a few eyebrows, but it’s what I use because of the ability to easily change barrels and calibers easily, the superb 5018 match trigger group, and the overall inherent accuracy of the entire package. There’s a reason why many top Olympic shooters use the 2013 for competition; it’s a very good rifle.
Heading out to the field for some testing, I was very optimistic about the
performance on this spring’s crop of ground squirrels. In the past I had hunted jack rabbits quite a bit using the Stinger and even taken a half dozen or so skunks with the 32 grain bullet, and it worked very well by anchoring both animal types with a single shot center-mass.
I had a feeling the Stinger would be very effective on ground squirrels. The only thing I’ve never really cared much for about the Stinger is its very sharp muzzle report.
I selected three different rifles to work with for this field evaluation, with the bulk of the testing conducted with my main field rifle; an Anschutz 2013. This rifle selection may raise a few eyebrows, but it’s what I use because of the ability to easily change barrels and calibers easily, the superb 5018 match trigger group, and the overall inherent accuracy of the entire package. There’s a reason why many top Olympic shooters use the 2013 for competition; it’s a very good rifle.
For the Stinger barrel, I pulled a Lilja 1-16” stainless steel match barrel from the rack, chambered it with a PT&G SAAMI Sporting reamer and cut the barrel to 20” in total length.
During the chambering operation, the reamer was run into the barrel about 95% of the max reamer depth. I used a live Stinger round to gauge when the bullet was engaging the lands just as the bolt closed. Later on I will post an article as to how to perform this operation.
What this does is create the right amount of bullet engagement into the lands and grooves of the throat as the bolt closes, without causing excessive pressure on the camming surface of the bolt. The end result is improved accuracy.
Setting the rifle up with a 75 yard zero, it allowed offered the best trajectory for my shooting distances. The 25 yard hold was dead on, the 50 yard impact was a bit more than a half-inch high, and at 100 yards the bullet was dropping about 2.5” low. Considering the size of a ground squirrel, this was going to work out just fine.
During the chambering operation, the reamer was run into the barrel about 95% of the max reamer depth. I used a live Stinger round to gauge when the bullet was engaging the lands just as the bolt closed. Later on I will post an article as to how to perform this operation.
What this does is create the right amount of bullet engagement into the lands and grooves of the throat as the bolt closes, without causing excessive pressure on the camming surface of the bolt. The end result is improved accuracy.
Setting the rifle up with a 75 yard zero, it allowed offered the best trajectory for my shooting distances. The 25 yard hold was dead on, the 50 yard impact was a bit more than a half-inch high, and at 100 yards the bullet was dropping about 2.5” low. Considering the size of a ground squirrel, this was going to work out just fine.
Anschutz 2013 set up with 22lr Lilja match barrel
Heading out to a heavily infested squirrel field on the first day, I worked solely with the 2013 rifle, using every possible advantage I could for optimal accuracy. As many know, it’s frustrating to be out hunting in the field where you biggest problem isn’t finding game to hunt but general inaccuracy with either the rifle or ammunition.
Throughout the day, I focused on shots around the 50-yard distance, knowing that if I pushed the distance much beyond 75 yards, my hit percentage would more than likely plummet. The squirrels had spent most of the spring time wrecking this section of the field, leaving a moon-like landscape around the entire pivot.
For most of the day, shots out to 60 yards were right on target, making for a very high percentage of kills during the calm morning hours. Even though not every shot was dead center on the squirrel, the Stinger round is so destructive that the varmints either died on the spot or were able to crawl only a few feet from the point of impact before expiring.
Pushing the distance out past 75 yards, the percentage began to drop noticeably, even when the wind was manageable. I double checked the distance a few times with a laser range finder, just to make sure. I wanted to be sure I was selecting target out at the 100 yard distance to get an good feel of the accuracy, and of course, there were a fair number of unaccounted for misses.
On the up-side, even at 100 yards, the Stinger bullet still solidly dropped squirrels when a center-mass shot was made. At shorter ranges hovering around 75 yards, the performance was acceptable with just a small number of misses occurring to general inaccuracy. The hits were impressive and effective in bringing down even the most robust and plump ground squirrels.
After spending the entire day working just a single edge of an irrigation pivot, the total squirrel count was just under 400, which accounted for about 60% of all squirrels targeted.
Throughout the day, I focused on shots around the 50-yard distance, knowing that if I pushed the distance much beyond 75 yards, my hit percentage would more than likely plummet. The squirrels had spent most of the spring time wrecking this section of the field, leaving a moon-like landscape around the entire pivot.
For most of the day, shots out to 60 yards were right on target, making for a very high percentage of kills during the calm morning hours. Even though not every shot was dead center on the squirrel, the Stinger round is so destructive that the varmints either died on the spot or were able to crawl only a few feet from the point of impact before expiring.
Pushing the distance out past 75 yards, the percentage began to drop noticeably, even when the wind was manageable. I double checked the distance a few times with a laser range finder, just to make sure. I wanted to be sure I was selecting target out at the 100 yard distance to get an good feel of the accuracy, and of course, there were a fair number of unaccounted for misses.
