People these days are looking at suppressors to make their shooting a little quieter. This is especially nice for target shooting and plinking, or for people with ear problems where it is critical for the proper ear protection. Since this is Shoot ‘N’ Plink, we are mostly looking at 22-caliber. For this purpose, we can suggest a few different ammunitions that are as quiet as or a little louder than an air gun.

The four main ammunitions that we are about to discuss are made by CCI and Aguila. CCI has Quiet 22 at 710 fps, with a 40-gr bullet, and Quiet 22 Semi-Auto at 870 fps, with a 45-gr bullet. Aguila’s offerings are Colibri at 420 fps, with a 20-gr bullet, and Super Colibri at 590 fps, also with a 20-gr bullet.

Let’s first talk about the quietest of the group. The Colibri is the quietest with its lower velocity that falls in the air gun category, and in many cases is quieter than some air guns.

As an experiment, and a video for the Shoot ‘N’ Plink channel, I compared the Colibri with a pellet by firing it from a Remington model 514 single-shot rifle. For the pellet, I used 4 pumps on an Umarex NXG rifle. This proved to be about dead even on the sound, and also on how they damaged a Pepsi can. However, the Colibri had a very slight edge on accuracy, and a little more damage. As for distance, this is best at an air gun distance of 10 meters, but will hit the target as well as a pellet at 25 yards. When fired at 50 yards, it falls short.

Aguila does not recommend this ammunition for rifles for the simple reason that the bullet could become stuck in the barrel. It is designed primarily to be fired in .22 revolvers. So, I tried it in my Ruger Wrangler where it is slightly louder (similar to a cap pistol), which it would be since there is a shorter barrel. 

Stepping up to the next quietest is Aquila’s Super Colibri. Again, it isn’t recommended for rifles. But I have used it in several, including the Henry Long Barrel Frontier, but mainly in Henry carbines and Mare’s Leg, plus the aforementioned Remington single-shot, as well as an old Steven’s model 55 single-shot. The accuracy is slightly better than the straight Colibri at 25 yards, but pretty much the same as an air gun distance of 10 yards. The Super will also reach a gong target at 50 yards.

The CCI products are the best at longer distances of 25 to 50 yards, but then they have heavier grain bullets and more velocity. Naturally with more velocity and gun powder rather than just primer, the CCI ammos are louder, but still well below the level of any normal round of .22 at 1200 fps or higher.

CCI’s Quiet 22, at 710 fps, does well in any non-semi-auto gun, but don’t place it or any of the Colibri in a semi-auto of any sort, as they will not cycle. I like the Quiet 22 for a lot of my shooting, especially at 25 yards and less with any of my rifles, as the 40-gr bullet will cycle easily in lever-action rifles. The Colibri ammos with their 20-gr bullet have a problem hitting the ramp correctly in my Henrys.

For those people who want quiet ammunition in their semi-auto pistols and rifle, the CCI Quiet 22 Semi-Auto can do the trick, although one wonders how. Perhaps the combination of the 870 fps and 45-gr bullet is the secret. This is a question I have asked, but not received an answer. While it will cycle through most guns, I have found one pistol that did not cycle. This is most likely because of the gun having a heavier spring. By the way, for those of you using the famous Ruger 10/22 rifle, this ammo does a great job, as it does on the pistol side with a Browning Buck Mark and 1911-22, and Ruger Mark IV, LCP22 and SR22.

While the Quiet 22 Semi-Auto is quieter, there is still a very noticeable difference between the other three. For that reason, I would not use this where you want it as quiet as plain Colibri.

Some people say that they will not use any of these ammunitions for one main reason: they are very dirty. This is true, and you can definitely see the difference between them, as the Colibri is much dirtier than the Quiet 22 Semi-Auto. So, this is up to individuals as to if they want to clean their gun after every outing, which I do anyway.

Another negative is the cost. You would think that this would be cheaper than standard/high velocity ammunition, but it is not. It isn’t that much difference, but at times has been just as expensive as or a little higher than high-end target loads. This is why I watch for sales and then stock up, so that I have enough to use for my experimenting, videos and just plinking for fun.

The CCI models will knock over targets like Shooting Targets7 AR steel Dirt Bag knock overs, but the Colibri will not. Colibri will clink on an AR steel gong, especially the Shooting Targets7 Long Gong, but the CCI will be a bit louder and can move the flap on a double-gong bullseye target.

None of the quiet ammo can knock over a spring-activated Do-All Outdoors reset target, but then neither can some of the other .22 ammunitions of higher velocity.

Some other CCI 22 ammunitions that I use, which are also quiet, is the CB 22 Short at 710fps with a 29-gr bullet, CB 22 Long at 710fps with a 29-gr bullet, and Sub-Sonic 22LR at 1050fps with a 40-gr bullet. These rounds, especially the Sub-Sonic, which is the loudest, will all work in longer-barreled rifles. Note that the .22 shorts should only be fired in guns that are not strictly designated to use 22 Long Rifle.

I have found that making it quiet can be a fun, challenging and more peaceful way to shoot. It is also helpful to use when teaching a new shooter who may never have fired a gun, or even been around one. Recruiting more people to shooting sports is important, and if making it a bit quieter can help, then that is great.

There are a few videos on the Dan’s Fish ‘N’ Tales/Shoot ‘N’ Plink YouTube channel that show use of the quiet models in this article, as well as one comparing the pellet and Colibri. So, stop by www.youtube.com/dansfishntales.