The Rimfire Report: CCI Suppressor 45 Grain - Heavy & Quiet

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of its different types of guns, history, shooting sports, and ammo! Last time we took a look at the relatively inexpensive CCI “Green Tag” 40-grain ammo. Billed as a more affordable alternative to genuine match ammo - CCI Green Tag is produced via a hand-picked process where particularly good lots of CCI Standard Velocity 40 grain are separated for their consistency which in turn typically leads to smaller group sizes. As with any rimfire ammo - whether or not one particular lot of ammo is going to group well out of your specific rifle is another matter entirely and probably the reason many of you commented that while the appeal of CCI Green Tag is there, CCI Standard does it better for the price that it is being asked for. I would tend to agree with that assessment of my level of skill and the type of shooting that I do.

This week we’re digging back into subsonic ammunition with another offering from CCI - CCI Suppressor 45 grain. CCI Suppressor 45-grain is primarily intended to be used in semi-automatic suppressed firearms as a small game hunting round. This means that while we’ll repeat our same accuracy and velocity testing today - we’ll revisit those same tests using a semi-automatic .22LR firearm to give the ammo a chance to shine in its intended environment. For today, let's get into the specs, velocity, and accuracy data we gleaned from our last range session with CCI Suppressor 45 Grain.

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: CCI Quiet-22 40 gr Segmented Hollow Point
• The Rimfire Report: Federal Game-Shok 38gr CPHP 22LR
• The Rimfire Report: The Legendary Ruger Standard .22 Pistol

The Rimfire Report: CCI Suppressor 45 Grain - Heavy & Quiet

Product Overview

Product Link: https://www.cci-ammunition.com/rimfire/cci/22-suppressor/6-957.html

Whisper-quiet. Deadly as ever. CCI® Suppressor is optimized for use in suppressed firearms. Its subsonic velocity further reduces noise, yet the hollow-point bullet expands reliably for excellent terminal performance. Clean-burning powders minimize blow-back and ease firearm cleaning.

• Subsonic velocity further minimizes noise through suppressed firearms
• Hollow-point bullet consistently expands at low velocities
• Reliable function in suppressed semi-automatic firearms
• Clean-burning powders
• Caliber: 22 LR
• Grain Weight: 45
• Muzzle Velocity: 970
• Bullet Style: Lead Hollow Point
• Ballistic Coefficient: .125
• Package Quantity: 50
• Usage: Small Game
• Price Per Box: $9.99

Velocity Data & A Word on the Garmin Xero C1

The Garmin Xero C1 I have been borrowing from fellow writer Lucas D has really been getting a workout in. So before we start with the actual velocity data, I’d like to put in a few quick thoughts on this particular chronograph. While it is one of the smallest chronographs on the market, it also turns out to be one of the most convenient as it has very forgiving tolerances in its placement in relation to the barrel, has a battery that lasts for several long-range sessions, and has an interface that is simple, yet very functional on both the device itself, as well as the companion app. After using it so much over the last several months, I’m probably going to wind up buying one of my own and would wholeheartedly recommend one to any shooter out there looking for a good, albeit expensive chronograph.

This velocity data looks eerily similar to the CCI Green Tag velocity data except for the average velocity. Both the extreme spread and standard deviation are within a couple of fps of one another, which means that both loads are very consistent. Another thing I’ll take note of here is the maximum velocity - not once did any of the rounds fired exceed 1,005 fps which means that none of the rounds fired - even out of the 18” barrel are nearing the transonic barrier. Not only will these rounds stay completely quiet when used with any type of suppressor - they’ll also maintain the same level of accuracy at longer ranges in comparison to most supersonic loads.

CCI’s main drive with this ammunition is the heavier 45-grain all-lead hollow point bullet - one that I’ve known in the past to expand reliably in a variety of substances including ballistic gelatin. The heavier bullet combined with the relatively low velocity unfortunately means a much faster drop over the same distance as a supersonic load, but for most “small game” hunting applications this shouldn’t be an issue especially since reliable, semi-automatic suppressed functionality is at the top of the list here. The consistency of the ammo here means that if it does function in any of my semi-auto-suppressed firearms, reliability shouldn’t be a concern.

Out of all the ammo I’ve tested so far in this little series, CCI Suppressor has been the closest to its advertised velocity when fired out of the B14R. Most of you will remember that most of the other ammo we’ve tested, including some of CCIs own offerings, have all had slightly higher velocities out of the B14Rs 18” all-steel #6 taper barrel. This leads me to believe that the cartridge is burning virtually all of its powder well before the bullet is 16” down the pipe. We’ll get to see if my estimation is correct in future tests we have planned for this ammo.

Accuracy Data

This round wasn’t intended to be used in bolt-action firearms. Still, having shot this particular load plenty out of my overpriced Bergara B14R, I find it to be more accurate and almost as quiet as CCI Quiet 40 grain - which is intended to be used only out of manual action 22LR firearms. In anecdotal and pictureless claims in online forums, I hear most people quoting this ammo as being capable of shooting “quarter-sized” groups at 50 yards. Our best group of the day was about that size and the remaining four groups weren’t too far off from that.

Thoughts Going Forward

CCI Suppressor 45 grain is hands down the ideal round in my mind when it comes to subsonic pest control duty. The Bergara B14R’s mission is to give each of these ammunition types the best shot in the accuracy department. However, in the spirit of the ammo, I have two additional firearms I want to test this ammo out of - specifically for the application of a small pest control gun. One gun will be a suppressed P322 pistol, the other a suppressed lightweight 10/22 Takedown that I know to be quite accurate with its favorite ammo - CCI Standard Velocity. We’ll also take the same time to test out this ammo in some ballistic gelatin provided to us by Clear Ballistics, so we can see how well the heavy 45-grain hollow points expand down range. As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome! Thank you for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report and we’ll see you all again next week!