[Halwg]

I had an old box of Stingers from right around 1980 that I had never shot because the wouldn't group in my gun. Recently I shot them in my Ruger Single Six and they really grouped well. So I went out and bought a couple boxes of the new Stingers. Interestingly the old Stingers had no mention of velocity on the box, but the new Stingers say 1640 fps.

Today at the range I shot both the old Stingers and the new Stingers through the Chrony using my 39A to determine the velocity. I also compared them with the most accurate 22's in my 39A, CCI Mini-Mags.

Old (1980) Stingers:
1663
1600
1641
1600
1617
This was an average velocity of 1624 fps and a standard deviation of 27.4 Pretty close to the 1640 fps clained on the 2011 box.

New (2011) Stingers:
1519
1451
1475
1476
1497
This was an average velocity of 1483 fps and a standard deviation of 25.6. Not even remotely close to the advertised velocity.

What is interesting is that the new Stingers group much better than the old, but shoot 2" lower.

Standard CCI Mini-Mag
1241
1220
1225
1202
1246
This is an average velocity of 1227 fps and a standard deviation of 17.6. The advertised velocity of Mini-Mags is 1235 fps, so I was right on.

The CCI Mini-Mags shoot 2" lower than the new Stingers, but are much more accurate.

Conclusion: Something has drastically changed in the new Stingers, or I just got a bad lot.

 

[450 Sniper]

They are only, like, 150 fps slower!!! ???

Different powder? Who knows - at least they are more accurate.

I don't shoot 'em because I had heard the Stinger case is slightly longer and could damage a chamber - more for match chambers that are tighter than normal, but still.

Any way you could measure a Stinger's case vs. a Mini Mag case?

Good report and #'s to compare.

 

[bugeye]

any time you have a high deviation like the stingers in your test, they won't be accurate.
the mini-mags look much better. really expensive ammo has a standard deviation around 7 or 8, sometimes lower. to me, it's the most important measurement with a chrono.

 

[Halwg]

Generally I use a SD of 20 as a cut-off. Anything over that is likely to be pretty inaccurate, under that and the consistency is better and generally so is the accuracy. Getting SD's under 10, and you have a pretty good batch of ammo. One Lot of factory 338 ammo I just shot had an SD of 9.9, and was very accurate.

The Stingers were never real accurate in my 39A, but I know people who swear by them. I just swear at them! ;D

 

[2shotal]

Hal: did you get to shoot your 338? We are anxiously waiting on your report.

Edited: Never mind, I just saw your posting on the 338

 

[Fast Frank]

I find it interesting that the old stingers were faster, and less accurate.

Could it be that CCI decided to slow them down a little with improving accuracy in mind?

 

[Halwg]

I find it interesting that the old stingers were faster, and less accurate.

Could it be that CCI decided to slow them down a little with improving accuracy in mind?

I want to look for a different lot of stingers and shoot them against the ones I bought. I have a hard time believing they should be running 200 fps less than the advertised velocity.

 

[gunrunner]

At what yardage were you shooting. 4" difference between the old stingers and the cci's,with a 400fps difference.

 

[Halwg]

I shoot my rimfires at 50 yards.

 

[gunrunner]

Me too. Just trying to figure the drop per 100fps difference. Im assumeing the bullet weight is the same in the stingers.Cant remember ,Bought two bricks of others and only been shooting them.Got to get my tail to church,I need it after this week yall take care. Gunrunner,,

 

[Jezman]

Just curious, when cci gets there data are they using the same length barrel as you. Will a shorter barrel give a higher fps then a shorter one? I don't know much about this so I ask to learn.

 

[rhendrix]

Just curious, when cci gets there data are they using the same length barrel as you. Will a shorter barrel give a higher fps then a shorter one? I don't know much about this so I ask to learn.

Unlike your big bore guns, the .22 has a optimum velocity out of a 16" barrel and will shed velocity with every additional inch. The 39A has a 24" barrel which could easily account for your loss in velocity over the advertized rate.