Rimfire .22 LR Penetration Tests Yield Surprising Results

The .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) round is widely regarded as a relatively weak cartridge with very little penetrating power. Compared to most centerfire ammo that’s certainly true. But the venerable .22 LR actually packs more punch than you might expect. A recent test by rimfire specialist 22Plinkster demonstrated that the little .22 LR has enough power to drive a bullet through multiple walls.

In this video, 22Plinkster tests two types of .22 Long Rifle ammo, seeing how far a .22 LR bullet will pass through sheets of 1/2″-thick drywall. He shoots CCI Velocitor and CCI Stinger ammo types from both a pistol and a rifle. The results may surprise you. Shot from a pistol, the CCI Stinger ammo penetrated Nine (9) drywall sheets. Out of the rifle, the CCI Velocitor Ammo passed through Eleven (11) sheets, while the CCI Stinger stuck in the eleventh board, after passing through Ten (10) sheets.

The rimfire ammo’s penetrating power surprised .22 Plinkster: “I was really surprised that [the ammo] went through as many [dry wall boards] as it did. I was thinking four, maybe five tops …” He points out that the rifle penetration of 11 sheets was “equivalent to five walls, maybe six walls. If you were shooting in your house, and you had 1/2″ drywall, it would go through five walls. Now, that’s pretty scary that a .22 Long Rifle could do that.”