Quick test of the Aguila 60gr .22LR subsonic
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:02 pm
Had been interested in these for a while and now that Raytrade is bringing them in to Australia I got a couple of boxes from the LGS.
Price was an eye watering $20AUD a box...
Anyway, these have a 60gr round nose solid lead bullet in what appears to be a .22 Short case.
The idea being the heavy bullet gives the subsonic load as much energy as a HVHP.
Which may or may not be of any use if the solid 60gr bullet is going to sail on through small game anyway...
SO.....I got out my short barrel PWS Summit (which is ammo fussy in every respect at the best of times), my 77/22 which can shoot ragged cloverleaves at 50m with what it likes, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire which can do the same.
I started off by firing 5 shots to foul and warm up the 77/22. All my .22's run on unplated lead bullets anyway.
And at 50m I couldn't hit any of my steel targets....
So five into the target and there were no holes on the small black dot or near it. Hmmmm. And there they were sort of above and all around it....well four of them were. The other was a keyhole several inches to the left.
Clearly not stabilising.
Out with the PWS and after a few foulers the first shot at the paper at least landed in the same postcode as the POA. And more or less nose first. AAANND a stuck case. This little gun will on occasion fail to extract, despite all sorts of work being done on it. Yes, the straight pull action is slick and fast...assuming cases extract and eject. Which sometimes they don't.... I soldiered on with most failing to extract and having to be flicked out with a nearby discarded bit of fence wire. I couldn't be bothered going back to the shed for anything better...
Vertical stringing and signs of keyholing.
Out with the RPR which got several to warm it up and foul it. Again, nowhere near zero despite being sighted in with CCI subs.
This sort of group is about an inch across but signs of keyholing. Note stray shot from 77/22 "group" or rather "pattern."
Aguila's spiel says: FOR WHEN ACCURACY MATTERS MOST. Featuring a 60-grain lead bullet on a short case, the cartridge has the same overall dimensions and energy equivalent to a standard 22 long rifle round. The faster barrel twist of the projectile ensures accuracy for target shooting and small-game hunting without excessive noise. Recommended for use in barrels longer than 20″.
And none of my rifles have a 20" pipe. The RPR is 18, the PWS is 10.5 without the brake and the 77/22 is 17". Can't see it making that much difference tho.
Anyway, as I said earlier, extra energy is good but if it's whizzing through the target like most solid .22's do it won't add any killing power.
I will also add that I heard a few of these whizz off the fairly soft soil quite dramatically so if you're worried about ricochet's these are not for you...
I will try to shoot some bunnies with them and the RPR one day soon but I'm not expecting them to be any better than a standard velocity solid on game. Unless they hit sideways....
Price was an eye watering $20AUD a box...
Anyway, these have a 60gr round nose solid lead bullet in what appears to be a .22 Short case.
The idea being the heavy bullet gives the subsonic load as much energy as a HVHP.
Which may or may not be of any use if the solid 60gr bullet is going to sail on through small game anyway...
SO.....I got out my short barrel PWS Summit (which is ammo fussy in every respect at the best of times), my 77/22 which can shoot ragged cloverleaves at 50m with what it likes, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire which can do the same.
I started off by firing 5 shots to foul and warm up the 77/22. All my .22's run on unplated lead bullets anyway.
And at 50m I couldn't hit any of my steel targets....
So five into the target and there were no holes on the small black dot or near it. Hmmmm. And there they were sort of above and all around it....well four of them were. The other was a keyhole several inches to the left.
Clearly not stabilising.
Out with the PWS and after a few foulers the first shot at the paper at least landed in the same postcode as the POA. And more or less nose first. AAANND a stuck case. This little gun will on occasion fail to extract, despite all sorts of work being done on it. Yes, the straight pull action is slick and fast...assuming cases extract and eject. Which sometimes they don't.... I soldiered on with most failing to extract and having to be flicked out with a nearby discarded bit of fence wire. I couldn't be bothered going back to the shed for anything better...
Vertical stringing and signs of keyholing.
Out with the RPR which got several to warm it up and foul it. Again, nowhere near zero despite being sighted in with CCI subs.
This sort of group is about an inch across but signs of keyholing. Note stray shot from 77/22 "group" or rather "pattern."
Aguila's spiel says: FOR WHEN ACCURACY MATTERS MOST. Featuring a 60-grain lead bullet on a short case, the cartridge has the same overall dimensions and energy equivalent to a standard 22 long rifle round. The faster barrel twist of the projectile ensures accuracy for target shooting and small-game hunting without excessive noise. Recommended for use in barrels longer than 20″.
And none of my rifles have a 20" pipe. The RPR is 18, the PWS is 10.5 without the brake and the 77/22 is 17". Can't see it making that much difference tho.
Anyway, as I said earlier, extra energy is good but if it's whizzing through the target like most solid .22's do it won't add any killing power.
I will also add that I heard a few of these whizz off the fairly soft soil quite dramatically so if you're worried about ricochet's these are not for you...
I will try to shoot some bunnies with them and the RPR one day soon but I'm not expecting them to be any better than a standard velocity solid on game. Unless they hit sideways....
