Winchester Subsonic 42 Max LHP 22LR Ammunition Test and Review

Winchester Subsonic 42 Max is made by Winchester in Australia.  This small game hunting and pest control ammunition features a "heavier than most" 42 grain lead hollow point bullet.  Pushed to subsonic velocities, it is also quieter than high velocity 22LR rounds.  Packed in boxes of 50, I found this ammunition available by the brick at Bass Pro back in February 2017.  This test should be representative of ammunition currently available at your local retailer.  Expect to pay $5 to $7 per box of 50 at current retail price levels. 

Velocity, accuracy, function, and terminal performance testing were all done in a Ruger 10/22 Carbine with 18.5 inch barrel at a distance of 25 yards.  The testing results are documented in the video and data sheet immediately below.  You may need to click on the data sheet image to enlarge it for better visibility.

Direct Link to Video On YouTube

Wrap Up

The greatest concern when using subsonic ammunition in semi-auto rifles is reliable function.  I am happy to report that 42 Max fed, fired, and extracted perfectly in my mostly stock Ruger 10/22.  25 yard velocity averaged 1042 feet per second, which is right in line with the 1065 fps muzzle velocity published for this ammunition.  Downrange energy at 25 yards was right around 100 ft/lbs.  Perfect for small game and nuisance pest control.

Terminal performance was very good.  This load expanded like a high velocity hollow point, but did so at subsonic velocity.  Penetration was also greater than we have seen with other subsonic hollow point ammunition I've previously tested.  I believe this is due to the slightly heavier bullet Winchester uses in this loading.

My only quibble with the overall performance of this load was demonstrated accuracy. We've seen this rifle turn in smaller groups with other brands and bullet weights of subsonic ammunition. Rimfire rifles are notoriously picky about the ammunition that produces their smallest groups.  At 25 yards the ammunition delivers acceptable accuracy for small game hunting and pest control.  I would be reluctant to push distances to 50 yards and beyond with this rifle and ammunition combination.

Eley High Velocity Hollow LHP 22LR Ammunition Test and Review

Back in January 2016, Eley Ammunition announced three new 22LR products.  For the rimfire competitor, Eley Force and Contact.  For the rimfire hunter, High Velocity Hollow small game hunting ammunition.  At the time, I made a mental note to give High Velocity Hollow a try in the gel to see how it performed as compared to Eley Subsonic Hollow.  I was curious to see the performance differences in the areas of accuracy, velocity and terminal expansion performance.

I recently had the chance to test High Velocity Hollow with some samples provided to me by Eley USA.

Velocity, accuracy, function, and terminal performance testing were all done in a Ruger 10/22 Carbine with 18.5 inch barrel at a distance of 25 yards.  The testing results are documented in the video and data sheet immediately below.  You may need to click on the data sheet image to enlarge it for better visibility.

Direct Link to Video on YouTube

Wrap Up:
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, I was really curious to see the performance differences between High Velocity Hollow and Subsonic Hollow.  You can refer back to my previous test of Subsonic Hollow HERE.

High Velocity Hollow runs about 200 fps faster than Subsonic Hollow when tested in the same rifle under similar conditions.  Eley publishes a velocity specification of 1250 feet per second for this load which falls in the ballpark of what US consumers expect from high velocity rimfire ammunition.  My velocity measurements came in quite a bit lower so I asked Eley about it.  I learned they establish their velocity in 23 inch test barrels with chronograph screens positioned at the muzzle.  My data was generated with a much shorter 18.5 inch barrel and chronograph screens positioned at 25 yards. Knowing this, it's understandable to see velocities in the 1100 fps range.

In my rifle, accuracy with this load was minute of quarter.  It didn't appear to be as accurate as Subsonic Hollow, but I've changed my accuracy testing from 5 rounds to 10 so it's not a perfect comparison.  At 25 yards, point of impact shift between the two loads was small so switching between the two shouldn't require re-zeroing of sights and optics at this distance.

I found on target terminal performance was the most notable difference between Subsonic and High Velocity Hollow.  As you can see in the image below, the extra velocity really helps the 40 grain soft lead hollow point expand, and still penetrate to a slightly greater depth than Subsonic Hollow.

Functional performance in my rifle was perfect through the testing.  I didn't experience any failures to feed, fire, or extract.

For small game hunting and varmint control, Eley High Velocity Hollow delivers higher velocity and enhanced terminal performance over Subsonic Hollow.  For those that prefer Eley ammunition, this new load is definitely worth a look, and test, in your own rifle.  Eley High Velocity Hollow is currently available at many retailers that stock Eley brand ammunition.

Eley Subsonic Hollow 22LR Ammunition Test and Review

Eley Subsonic Hollow is a low-noise small game hunting round from the good folks over in the UK.  As with all Eley ammunition, it sells at a small premium here in the US with a box of 50 running about $10 to $12 at current retail prices.  For the premium price, you get Eley's legendary accuracy and quality control.  Subsonic Hollow features a 40 grain hollow point bullet that has been lubricated with a firm hydrocarbon compound for reliable function in all types of rifles.

