Which .22 pistol cycles subsonic rounds best?

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  • ATTYSHOOTER

    Member
    Mar 31, 2009
    68
    I am interested in a target/plinker semi-auto .22 pistol that cycles subsonic ammo well to keep peace with the neighbors. Any suggestions?
     

    rrrrrrkevin

    Its comin right for me!
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,603
    North Beach
    you know you still need a suppressor right? and in a pistol the barrel isnt really long enough for subsonic ammo to make any noticeable difference(when using a suppressor)
     

    ATTYSHOOTER

    Member
    Mar 31, 2009
    68
    I don't need it that quiet, I just want to be able to say I am doing my best (without paying the tax stamp for a suppressor).

    You might have a point about barrel length in a pistol, but I have a rifle with a 20 inch barrel and there is a pretty significant difference between subsonic and ordinary ammo even without a suppressor. The subsonic rounds don't have the loud "crack" as the bullet breaks the sound barrier.

    Some target pistols (Ruger, Buckmark) come in 6 and 7 inch barrel lengths. Is this long enough to hear a difference? I don't have any experience with subsonics in a pistol, so I'd appreciate some advice.

    Thanks
     

    Half-cocked

    Senior Meatbag
    Mar 14, 2006
    23,937
    You might want to ask over at www.rimfirecentral.com

    FWIW, I haven't found any .22 subsonic ammo that will cycle either a S&W 22A, Walther P22, or Ruger 22/45.

    I suspect it might be possible to "tune" a .22 pistol to cycle with subsonics, by changing the recoil spring, but that's just speculation on my part.
     

    mike_in_md

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 13, 2008
    2,282
    Howard County
    You might want to ask over at www.rimfirecentral.com

    FWIW, I haven't found any .22 subsonic ammo that will cycle either a S&W 22A, Walther P22, or Ruger 22/45.

    I suspect it might be possible to "tune" a .22 pistol to cycle with subsonics, by changing the recoil spring, but that's just speculation on my part.

    I agree that changing the recoil spring will be the solution. I recommend that you call the manufacturer and confirm this. They might even tell you what spring weight works best for a certain ammo brand.
     

    mch28

    Active Member
    Sep 20, 2007
    451
    On the Browning Buckmark I took 2 coils off the main spring to help it cycle some standard velocity Federal ammo I have. It helped it cycle them correctly, but I was getting a lot of light firing pin strikes. Had to get a new spring for it. I just use the high velocity ammo in it now and save the standard velocity for my internally suppressed 10/22. I have already tuned it to cycle them correctly.

    The Walthers won't cycle correctly on anything less than high velocity either. I haven't tried any spring mods yet.
     

    leroygibbs

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 2, 2008
    3,285
    Go the revolver route, and shoot anything you want.... You can even get them with 7.5inch barrel, but for what it's worth I can definately hear the difference between HV and sub-sonic in my single six with the 5.5 inch barrel....
     

    Mark C

    Active Member
    Jul 6, 2008
    216
    Go the revolver route, and shoot anything you want.... You can even get them with 7.5inch barrel, but for what it's worth I can definately hear the difference between HV and sub-sonic in my single six with the 5.5 inch barrel....

    I was going to suggest revolver also. Ruger Single Six comes in models up to 9" barrel length.
     

    Onua

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 13, 2008
    1,373
    Carroll County
    do subsonic rounds even break the sound barrier? I thought that was the whole purpose of them being SUB-sonic

    that being said i run sub sonics in my suppressed mosquito alot. I did some tweaking with a spare recoil spring and that seems to have cleared it up.
     

    Half-cocked

    Senior Meatbag
    Mar 14, 2006
    23,937
    do subsonic rounds even break the sound barrier? I thought that was the whole purpose of them being SUB-sonic

    that being said i run sub sonics in my suppressed mosquito alot. I did some tweaking with a spare recoil spring and that seems to have cleared it up.

    I am pretty sure that even standard-velocity .22LR's are subsonic, when fired from a 3.5" or even 5.5" barrel... Super-high-velocity .22LR's, like CCI Stingers or Remington Yellowjackets, might be supersonic from pistol barrels though.

    It would be a great research project for someone with a chronometer.
     

    novus collectus

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    May 1, 2005
    17,358
    Bowie
    do subsonic rounds even break the sound barrier? I thought that was the whole purpose of them being SUB-sonic

    that being said i run sub sonics in my suppressed mosquito alot. I did some tweaking with a spare recoil spring and that seems to have cleared it up.

    They are supposed to be subsonic when fired from a rifle, but I chronied some .22 Remington subsonics one time and the velocity varied a lot between rounds and some of them were supersonic.
    RWS subsonic was extremely consistent and always stayed below the sound barrier. I hear that only the Remingtons are badly inconsistent.
     

    Splitter

    R.I.P.
    Jun 25, 2008
    7,266
    Westminster, MD
    Anybody have any experience with the Sig Mosquito Sport?
    Looks tempting....


    Not the sport model, but I do have a Skeeter. It's ammo finicky and prefers certain brands of higher quality ammo. Mine won't run anythhing in bulk except thunderbolts and they are dirty as all get out. It loves Federal Auto Match the best.

    I use the light (white) spring because the heavier spring won't cycle anything reliably. even then, when I use underpowered ammo, it is jam city and often will not even start to load the next cartridge.

    GREAT GUN though and not as picky on ammo as I originally feared.

    Splitter
     

    ATTYSHOOTER

    Member
    Mar 31, 2009
    68
    I am suprised to hear from so many folks that guns which are often supressed (Ruger MK series, P22, etc.) have cycling/feed problems with subsonic .22 ammo. Isn't the whole point of these guns (at least when a supressor is added) to use subsonic ammo? For those of you with experience with supressors, do you typically expect to modify the recoil spring to reliably cycle subsonics? Is there something else one does to modify the gun to reliably cycle subsonics?
     

    mch28

    Active Member
    Sep 20, 2007
    451
    With the shorter barrels on pistols, the high velocity ammo doesn't have enough barrel to reach super sonic speed. So the use of subsonics doesn't really decrease the sound signature by much. It does help to some extent, but isn't worth the hassle to tune the springs to them.
     

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