I have been shooting CCI Mini-Mags whenever I can get them, but my LGS has CCI Stingers in today. What are they? They must be made for a special purpose. 32 grain hp bullets in silver cases. More expensive than Mini-Mags. So what is their niche?

Fast, touch bit longer case. Good quality, nice hunting round. Many use them in .22cal self defense pocket guns.

The longer case can be an issue in some semi-auto pistols.

The sound alone will tell you it's a Stinger.

Some claim them to be less accurate due to the "hot" round, I haven't found this to be so in my guns at all. I have one SS60 Marlin specifically dedicated to the Stinger shell, it's what I use if I want a .22 for hunting and I obviously shoot nothing but these in this gun.

DR

Stingers are higher velocity, slightly lighter bullet weight than Mini Mag HP, have more energy and flatter trajectory.

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Misty

My wife carries stingers in her LCR.

I keep them in my M&P and had the pleasure of blowing the head off a cotton mouth in my back yard about 2 weeks ago with it.

They work real well...

As has been said, they are faster, with a lighter bullet than a standard .22.
Do not shoot a squirrel in the body with one!
They are, however, excellent medicine for coons, possums, armadillos, and other nighttime yard varmints.
Not recommended for use in the fur trade.

The stinger has a longer case also. When they came out (late 60's to mid 70's I don't remember the details) they were the hottest thing around for a long time and we all wanted them for hunting. Some guns like them and some don't in terms of accuracy.

I still buy them for nostalgia purposes. They are neat to have around but other ammo has exceeded their capabilities I believe.

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SWCA 1646

If I remember right, the 15-22 manual says not to use Stingers in the carbine.

So it seems that the restriction is only for PC 15-22.

I picked up a couple of boxes of stingers about a month ago; first time I have seen them in a long time.

The 5 shot group just above center in the attached photo is CCI Tacticals; a little over 3/4 inch spread. I followed it up with 10 Stingers; 6 1/4 inch spread. These were shot from a Remington 541 THB off the bench using bags. Distance was 100 yds. This was the first time shooting the 541 at 100 yds; I've only had it for a couple of months.



Bill

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GO HOGS

Below is 100 rounds of Winchester 36 grain hollow points shot from my 15-22 using a Tru Glo red dot, this was at 50 yds. You don't want to see the spread at 100 yds.


Bill

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GO HOGS

Sorry but Stingers are noticebly less accurate in any .22 rifle, at least for group size. Lots of flyers due to the fact they spend too much time near the sound barrier. If they were worth a d*** you would find them being used by .22 rimfire benchrest shooters, but you don't. BR shooters only use standard velocity match ammo. The root cause it 2 fold. For one the bullet is very light and the slightest change in the wind can throw them off trajectory. Second because the bullet not being very aerodynamic it is extremely susceptible to buffeting when it drops below the sound barrier, causing flyers. Match ammo stays below the SB and thus does not get pushed around. The ballistics of .22 ammo is not the same as supersonic centerfire rifle bullets that are also heavy and very aerodynamic compared to .22LR.

Comparing match grade ammo to hunting rounds is really silly.

Some of us use Stingers for something other than holes in paper, and around the 50 yard range (perfect range for any .22!) the Stingers are just fine and definitely worth a d*** when critters come to mind. They hit hard and solid making kills very desirable.

Anyone want to trade away their Stingers, lets deal!

DR

I have reliably used the Stingers in Beretta Model 71s and my Ruger Single Six but not in my bull barrel Ruger MkII. There are warning notices on some firearms regarding the use of Stingers and these should not be ignored.

Firing the the Stingers in the Ruger MkII caused 3 shot bursts before it jammed. One case bulged and another split. Dangerous I'd suggest. Take heed of the warnings, this ammo is hot. The Berettas love it btw.

I use them in K frame revolvers but not any semi auto
22s rifle or pistol. Pete

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NRA LIFE 1974

This.

When I was a little kid, that was the round my grandpa bought for my cousin and I to take out the pests. We killed thousands and thousands of gophers with Stingers.

I've used both Stingers and Std. Velocity CCI's effectively on lots of small game over the years. I wouldn't argue either rounds effectiveness.

