factory in a 24" industry standard test barrel (a SAAMI spec barrel). The large charge of powder is thought to have the bullet reach its peak velocity around 22". Other testing performed at CCI’s facility has shown that velocity for the Stinger round remains about the same, within a 25 fps range, in barrels between 16" and 27". Larger deviations in velocity between barrels are most likely due to internal differences in the barrel’s dimensions rather than being caused by the Stinger round itself. Understandably the velocity deviation found within the ammunition itself is often a wider range than 25 fps, thus there will be multiple variables when trying to conclude an optimal barrel length for the Stinger. CCI included a few other features
in the Stinger such as a highly polished nickel-plated case and fancy hollow- point opening. Looking into the Stinger round will show a small hollow-point in the bullet, not appearing to be much more than a pin hole. But as you will see in the following tests, the bullet readily blows apart upon impact. Looking back in history, some
shooters may remember when the Sting- er featured an unusual hollow-point opening called the “Penta-Point.” Up until 15 years ago, the Stinger was of- fered with this small, five-sided hollow point opening that really was more of a marketing and product recognition tool than any real technical advancement. It also was not easy to make during the manufacturing process, giving both engineering and production staff fits. Around 1995, CCI performed
some testing with the Penta-Point and a new standard hollow-point and found that the high velocity of the round maintained the same level of accuracy, and when tested in ballistic media, there was no noticeable change in ex- plosiveness or penetration. This slight alteration to the hollow-point cavity was tested in detail, making sure that the change didn’t hide some unknown ail- ment. Since Coca-Cola’s fiasco with New Coke in 1985, many companies took note to carefully test out any changes to an established product before releasing it to the market. Rather than making a public announcement of these small modifications to the Stinger, CCI simply moved forward with the changes and, as it turned out, very few hunters ever noticed.
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The current loading features a
32-grain copper-plated hollow-point bullet with a listed muzzle velocity of 1640 fps. The same nickel-plated case is used, but the bullet geometry is slightly different with the driving band sitting a bit more forward on the bullet’s ogive. The bullet also has a very thin dry wax coating. Like many other CCI products, the Stinger is very well made and retails for approximately $5.00 for 50 rounds. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
As mentioned before, the Stinger
is somewhat finicky as to which rifle it performs well in. Some shooters love it and others can’t get it to group better than “minute of pie plate.” Aside from equipment or shooter error, much of the inconsistency in accuracy is due to a simple reason: chamber dimensions. Even though the Stinger has di-
mensions similar to most rimfire am- munition, the issue is that the driving band of the bullet sits much further out toward the nose of the bullet when com- pared to other sporting ammunition.
This means than when you chamber the round in either a target gun (don’t do that), or a slightly tight-chambered sporting rifle, you are jamming the bullet hard into the leade angle/throat of the barrel. This can force the bullet back into the case, shearing off some bullet material onto the sides of the case mouth and changing the crimp pressure on the bullet. Results of erratic velocity changes and wild shots on the target commonly are caused by this. Among sporting rifles there does
exist a general uniformity in chamber dimensions, with most manufactur- ers opting to use a SAAMI sporting chamber for their rifles. This is a large chamber that will offer plenty of room for just about any rimfire cartridge, in- cluding the Stinger. Unfortunately the gain in this wide margin for ammuni- tion type is balanced by a slight loss in overall accuracy. This loss is minor for general hunting and sporting rifles, but some premium rifle manufacturers such as Anschutz and Cooper, where a high
Stinger detail (left)
Stinger Penta-Point (old) and Hollow Point (new)
www.varminthunter.org Page 67
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