New ‘Quiet-22′ Rimfire Ammo from CCI — Just 68 dB of Noise
How would you like to be able to shoot a rimfire rifle or pistol that only makes 25% as much noise as a standard .22 LR gun? And no, we’re not talking about a suppressor-equipped firearm. CCI claims that its new Quiet-22 rimfire ammo “generates one-quarter the perceived noise level of standard velocity .22 LR rounds.” So this stuff is very quiet indeed, and it’s also affordable — a 50-round box sells for under $4.00 at major online vendors.
CCI’S 710 fps Quiet-22 Ammo only produces 68 Decibels (dB) of sound at the shooter’s ear (compared to 132-139 dB for a standard .22LR). How do we put that in perspective? Consider this: 68-70 dB is the noise level inside a typical family sedan cruising at 70 mph. For additional comparisons, a typical alarm clock ringer produces 80 dB of noise, while a hair dryer can deliver 90 dB. The sound levels at rock concerts can top 115 dB, and a chain saw can hit 125 dB.
To achieve its low sound levels, CCI’s Quiet-22 ammo sacrifices both speed and energy. Rated velocity is just 710 fps, and the 40gr LRN bullet only has about 36 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. So this ammo may not be a great choice for varminting, except for very small prey. On the other hand the ammo could be ideal for short-range plinking and fun shooting. For paper punching, CCI notes that Quiet-22 ammo offers better performance than an air rifle with similar noise levels. CCI’s Quiet-22 Ammo may also be perfect for areas where shooting is allowed, but noise pollution is a concern.
Do You Need To Wear Muffs?
CCI says you can shoot this ammo without hearing protection. The 68 dB report of this ammo is well below the 85 dB(A) noise level at which OSHA requires hearing protection in the workplace. However, remember that, when you’re at a range with other shooters, you must shield your ears from the noise produced by other firearms. So even if you use Quiet-22 ammo, you’ll need muffs/plugs if other shooters nearby are using conventional rimfire and centerfire ammo.
Similar Posts:
- Creedmoor Sports Extended Black Friday Sale — Sound Protection
- Don’t Read This Article (If You Want to Become Deaf Someday)
- The Risk of Hearing Loss — How to Protect Your Hearing
- Say What? Why You Need Effective Hearing Protection…
- Saturday Movies: Hearing Protection — What You Need to Know
Share the post "New ‘Quiet-22′ Rimfire Ammo from CCI — Just 68 dB of Noise"
Tags: CCI, Decible, LRN, OSHA, Plinking, Quiet-22, Rimfire, Smallbore
I wonder how these compare to Cee-bee (spelling?) rounds from CCI. They where usually shorts or longs. Low powered. Pretty quiet.
Agreed. This looks more or less like rebranded CB long ammo. What I’d like to see from CCI in addition to the published data -aside from trajectory data based on a sensible 25-yard zero- is confirmation of shot-to-shot consistency, as this is what lets their CB Long ammo down. It’s disappointing too that this round has been loaded with a round-nosed bullet (as per CB Long ammo) instead of a hollow-point, or even a segmented bullet, since this also limits its performance on small vermin. I know CCI aren’t recommending this as a hunting round, but to return to my first point: consistency matters on inanimate targets too.
I should have checked the CB Long data first. This is clearly a different loading. To start with the CB Longs use a 29-grain bullet and have an MV of 710 FPS, dropping to 656 @ 50 yds, 631 @ 75 yds and 607 @ 100 yds for 32, 28, 26 and 24 FPE respectively. Interestingly, whilst the CB Long specifications carry a note to the effect that they “will not cycle semi-auto firearms.”, the new “Quiet” rounds do not.
Seems like the same CB long (zimmer patrones) I have been shooting since I was a teen in the the 70’s.
I thought that all the subsonic
.22s were supposed to be quiet even if did not have a suppresor.
I think it’s great that CCI is producing a quiet ammo. I very much want to try it shooting at 25 and 50 yds in some of my rifles that shoot a veriety of ammo well for accuracy.
I don’t expect match ammo type groups, but if it would hold around 1/2″ at 50 yds with a good shooting rifle, it would make less noise for my neighbors and would make an excellent practice ammo.
