Aguila Super Colibri ammo oddity

[DanGunner]

I acquired a couple of bricks of this super-quiet ammo, billed at 500 fps, and was curious to give it a try in two of my .22 LR revolvers, a 1953-vintage S&W pre-Model 43 with 31/2-inch barrel and a contemporary S&W Model 43c DAO snubby. Both of these revolvers are very accurate, shooting point of aim with SV CCI ammo, which I use in these guns because HV cases tend to stick in alloy cylinders. The Colibri (Spanish for hummingbird)'s 20-grain bullets grouped well but several inches low at 7 yards in the pre-43, shooting double action, but shot to the point of aim in the DAO snubby. That held true in 50 rounds each. I also shot 50 rounds each of CCI Quiet and CCI SV in each gun and all shots were on target. The only anomoly was the low grouping of Colibri in the pre-43. It seems counterintuitive that there would be such a difference and am curious whether any Calgunners could explain it.

[Wordupmybrotha]

I sometimes shoot Aguila 22 short and they group differently from the point of aim compared to 22LR SV.

[DanGunner]

I sometimes shoot Aguila 22 short and they group differently from the point of aim compared to 22LR SV.

Oddly, my Beretta Minx loves Aguila shorts but won't cycle with CCI shorts. I think the Aguilas have been oomph

[donw]

i tried the regular

"Quiet" ammo...i have air rifles that have better performance than that ammo. i will not purchase any more of that ammo...

[k1dude]

Probably has something to do with the twist rate and length of the barrel. Maybe it doesn't like light bullets.

I've also found Super Colibri's to have poor inherent accuracy/precision in most of my 22's.

Every barrel/gun likes some type of ammo and not others. Sometimes the differences are striking.

I was just testing a 9mm the other day with 4 different types of ammo and found they grouped into 4 distinct and separate groups on paper at 10 yards. The first group was 2.5 inches high and left of average size. The second group was very large and 4 inches low and left. The third group was 1.5 inches right, and very tight. The fourth group was dead nuts on, but of average size.

If I wanted to use this gun for competition, I would've chosen the third group's ammo and adjusted the sights accordingly. But this gun was just a plinker, so I'll use the fourth group's ammo, especially since the ammo was cheap bulk.

[PoorRichRichard]

Probably has something to do with the twist rate and length of the barrel. Maybe it doesn't like light bullets.

This is most likely your culprit. But I think many be missing the greatest advantage of the Super Colibri: They are insanely quiet and effective out to about 20-25 yards- OUT OF A 22 RIFLE. Bear in mind they will not cycle properly in the semi-automatic rifle, however this is easily overcome by simply cycling the action manually with every shot.

The Super Colibri is far quieter than any pellet gun you will find. They are not at effective as a pellet gun outside of 25 yards, but if you are shooting inside 20 yards and need the most quiet projectile possible (outside of a blowgun), the Super Colibri's cannot be beat.

[tokuno]

Super Colibri: They are insanely quiet and effective out to about 20-25 yards- OUT OF A 22 RIFLE.

The Super Colibri is far quieter than any pellet gun you will find. They are not as effective as a pellet gun outside of 25 yards, but if you are shooting inside 20 yards and need the most quiet projectile possible (outside of a blowgun), the Super Colibri's cannot be beat.

Agreed. Barely audible and enough small-critter punch at short range. They shoot great out of Henry lever .22, and are much quieter than our .177 air guns.

[PoorRichRichard]

Agreed. Barely audible and enough small-critter punch at short range. They shoot great out of Henry lever .22, and are much quieter than our .177 air guns.

I like running them through an old Glenfield (Marlin) Model 25.

[PSLguy]

Bought a few boxes of Colibri subsonic .22 shorts a few weeks ago. 472 fps!!!! Shot them out of an old Remington Fieldmaster and they were crazy quiet.

With the sun in the right position you could see the round go down range!! LOL!!!!

[ar15barrels]

I acquired a couple of bricks of this super-quiet ammo, billed at 500 fps, and was curious to give it a try in two of my .22 LR revolvers, a 1953-vintage S&W pre-Model 43 with 31/2-inch barrel and a contemporary S&W Model 43c DAO snubby. Both of these revolvers are very accurate, shooting point of aim with SV CCI ammo, which I use in these guns because HV cases tend to stick in alloy cylinders. The Colibri (Spanish for hummingbird)'s 20-grain bullets grouped well but several inches low at 7 yards in the pre-43, shooting double action, but shot to the point of aim in the DAO snubby. That held true in 50 rounds each. I also shot 50 rounds each of CCI Quiet and CCI SV in each gun and all shots were on target. The only anomoly was the low grouping of Colibri in the pre-43. It seems counterintuitive that there would be such a difference and am curious whether any Calgunners could explain it.

A handgun starts recoiling the moment the bullet starts moving.
Your sights were probably setup for standard 32-40gr ammo of much higher velocity.
Those normal loads cause the gun to recoil upwards before the bullet leaves the barrel.
Hence, your sight adjustment has this gun movement BUILT IN.
When you shoot a lighter recoiling load, the gun does not recoil AS MUCH, hence the bullet lands lower on target.

This same thing is noticed in centerfire guns when you switch from heavy bullets to light bullets.
With full power, the heavier bullets spend more TIME in the barrel than the light bullets.
The light bullets therefore get out of the gun quicker and will shoot lower than the heavier bullets which spend more TIME in the gun while recoiling before the bullet leaves the barrel.