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Recently picked up 6 boxes of Stingers. I thought they were pricy at $6.79 a box but with things the way they are, I grabbed them.

When they first hit the market I tried some and don't recall they were anything special. Now that I think about it, that must have been 40 or 50 years ago,

Anybody with more recent experience or have an opinion you'd be willing to share?
 
I have a few boxes of them...
I find that I have less need of a "hold over" if I am shooting at something at say 75 or 100 yards away....
Some folks I know use 'em for coyotes...( I don't )

For my hunting with a .22 rifle....a 36 grain hollow point does the trick....( grouse and rabbit )

Stingers do kinda "bridge the gap" so to speak between .22LR and .22 Magnum...
For some " thicker skin" small game , they may work well.
So while I do have some Stingers....I don't go out of my way to buy 'em either.

What I do like about them..is that I don't seem to recall any failure to fire with any of them.
Andy
 
They are a bit hotter than hv .22lr, at 1640 fps. The cartridge is slightly longer, works in most things, but I have experienced some difficulty extracting live rounds on a GSG match gun. ( They come out, but the bullet is damaged in the process.) If you have something like a red dot mounted on the slide, they are nice for the extra energy to cycle the pistol, and they do shoot very flat, very accurate in all my guns. One negative, is that they tend to beat the gun up a little more, some manufacturers specifically say not to use them.
 
In my little Browning lever gun, they're far less accurate than cheapo Blazers from the same era. Lots faster, but I'd rather have the accuracy. But, as we all know, every gun has it's own preferences.
 
The "norm" for these is they will not be as accurate in your guns. ALL .22's of course tend to have different taste. What one likes is not what another does. When I was hunting small game these were very good for killing as long as you did not want to harvest what you shot. On much small game they made devastating wounds so kill was fast but, if it was meat you wanted? You had to be real careful with placement.
As for defense on 2 legged it's been shown they look real cool on things like gelatin. I have never been real convinced. When I depend on ammo this small I go for the most penetration I can get. That though is a too each his own thing.
 
From the wiki: " The CCI Stinger was the first hyper-velocity .22 LR cartridge, and provided a significant increase in velocity and energy over standard rimfire rounds. The Stinger case is longer than that of the long rifle; about .702 in (17.8 mm) versus .613 in (15.6 mm) for the long rifle, but the plated hollow point bullet is lighter and shorter at 32 gr (2.1 g), giving the same overall length as the long rifle cartridge. This longer case can cause ejection problems in some guns. A powder with a slower burning rate is used to make the most use of the length of a rifle barrel. Most .22 long rifle powders increase velocity up to about 19 in (480 mm) of barrel. The powder used in the Stinger increases velocity up to the longest .22 barrel length tested by the NRA, 26 in (660 mm).[22]"


Stinger shown in photo on right.
1596419388771.png
 
In my little Browning lever gun, they're far less accurate than cheapo Blazers from the same era. Lots faster, but I'd rather have the accuracy. But, as we all know, every gun has it's own preferences.

Saw a write up somewhere and the Blazers were very accurate. I knew somebody who had a bunch and our testing gave the same results. No fancy marketing, just good solid performance.
 
If I recall not all 22lr guns are chambered for the stingers.
Any gun that is chambered for .22 LR is chambered for them. They always warned when they first came out to only use them in "modern firearms" able to use them. This was anti lawyer speak for don't put them in some POS .22 that was not safe anyway then blame them if something broke.
 
I think they are one of the best .22lr ammo. However, the price difference between them and the American Eagle 38 gr CPHP is far greater than the accuracy, reliability, and effectiveness is. To my recollection i have never had one of those American Eagle 38 grains jam or not fire in the thousands that i have shot, pretty dang accurate too. So in my opinion the American Eagles are the way to go for hunting small game (rabbits, squirrels, grey diggers) within 100 yds due to how inexpensive they are compared to the stingers.
 
Experience with the .22 stingers has been good.. been using them off and on since they first hit the market in my hometown, @45 years ago. Hot little devils and explosive in game.. Have used them in bolt rifles, semi-auto rifle and pistol (Rugers), and in a variety of revolvers. They function satisfactorily in all the firearms I've tried them in and are as accurate as I am at .22 range... Havent noticed any wear on the firearms as a result.
Have always kept a few boxes around tho they arent my #1 go-to ammo, that would be Winchester .22LR Wildcats... of which I keep a goodly supply around. My only issue with the Stingers is the lightness of the high speed 32gr bullet... and it's tendency to blow apart in game... Something heavier might do better at longer ranges, while knowing that the .22LR isnt a "long range" cartridge in any guise.
I would like to see a 40gr kicked out at the velocity of the Stinger.. THAT would be something!
 
I have always had good luck with the CCI Stingers. They have functioned reliably and appear to hit the target at at least my level of accuracy. When I had to load a .22 for self defense usage, the stingers were my first choice. The H&R 999 loved them.
 
Been using them since I was little, seemed to work pretty good in most .22's we had around, until I tried them in my Winny 52, they were all over the target and couldn't get them to group! Must have been the specific twist of that Winny. Tried them in my Anchutz and pretty much the same! Match rifles want match ammo! BUT, running them through my Remmy 541T, they print nice and tight little groups all day long, go figure! They work well in all my pistols, even in the High Standard and Hammeralli which really want match ammo! The hot Blazers, Velosaraptors, and Mini Mags also do pretty good, but I still think the Stingers are/were the better deal! I mostly run Federal Gold Metal Match these days, and they have always done very well!
 
My take is they don't work any better or worse than any other .22 I use, but I also don't hunt with or shoot groups with .22s. for me that cartridge is entirely a messing around thing or I want to shoot for hours and spend very little. And at $7/box you're getting close enough to centerfire prices where I wouldn't even bother. I can't remember now if they come in 50 or 100 round units. Can't say I'd go out of my way to get any, but again, I'm just a plinker when it comes to .22s
 

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