CCI has been busy of late, with several new offerings this year, but a couple of their excellent rimfire offerings caught my eye. The CCI Hunter line of 22 Long Rifle ammo sees the return to simplicity —there are two loads built around a 40-grain flat point lead bullet. The first sees a muzzle velocity of 1,235 fps, for a traditional performance level we are all familiar with. The second load runs a bit slower—at 1,050 fps—for subsonic performance. The simple lead projectile has been a staple since the inception of the cartridge in the 19th century, and tends to damage less meat than does a hollowpoint. They will, however, expand well enough to ensure quick kills on groundhogs, foxes and even coyotes. CCI loads the Hunter ammo in 100-count translucent blaze orange boxes. While those plastic boxes are handy for shipping and storing ammunition, I must admit they rattle a bit more than I’d like them to. Nonetheless, I appreciate the return to a simple, flat-nose lead projectile.
In keeping with the collectable ammo box theme brought out this year by TKG (The Kinetic Group) ammo companies, CCI has paired with Henry for the Golden Boy Collector’s Edition 22 LR ammo. Consisting of a 36-grain copper plated hollowpoint bullet, at a muzzle velocity of 1,260 fps, CCI packs 275 of these little dandies to the box. That hollowpoint is equally at home in the hunting fields as it is at the target range. The Henry Golden Boy lever-action rifle has become an iconic American gun, and CCI is one of our most revered rimfire ammunition producers, so I really like this collaboration, and will be putting a box or two away for posterity. Both CCI and Henry make their products right here at home, and the box reads “Made in America or not made at all.” For more information, visit cci-ammunition.com and henryusa.com.
