The Rimfire Report: A Neat CB 22 Short Ruger 10/22 Magazine Conversion

Hello and welcome to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of the different types of guns, shooting sports, history, and ammo! We’ve recently been talking a lot about different types of 22LR ammunition and one of my favorites so far has to have been the CCI CB 22 Shorts. These tiny little “garden gun” loads are fairly handy for several reasons. They’re fairly quiet, don’t cost an arm and a leg, and they’re also just barely powerful enough to take out small pests like rats, mice, and pest birds, but not so powerful as to over-penetrate.

One thing that keeps me from using this cartridge more in my current guns is that it’s relegated to single-shot guns and revolvers. However, I recently came across a really neat eBay listing for a converted Ruger 10/22 magazine meant to reliably feed CB 22 Shorts (username: whocareswhatthewifesays). Since it was fresh in my head, and I was curious enough, I decided to hit the “Buy It Now!” button on eBay and today I’ll share the entire experience with you!

More Rimfire Report Articles @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: The "Gill Gun" - Springfield Model 87A .22 Rifle
• The Rimfire Report: A Quick Look at CCI CB 22 Short
• The Rimfire Report: Plain Ole CCI Standard Velocity 40 Grain

The Rimfire Report: A Neat CB 22 Short Ruger 10/22 Magazine Conversion

eBay is typically where I go for some pretty good deals on second-hand firearms accessories like sights, optics, magazines, and sometimes even other equipment like rangefinders and such. I didn’t directly seek out this magazine, it just happened to pop up in my “similar items” list after I had already posted my ammunition review on CCI’s CB 22 Shorts a few weeks ago. eBay doesn’t allow the sale of ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts, but for the most part, you can find handy things including some unique aftermarket accessories for more obscure guns.

We're back!

New Gen 2 design!

Over 400 sold!

Simply the best reliable Ruger 10/22 .22 short magazine on the market

Its amazing how quiet a short .22 ammo shoots!

Over a 400 magazines sold!

Built on a factory OEM magazine

No mods to the rifle.

With mods to the springs rifle will repeat with this mag but why when going close bolt is so quiet.

Feeds 10 rounds super smooth

Aguilla Super Colibra 20g short rounds works great.

This magazine also works great with the Ruger 77/22 American too!

Shipping is a flat $2. We can split the shipping cost.

First Impressions

The magazine came in a small bubble-wrapped package about a week after I ordered it. When I took it out I was pleased to see that the body of the OEM BX-1 magazine was undamaged by the alteration process. The only noticeable difference between the modded magazine and an original is the tiny bit of extra material at the front of the magazine which acts as an extended feed ramp for the rounds.

Loading the magazine seemed fairly straightforward. If you’ve ever loaded a BX-1 rotary magazine, you’ll have no problem loading shorts into this modded mag. With this particular magazine, I had to load and unload the magazine several times to get the last round to rise to the top. The first two or three times I loaded the magazine, the last round would always get hung up inside of the magazine's body, right around where the second round would sit in a full magazine. After this first hiccup, there were no problems feeding 10 of the CCI 22 shorts through the gun.

Even with the capability to reliably feed the 22 Shorts from a magazine, the 10/22 won’t cycle with the very slow, very light CB Shorts. Although the listing says that modifications to the recoil springs (attached to the charging handle on the 10/22) can allow the rifle to cycle with CB shorts, I don’t feel comfortable testing that claim on my OEM 10/22 parts just yet - perhaps down the road I can find a dedicated replacement meant to cycle CB Shorts, or I can take the time and money to tinker with one at home to see what happens.

The best use case for these magazines would be the Ruger Precision Rimfire, Ruger American, or even the newer Springfield Waypoint 2020 Rimfire. This is where the magazines, combined with a proper suppressor would make for a nice and quiet pest control gun.

A Surprising Report - I Need A Better Suppressor

Long term, I’d like to get a 10/22 set up with a 10-12” barrel, some of these magazines, and a dedicated rimfire suppressor like the SilencerCo Sparrow. One thing I’ve recently learned about CCI CB 22 Shorts is that they’re not the quietest 22 caliber rimfire cartridges available. That award currently goes to either Aguila’s sniper subsonic 60-grain load, or CCI’s own CCI Quiet 22. Rated at 710 fps, we tested this ammunition a while back and it’s one of the few rimfire loads that I’ve felt would be safe to fire without a suppressor and hearing protection.

CB 22 Shorts are not that. They’re considerably louder than even CCI Suppressor 40 grain, and so loud that shooting them out of a pistol unprotected could still damage your hearing. While I typically use my TiOn Inc Dragoon 450B for literally everything, the SiCo Sparrow really should be my next suppressor purchase. At just a touch under 7oz, it wouldn’t add any additional weight to the shortened barrel, and the suppressor itself is well known for being one of the best combinations of price, durability, longevity, and of course, it’s user serviceable, and only about $300 before the NFA stamp. The whole combination should make for a very quiet pest control rig. Buying all of this on Silencer Shop takes most of the hassle away, especially after you’ve used their Kiosk system once.

Final Thoughts - Worth The Buy?

I don’t know if I can recommend this particular eBay listing to everyone. Even among other rimfire shooters, I’m particularly knee-deep in everything and items like this nifty 22 Short magazine give me a reason to visit guns, and ammo that I don’t often shoot together anymore. In fact, I’ve probably shot more CB 22 Shorts in the last two months than I have in my entire life combined, simply because this magazine allows me to do it in a hassle-free way with one of my favorite platforms.

I’d like to hear from you guys if you think this 10/22 CB Short Magazine Conversion from eBay has any practical applications for you and the type of shooting you like to do. Is the price fair to you at nearly $30? Are  CB 22 Shorts useless compared to other rimfire pest control alternatives? I look forward to reading your thoughts below and as always thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report, we’ll see you all again next week!