I tested Subsonic Hollow in two different rifles.  Scoped with 18.5 inch barrel for accuracy testing.  For gel testing, I used the Ruger 10/22 and also a rifle with a shorter barrel and suppressor.  

Overall test results were very good through the Ruger 10/22.  Accuracy was outstanding and the ammunition functioned reliably.  Gel test results yielded nicely mushroomed hollow point bullets that had impacted the gel block at approximately 915 feet per second.

With the shorter barrel and suppressor, velocities dropped below 900 feet per second and our recovered test rounds showed deformation with incomplete expansion.  From this limited testing, it appears that a velocity of 900 feet per second is needed for the bullet to fully expand in the gel media we used for testing.

Direct link to video on YouTube

My Thoughts:
The most unique thing to come out of this test was actually hearing the bullet strike the gel for the very first time.  Usually the sound is masked by the report of the rifle, but with the addition of the suppressor and subsonic velocity I could clearly hear the smack as bullet impacted gel.

My personal preference is to hunt small game with an ultra-light rifle with 16.5 inch barrel and iron sights.  I like the challenge of stalking or still hunting vs. taking longer shots with a scoped rifle.  I'll need to do some follow up testing with the additional barrel length and verify 25 yard velocities are above 900 feet per second with the 16.5 inch barrel.  If they are, I would certainly add Subsonic Hollow to my short list of low-noise hunting loads.

22 LR Ammo Test - CCI Velocitor 40 Grain CP HP

CCI Velocitor is the fastest of the five 22 LR loads classified as Small Game ammunition.  The heavy 40 grain hollow point bullet is driven to 1435 feet per second velocity, which puts it between the high velocity and hyper velocity CCI loads.  The Velocitor features a unique copper plated hollow point bullet that was derived from Gold Dot bullet technology even though it looks nothing like the 40 grain Gold Dot bullet loaded in the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 22 WMR load.  I've never shot this particular load before, so I was very interested to see how it performed.

Following the previously established test
protocol, I used a Ruger 10/22 as the test rifle and all shots were taken at a range of 25 yards.

I had a little problem with the chronograph catching the velocity of all test shots due to the angle of the sun.  I ended up taking ten test shots to capture baseline velocity and all shots settled into a group of just less than .7 inches.  I usually only shoot five shots for the group.  This load appears to be sufficiently accurate for small game hunting.

After swapping the Clear Ballistics gel block for the target, I ran four test shots into the 6"x6"x16" clear gel.  The high-speed camera captured four very impressive temporary expansion cavities.  Even though two of our four test shots exited the gel block and were not recovered, it certainly appears that all four expanded uniformly across a narrow band of velocities between 1297 and 1317 feet per second.

My Thoughts on this Test
High velocity with controlled expansion and deep penetration are all great things to find in a small game hunting load.  The accuracy of this load in my 10/22 was also "good enough" for the intended purpose.  It may not deliver tack driving accuracy, but it will most assuredly ruin a rabbit or squirrel's day.

Final Verdict
Brick-Worthy  This is certainly a small game hunting load to buy by the brick.  It delivers exceptional down range energy and uniform expansion.  A video recap of the test is included below.
 
Direct Link To Video On YouTube

22 LR Ammo Test - Winchester Varmint HE 37 Grain Segmenting Hollow Point

Varmint HE is one of the newer rimfire ammunition developments from Winchester.  Currently available in 22 LR, 22 WMR, and 17 WSM this varmint load features high velocity for enhanced terminal performance.  The 22 Long Rifle load, tested here, features a hollow point bullet that is designed to expand and segment into 4 pieces.  As described by Winchester, the three forward petals shear away from the bullet shank during expansion.  The petals radiate away from the central wound channel while the heavy bullet base continues on a straight path through the target.  Winchester describes this as 3/1 Segmenting Expansion.

For this test I used a Ruger 10/22 Carbine with an 18.5 inch barrel.

The chronograph and gel block were positioned 25 yards down range of the rifle.

Prior to starting the test I measured ambient air temperature and relative humidity.

The test protocol is simple. Run 5 rounds into a target to capture the average velocity. Shooting
from a rest, I also capture an accuracy sample.

During the second phase of the test I replace the target with a 16 x 6 x 6 inch block of Clear Ballistics Gel. Shooting over the chronograph, I spread 4 shots into the gel block.

The test concludes back at the house where the penetration depth for each bullet is measured.

Each bullet is then recovered from the gel and
weighed and measured.

Each recovered bullet is photographed from top and bottom and displayed with the data measurements from each test shot.

For those less detail oriented, you can jump right into the test video posted on the Rimfire Channel YouTube channel.

My Thoughts On This Test:
I thought these test results were outstanding.  With hyper velocity ammunition, accuracy can suffer in some rifles.  We didn't see that was the case with this ammunition.  While we didn't see the 3/1 segmenting expansion in our test results, all four of our test shots expanded to nearly 2 times their original diameter.  Velocity was a bit "spready" with a spread of nearly 100 fps in our 4 test shots, but they all performed well.

Final Verdict:
Brick-Worthy  This one is worthy of buying by the brick when it starts showing up on store shelves again.  My opinion may change if new batches demonstrate segmenting expansion.  I think this load performs perfectly as tested.

Direct Link to Video on YouTube