On the up-side, even at 100 yards, the Stinger bullet still solidly dropped squirrels when a center-mass shot was made. At shorter ranges hovering around 75 yards, the performance was acceptable with just a small number of misses occurring to general inaccuracy. The hits were impressive and effective in bringing down even the most robust and plump ground squirrels.
After spending the entire day working just a single edge of an irrigation pivot, the total squirrel count was just under 400, which accounted for about 60% of all squirrels targeted.
Tactical Solutions X-Ring
A few days later I headed back out to the same area, but I brought along a different rifle to use. On this day, I used a Tactical Solutions X-Ring semi-automatic rifle. Based loosely on the traditional Ruger 10/22, this custom built rifle has many design improvements over the standard Ruger 10/22, yet allows a number of aftermarket parts which are designed for the Ruger to be used on the X-Ring.
Fitted with one of their light-weight aluminum sleeved chromoly barrels, the X-Ring is surprisingly light weights and accurate for such a package. Set up with a Raptor laminate stock and Leupold scope, it was zeroed for 50 yards and consistently printed ¾” to 1” groups at this distance. Another advantage is the use of 10-round rotary magazines by Ruger, allowing for quick follow-up shots.
With the wind blowing a bit stronger on this day, I made good use of the repeating function of the rifle and was able to again take a reasonable number of squirrels. I did consume a larger volume of ammunition with this rifle, and I also noticed my 100 yard hit percentage was much lower. A combination of higher winds and a lower level of rifle accuracy were contributing factors.
The Stinger cycled reliably in the rifle, and much of this is due to Tactical Solutions use of a SAAMI Sporting chamber. The chamber is plenty deep enough to allow for reliable cycling of the Stinger round. There is some loss of accuracy with this larger chamber, but tight chambers in semi-auto field rifles are a bad combination. Often times they have difficulty loading rounds completely in the chamber, resulting in tedious jams needing to be cleared continually. Further, the “Bentz” chamber can also be a little tight for the Stinger round, varying from rifle to rifle.
This action is fitted with a bolt buffer in the rear, instead of the standard steel pin that Ruger uses, and this help reduce bolt and action wear, and it also reduces the sharp noise of the bolt slamming into the rear in the action. This is very noticeable when shooting the Stinger.
To help control the muzzle report, I installed a Tactical Solutions Mono-core suppressor. This suppressor greatly reduces the muzzle report, but there is still the supersonic crack from the bullet. That said, it’s much more comfortable with the suppressor.
Fitted with one of their light-weight aluminum sleeved chromoly barrels, the X-Ring is surprisingly light weights and accurate for such a package. Set up with a Raptor laminate stock and Leupold scope, it was zeroed for 50 yards and consistently printed ¾” to 1” groups at this distance. Another advantage is the use of 10-round rotary magazines by Ruger, allowing for quick follow-up shots.
With the wind blowing a bit stronger on this day, I made good use of the repeating function of the rifle and was able to again take a reasonable number of squirrels. I did consume a larger volume of ammunition with this rifle, and I also noticed my 100 yard hit percentage was much lower. A combination of higher winds and a lower level of rifle accuracy were contributing factors.
The Stinger cycled reliably in the rifle, and much of this is due to Tactical Solutions use of a SAAMI Sporting chamber. The chamber is plenty deep enough to allow for reliable cycling of the Stinger round. There is some loss of accuracy with this larger chamber, but tight chambers in semi-auto field rifles are a bad combination. Often times they have difficulty loading rounds completely in the chamber, resulting in tedious jams needing to be cleared continually. Further, the “Bentz” chamber can also be a little tight for the Stinger round, varying from rifle to rifle.
This action is fitted with a bolt buffer in the rear, instead of the standard steel pin that Ruger uses, and this help reduce bolt and action wear, and it also reduces the sharp noise of the bolt slamming into the rear in the action. This is very noticeable when shooting the Stinger.
To help control the muzzle report, I installed a Tactical Solutions Mono-core suppressor. This suppressor greatly reduces the muzzle report, but there is still the supersonic crack from the bullet. That said, it’s much more comfortable with the suppressor.
Stingers In A Pistol
I often don’t shoot hyper-velocity ammunition out of .22lr pistols, or at least anything over 1200 fps, but for the sake of this article I wanted to test the Stinger out in a couple of different rimfire pistols just to see how they perform.
Before heading out to the range, I checked to see which pistols would allow a Stinger round to drop easily in the chamber, and
surprisingly most of them did. Even some of the European target pistols, such as my Beretta 89 Gold Standard, have chambers large enough to easily accommodate the Stinger round.
The reason behind these large chambers is to allow for reliable function, especially as the chamber becomes dirty. The only pistol which didn’t accept the Stinger round was a Pardini SP-22.