However, my group size is larger from the Stingers. At 25 yards it is barely noticeable, at 50 it is beginning to grow, and beyond that it grows very quickly as the bullet slows down due to its shortened shape and light weight.

My side of the argument is accuracy of the round. If the pattern I shoot is wider from the Stingers, I see that as a heightened possibility for a miss simply due to attributes of the type of round from my type rifle. Given the choice, I'd choose the more accurate round over the bravado of using the Stinger.

My personal opinion of the Stinger is that if you feel that you NEED the extra oomph of the Stinger to anchor your game, then you have exceeded the effectiveness of the .22LR for hunting purposes and should probably choose a heavier caliber, maybe a .22WMR. For .22LR sized game, the Stinger is overkill.

Tried some stingers on small game when they first came out,but they were too destructive.They would be good for pests though.

A better question may be, where are CSI Stingers ? Probably hit performance like a 17 HMR at inside 50 yards.

Sorry, but....

I can take stingers at 50 yards and punch out one big hole a touch larger than a quarter and stay in that hole as long as I have ammo. What in the woods would I hunt thats smaller than that? The grey one is that very Stinger hungry weapon.



And yes, the brown one is a .22WMR and does my 100 yard work as it should.

DR

When did this become the Ruger forum? I thought we were all about some M&P's...

Yes, but that group would probably be nickle sized or smaller with CCI Standard Velocity. All that may be irrelevant in terms of the 15-22 though, as quarter sized groups with ANY AMMO are the stuff of unfounded forum legend (at 50 yards, that is.)

And BTW, I'm not discounting that you can shoot that well at 50 yards with the rifle pictured. I have a 70 year old Stevens that will put three rounds through nearly the same hole at 25 yards with Mini-Mags.

BTR,

We both know we're splitting hairs so to speak. Just a good discussion. Last trip out with that rifle, we did quite a bit better than I let on with Stingers, and we blew 100 rounds of mini mag as well. Honestly I seen no difference in grouping but the CCI mini mags did shoot a little lower as this rifle is scoped for the Stingers. Picking off an orange sporting clays at 100 lying on a dirt bank was very easy, but as we broke them up the pieces got smaller and tougher

DR

Stingers are a hypervelocity .22LR that uses a longer case and shorter more blunt bullet. There are other hypervelocity brands out there as well.

Years ago Ruger advised against using them for 10/22s (presumably for wear and tear issues). I have a recet Ruger and the non-model-specific manual says only not to use the in 10/22s with match chambers but the older language about not using them in general is not there. I have a match chamber. I don't use them. When I was a kid in the '70s my dad swore by them.

Mike

I think we get over impressed with numbers.

A 22 is a 22. An extra 100 fps does little in practice.

I've never found an application for a 22 that standard velocity ammo won't accomplish as well as, or better than, the high velocity stuff.

Back in the '60's, I shot on my High School rifle team. Our coach had us shoot a round (40 shots at 50': 10 from each of 4 positions: possible 400 score) with standard velocity and then with high velocity ammo. The difference was stunning! Average scores with high velocity ammo were 20 to 40 points lower with the high velocity stuff. We also compared Eley match ammo: match ammo was better than standard velocity ammo by about 2 points. Made a believer out of me !

I wouldn't pay an extra nickel for high velocity ammo in a 22.

Given the choice, I always prefer standard velocity ammo for any application using a 22. I've never shot anything, from paper to coyotes, that I thought a high velocity 22 would have been better than a standard velocity 22.

I use them exclusively unless I can not buy them (a rare occurance)

Just my opinion, of course.

True but Velocitors are much better than Stingers as a matter of fact. Heavier bullet with more energy past 25 yards and more velocity past 100 yards. Plus they group better. They "hit" much harder than Stingers. One reason why CCI list the Stingers in the Varmint category and the Velocitors in the Small Game category.
The only reason I have Stingers in my collection is another competition shooter gave me some. They work a comp better in a pistol than any other round because they produce more gas. Velocitors are a close second in that based on my tests on RFC. However my pistols are setup to shoot Mini-Mags.

Never tried the Velocitor, I'd like to.

Cant find anything .22 around here still. If I ever see a pack I'll grab them.

DR