U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Five years ago, in 2015, Dr. William Harper, Ph.D+, writing in the popular forum, rimfirecentral.com, made these observations about the Aguila Interceptor .22 Long Rife cartridge, which was advertised at 1470 feet per second. From rimfirecentral.com:
March 10, 2015
My Fellow Shooters:
In my CZ Ultra Lux Super exclusive in quiet air from a supported position Aguila Interceptor 40 gr. .22LR has grouped 1″ at 100 yards, 2.5″ at 200 meters, 3.3″ at 300 meters, 6.5-7″ at 400 meters, 10″ at 500 meters, 12″ at 600 meters. The muzzle velocity was remarkably consistent 1462-1468 averaging 1465 fps- better than any match load from the 28.5″ barrel. This is a remarkable performance. I would not use this load from a semi-automatic or a weak action like a pivoting block.
I have a CZ Ultra Lux, although not the Super exclusive. The performance sounded very good. A few months ago some Interceptors were on sale for about $3.50 a box, with free shipping. That was an exceptional deal, so I ordered a thousand of them.
In comparison was a couple of hundred CCI Velocitors which were about 10 years old. I was curious about how the Interceptors compared to the Velocitors out of the same guns. The CCI Velocitors are advertised at 1435 feet per second.
A dozen guns of various barrel lengths were assembled. It is very difficult to compare velocities from different barrels. Chambers vary. In .22 rimfires, muzzles are choked or not. The bore can vary by a couple of thousandths of an inch in diameter. The bores may be very smooth or slightly rough.
The firearms varied in age from about 85 years for the Springfield 84-C (previously referred to as the Village Gun) to a few months for the Thompson T/CR 22 and the Taurus TX22. The Woodsman was made in 1951.
Comparing loads out of the same barrels eliminates many of the variables.
.22 rimfire loads can vary considerably by lot.
These loads were chosen because they are some of the most powerful .22 Long Rifle loads available, they have had very good reviews, and to satisfy curiosity.
No accuracy comparisons were made. The measurements were done with a Caldwell G2 Chronograph at eight feet from the muzzle. The temperature varied between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
The average increase, from the dozen firearms, was very close to that advertised, 42 fps higher with the Aguila Interceptors compared to the CCI Velocitors. The advertised difference is 35 fps.
I would hesitate to feed a steady diet of these very energetic cartridges through semi-automatics, but a couple of hundred rounds would probably not accelerate wear much.
.22 rimfires tend to be a bit picky about what ammunition they prefer. The CZ Ultra Lux liked the Interceptors a bit more than the Velocitors. That could easily vary from firearm to firearm.
I found it fascinating the Sig Trailside pistol and the Mossberg 702 rifle both produced very little difference in average velocities of the two cartridges. Competitive shooters of the Sig Trailside have warned of excessive wear with high-velocity loads. It is an exceptionally accurate pistol with standard velocity loads.
Both the CCI Velocitor and Aguila Interceptor are premium rounds that deliver remarkable power for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. A quick search on the Internet shows the Aquila Interceptor available from 12 to 16 cents per cartridge, and the CCI Velocitor from 12 to 20 cents per cartridge.
I do not recommend the use of the .22 Long Rifle cartridge for big game. Every rule has exceptions.
In a subsistance or survival situation, many very large animals have been harvested with the .22 rimfire. The most famous of these was the world record grizzly bear taken by Bella Twin, a few miles south of Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, on 10 May, in 1953. Bella Twin is said to have killed the enormous bear with a .22 Long cartridge from her single shot Cooey Ace 1. She followed up the shot with several more to make sure the bear stayed dead.
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of domestic cattle, which have very hard skulls, have been slaughtered with the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. If you were traveling over or through the wilderness, and chose a .22 rimfire as part of your survival gear, It would make sense to bring along the best and most powerful ammunition you could obtain in normal commerce. The CCI Velocitor or the Aguila Interceptor could be the cartridge which made the most sense to stash with a .22 rifle or pistol in the back of an aircraft, or in a backpack. It would be easy to include a hundred cartridges, with a little weight penalty.
If you desire the most power available in .22 Long Rifle cartridges, you should test both to determine which one works best in your particular firearm.
Prices should drop again when the current demand is satisfied.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
An excellent analysis and comparison of velocities between 2 types of ammo. That being said, I am more concerned with accuracy than I am with velocity. If I hit a squirrel or rabbit in the head consistently with a .22 LR round, it’s not going to know the difference between a bullet traveling at 900 fps and one travelling at 1300 fps; it’s going to be just as dead. Too often I have found that the faster .22 rounds seldom shoot as accurately as the slower rounds, and target/competition shooters all know this. There are exceptions or course and I… Read more »
Speed changes trajectory, which in turn allows you to have a longer reach with the MPBR approach and/or less hold-under/over.
