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.22 CB's how accurate can they shoot?

13K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  JLA 
#1 ·
I have pest problems (beavers being the worst) on my fruit farm, and need an accurate.22 rimfire rifle. But, dont want to disturb nervous neighbours across the creek too much. I'd like to use CB's but have found them very inaccurate.

I've tried using CCI .22 CB longs and shorts in my two rimfire rifles ( old Remington Model12 pump and old Marlin Model 80 bolt action). Neither rifle will group five CB's inside an inch and a half at 25 yards. In comparison my .22 cal. precharged pneumatic air rifles will consistently group under an inch at 60 yards in calm conditons. But I'd like a bit more energy than the air rifles can provide at these longer ranges.

Anybody have much experience shooting CCI .22 CB's? How accurate should they be able to group in an average hunting rimfire rifle - fired from the bench? What kind of groups does your rifle (make/model?) get with CB's?

I'm wondering if perhaps my old rifles might be the problem here. I'm a not-too-bad shooter (ex-British Army, and fair target shooter) and can shoot pretty good with the air rifles as long as the wind is quiet. Maybe I need a better quality modern rimfire rifle to get better accuracy. Any advice here?

Also, anybody know of a semi-autoloader rifle that will function properly with CB loads? I've heard there is nothing, but if there is I'd love to get one. Would be great on running rabbits. . .

Thanks in advance for any replies, advice, etc.


Oldbritguy
 
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#2 ·
I consistently take head shot on squirrels using the CCI CB longs at 15 to 20 yards. I am using a scoped Remington 511x bolt action that is about 50 years old. Rim fires can be pretty finicky about what you feed them so try different loads.

I recently had to shoot an agressive Racoon on my deck. The shot was approx 25 ft and a good head shot. I had to finish the job up close with another head shot. I feel certain that the CB long is really not up to the job on animals larger than squirrels or Opossum.

Bill (AKA Uturnwilly)
 
#5 · (Edited)
I used CB Longs, manually loaded in my Ruger 10/22 for a while and noticed that they grouped erratically at 40 yards. I suspected it was the fault of the semi-auto and started cycling them through a couple of different bolt action .22s... They do perform a bit better in bolt actions but their drop is huge at 40 yards compared to a standard velocity .22 LR round. Even with compensation on my Savage Mark II rifle and a 3-9x40 setup, I see much more variation at 40 yards than I should. With CCI .22 Mini-Mags, I get about a 1" group on an unsteady rest at 40 yards. With CCI .22 CB Longs, I get around a 3" group off the same rest situation at 40 yards. They're definitely more erratic and I've been coping with the same dilemma as you have Oldbritguy.
 
#6 ·
Have you considered using subsonic .22 LR? Several manufacturers make them (Remington and Aguila at least), and I've found them to be very quiet, rather accurate, and quite effective. Once this past summer, I was able to take a raccoon with a single shot without the people inside the house (~20 yards away) even knowing that I had fired.
I've used them successfully on raccoons, muskrats, and perhaps on a opossum as well (can't remember for sure what I was shooting that day... it may have been something high velocity).
 
#8 ·
Yeah, the Remingtons aren't a whole lot quieter. My .22 has a 20" barrel, and it's relatively quiet no matter what ammo I choose.

However, the Aguila are a bit better, and I don't think I'd want to go with anything smaller than .22LR for beaver. If you really have to be quiet, you may have to go with traps.
 
#10 ·
You are doing yourself no favour by fireing at Beaver with cb,s and no favour to the animal for sure. They just don,t have it except at point blank range and only if the shot enters the right area. Deadly shot,s for Beaver are between the eye and the ear. And right behind the ear . Should you fire on one and it humps up and slowly kicks about , DO NOT shoot again as it certainly will sink. Your best bet is using a proper size trap as large as you can legally on a drowner cable with at least twenty to thirty lbs of anchor in a minimum three feet of water .
In a submersion set like this , most beaver will only last from four to five minutes under , whether by the front or back foot , PROVIDING they are submerged at all times. The other alternative is snares if legal in your state, and then finish them off with a cb. Good luck
 
#11 ·
I guess ballistically the CB's may not be the ideal medicine for beavers. But I have nailed several with them, and even a couple with my pneumatic air rifle, by shooting at the eye. However, a swimming beaver's head is a pretty small target for an old creep like me (74). I usually wait until they are within about fifty feet or less. Most of them required a final extra shot.

