The Aguila SSS 60 gr .22lr

forestdavegump · #1 08-16-2010, 08:34 AM

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0064147216769a.shtml

This seems to be the talk the last few months, never wanted to spend the bucks. Seems a trendy thing? So how many use these, and like them, and what are you shooting them in?

Pete D. · #2 08-17-2010, 04:45 AM

The 60 grain Aquila bullets have been on the market for years. The problem with them is their length. Many .22s do not have a fast enough twist to stabilize them at any distance beyond a few yards.
Even there....I bought a brick of them a while back - at least six years ago (and I surely did not pay $52 a brick for them) - and still have nine boxes of the stuff. Tried them in a pistol and they keyholed at seven yards. Rifles were not much different.
That was my experience and apparently the experience of others also because after market fast twist barrels for the 10/22 began to appear once the Aquila rounds started to sell.
Now....some shooters have reported that the rounds work just fine in their guns. Not me.
I like the idea of heavy subsonic .22 bullets but don't have a gun (yet) to shoot them.
Pete

UnCruel · #3 08-17-2010, 07:41 AM

Don't buy a 500 round brick until you know whether they stabilize in your barrel. They don't in my rifle, and at 50 yards I had trouble hitting an 11" x 17" target. The normal rate of twist for a .22LR is 1 in 16", but these bullets really want a 1 in 11" twist. Nevertheless, many people report getting good accuracy with them using a standard twist. Two rifles of the same make and model can have completely opposite results. You just have to try them and see.

unclepaddy · #4 08-17-2010, 08:27 PM

They work great out of my BIL's Browning auto, but not so good in other guns I've tried. So-so in my Remington Targetmaster. Aguila has recently gone to using "Eley priming compound" according to their ads. I have had a few bloopers that would not fire even after multiple strikes and re-indexing, and I hope this Eley idea solves the problem. Also, I can attest that one of these will completely penetrate a feral goat of about 60 pounds, and kill the goat standing behind it also. I think a brick of these and a dedicated bolt gun for it would be a great thing to have in case things actually go the way I fear they are in this country.

Dan K · #5 08-21-2010, 01:41 PM

The penetration that they have is something needed to be seen to be believed. I use them at butcher time and on the trapline. They were never intended for long range shooting. They were intended to be fairly quiet with superior penetration. They accomplish their mission in spades! I use them mostly in a PT22 and the length of those bbls. are not long enough to stabilize much of anything anyway. I've been using them for at least the last ten years with great results: Kills big animals cleanly (skull penetration), then tumbles some through the brain,but that may be because of the short barrel on the pistol, i.e. it slows an already slow bullet, and does little damage to pelts.
Dan

varminter · #6 10-05-2010, 10:53 PM

how quiet are these things? are they quieter than a short?

Dan K · #7 10-13-2010, 01:19 AM

varminter,

Short answer, no. They use a different powder than standard .22's.
Dan

unclenick · #8 10-13-2010, 05:50 PM

I think a number of folks bought them when 9/11 fostered defensive shooting concerns and scenario fantasies that maybe included home-brew suppressors. I've still got a brick I paid $25 for at a gun show, that I bought on impulse, having never seen them before that show and just being curious. I got them to try them in an AR with a .22 rimfire conversion, but they didn't like the magazine feed lips. The 7" match barrel twist had no trouble with stabilizing them when loading them singly. I'm very surprised to hear the current price has doubled.

Wrench Man · #9 10-13-2010, 06:45 PM

I bought a box of them a few years ago, I don't recall any keyholeing? the accuracy wasn't what I expected??, but what I do recall was that they seemed to drop like rocks!

sandog · #10 01-30-2012, 02:49 PM

All 3 of my .22's will stabilize the SSS fine at 25 yards, at 50 yards groups are starting to open up and bullets are starting to keyhole slightly. My Browning T-Bolt sporter shot them into a nice 7/16" at 25 , at 50 yards group had opened up to 1 1/2". But $6 or $7 a box is too much to pay for a round that's not much good past 25 yards.

dbldblu · #11 01-31-2012, 07:00 AM

The longer the barrel, the better when it comes to standard twist. I have several old Mossbergs and an old Marlin 81 and they shoot the SSS just fine, even at distance. These have 25 to 26 inch barrels. Other 22's with 18 to 22 inch barrels do not.

Lucky Ned · #12 02-01-2012, 05:24 PM

I was intrigued also, so paid about $5 a box, and got 100 rds.
Just shot them today, a Browning T bolt and a Kimber 82, @ 50 yds.
The groups were about 2 - 2.5", and they showed some signs of keyholing.
Will scrub the bores, and try again at 25 yds.
I like the concept of "thumper" in a .22.

unclenick · #13 02-02-2012, 06:17 AM

The 16" standard 16" twist is just marginal for the 60's. They are too long for it. However, because they are subsonic, air resistance on the nose is simply proportional to the square of velocity, whereas the spin rate is directly proportional to velocity. So, the slower they are launched, the more stable they are likely to be. Since .22 LR stops accelerating and starts to slow a little somewhere in the range of 16" to 20" of barrel length, it may be the long barrels are reducing velocity enough to get it down past a stability threshold. It may also be OK out of a pistol barrel for the same reason. I haven't tried that.

ironhead7544 · #14 02-02-2012, 06:55 PM

The 1 in 9 twist is correct for the 60 gr SSS. There are 10/22 barrels available that work just fine. I heard they were designed for suppressed use up to 200 yards. They will reportedly penetrate a human skull at that distance. Also good for one of the small pocket pistols in 22LR. Gives good penetration at close range. Concerning the sound, My CZ452 is very quiet with this ammo. It shoots 1 inch groups at 50 yards but the bullets are hitting sideways. Very big groups at 100 yards. I have shot this ammo in a number of 22LR pistols and revolvers with no malfunctions. Velocity from a 4 inch Ruger pistol is 815 fps as measured by me. I think it would be a good choice for a defensive 22LR if you really had to use one.

unclenick · #15 02-03-2012, 06:45 AM

The 9" twist makes good sense for something that long. Was it keyholing out of the pistol at 815 fps? I'm assuming the pistol is the usual 16" twist.

dbldblu · #16 02-03-2012, 03:24 PM

I have heard before that .22 velocity is a maximum out of a 16 to 18" barrel. That is with 40 grain bullets. I am not so sure that it is also true with the SSS. My thinking is that a longer barrel may give higher velocity with those and hence, be more stable. I could be wrong. Has anyone tested SSS through a chronograph and in particular long barrel versus short?

unclenick · #17 02-04-2012, 07:56 AM

I don't imagine there is more powder in the cases of the SSS. That's what it would take for their acceleration to go on longer, as the volume of gas generated would have to be greater to pressurize the volume behind the bullet at 18" down the bore. But if they do stuff the case with a larger quantity of a slower powder, it's not impossible. It would have to be tried in different barrel lengths. Lots of them, to average out the errors introduced by tolerances in chamber and bore dimensions and condition. Or you could sacrifice a barrel, cutting it down an inch at a time, and averaging a number of rounds at each length.

I have read that for 40 grain bullets, some slower match ammo peaks at about 16" and some high speed is at more like 19 or 20 inches, but that's the only variation I'm aware of. Velocity loss due to friction in barrels longer than those is slow with the waxed lead bullets.

ironhead7544 · #18 02-04-2012, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclenick

The 9" twist makes good sense for something that long. Was it keyholing out of the pistol at 815 fps? I'm assuming the pistol is the usual 16" twist.

Bullets were not tumbling at 25 yards from the 22/45. I didnt try it any other distances. Accuracy was about 2 inches from a rest.