As for accuracy, the the difference in round diameter vs. bore diameter seems to be the key factor with .22lr: https://youtu.be/FuH6HryYD_0
and barrel twist. 1:16 seems to be most accurate for my guns, while 1:7 tends to really scatter the shots at 100 yards.
Stingers anyone?
“Stangers”. 22 Plinkster.
Some firearm manuals do not recommend using them.
Stingers wouldn’t penetrate the skull of a doe crippled by my 1961 dodge.so i put a single 32 s&w long thru her brain.should have did that first but i was a beliver in stingers the ran my mk1 standard 4.5 inch well.i felt bad about making that doe suffer and i found a solid that’d work well in my ruger. Oh the dodge? Had to straighten the license plate. 12 years later a ford ranger was totaled on it while my sister was driving it. I bet the old tank is still out there plodding around. Dont hit it unless… Read more »
Yeah, while the Stingers are faster (1543 fps in my 16″ CMMG AR Upper) the 32g projectile results in 169 ft-lbs of energy, compared to the 189 ft-lbs of the 40g, but slower 1459 fps / 189 ft-lbs Interceptors. The Stingers do shoot flatter though. Accuracy is okay but not the best. Fine for soda cans at 100 yards though. I use all three of those as well as the Aquila 30g SuperMaximum Hyper-Velocity doing 1589 fps and 168 ft-lbs of energy. All four of those are pretty flat trajectory out to 100 meters (for 22LR anyway) and give as… Read more »
I get 1,428 fps with the CCI Velocitor out of my Ruger 10/22 Target Lite with its 16-inch barrel, which exceeds every single number in that test table.
While I understand that you’d “hesitate” to feed these rounds through an auto-loader,.. I’m still a tad surprised these brands weren’t tested in the Ruger 10/22… after all, it’s allegedly the most popular .22 in America… and its action was based on the M1 Carbine.
I’m just sayin’.
The Thompson T/C R22 is close enough I think. It is a virtual 10/22 clone with some standard features that the standard 10/22 doesn’t have.
Yes, yet another COPY of Rugers excellent 10/22. There are like 5 companies dupicating it now, says ALLOT !
The Mini 14 Ruger is based on the M1 Garand action, which is what the M14 and the .30 Carbine were modeled after… It IS the most popular rimfire, but is NOT modeled after the M1 in any way though.
Why do you suggest not using either round in a semi auto 22lr long gun?,
That is because sustained usage could cause damage to the gun due to increased bolt velocity. Just like using +p+ ammo in some/most semi auto pistols can cause the same kind of damage over time.
First time I ever heard that explanation! Any source for that?
Use them in a Ruger 10/22 it will eat them 24/7.
Many years ago I bought like five thousand of the Aguilla Super Interceptors the bomb.Made in Mexico under Remington’s specs.Esp compared to the price v.s. CCI’s.
uh. . . B.S. If you are using an Olympic-grade paper target-queen then stick with accuracy. I think we are talking about rugged-use, semi-auto, and plinking guns with this cartridge review.
All this about a few FPS difference in average muzzle velocity reminds me of the spectators who ignore a one-hole group but cheer for the one flyer that happens to hit the bullseye.
Any velocity test that gives us “average” velocities is grossly incomplete without including the standard deviation — or at least the extreme spread. Dr. Harper was obviously aware of this in his original report as quoted in this article: “velocity was remarkably consistent 1462-1468 averaging 1465 fps.”
As with just about everything else in firearms and shooting – CONSISTENCY is critical to performance.
Hey Dean, Your next 22LR test should include Aguila’s fast ammo…the ‘Supermaximum Hyper Velocity’.
At a smoking hot 1700 fps with a 30 grain bullet, they even have a slight recoil. The Supermaximum is harder to find in stores but it is worth looking around to find, They have the accuracy Aguila is famous for and they hit harder than any other 22LR I’ve ever tried. At 50 yds you’ll never have to shoot a woodchuck twice with Aguila Supermaximum.
In my 16″ CMMG dedicated AR upper, the Aguila SuperMaximum Hyper-Velocity does 1589 fps but the 30g bullet is still 168 ft-lbs, 21 ft-lbs less than the 40g Interceptor at 1459 fps & 189 ft-lbs, and the Velocitor at 1304 fps is 151 ft-lbs. I don’t own a rifle with a long enough barrel to realize Aguila’s stated 1700 fps though. If I did, that gun would likely still retain and edge over the SuperMaximum Aguila with either the Velocitor or Interceptor ammo. Maybe someone with such a long barrel will chime in to let us know what the actual… Read more »
Sorry Cav2108, the Aguila “Supermaximum Hyper-Velocity” clocks in at a blistering 1700 fps and 193 FPE with a 30 grain bullet.
https://www.aguilaammo.com/rimfire/#Specialtab
The Aguila stated velocity on their 22LR ammo is with barrel lengths in common use for 22LR rifles.
I use the interceptor in my naa mini master. Its the fastest in velocity and i have yet to get a dud.
