Aguila Colibri Low-Power .22

I've written previously about my affection for CCI's Standard Velocity .22 cartridges, and Aguila's SSS Sniper Subsonic round. Here's an even slower cartridge: The Aguila Colibri. This is certainly the lowest energy .22 round on the market today, on a par with the old RWS CB caps. (You can still buy the RWS CB Caps, but they're ridiculously expensive. Cheaperthandirt wants $33 for a tin of 100!)

The Colibri uses a primer charge only, and no powder, to propel a 20gr bullet. It's recommended for pistol barrels only. Muzzle energy is listed as 6 foot pounds, which is 1/17th the energy of the CCI Standard Velocity cartridges, and muzzle velocity a sizzling 375 fps. Not very impressive. But very useful.

I bought a brick of these for basement practice, and they're ideal for that. Loading them singly in my tuned Ruger Mark-III, shooting offhand, I got one ragged 5-shot group at 7 yards. The report was less than you'd get from a CO2 gun, about on a par with what you'd get from a spring gun. The sound of the bullet hitting the steel bullet trap was much louder than the report of the gun being fired. And yes, you can hear these as two separate sounds, as it takes the bullets a lazy 56 milliseconds to reach the target.

My second test was in my Ruger Single Six, in which they were also accurate, quiet, and much easier to load. The last test was in my 1930 Iver Johnson Model X rifle, which is nearing completion in its restoration, and the Colibris were almost silent in that gun.

I'd planned on using my Daisy 717 for indoor practice over the winter on days when I didn't feel like driving through 27 miles of snow to get to my club, but with these I can shoot the same gun I use at the range. Same sights, same grip, same trigger. And I can also safely shoot older guns that I wouldn't trust with modern high-speed .22s.  You don't even need to use a heavy-duty steel trap like my Champion .22 Bullet Trap; a wooden box filled with Duxseal or a cardboard box filled with old magazines will easily do.

If you're looking for a slightly more powerful round designed for rifles, Aguila also makes the similar Super Colibri. Same 20gr bullet and primer-only propellant, but it leaves the barrel at a smoking 500fps with an ME of around 11 foot pounds or what a moderately powerful spring-air pellet gun can generate. A little louder, but with the guarantee that the bullets won't stop midway down a long barrel.

Postscript: After doing a bit of research, I have learned that Aquila's rimfire cartridges use lead styphnate primers, which means that shooting indoors without good ventilation is probably not such a great idea. I'm currently looking into making a portable air filter that would be effect for trapping the lead in the air- perhaps the 3M HEPA type furnace filters might work.