When Subsonic Ammo Makes A Bang

Everything seems to move faster nowadays, and much of that speed helps with daily life. But sometimes, it pays to slow down. That’s also true with rimfire shooting. In specific situations, you’re better off using rounds with subsonic muzzle velocities (slower than 1,125 fps) instead of standard or high-velocity 22 LR cartridges.

Teaching Moments

Todd Jarrett knows. The CCI ambassador, who’s fired more than 1 million .22 rounds in his career, says he saw the value of subsonic cartridges years ago when teaching newcomers to shoot, especially with handguns.

“Subsonic became my go-to for teaching purposes for people who were brand new and scared to death of a gun,” he says. “Subsonic rounds don’t have the noise or the recoil of supersonic rounds, and the bullets are accurate. People had improved control over the firearm because of the reduced recoil. It just makes an individual comfortable in a shooting session.”

Subsonic rounds also make sense for experienced shooters when training in potentially noisy situations.

“With subsonic, you don’t get that crack of the sound,” Jarrett says. “You might be at facility or range where noise could be a problem, and subsonic is another great way of using that firearm.”

Stealth Mode

The quiet factor can also be an asset when hunting small game. When fired through guns fitted with a suppressor, subsonic rounds make almost no noise, greatly reducing the chance of spooking game.

“With a suppressed 22 paired with subsonic ammo, you literally just hear the crack of the bolt,” Jarrett says. “You make more noise with the action of the firearm than the gun firing and the bullet going downrange. Plenty of people use subsonics for shooting squirrels and rabbits in the field.”

The difference is so profound that Jarrett likes to remind all shooters to not let their guards down in terms of safety when using subsonic ammo. It’s still ammunition that deserves your full attention and safety protocol.

Ammo Choices

Because subsonic shooting works in so many scenarios, CCI offers several 22 LR loads with muzzle velocities slower than the speed of sound, with options for targets, small game and more.

Target shooters will want to check out Quiet-22, which features a 40-grain lead round nose bullet it pushes at just 710 fps, making it perfect for plinking, but also close-range pest control and small game. It produces 75 percent less noise than a standard 22 LR. Loaded a little hotter to allow efficient cycling in semi-autos, but still plenty quiet, there’s Quiet-22 Semi-Auto, which leaves the muzzle at 835 fps.

The Clean-22 family of loads serves up more good target options. Clean-22 Sub-Sonic uses a 40-grain bullet dipped in CCI’s unique polymer coating, making it cleaner in the barrel. Clean-22 Suppressor is loaded with a 45-grain bullet that’s also polymer coated, reducing fouling inside a suppressor 60 percent.

For small game hunters, there’s Sub-Sonic HP, which hits a muzzle velocity of 1,050 fps with an expanding hollow point bullet, as well as Quiet-22 Segmented HP, which uses a bullet that splits in three equal parts on impact. You get the same bullet performance with a little more speed necessary to make longer shots on varmints like prairie dogs with Segmented Hollow Point 22 LR, which clocks in at 1,050 fps.