Welcome to TFB Podcast Roundup 46! Summer is just a few short weeks away and for us, southerners, that means intense heat, lots of pollen, and probably a few well-deserved weekends by the pool with a nice cold brew. If you’ve got no one else to talk to about gun stuff when you’re lounging out on the deck of your favorite pool then you might need something to listen to. There is no shortage of hot firearms topics that many of our favorite podcasting friends have to talk about and this week we’re bringing you some of those hot topics, some practical advice, and some more great stories from the folks over at the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast – fast becoming one of my favorites to listen to for their analytical look at defensive shooting situations.

More Podcast Roundups @ TFB:

• TFB Podcast Roundup 45: More Podcasts For Your Listening Pleasure
• TFB Podcast Roundup 44: Miami Shootout and Old Guns
• TFB Podcast Roundup 43: Double Actions, Rangefinders, and AKs

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

The Firearm Trainer Podcast S3E13 Range Safety Briefings

Length: 43 Minutes

In today’s episode we talk with Klint Macro from Trigger Pressers Union.

Everyone should know what a range safety briefing is. Whether it’s large shooting events like competitions, group shooting events, or even just a trip between you and your buddies having a solid range safety briefing that covers not only basic firearms safety rules and methods but also emergency procedures and risk mitigation plans is essential to keeping everyone safe and also in the right mindset should an emergency happen. This is a good all-around episode for everyone to listen to regardless of your shooting preferences as it applies to nearly every situation involving live fire training.

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

Listen to The Firearm Trainer Podcast Season 3 Episode13 – Range Safety Briefings on Google Podcasts

GUNS Magazine Podcast #130 – I Got Shot!

Length: 12 Minutes

Our host Brent T. Wheat shares the day he became an official “Gun Shot Wound” patient. Part-humor, part-cautionary, it’s a tale every shooter should hear.

This is a short but somewhat hilarious tale about how the host of the Gun’s Magazine Podcast who although being a very experienced shooter, still fell victim to an out of battery discharge and wound up being shot in the same event. This is a great story with some handy advice in it about how not only to avoid the same situation, but how to react in this type of situation should you, or someone you’re with, suffer a firearms-related injury.

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

Listen to the Guns Magazine Podcast #130 – I Got Shot! Over on Google Podcasts

GUN TALK NATION | Mission-Specific Design, PRS & More 

Length: 36 Minutes

Gun Talk Nation’s Ryan Gresham sits down with Daniel Defense’s Daniel McLeroy to delve into various shooting topics. In this wide-ranging discussion, Ryan and Daniel discuss the Daniel Defense Delta 5 lineup, mission-specific design, long-range gear, PRS strategy and much more.

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

Listen to Gun Talk Nation | Mission-Specific Design, PRS & More over on Google Podcasts

Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast Episode 277 with David Cole

Length: 20 Minutes

Welcome to episode 277of Self-Defense Gun Stories. We’re glad you found us if you’re well trained.. and if you’re still learning about armed defense. I’m Rob Morse and we’re joined this week by firearms instructor David Cole.

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

Listen to Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast Episode 177 With David Cole over on  the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast Website

Firearms Nation Podcast 191: AJ Zito – Practical Performance

Length: 78 Minutes

AJ Zito is a gunsmith and practical shooter. He designs and makes custom 1911s and also competes in action shooting sports such as USPSA and IDPA. He is one of the few people I know that has actually gone to a three year gunsmithing school (something that sounds incredibly cool!) AJ currently is one of the assistant instructors with Scott “Jedi” Jedlinski from Modern Samurai Project and travels to many of the classes with him around the county.

I had a really nice talk with AJ and look forward to hearing more from him as he starts up his podcast again.

TFB Podcast Roundup 46: Onward Into the Summer Heat!

Listen to the Firearms Nation Podcast 191: AJ Zito – Practical Performance over on YouTube

TFB B-Side Podcast: A Drink with the C&G Holsters Crew

Length: 29 Minutes

C&G Holsters is a family run business that was started in 2008 by Christopher J. Burns, its founder and President. Frustrated by his inability to find a quality Kydex holster, Chris decided to design and construct a Kydex holster that would be functional, practical, and reliable. Initially, Chris only made a few holsters in his garage for himself and his close friends. However, the reputation of Chris’ garage made holsters quickly spread through the local law enforcement and shooting communities and the demand for his holsters steadily increased. This was the birth of C&G Holsters.