Any accuracy reports yet ? I think accuracy will be a major interest to those who shoot it, if it’s not fairly accurate, I don’t care how quite it is, I won’t buy it. I don’t expect single holes, but It will be of no use if it shoots larger groups.
John – “I don’t expect match ammo type groups, but if it would hold around 1/2″ at 50 yds with a good shooting rifle.”
Don’t hold your breath. BTW what is your definition of “match ammo type groups”? .5″ at 50 yrds with any .22 is worthy of “match” nomenclature. Unless your spending buku dollars on custom .22 rifle builds and specifically weighing every one of your rounds, you don’t have a chance at getting groups below .5 @50 with consistency.
This round will be a 25 yrd round. Most .22’s are built with a barrel twist that stabilizes hyper-velocity .22 ammo. This round is literally half the speed of most .22 ammo.
Accuracy should be better than CB Long (Which is awesome ammo for killing cats, armadillos, other pest under 15 yrds)due to the heavier weight round, but the velocity is still the same as the CB. This should provide a harder hitting “CB Long” experience. I look forward to getting this in and seeing how quiet this round is.
If it is being shot out of a full 22″ rifle barrel, I can imagine it will be rather quiet and should group probably 1″ @ 25 yrds. We will see.
For those of you who expect your 1/16 twist barrel to properly stabilize a CB Long or even this Quiet .22, you have the wrong expectations. To properly stabilize a 710 FPS round you will need a 1/9 or 1/10 twist.
This quiet ammo is meant for specialized pest control and for shooting in your basement. I hope it groups better than I expect but I am a realist at the same time.
Just picked up a box of these 22 Quiet rounds ,Its a fun quiet accurate out to 25 yards ,You can get one 1/2″ ragged hole with these only one miss fire in box ,Shot from a Savage bolt action,my other Savage semi auto will not cycle the empty shell will some times eject but cycling the bolt will load another round annoying but doable all in all a fun round for plinking and target shooting the only problem so far is they are becoming extremely popular and keeping them on the shelfs is tough.
I have tested these new quiet shells and cci cb longs. Bothe shoot pretty well but the new quiet shells are better in accuracy and knock down power. I’ve tested the shells also with a silencer. The cci cb longs db level was 57. The cci quiet lr was 52 (right next to the rifle). So there is quite a sound reduction with the new quiet LR shells. Not to mention the new quiet shells are more consistent in accuracy. Excellent for back yard shooting.
> family sedan, alarm clock, hair dryer,
> rock concert
I dry-fire my Ruger SR22 and get about 68db. So this round is about the same as NOT firing? How can that be????
Don’t shoot these in your basement unless you have a very good ventilation system. They put just as much lead into the air as the biggest centerfire cartridges. The airborne lead produced by firearms comes principally from the lead styphanate priming compound.
I bought a couple of boxes the other day, one for my brother and one for myself. My box joined me at the range the following morning along with my Browning Buckmark pistol. Quiet – yes, though not as much as expected. Thing is, however, the round does not have the “ompf” to allow for ejection of spent case in the semi-auto.
I use these in a suppressed bolt action 22 rifle – single shot target rifle – what is Db level – it must be lower than 68!!
CCI makes the Quiet-22 in a segmented hollow point, but I am holding those in reserve for the skunk apocalypse.
Rifle: bolt action.
So far I’ve taken four skunks with the forty grain solid variety. Three were head shots at twenty to twenty-five yards and were dead right there. The fourth I let get some distance away due to the excessive stink from the first three and shot him going away at about forty yards. He tumbled, got up, and kept running, but no stink.
My buddy was around the corner of a building about ten feet away and he did not hear the shot.
I gave a box to my neighbor and he is twenty-seven for twenty-seven on ground squirrels. I have never heard him shoot.
He reports they will penetrate three pieces of half-inch ACX plywood at twenty yards.
Incidentally, I find this round to be pretty loud out of pistols. I would not waste the ammo in a pistol if you are looking for quiet.
I tried the CCI Quiet Semi-Auto ammo, similar to this one, but the store was out of stock for this box. It was about the same loudness as CCI 22 short ammo, but quieter than 22 Blazer ammo.