I checked out the trapping option years ago with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources who advised that, since there was no longer any market for beaver pelts, very few trappers bothered with them. Hence the proliferation of the species and the increasing nuisance to farmers. They advised me (discreetly) to shoot them. And that's what I've been trying to do. But I know there are a number of them still very active higher up in my creek.

Maybe I'll try and locate some local trapper who might trap them for a fee?
 
#12 ·
O.K. thanks to Parlecoup's recommendations, I think I may have solved my beaver problem. Or at least found a way to mitigate it. (Thanks Parlecoup!)

On his advice I contacted my Provincial Fur Trappers Association who referred me to an experienced trapper who actually knows my property, plus we have several friends in common. He's sending me some forms to complete giving him permission to set traps on my property, and hopefully it will be a mutually productive relationship.

But, I would still like to know what some of you hotshot shooter guys can can do with CB's in your rifles. I have lots of other pests, too: racoons, rabbits, groundhogs, squirrels, crows, whatever. . .

The rabbits I like to shoot, especially if they've been eating my vegetables. I grew up in England during the war (WW2) and rabbit meat was our staple diet. Rabbit stew is still pretty good fare for an old Limey.

Thanks for all responses.
 
#13 ·
I use CCI Cb shorts for tree rat control. My average range is 18-22 yards. I use a scoped Winchester model 150 lever action. If I do my part I can get head shots within that range almost routinely. I also sand the tips flat to add some punch to the round. Doesn't detract from accuracy that I've noticed and they still feed in my 150. The flat tip gives a very audible THWAP! when it hits the squirrel and knocks them right off their perch.
The shorts tend to run groups of around 2" or slightly less at 20 yards. I don't think I'd take a shot much beyond that range because of the bullet's drop.
 
#14 ·
For any range beyond about 15 yards or really any CB use you need a 16 to 18' max length barrel. A 21 to 24 inch barrel will slow the bullet and decrease the accuracy greatly. When I use the CB's I break out the old Mossberg 142A with it's 18" barrel and raise hell wth cats & dog out to 50 yards. But at 40 to 50 yard range it does not cause serious injury or kill anything and even with the short barrel someting as small as squrrial is beyond kill range at anything much over 25 yards unless lucky shot.

Most people today have the a/c and TV going an unless outside would never hear even the 22 subsonic from the 21 to 24 inch barrels.

About 10 years ago I used Rem 22 subsonic on a neighborhood terror Chow dog that had bitten or threatened to bite kids and adults and I dropped him in his tracks at about 30 yards and no one heard the shot. My worry was some seeing the dead dog before I could get him in back of my truck and hauled off.

Heck no one heard me use a 357 on a neighbors large American Pit Bull that tried to get me in my own garage one day shortly after moving here 15 years ago. It took 3 rounds of 158 gr SWC-HP to stop him.
 
#16 ·
I am working on the same issues with CB's. Was advised that 22 lr rifles will not stablize the short bullet (where CB longs or shorts .. same bullet). I am looking for a 22 short rifle to set up for CB's and my squirrel problem.

Charlie
Any rifle with a 16" barrel will be an excellent shooter of the CB Long and Shorts. I can vouch for that with my 16" barreled Mossberg and my Anschutz 24" barrel rifle. The difference in accuracy is just amazing out to about 35 yards with the little Mossberg and the Anschutz sucks at about any range.

I would buy one of the kids guns that have the 16" barrel and give the tree rat's lots of lead poisoning.
 