Today on the TFB B-Side podcast we have on several members of the C&G Holsters crew on to talk about their product, their histories and how they came to work for C&G holsters. Please welcome the C&G Holsters Crew to the show!

Listen to the TFB B-Side Podcast: A Drink with the C&G Holsters Crew over on Spotify

That’s all we’ve got for this week’s roundup of podcasts! Be sure to let us know if you enjoyed any of these podcasts or if there is a gun-related podcast you’re currently listening to that other listeners might enjoy! Thanks for listening and be sure to check back next week for more firearms podcast episodes!

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm universe. Last week, we looked at the unique and exciting MK4 Carbine Upper Receiver Firearm, a joint venture between competitive shooter Wade Reed and MaddMacs Precision. A lot of you thought the design was quite inventive. In contrast, others kinda turned their noses up at it in favor of the already compact Ruger 10/22 Charger which does have the benefit of having a bit more modularity and magazine capacity but is undoubtedly much heavier and bulkier than the MK4 Carbine can be. Personally, I thought the MK4 Carbine was a neat idea and it would honestly be a great backpacking gun – especially if there was a way to get more than 10-rounds to a magazine in it. Loaded up with some hot ammo, the MK4 could be a great hunting or even a self-defense firearm in a pinch. Speaking of hot ammo, we’re back again this week doing another ballistic gel test, this time featuring CCI Stinger 36-grain Hollow Points. A lot of you had requested that we test out these hot little cartridges to see how well they’d perform out of a handful of firearms ranging from pocket pistols up to the 10/22 rifle. So today we’ll be taking a look at the data I collected for the CCI Stinger cartridge and see how it stacks up to our previous 22LR ballistic gel tests.

More Rimfire Report Articles @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: Pondering the MK4 Carbine from MaddMacs Precision
• The Rimfire Report: CCI Velocitor As A 22LR Self-Defense Cartridge?
• The Rimfire Report: Review of Federal Punch 22LR Personal Defense Ammunition

The Rimfire Report: The Ultra Hot CCI Stinger In Ballistic Gelatin

CCI Stinger 32-Grain CPHP Product Specifications

• Caliber: 22LR
• Grain Weight: 32-grains
• Muzzle Velocity: 1,640 (Presumably a 20″ barrel)
• Bullet Style: Copper Plated Hollow Point
• Ballistic Coefficient: 0.084
• Package Quantity: 50
• Intended Usage: Hunting
• Price: $8.49 From Sportsmans Guide ( ~0.16 cents per round)
• Product Link: https://www.cci-ammunition.com/rimfire/cci/stinger/6-50.html

Just like before, we’ll be doing a raw data dump followed by a brief discussion of said data. We’ll also be using the same setup and firearms as last time for consistency. Some of you griped that I didn’t put a charger length barrel in there but the problem is the gel blocks don’t keep well and this makes storing multiple gel blocks a logistical nightmare (at least the homemade ones). We’re currently working on getting a hold of some Clear Ballistics 10% FBI spec gel blocks so you can also see into them better. For the time being, we’ll have to deal with the somewhat opaque homemade Knox Gelatin blocks I’m currently able to make. Like last time, we used four layers of 5.11 jeans as our stand-in clothing.

Test Results

Taurus 942:

• Avg Vel: 1,028-fps
• Max Vel: 1,051-fps
• Min Vel:   989-fps
• Extreme Spread: 62-fps
• Std Dev: 27-fps
• No. of Failures: 0
• Min Penetration Depth: 16-inches
• Max Penetration Depth: 16-inches***
• Average Penetration Depth: 16-inches
• Expansion: No rounds expanded**
• Weight Retention: 100%

Similar to the CCI Velocitor 40-grain projectiles, the CCI Stingers didn’t have enough ass behind them to expand. Instead they simply just cruised through the gel block and straight into my Level III ballistic inserts and ended up getting deformed slightly. While penetration is good for the 22LR round in a self-defense situation, you’re dealing with a lot less mass here than either of the previous two ammo types we’ve tasted before so I think this might be your last choice for this particular gun with this specific ammunition. Worthy of note is that we are also seeing less standard deviation as well as a reduced extreme spread out of the Stingers than the Velocitors when fired out of the Taurus 942.