That being the case, I elected to shoot the Stinger in a Ruger MK-III pistol with a Tactical Solutions upper and Harrell’s stainless steel compensator. The second pistol was a Smith & Wesson K-22 target revolver. I did not want to shoot Stingers out of the 89 Gold Standard in fear that the considerable recoil would cause possible damage to the slide or frame. Also, the recoil springs of target pistols are not robust enough to protect the frame. Considering the 89 Gold is nearly impossible to get parts for, I figured it was a wise choice.
In the Ruger pistol, I was able to hold the 3” group at 25 yards which actually surprised me, but this came with a significant muzzle blast and a sharp rearward snap of the bolt. In my grip, I could feel the increased recoil, but there were no failures to feed or fire during the session.
The Smith and Wesson pistol performed well with the Stinger, and I think that this combination would be ideal for short-range varmint hunting. The pistol functioned perfectly with the ammunition, and I had no difficulty extracting the empty nickel-plated casings. Like the Ruger, the muzzle blast was much louder than with target ammunition, but the large frame of the K-22 was still easy to control.
I often don’t shoot hyper-velocity ammunition out of .22lr pistols, or at least anything over 1200 fps, but for the sake of this article I wanted to test the Stinger out in a couple of different rimfire pistols just to see how they perform.
Before heading out to the range, I checked to see which pistols would allow a Stinger round to drop easily in the chamber, and
surprisingly most of them did. Even some of the European target pistols, such as my Beretta 89 Gold Standard, have chambers large enough to easily accommodate the Stinger round.
The reason behind these large chambers is to allow for reliable function, especially as the chamber becomes dirty. The only pistol which didn’t accept the Stinger round was a Pardini SP-22.
That being the case, I elected to shoot the Stinger in a Ruger MK-III pistol with a Tactical Solutions upper and Harrell’s stainless steel compensator. The second pistol was a Smith & Wesson K-22 target revolver. I did not want to shoot Stingers out of the 89 Gold Standard in fear that the considerable recoil would cause possible damage to the slide or frame. Also, the recoil springs of target pistols are not robust enough to protect the frame. Considering the 89 Gold is nearly impossible to get parts for, I figured it was a wise choice.
In the Ruger pistol, I was able to hold the 3” group at 25 yards which actually surprised me, but this came with a significant muzzle blast and a sharp rearward snap of the bolt. In my grip, I could feel the increased recoil, but there were no failures to feed or fire during the session.
The Smith and Wesson pistol performed well with the Stinger, and I think that this combination would be ideal for short-range varmint hunting. The pistol functioned perfectly with the ammunition, and I had no difficulty extracting the empty nickel-plated casings. Like the Ruger, the muzzle blast was much louder than with target ammunition, but the large frame of the K-22 was still easy to control.
Various Stingers
Conclusion
The CCI Stinger will more than likely remain at the very top of the Hyper-velocity rimfire market for many years to come. It’s impressive that the Stinger still maintains a dominant position in the market since 1975, even though many companies have offered their version of the same thing.
None of the copies seem to take hold like the Stinger has, and while some of this is more than likely related to CCI’s excellent marketing machine, but it’s also because year after year, the Stinger maintains a high level of quality and reasonable performance. One thing that CCI has mastered is maintaining quality and consistency from lot to lot of ammunition over their entire product line.
That said, this is one of the more challenging rimfire hunting rounds to work with because of long-range accuracy issues and the inability to chamber the round in some tight-chambered European sporting rifles. Simply put, its design makes it a picky round in some rifles.
For the North American rifle market, many of the factory offerings allow for the Stinger to be chambered, and surprisingly, there are good number of rifles that shoot the Stinger quite well. I have seen a few Savage heavy barrel rifles at the range shoot this particular round with an unusually high level of accuracy.
For those rifles which do favor the Stinger, the shooter will enjoy a good combination of reliability (I have yet to have a failure-to-fire round of Stinger), reasonable accuracy, and devastating results on targets.
The CCI Stinger will more than likely remain at the very top of the Hyper-velocity rimfire market for many years to come. It’s impressive that the Stinger still maintains a dominant position in the market since 1975, even though many companies have offered their version of the same thing.
None of the copies seem to take hold like the Stinger has, and while some of this is more than likely related to CCI’s excellent marketing machine, but it’s also because year after year, the Stinger maintains a high level of quality and reasonable performance. One thing that CCI has mastered is maintaining quality and consistency from lot to lot of ammunition over their entire product line.
That said, this is one of the more challenging rimfire hunting rounds to work with because of long-range accuracy issues and the inability to chamber the round in some tight-chambered European sporting rifles. Simply put, its design makes it a picky round in some rifles.
For the North American rifle market, many of the factory offerings allow for the Stinger to be chambered, and surprisingly, there are good number of rifles that shoot the Stinger quite well. I have seen a few Savage heavy barrel rifles at the range shoot this particular round with an unusually high level of accuracy.
For those rifles which do favor the Stinger, the shooter will enjoy a good combination of reliability (I have yet to have a failure-to-fire round of Stinger), reasonable accuracy, and devastating results on targets.
