Review of CCI Mini-Mag .22 LR Ammunition

The CCI Mini-Mag is a popular .22 Long Rifle loading for hunters across the country since its introduction. In fact, CCI may be the most popular manufacturer of rimfire ammunition with popular offerings including the Stinger, Velocitor, and Blazer line of ammo. While I tend to personally use cheap standard velocity ammunition in my .22's, the recent run on rimfire ammunition has caused me to try some .22 LR ammo that I probably would not have otherwise. Keeping a supply of my personally preferred .22 LR ammunition at home on a shelf, I hit the local stores to buy whatever they have when I get to go shoot. A recent trip yielded a box of 100 CCI Mini-Mags for my plinking pleasure and here is the report of my experience with this .22 LR ammo shot in both a rifle and a handgun.

The CCI Mini-Mag is offered in both a standard 40 grain bullet and a 36 grain hollow point bullet loading. Each of these bullets is plated to reduce barrel fouling. I was using the 36 grain hollow point during my informal testing. The hollow point of the bullet is fairly small, yet deep, compared to many others. However, the popularity of the CCI Mini-Mag by small game hunters offers plenty of evidence that the hollow point works in the field. I shot the CCI Mini-Mag in an old bolt action Mossberg and a H&R Revolver for testing. The bolt is not picky but the revolver decidedly prefers standard velocity loadings so I was hoping for good results from the Mini-Mag. The CCI Mini-Mag fires the 36 grain hollow point bullet at a published muzzle velocity of 1260 feet per second. The CCI Mini-Mag using the 40 grain round nose bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1235 feet per second.

Test firing of the CCI Mini-Mag in the bolt action Mossberg was reliable, but accuracy was not overly spectacular. Groups at 50 yards averaged just over an inch or so. Not bad, but not as good as with other ammunition either. 1 inch groups at 50 yards is certainly good enough for small game hunting. The revolver was fired at 25 yards as the rough sights (I blame the sights as the other option is my eyes!) don't allow for fine aiming much beyond that. Groups of just over an inch were also recorded with the revolver (remember 25 yards), meaning that it really liked the CCI Mini-Mag ammunition. I may get a few more boxes of it to try some more and use the Mini-Mag for hunting with the revolver. The H&R Revolver shoots cheap solid point as well, but a hollow point is much better for hunting when accuracy is equal.

Overall, the CCI Mini-Mag seems like a perfectly fine .22 Long Rifle ammunition. If your gun shoots the Mini-Mag well, I see no reason not to use it.