CCI Stingers Cost Twice As Much As Mini Mags. Is It Worth It?

[DefConGun]

CCI Stingers vs. Mini Mags Cost

I have zero experience with CCI ammo. I have never shot CCI Stingers or Mini Mags but I have been thinking about trying them out to see what they're like. I bought a box of each when I was at Wal-Mart last night and let me say when I bought them, I felt as if it was going to be one of the biggest high points of my week-end. How sad is that? ;-)

From reading the posts on here, some people seem to love Stingers and some people seem to hate them. Some people have stated that Stingers make a great impact and like the results they get when they shoot them. Others say that the Stingers are too fast when they hit something, they fragment and break up into pieces and this results in little or poor penetration. The counter to this is that they're designed to do this and they're supposed to break up into three pieces upon impact - I don't remember what benefit this is supposed to have and why this is desirable.

I know ultimately I'm going to have to make my own decision as to whether I like Stingers/Mini Mags and make a determination as to if they are worth the cost respectively. I've never shot anything before as a means of deriving balistic data so I'll have to do a little research to determine how I should test this ammo and perhaps this should be a topic on another post. For this post, however, I'd like to get your ideas on how Stingers stack against Mini Mags and if you believe they are worth the price difference. For convenience, I'll list pricing and ballistic data below;

Stingers (box of 50) - $6.47
Price per bullet - $0.13
1640 fps
32 Grain

Mini Mags (box of 100) - $6.97
Price per bullet - $0.07
1260 fps
36 Grain


The Stingers cost twice as much, travel at 380 fps faster than Mini Mags but give 4 grain up to Mini Mags.

What do you think, are Stingers worth twice as much as Mini Mags? Are Min Mags as effective as Stingers for half the money?

On one last note, I posted here because some people do consider .22 to be a SD caliber for home defense. I do believe a case can be made for using a .22 rifle for home SD.

Thanks for any input/ideas you may have,
DCG

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Rock and Glock]

What is the intended use? To be honest, I've shot them all, and basically buy the cheapest, quality 22 LR on sale and am happy. It's a 22 LR, not rocket surgery. I have a lot of all inventoried, in as much as prices vary and sales and promotions effect the prices.

My answer is no, they are not worth the price differential, dependent on the intended use.

[Superhouse 15]

The Stinger is not designed to fragment into three pieces. That is the "Segmented Hollow Point" by CCI, formerly loaded by MPB I think, and Aguilla before that. It's a rimfire variation of the Quick Shok and is listed in full power amd subsonic. Actually, I've never seen the subsonic in stock anywhere, but it's listed in the catalog. The Segmented HP is loaded in a brass Stinger-length case and the bullet is the same profile as the Stinger.

I like the Stinger as a defensive .22 round from a pistol. It has more energy than most loads.

[DefConGun]

What is the intended use? To be honest, I've shot them all, and basically buy the cheapest, quality 22 LR on sale and am happy. It's a 22 LR, not rocket surgery. I have a lot of all inventoried, in as much as prices vary and sales and promotions effect the prices.

My answer is no, they are not worth the price differential.

I'm looking for ammo that would be good to stock for survival, i.e., home SD or hunting small varmint.

[DefConGun]

To add to my original post. I will note that the Stinger has what looks like a silver case and the Mini Mag looks to have a brass casing. Other than one gun may feed better than the other with one kind of casing, Im not sure what difference the casing may make?

[DefConGun]

The Stinger is not designed to fragment into three pieces. That is the "Segmented Hollow Point" by CCI, formerly loaded by MPB I think, and Aguilla before that. It's a rimfire variation of the Quick Shok and is listed in full power amd subsonic. Actually, I've never seen the subsonic in stock anywhere, but it's listed in the catalog. The Segmented HP is loaded in a brass Stinger-length case and the bullet is the same profile as the Stinger.

I like the Stinger as a defensive .22 round from a pistol. It has more energy than most loads.

Thanks for the clarification about the "Segmented Hollow Point". Why would you want it to segment though?

[Rock and Glock]

I just buy the most of what I can buy a brick or two or three at a time, or more. I use mine for small varmit, but have SD 22 LR handguns (semi's) too. I just plan on relying on a 22 LR Long Gun or a bigger caliber. I'm just not too picky. Quality ammo in large quantities.

[tacman605]

The ultimate SD or hunting round will penetrate to a depth to reach vitals but will not over penetrate and exit.

The theory that some have that it is more lethal for a round to go all the way through is not really true. If the round enters and exits you are losing energy that could otherwise be put to good use. Ideally you want the round to enter, penetrate deeply, expending all its energy inside the target. The segmented HP allows the round to either expand more quickly, keeping it inside the target, or to fragment creatiing three wound channels instead of one.

For general use I shoot mini mags. For some of my full size rifles and pistols I have a .22 copy to train and let the kids shoot with. The mini mags work fine in all of it. I do keep some stingers on had if say I loaded up my GSG .22 carbine for home defense or to take out a varmit wandering around. They are a great little round, I just dont shoot them everyday.

[g26az]

Back in the early 80's, I bought a box to try out. Shot a small jackrabbit with one from a Ruger 10/22, and it blew him into two, and nearly three pieces. Figured they had just a little too much expansion for small game hunting. As for SD, the only handgun that I moght possibly use in that role is a NAA mini-revolver that I carry when I'm not carring a gun. Not sure how it would work out of that short of a barrel, though.

[rgbiker]

.22lr handgun shooters might want to try a box of Aquila Interceptor HV ammo. It's a 40gr solid core bullet made in Mexico with outstanding accuracy from a Beretta 21A mouse gun.

As with any .22lr mouse gun, carry a Bore Snake to keep the chamber clean.

[DefConGun]

I should've put this in my post. They are going to be used in a 10/22.

[Paladin3840]

The Mini Mag is more accurate, the Stinger more destructive on small game in my experience: Ruger 10/22, Marlin 39, S&W 35, Browning Buckmark.

[gasmitty]

As long as your 10/22 has the standard barrel (not the Target version, or any of the aftermarket barrels with a match or Bentz chamber), they'll do fine. You just have to assess their accuracy in your gun. I 've never found them to be particularly accurate in any of my Ruger 22s (several 10/22s and a 77/22), but I've never tested them comprehensively, either.

If Stingers are demonstrably accurate in your gun, then go for 'em. But an extra 10% of downrange energy isn't going to turn your .22 LR into a .22 Mag.

[OldVet]

For basic survival, give me plain old 22 LR RNs and lots of them. CCI Mini-Mags work fine.

[Superhouse 15]

gasmitty nailed the case difference. The SHP is good where penetration isn't critical. For example, it works great on trash can raiding racoons, possums, etc. And it absolutely smokes armadillos and feral cats. No risk of overpenetration either. All .22s are ammo sensitive. No matter what you choose, you'll have to test anyway. The more loads you try the better odds you'll find one your gun likes. My Walther P22 shoots SHP great, but not as good with the Stinger. They are very similar but don't shoot the same.