Low Power loads in Minis and other small handguns

[MikeSSS]

NAA Short Colibri with nose trimmed to fit...16.9 gr bullet, 273 fps, 2.8 fpe.

NAA LR 1 5/8" bbl, Colibri...20 gr bullet, 328 fps, 4.8 fpe.

NAA LR 1 5/8" bbl, Super Colibri...20 gr bullet, 506 fps, 11.4 fpe.

NAA Earl 3" bbl, Colibri, 20 gr bullet, 331 fps, 4.9 fpe.

Beratta 21-A, Colibri, 20 gr bullet, 323 fps, 4.6 fpe.

Baby Browning, .25 ACP, 24 gr buckshot ball, primer only, 271 fps, 3.9 fpe.

Sundance .25 ACP, 24 gr buckshot ball, primer only, 302 fps, 4.9 fpe.

For comparison, here are some results with normal ammo:

NAA Short, Rem Gold Bullet, 29 gr bullet short, 569 fps, 21 fpe.

NAA LR 1 5/8" bbl, Rem Gold Bullet 29 gr short, 814 fps, 43 fpe.

NAA LR 1 5/8" bbl, Rem Gold Bullet 37 gr LR, 852 fps, 60 fpe.

Can't find LR data from the 3" Earl.  Rats.

Anyway, the light loads make holes in prickly pear cactus leaves and paper targets, they are quiet and accurate enough for grasshopper hunting.  The .25 ACP loads are cheaper than the Colibri ammo, but you do have to load them, which is easy and fun.

Additional comparison, the Colibris in NAA revolvers have about the same power as a .22 pump up air rifle with three pumps, as do the .25 loads.  Colibris have only priming compound, Super Colibris have some powder, they are faster, have higher energy and louder.  Colibri bullets are sort of like a pellet that has a hollow skirt.  12 fpe is considered a good air rifle energy for paper shooting and small birds, it's adequate for 40 yards or so.  20 fpe is considered powerful for a spring powered air rifle, accuracy is good out to about 65 yards.  A Benjamin .22 air rifle with 8 pumps and shooting a Crossman 14.3 gr pellet gives about 14 fpe.  Additional pumps don't add much energy.

Hope this info is interesting and helpful.

Mike

[grayelky]

Helpful (at least for me), not really helpful, but interesting. Definitely interesting reading. Thanks for posting this.

Sounds to me the local grasshopper population better stay in line.....

[Dinadan]

Interesting info, Mike. I generally prefer quieter loads when I am plinking. I have shot SuperColibri out of my Minis. Honestly I cannot say that it is much quieter than CCIs subsonic shorts, but either one is fine for plinking.

[keith44]

Interesting post Mike.  I was just wondering how some CCI "Quiet" 22LR ammo would do from my Magnum frame with a 1 5/8" barrel.  From my rifles this ammo delivers sub-par accuracy at anything beyond 15 yards. From my Ruger single six it does OK out to 20 yards.

Anyone tried CCI quiet ammo in an NAA Mini?

[Dinadan]

Interesting post Mike.  I was just wondering how some CCI "Quiet" 22LR ammo would do from my Magnum frame with a 1 5/8" barrel.  From my rifles this ammo delivers sub-par accuracy at anything beyond 15 yards. From my Ruger single six it does OK out to 20 yards.

Anyone tried CCI quiet ammo in an NAA Mini?

Keith - here is a link to a post I made last year about CCI Quiet LR.

http://naaminis.com/smf/index.php?topic=5278.msg84552#msg84552

Interesting that you find it less accurate from a rifle. I rather like it for plinking from my Minis. It may be less accurate, but to be completely honest here, any inaccuracy due to the ammo is probably not going to be a real factor when I shoot my minis.

[Surculus]

Additional comparison, the Colibris in NAA revolvers have about the same power as a .22 pump up air rifle with three pumps, as do the .25 loads.  Colibris have only priming compound, Super Colibris have some powder, they are faster, have higher energy and louder.  Colibri bullets are sort of like a pellet that has a hollow skirt.

You sure about the Super Colibris? I thought they just had a double-ration of the primer? I'll have to shake some of mine to see [scored a deal on them ages ago before Iraq Pt2 started driving up the prices on ammo & Obama's 1st election really zoomed the prices into the stratosphere...] Downside of the Super Colibris in a revolver: due to the cylinder gap, they're not anywhere near as quiet as an air rifle, at least not to the shooter.