#18 ·
it all seems like a whole lot of trouble just to avoid mounting suppressor..lr HP and subs are cheaper than CB as well...least in this part of the globe
That was pretty much my thought. But then, silencers are pretty heavily regulated here in the states. I don't know the Canadian rules, but maybe there is a legal reason why he doesn't use one.
 
#19 ·
He might try Aguila 22 subsonic SSS which is a 60 gr solid that motors along at 950 fps.

Absolutely devastating on squirrels, pigeons, and assorted pests at 45 to 60 yards-decent accuracy with my 22 rifle-tuned and accessorized 10/22.
With the suppressor there is just about mouse fart level sound although the can's manufacturer warns against using the SSS I have not found any problems so far with stability or internal scraping in the can due to the lenght and stability of the large slug.

Even without the can the noise level is quite low.

Just my random thoughts on the subject.
Trapping the furry devils and making your wife a nice muffler sounds good too!

Gary
 
#20 ·
OK, gotta add my 2-cents worth. I shoot CB's all the time in my 1882 Flobert. Any .22 short is so powerful that it causes the casing to be ejected rearward from the chamber, leaving the hammer on half-cock. Took me hours of shooting to figure out what was going on. Now the gun stays next to the back door leading to the deck and the neighborhood ferral cat risks a non-lethal pop in the butt when he comes into our yard. I shoot down at a steep angle from the deck to the ground so drop is not as severe as in other situations. I find the CB's to be reasonably accurate up to 40-50 feet. I probably could do better if I used a more modern gun, as suggested in this thread, but then I wouldn't have as many opportunities to explain to the neighbors what a Flobert is.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I shoot CCI CB Shorts in a Winchester Model 02A. They don't do as well as the CB Longs. I've been told that the jump the short makes to the rifling is the cause of the lessened accuracy. The little rifle does very, very well with Super Colibri, which are made with a Long cartridge. This is at an indoor range, at seven to ten yards, and the CCI CB Shorts do well on those paper targets, the CB Longs a bit better.

Am also using CCI CB Shorts in a Flobert pistol with a 10" barrel. They do better than LR in that. Am a new shooter, and the Flobert has just arrived, so, am not accurate enough with the pistol, yet, to tell you more about the ammo.

The only other ultra-light .22 ammo I know of are the BB caps and CB caps. Too pricey for regular practice, and not enough for hunting. Here's the most complete list I've seen: http://www.22ammo.com/22short.html

CB Shorts and Super Colibri are very popular here in Georgia for getting rid of squirrels at close range.
 
#22 ·
I shoot CB in a Remington 552 speedmaster w/2.5x32 lens. @ 25 yards I'm dime-quarter size groups and penetrating mild steel, 20-22 guage. It will open the action sometimes, eject sometimes, partially eject and become "stuck/pinched by receiver" and sometimes it won't open enough and I have to manually operate the bolt. The speedmaster is designed for s/l/lr so that might help the little CB. YMMV...
 
#23 · (Edited)
I had to revisit this thread. I've finally found some CB Longs and have found that it makes a difference. A minor difference, but it's a little more accurate nonetheless. I've found they manually cycle and shoot pretty well in my Remington Nylon 66. I love the open sights on that rifle as my middle aged eyes can hit pretty good with those particular iron sights. I need scopes on the other rim fires.
And, I have to echo the length of barrel issue Waldo Pepper mentioned. I tried the CB's in my Marlin 60 (it's an earlier model with the squirrel logo and longer barrel) and the results weren't very good.
And that rifle shoots LOTS of different loads well. Some better than others, but, still it's good enough to hit what your pointing at. The rifle did not like those CB's at all. Oh well...
 
#24 ·
My personal suggestion would be to go have a talk with the nervous neighbors. Make them aware of the problem you are having and your plans of rectifying that problem. Chances are they wont protest, and may even agree with your plans of action, afterall, the beavers are probably causing them just as much frustration. At that point you should be free to kill beavers at will with whatever you think will do the job in a humaine fashion. I would suggest a good accurate rifle in .223 with a good varmint bullet should dispatch all beavers with risk of little collateral damage. Just my $.02
 
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