For practice and plinking i run cheap stuff but ill shoot the carry rounds now and then and add fresh replacements.this gun backs up my g19,but the 2.5 inch ranger 2 is calling me loudly,lol
Yep. That’s pretty much what I got with those two rounds. In a 16 inch CMMG 22LR dedicated AR-Upper the Velocitor was 1304 and the Interceptor was 1459 fps. In a 7.5 inch 5.56mm AR Pistol upper with a CMMG 22LR conversion the Velocitor was 1124 and the Interceptor was 1253 fps. In a SIG Mosquito 3.9 inch barrel the Velocitor did 1066 and the Interceptor was 1174 fps. And, finally, an old TEC-22 with a 3.9 inch barrel the Velocitor did 1077 and the Interceptor did 1167 fps. They also both fed flawlessly in all the guns, even the… Read more »
Thank you for the additional data. Having inexpensive chronographs available to everyone has given shooters real numbers to work with.
@DW, My favorite and most accurate .22 rifles were made pre-WWII, a time when these fast .22 LR cartridges had not yet been thought of. Would these fast .22s be safe to shoot from my 341 Remington or my 39 Marlin (not the 39A)?
Probably. It would take a test of several thousand rounds to find out for certain.
My brother and I destroyed a .22 Hornet (Lux) which was built on a .22 rimfire action. The locking lug was the bolt handle. It peened the receiver back enough so the firing pin would not reliably set off cartridges, and it started stretching cases to case separation.
I Chrono’d 25 Winchester M-22 40gr. 1255 FPS and got a range from 1108 to 1198 FPS. Not a one came close to the 1255 FPS stated on the box. From one of my ARs with the CMMG .22LR conversion kit. 16″ barrel 1:7 twist. I could even tell by the gunshot which were fast and slow.
People look down on the LITTLE Rimfire.
Prior to the advent of WunderNines, the .22LR killed more people than any other cartridge in the USA.
Emg room Dr.’s hated to see a .22LR gunshot victim, because they chances of saving them was SLIM.The bullets usually hit bone and were then like a pinball machine ball inside the torso, perforating so many vital organs they woud bleed out before the Surgeons could cut them open.
Watch this and have you mind blown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcnunlqzjE8&t=373s
If the .22lr is better than 9mm, then why isn’t our military or law enforcement carrying .22lr? Just because .22lr supposedly killed more people than any other cartridge, doesn’t make it a good cartridge for self defense! .22lr was commonly used in assassinations and by the mob. .22lr doesn’t even show up in Dr. Roberts Best Choices for Self Defense Ammunition: https://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/. So much for your gun community gossip about .22lr!
he didn’t mean “better”, just that the bullet does a lot of damage. With heavier calibers and faster bullets there isn’t anything for the doctor to do but sign the death certificate.
I am hearing about that “pinball” effect on various gun forums, yet I have not heard it from a single doctor or hunter. It’s called Stupid Internet Gun Stuff! Again, there is a reason why Doctor Gary Roberts does not even consider .22lr to be a viable self defense round. If that “pinball” effect really exists, he would have documented it, just like he documented the failure of M193 and M855.
@CGGator Foxtrot It was a 22LR out of a Rohm RG14 “inexpensive import” aka “Saturday Nite Special” that bounced around inside Pres. Reagan and came close to killing him when the ER MD could not at first locate all the internal organ damage.
@Sisu, as I said, the preferred caliber for assassinations.
I the case of Reagan, the bullet bounced off one of his ribs when entering his body, changed trajectory and entered his lung. That’s where it came to a stop: https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/pdf/10.1148/radiographics.15.2.7761644. No evidence whatsoever of the bullet “bouncing around” like in a pinball machine. Bullets of any caliber can and will ricochet off bones, but not like in a pinball machine. That would be Stupid Internet Gun Stuff.
@ Charlie Foxtrot, thanks for the link; article was a good read.
So who wants to get shot by one? I mean they tickle right?
If you choose to run a 22 and you choose ammo wisely and can park one a couple inches from your carefully selected aim point. Go for it! I ain’t messing with you.
@V12Guy harbet So, who wants to get shot with 9mm? You are presenting a false choice! You can die from a paper cut through an infection too, yet we don’t recommend defending yourself with paper.
@CF, I can not speak for law enforcement, but our military has agreements with NATO.
@Wild Bill .22lr existed long before NATO!
“… the .22LR killed more people than any other cartridge in the USA.” Aside from the obvious question: What source can you reference to back up such a statement ? … the comment is inappropriate. In “self-defense” setting (given you state “in the USA.”) one should be pulling the trigger to bring an immediate or rapid end to a deadly assault or (I believe in most jurisdictions) rape or arson; one does not shoot to kill. Second point re: “… chances … SLIM.” Somewhat more supported by anecdote but you seem to imply that this is a “good thing”. …… Read more »
“CCI Velocitors which were about 10 years old”.
Hmmm, seems like a fair comparison…