ATTENTION:  Effective Sept 1, 2020, the BBTI Project is in "Archive Status."  No further tests will be conducted, but we will maintain this site and data for the use of the firearms community.  Thank you.

.22 Mag Results in fps

An additional note on the .22 Mag (officially, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire) data:  this sequence of tests presented a real challenge for our chronographs, probably because the .22 Mag is one of the smaller bullets commercially used yet is driven at high speed.  Modern chronograph technology is based on optical sensors used to determine the period of time a bullet takes to pass between two sensors.  The smaller the bullet, the harder it is for the optical sensor to detect it, and the more necessary it is to get the bullet exactly over the sensor's field of vision.  For most of the test we were confident that our results were accurate, and if you look at the raw data sheets you will see that we were able to usually get four or five 'good' readings (out of six possible - three shots each over a pair of aligned chronographs).  However, towards the end of the tests (when the barrel was starting to get very short) accuracy became an increasingly difficult proposition.  At that point we switched to a more expensive Oehler brand chrono system, which uses twin chronographs to automatically calculate one reading.  For the last measurements in the chop tests - when the barrel was only 2" - we were only able to obtain one or two readings for each type of ammo.  The readings were consistent with the curves we had seen through the rest of the testing, but doesn't have the same degree of supporting data.

Click here for a Muzzle Energy graph for the tests in this caliber.

barrel length CCI
Game-
point
40 gr.
JSP
CCI
Maxi-
Mag
40 gr.
JHP
CCI
Maxi-
Mag
HP+V
30 gr.
JHP
CCI
V-Max
30 gr.
polymer
tip
Federal
30 gr.
Speer
TNT HP
Fiocchi
PSD
40 gr.
JSP
Fiocchi
PSD
40 gr.
JHP
Hornady
45 gr.
Flex
Tip
eXpand-
ing
Hornady
V-Max
30 gr.
Hornady
25 gr.
NTX
Win'ster
30 gr.
Hornady
Polymer
Tip
V-Max
19" 1827 1999 2285 2348 2355 1908 1936 1773 2296 2265 2149
18" 1837 1985 2322 2298 2324 1920 1950 1764 2313 2235 2110
17" 1825 1980 2280 2288 2334 1918 1938 1755 2318 2241 2160
16" 1780 1987 2316 2276 2283 1887 1934 1702 2252 2166 2129
15" 1799 1967 2304 2294 2275 1916 1873 1738 2240 2229 2127
14" 1783 1963 2230 2298 2244 1885 1951 1751 2243 2250 2105
13" 1749 1889 2181 2220 2227 1852 1886 1698 2245 2191 2071
12" 1750 1881 2168 2204 2163 1843 1811 1699 2144 2138 2052
11" 1709 1835 2079 2097 2135 1788 1845 1652 2093 2146 1989
10" 1687 1817 2060 2144 2102 1791 1772 1643 2069 2065 1951
9" 1672 1759 2000 2061 2018 1723 1772 1630 1966 2024 1924
8" 1594 1706 1950 2012 1979 1650 1696 1536 1977 1928 1803
7" 1529 1617 1887 1904 1879 1626 1606 1525 1821 1818 1763
6" 1484 1575 1763 1804 1821 1526 1544 1454 1740 1824 1694
5" 1355 1474 1672 1723 1657 1433 1477 1307 1602 1670 1575
4" 1248 1353 1510 1504 1457 1287 1269 1239 1379 1492 1454
3" 1089 1160 1236 1336 1228 1101 1117 1049 1153 1308 1288
2" 887 946 884 1085 895 899 853 843 962 1114 n/a

 

real
world
weapons
CCI
Game-
point
40 gr.
JSP
CCI
Maxi-
Mag
40 gr.
JHP
CCI
Maxi-
Mag
HP+V
30 gr.
JHP
CCI
V-Max
30 gr.
polymer
tip
Federal
30 gr.
Speer
TNT HP
Fiocchi
PSD
40 gr.
JSP
Fiocchi
40 gr.
JHP
Hornady
45 gr.
Flex
Tip
eXpand-
ing
Hornady
V-Max
30 gr.
Hornady
25 gr.
NTX
Win'ster
30 gr.
Hornady
Polymer
Tip
V-Max
Taurus
72
23" barrel
1822 1891 2295 2265 2219 1975 1958 1744 2261 2282 2167
C7   455
21" barrel
1841 1980 2251 2307 2210 1891 1860 1709 2239 2224 2162
Win'ster
Model
275
20" barrel
1828 1949 2225 2282 2230 1845 1923 1683 2148 2212 2120
Rossi
Circuit
Judge
18.5" barrel
1047 1107 1157 1454 1268 1069 1119 954 1195 1327 1362
Ruger
Single 6
5.5" barrel
1248 1289 1444 1587 1501 1232 1251 1126 1421 1595 1580
Heritage
Rough
Rider
4.625" barrel
1062 1049 1173 1416 1212 1045 1018 973 1144 1420 1323

Other Resources

BBTI is not the end-all of ballistics testing, just one more component available for the common good.  In addition to extensive discussion about ballistics to be found at many gun forums, here are some other great resources pertaining to ballistics testing you should check out.  (And if you would like to recommend a site to list here, please send an email.)
  • BrassFetcher:  excellent resource, with an emphasis on bullet performance in ballistic gelatin
  • The Box O' Truth:  testing ammo penetration through various barriers
  • Terminal Ballistics Research:  Specializes in the research of cartridge & projectile performance, using hard data gathered from 20 years of hunting game.

Acknowledgements

We'd like to personally and specifically thank Pat Childs at Fin & Feather in Iowa City, as he not only helped get most of our ammunition and other supplies, he was the brilliant gunsmith who worked with us to make this insane project much more practical.  Without his help all of this would have been much more difficult and perhaps impossible.  Anyone who uses our data owes him a debt of gratitude.

And thanks to our spouses, who were not just tolerant but enthusiastically supportive of this rather nutty project.

Disclaimer

This project, and all of its results, is only our fault.  We (well, Jim K, mostly) paid for everything ourselves, and we did not receive any kind of sponsorship or remuneration from anyone.  We did all the work.  We used products we were either familiar with, or because they were what was available, and mentioning them by name does not constitute an endorsement of any kind.  Furthermore, the data is provided purely for entertainment purposes - to better facilitate arguments over what ammo or caliber or gun is "best."  How you use the data is entirely up to you.  And if you think you could do better, feel free to spend the money and do the work and publish your own results.  Or not.  Your choice.