AMMO for NAA revolvers

WALI · May-18-21 14:05

Thank you for admitting me. I am new to this site, but I am 67 and have owned many thousands of guns of every kind, buy, sell and trade. (I think there is a word for that. (ADDICTED?) LOL. But I have owned 10-14 NAA revolvers over the years. Only one in .22 mag, (didn't like the performance compared to the .22LR and the huge cost differential compared to the end results.) The rest have been .22 LR. This may end up being a long post, but being retired, it gives me time to "experiment" with different ammo in a gun I rarely use. I have read all the forums and listened to the "armchair ballisticians"and decided to do my own tests. This gun has well over 2000 rounds through it with zero problems. But, I have many questions that I cannot find the answers to. NAA tried, but was limited on "available info" for the consumer. It could be from a "liability standpoint, or proprietary information", which I understand. But they were as helpful as possible. But, I did finally find out the twist rate for the NAA .22 LR is 1:12According to "NAA" they strongly suggest NOT using some brands of ammo and bullet weights. Among the 6-7 brands they told me over the phone not to use, ONE is far and away the BEST performer of all. Their reasoning/opinion were not "safety related", but due to the fact that "the brass was too soft", and caused some difficulty in extracting spent casings? Sounds kinda "lame" to me, but they told me to use my own discretion and at my own risk? I will post pics and other info if anyone cares to see what I found out. Once again, thanks for letting me join... WALI............

OLD and GRUMPY · May-19-21 10:05

Welcome. There were some that would stick and one that had splits and to stay away from. Armscor I think? Use the search up top. This has been talked about. Others will know more. 10-14 NAAs? What took so long? Tell us what your tests show.

Boisesteve · May-19-21 13:05

Years ago when ammo was plentiful I chrono'd and posted my test results of different brands and types of .22mag. The one takeaway for me from my tests in MY revolver was that CCI ammo went bang every time without fail. Every other brand had some failure-to-fire, some brands more than one. So I carry CCI.

flash · May-19-21 14:05

Hi, welcome.

NAA recommends we not use PMC or related (subcontracted) Armscor and Fiocchi made in Philippines. https://northamericanarms.com/safety/#product-warnings-and-advisory-notices

Beyond that I have not found .22LR ammo that doesn't seem to work well. Then again for my 1-1/8" barreled 22LR mini with minimal grips and sights, I don't expect much. Generally speaking: aside from a few squib loads everything makes it out the barrel and sometimes even hits the target.

I'd be interested to know what NAA had to say about some of the leading brands, and why.

I am not sure there is any value in hyper velocity ammo especially for the shortest barrel lengths. "Back in the day" I packed CCI Stingers but at today's prices I am not sure I am willing to pay the extra cost to get another 80fps. Also I'd be interested to know if hyper velocity stuff adds wear and tear to a mini compared to standard velocity or "regular" high velocity rounds.

Here are NAA's ballistics tables in case someone's not seen them already:
https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/

Specifically for 22LR:
https://northamericanarms.com/ballistics/ball-22lr/

I have a lot of older ammunition and I tend to use it up in the mini and an old Bearcat since they seem to shoot fine with whatever. For everything else it is CCI Mini Mag for modern firearms and CCI Standard for a few older 22's.

I also have six or eight boxes of CCI Quiet-22 I'd like to try out.

As for soft brass I have noted that some stuff sticks and some doesn't, and that cases stick more after firing a lot. That never bothered me much and I don't see it as a safety issue. These aren't "tactical reload" firearms and it doesn't bother to me to take my time reloading.

northwoodneil · May-19-21 14:05

I shoot a lot of CCI quiet in my old gallery guns, single shots. and antiques. I can't say as I remember ever shooting them in my minis though. I'm pretty sure they'd be loud and the minis are way strong enough to not need the CB type pressures.

OLD and GRUMPY · May-19-21 15:05

Anyone use these in Mini? Aquila SSS Sniper Subsonic 60gr. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2506135961

Msf · May-19-21 17:05

Quote from: OLD and GRUMPY on May-19-21 15:05
Anyone use these in Mini? Aquila SSS Sniper Subsonic 60gr. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2506135961

Have fired a couple of boxes through an old 1-1/8" barrel mini and a couple of hundred through a Black Widow. Just as loud as any LR round. Recoil seems less than most standard velocity LR rounds. Big heavy projectile for a 22lr, but I have found any standard velocity LR round penetrates better, based on shooting at scrap wood. I have several bricks of them, but only shoot them in rifles now.

flash · May-19-21 17:05

Not me but they are supposed to be a really good round for small game.

I do have a brick of Aguila Super Extra Short to try out. I think they are a bit stout for my old .22 short rifles especially the Hamilton no 11. That one gets low powered 22 short CB caps.

Saving the Super Extra Shorts for when I finally get me a NAA mini in 22 Short. 29 grains, 1095fps (probably more like 695 fps out of a mini).

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2506271232

Hamilton with action open for reloading. The metal rod between the bigger metal rods, that is the firing pin.

Uncle_Lee · May-20-21 04:05

Welcome WALI,
You are joining a very good group of people.
Share what you have found out through the years.
And post pictures of it.
The probation period is up after 15 posts.

