The CCI Quiet-22™ 22 Long Rifle ammunition is advertised as … well, being quieter than other loads. Being curious about the two types, a lead round nose (LRN) version and a “segmented” hollow point style, I picked up a box of each. That was some time ago and I paid a ridiculous price for the two, but because my new Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph makes measuring velocities so easy, I finally got around to conducting limited tests of each type.

My primary question about the ammunition was just how quiet is “Quiet™”?
Because my hearing is so damaged and I’m very sensitive to loud noises, I first fired several rounds of each with foam plugs in my ears and using a Ruger 77/22 with 20 inch barrel. Because they really did seem to be much quieter than other standard velocity 22 LR ammunition I usually fire, out came the plugs and fingers crossed. The result?

Both types really are quiet to the point that I was comfortable shooting them with no earpro. Although it’s hard to make an exact comparison, while shooting with rifles shouldered, the CCI loads sound about as loud as my Beeman spring piston airgun. It did seem to me that the hollow point version was slightly louder, but I couldn’t be sure. At this point I’ll hasten to add that you may perceive things differently, so use caution if you have sensitive hearing and plan to repeat my experiment.

I measured the velocities of both types from the Ruger. Nine rounds of the hollow point averaged 759 feet per second, and 24 shots of the LRN averaged 750 fps. The velocity claimed on both boxes was 710 fps. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, velocities that manufacturers claim should always be taken with a large pinch of salt, but they are usually exaggerated, so perhaps the 710 figure was from a shorter barrel. With each type, though, one shot of the total measured very much lower, in the 600+ fps range. I didn’t include those in the averages. Disregarding those two rounds, both loads had less than 20 fps standard deviation in velocities. That’s hardly anything to brag about, but it’s not horrible considering that neither is touted as being match grade stuff.

The other standard velocity 22 LR ammunition I’ve tested from the Ruger usually ran 1000-1100+ fps, so the Quiet loads are obviously much milder. Whether their low velocities are the only reason why they’re so quiet, I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s a primary contributor.

During my first session I fired a few rounds of each, but from a very unsteady rest, and just to get some idea of the point of impact from the Ruger. Today I fired three 5-round groups of the LRN load from a bench rest with the targets at 25 yards. Below is the group whose size fell in the middle of the three, and I made no effort to adjust the point of impact.





So, are the loads quiet? Yes. How about precision? A 0.6 inch center to center group at 25 yards won’t win any competitions, but it may be okay for the short distances I imagine most people would want to engage realistic targets using the loads. And finally, no, I didn’t shoot the hollow points to test precision, but they seemed to perform about the same as the LRN from the unsteady rest in the first session. Anyone who might be interested should of course test them in their own guns.

Never heard of these. I'm guessing these are maybe like a .22 Short in energy/velocity, just in an easier-to-cycle case?

According to Wikipedia, the standard velocity 22 Short drives a 29 grain bullet at 1045 fps (presumably from a rifle). The Short’s bullet is much lighter, but the velocity is similar to a standard velocity 40 grain 22 Long Rifle. I don’t have any experience with Short loads, but if I had to guess it would be that they are louder than these Quiet loads.

At that velocity the 22 Short would have 70 foot-pounds of muzzle energy whereas at 750 fps a 40 grain bullet would have about 50 ft-lb.

The best I could get CCI "quiet" to shoot in my Springfield 2020 was 2 inches at 50 yards.

FYSA, drop on these is a LOT compared to CCI SV or HV ammo. Like 16 inches at 50yds a lot. So, test and write down your dopes.

They are movie quiet with a suppressor. We shoot lots of them.
If the light is
Right you can see them arc to the targets 63 yards from the porch.

Lots of fun and good practice for hold over.

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
FYSA, drop on these is a LOT compared to CCI SV or HV ammo. Like 16 inches at 50yds a lot. So, test and write down your dopes.

This for sure. I have some of these because I like how insanely quiet they are suppressed, but for anything short of point-blank dispatching of varmints they're not very useful because they require either a dedicated rifle or a drastic zero-adjustment at distance to achieve any kind of practical accuracy. They also aren't carrying much energy.

My go-to subsonic load is Winchester super-suppressed 45gr, as it runs right around 1050fps with a heavier bullet and seems to hit a little harder while still being very quiet when shot suppressed.

Thanks for the review, I was just researching some midlin quiet ammo. I have some now but it’s a little to weak, 20 grain, 325 or so FPS. Then the 500 fps ‘super’ version. The 710’ish fps is what I want to try next.

I was helping a lady yesterday, older, lives alone, very new to shooting. She doesn’t care for blast or recoil, bought a Ruger LCRx 22 revolver, 3” barrel. The intended use is around the home & small farm, varmint dispatch, & yes, a little something if needed for that midnight noise.

We shot quiet ammo then regular power, she could handle both. I think something like this would be a compromise to start off.

I spent a fair amount of time with her, she is also on track for a structured training class.

I purchased 10 boxes of 45 grain semi-auto Quiet 22s them during the great .22 LR ammo shortage because I couldn't find Mini-Mags for my Browning Buckmark. They were quieter than the standard 40 and 36 grain high-velocity stuff and they cycled the Buckmark well. Maybe once out of a box of 50, the block wouldn't cycle. With a red dot off the bench at 25 yards, groups with the Green Tag target ammo were slightly smaller, usually a shade over an inch. The heavier 45 grain bullets, which were coated with blue back then, grouped at 1.5". My daughter liked shooting them, too. They might work well for a new shooter particularly with a revolver.

https://www.cci-ammunition.com...mi-auto/6-975CC.html