The manual clearly states that you cannot use Stingers in the 15/22 Performance Series rifles.

I have the standard model and one of my best friends just bought the Performance Model today. He got a great deal and happens to have some Stingers stowed away. He was understandably disappointed when I told him that he couldn't use them in his new rifle. I then told him, "No problem. I've got some rounds that will work fine and I'll swap you some." I know. I'm a bad friend. LOL

That prompted a question between us though. If not Stingers, is there anything else that's fairly common that we might have that he should NOT use in that model?

Does anybody know of anything else that shouldn't be used in the Performance Series besides Stingers because of the tolerance of the chamber or the tuned barrel?

Thanks!
-bob

The problem is the case for the Singer is longer than a standard .22 LR case. Due to manufacturing tolerances, this generally is not a problem with non-match barrels. There may be some others with non-standard case lengths, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

About Stingers, except as a hunting round, they are a waste of the additional cost. They offer nothing extra for paper punching, tin can killing or other such activities. And they are, generally, less accurate than conventional "high velocity" ammo.

Bumping to see if anybody else knows of anything.

The stingers have a much longer case. I don't have a picture handy, but it is not a quality control issue. It is a design, the case is .025-.040 inches longer. A picture will show this. BiggB

I bought some Stingers and have had more missfires with them than the thunderbolt. 50 stingers shot with 3ftf. 200 thunderbolt, no ftf. This is with the standard 15-22.

What makes you feel that stingers are less accurate than conventional ammo in a 15-22? I have not found any references that this is true.

I find high velocity ammo like stingers to be less accurate as well and standard velocity, subsonic, best.

Why? Fluid dynamics of supersonic loads. Once supersonic transitions back into subsonic there is a shock wave that can disrupt flight as the bullet crosses. Up close you may not notice as the bullet remains supersonic all the way to the target, but go out a little bit and hit the transition and you'll notice. 50-75 yards depending on conditions, elevation, etc is where you'll cross.

This is opposed to subsonics, which well, stay subsonic.

This doesn't even cover stabilization with reference to bullet length, twist rate, and velocity. But in reality I'm not sure how much that actually factors into rimfires.

A lot because the .22LR bullet is not very aerodynamic and has a bad sectional density. All the great benchrest .22LR scores are shot with some kind of subsonic match ammo like Eley Tenex or Lapua Match. Even relatively common CCI Standard Velocity produces groups at 25, 50, and 100 yards that are 1/2 the size or less of hotter ammo like CCI MiniMag, Velocitors, or Stingers.
.22LR ammo is not like centerfire rifle ammo that is designed to punch thru the sound barrier and then fall back thru it without too much disruption in flight. You can test this at the range just by shooting the different ammo. Just remember not to shoot for group size until you have at least 5 rounds of the new ammo thru the rifle first.

Historical fact over the life of the Stingers. This has been reported for years in the shooting media and on shooting forums. As a general rule, increasing the velocity of .22 LR decreases the accuracy. This is the reason match ammo is almost always under 1,000 fps.

Stingers do not work in my wife's S&W Revolver. I know this is a 15-22 discussion but I think it pertains. Stingers lock the cylinder up on that steel revolver. Not sure if it's the velocity or case length but just like my 15-22, the revolver eats Federal 525 like candy. Just wish I could get ahold of a few bricks of the Federal 525 value pack so I can go shooting. Frustrated!!!