WALI · May-21-21 08:05

Quote from: OLD and GRUMPY on May-19-21 15:05
Anyone use these in Mini? Aquila SSS Sniper Subsonic 60gr. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2506135961

WALI · May-21-21 10:05

OLD and GRUMPY NAILED it in post # 5 I tried the SSS 60 gr against 5 others (including CCI Stingers 32 gr HP) I was shooting at a measured 12 inches into pine 2x4's The "CCI" came in second place as far as penetration, the SSS went almost 1/4 inch further. At a much lower velocity of course. But one thing I did discover, after weighing the spent slugs the SSS 60 gr weighed 58.1 grains very little weight loss. The CCI 32 grain only weighed 26.8 grains and mushroom/expansion was minimal at best. PICS... If I can get them OFF MY "NEW ifone" (SP. INTENTIONAL) lol...

copfish · May-28-21 16:05

Shot 20 rounds of Federal Punch on paper today from the 5 yard line. Not as snappy as CCI Stingers, but slightly more accurate. Also shot a cylinder at steel. Sounded as loud as the Stingers.

https://www.federalpremium.com/rimfire/personal-defense-punch-rimfire/11-PD22L1.html

OV-1D · May-28-21 17:05

These mini's will shoot dead center its all in hold one holds it , takes some shooting time to get use to them and each one is a little different .

Thats pretty good groupings you got there .

grayelky · May-28-21 19:05

Wali-
First, Welcome!

Of course we want to see your data! As you get time between your naps, please do share it with us.

As to the 60 grain SSS. I had a fella telling me the other day that is all he will use in his mini LR. It gave him the best penetration in ballistic gel, better than the fast and light bullets. For him, penetration is all the matters. Like others have mentioned, he did not feel the magnum provided enough bang to justify the money it cost over the LR.

Msf · May-29-21 22:05

Looks like everyone had different results than I remember (own personal experience) with the Aguila SSS rounds. My conclusions were based on informal observations of the penetration results of the SSS rounds against CCI mini mags as well as some Blazer and Thunderbolts being fired into 3/4" plywood and 2x4 scraps. I did not conduct proper testing (no actual plan, scrap lumber was a poor medium to use if the objective was measuring penetration, did not control for sample size, specific distance to targets, variability of the hardness/composition of different pieces of the scrap wood, and worst of all, no actual data recording).
This thread has given me the itch to run some penetration testing for the different rounds I have on hand. It will be a little later this summer, but when I have my results, I will post them here (with test design, data and pictures). I am sure many of you all are far more versed in this, but it gives me a project to plan. execute, collect data and then score the results. For me, this will be fun (and keeps me out of trouble as well). Based on what has been posted, I expect my previous conclusions from anecdotal data were incorrect, but regardless will post the data and results once completed.
Long winded way of saying thanks for motivating me to do something fun. Now on to making ballistic gel blocks and getting the range time to execute sometime in July.

Uncle_Lee · May-31-21 04:05

That is OK.
We are a motivational forum.
Usually motivated to buy more minis.
That and post pictures.

Boisesteve · May-31-21 07:05

Uncle Lee, all's I've got these days is cat pics. Sorry.
MSF, interested to read the results of your tests. Here's a link to some other test data.
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/the-best-22lr-and-22-magnum-ammo-for-concealed-carry/

Canoeal · May-31-21 20:05

Quote from: grayelky on May-28-21 19:05
Wali-
First, Welcome!

Of course we want to see your data! As you get time between your naps, please do share it with us.

As to the 60 grain SSS. I had a fella telling me the other day that is all he will use in his mini LR. It gave him the best penetration in ballistic gel, better than the fast and light bullets. For him, penetration is all the matters. Like others have mentioned, he did not feel the magnum provided enough bang to justify the money it cost over the LR.

I on the other hand come from the other camp. I haven't even bothered with getting a .22lr cylinder. I also take the path of wanting both expansion AND penetration. I would rather a bullet expand to 11/2 times the diameter even if it only gets 13". And in my BW, Maxi Mags keyhole. I will spend the extra on ammo I trust to carry and practice with the same or similar if I can't find the same. Look at the Lucky Gunner stuff Uncle Lee listed. Stop fooling your selves. Longer barrels work better as does the right ammo.
Now I will get off of my soap box.

Helcat1 · June-10-21 21:06

For anyone interested, Federal has some of their .22lr Punch ammo in stock right now...not cheap, but at least it's available. I decided to order some to try out. Here's a link, in case there's any interest: https://www.federalpremium.com/rimfire/personal-defense-punch-rimfire/11-PD22L1.html

Frank

Texduk3 · June-11-21 14:06

Welcome WALI, great info on the littles

Texduk3 · June-12-21 16:06

Quote from: Helcat1 on June-10-21 21:06
For anyone interested, Federal has some of their .22lr Punch ammo in stock right now...not cheap, but at least it's available. I decided to order some to try out. Here's a link, in case there's any interest: https://www.federalpremium.com/rimfire/personal-defense-punch-rimfire/11-PD22L1.html

Frank

thanks for the link,

Helcat1 · June-12-21 18:06

Quote from: Texduk3 on June-12-21 16:06
Quote from: Helcat1 on June-10-21 21:06
For anyone interested, Federal has some of their .22lr Punch ammo in stock right now...not cheap, but at least it's available. I decided to order some to try out. Here's a link, in case there's any interest: https://www.federalpremium.com/rimfire/personal-defense-punch-rimfire/11-PD22L1.html

Frank
thanks for the link,

You're welcome! Glad I could help out.

Frank