Ruger LCP II Lite Rack:

• Avg Vel: 1,062-fps
• Max Vel: 1,077-fps
• Min Vel:  1,034-fps
• Extreme Spread: 43-fps
• Std Dev: 16-fps
• No. of Failures: 0
• Min Penetration Depth: 8-inches
• Max Penetration Depth: 9-inches
• Average Penetration Depth: 8.6-inches
• Expansion: 0.3690-inches average expanded width
• Weight Retention: 100%

I’m going to be honest, after doing a couple of these gel tests I was surprised that the CCI Stinger rounds actually managed to expand out of the tiny little barrel that the LCP II Lite Rack has. However, in contrast, the rounds did not penetrate to a sufficient depth and we only got an average of about 9-inches (two rounds curved out of the sides of the gel block). The expansion, on the other hand, was quite significant so I’m not really sure what to make of this. Expansion is good, but penetration might be more important. I’ll let you guys discuss it in the comments below.

Beretta 21A Bobcat Covert:

• Avg Vel: 1,040-fps
• Max Vel: 1,054-fps
• Min Vel:  1,023-fps
• Extreme Spread: 31-fps
• Std Dev: 11-fps
• No. of Failures: 0
• Min Penetration Depth: 8-inches
• Max Penetration Depth: 16-inches***
• Average Penetration Depth: 8.5-inches (expanded rounds only)
• Expansion: expanded rounds = 0.3535-inches, 3 rounds did not expand
• Weight Retention: 100%

This was an interesting result and one that I’m actually kind of grateful for as it gives us a near-exact point at where CCI Stingers will start to expand. Out of the 5 rounds fired, only two expanded and we know from our test data that the two highest velocities were 1,054 and 1,045 feet per second. The next lowest velocity from there is clocked at 1,034 fps so we know that right around the 1,050-fps mark Stingers will start to expand when shot from a distance of 10 feet. Just like last time, despite the Bobcat Covert having a slightly longer barrel, it’s still getting a slightly lower average velocity than the LCP II Lite Rack.

Ruger 10/22 Carbine:

• Avg Vel: 1,541-fps
• Max Vel: 1,689-fps
• Min Vel:  1,475-fps
• Extreme Spread: 214-fps
• Std Dev: 85-fps
• No. of Failures: 0
• Min Penetration Depth: 11-inches
• Max Penetration Depth: 13-inches
• Average Penetration Depth: 12.5-inches
• Average Expansion: 0.3100-inches (two rounds fragmented)
• Weight Retention: Unfragmented rounds = 100%, Fragmented rounds = 70% weight retention

Another interesting result in my opinion. The Stingers completely folded over on themselves into the forms you see below with two of the rounds actually fragmenting inside of the gel block and leaving the fragments somewhere around the 8-10-inch mark. It’s no wonder why these rounds are favored by hunters as these velocities combined with the weight and brief expansion period (which takes place over the first 5 inches or so of the target) make for an absolutely devastating effect on the target. Out of a rifle, we see that the rounds met the FBI penetration depth but unless you’re Andre the Giant, I don’t think you’ll be packing a 10/22 carbine in your pants anytime soon.

Conclusions

Keep in mind that these are indeed varmint loads intended to be shot from a rifle. That being said, I’m not completely disappointed in the results we got out of the LCP II and the Beretta Bobcat. I think out of something like the SIG P322 or the Taurus TX22, these rounds would perform much better while still giving you a concealable and lightweight package to defend yourself with.

The permanent wound cavity in the first 4-6 inches of the gel block produced by the expanding CCI Stinger

However, I have to wonder if the performance metric of expansion is worth the squeeze with a 22 caliber round. Even though the rounds did expand out of some of the pistols, they were still only managing to expand to sizes around what a 9mm ball round would be. Combine that with the relatively short penetration depth and you’re looking at some pretty piss-poor terminal ballistics if lethality is what you’re after.

With all the testing so far, I still begrudgingly think that the super expensive Federal Punch 22LR ammunition is the current king of defensive 22LR loadings. What about you? Is there a reason you’d pick either CCI Velocitor or CCI Stinger to pair with your 22LR pistol for self-defense? Let us know down in the comments. I’m currently trying to work up another batch of ballistics gelatin for some more tests and on deck for the next set of tests will be CCI Mini Mag, as well as some Winchester Silvertip 37-grain Segmenting Hollow Point ammunition. Like the Federal Punch, the Winchester Silvertip is optimized for short barrels, but unlike Punch, it also features a hollowpoint design. Stay tuned to The Rimfire Report to get a read on those test results in the coming weeks. As always, thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report and we’ll see you again next time!