Federal Punch / Winchester Silvertip / CCI Stinger Ammo Test - Beretta 21a & 87 Cheetah

Today we test out some 22 long rifle self defense ammunition. Using the Beretta 21a and the Model 87 Cheetah, we take three 22lr loadings to the shooting range and compare their reliability and accuracy. Ammunitions used are the Federal 22 LR Personal Defense Punch Flat Nose in 29 grains, the Winchester SiverTip 22LR Plated Segmented Hollow Point in 37 grains, and the CCI 22 long rifle Stinger Copper Plated Hollow Point 32gr

[@Valorius]

Just a pro tip for people out there: Aguila supermaximum 30 grain flat nose solid has identical performance to Federal Punch, but for about 20-30% less money.

[@texmexshoots]

Great info! I just got my hands on some. I plan to test them at some point out of rifles comparing them to stingers.

[@Valorius]

@@texmexshoots i get 1172fps avg from my Sig 322 and 1351 from my 10.5" CMMG bravo AR. I just uploaded a video with this specific test about a week ago. Of course more data is always better.

[@zodaguado6655]

Remember shoot the ammo first with your gun,,, some 22lr pistols or rifles don’t always agree with all ammo like semi auto pistols 😊

[@kimdotnet2110]

That cheetah looks so nice, excellent finish.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks Kim! Beretta makes some beautiful firearms.

[@kennethrisner8648]

You are right, it was a fun video. Even if the 22lr round is small and many frown upon it flor self defense claiming it isn't powerful enough that many accurate hits like you got here would be enough to convince any bad guy to get a different line of work. If they studied rimfire history a little, they would find the little 22 short which is clearly under a 22 lr round, and is the original rimfire round and the very first self contained American metallic cartridge released in 1857, was intended for self defense in the first Smith & Wesson revolver. And the modern powder used in these rounds make it even more powerful. The advent of the 22 lr round even back then was a huge jump forward. So in both the 22 short and 22 lr rounds we have the 2 oldest longest lasting most enduring rounds in American history. And the reason they are still around is because they worked back then, and still work today. That said, and I'm not an expert or gunsmith but I suspect the reason your slides sometimes don's cycle back after firing the first round might be magazine related, as in when loaded to full capacity + 1 in the chamber, the springs in the mags push too tightly on the slide and hinder it cycling. I hope this makes sense it's the only way I know how to describe it. I could be wrong about this but I'd like to see you do another video with the same guns and rounds only put one less round in each mag and see what happens.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching! You could certainly be right about the magazine, being overloaded, causing those first rounds to keep the slide from fully going back into battery. Also, good food for thought with the 22 short and long rifle history. Nowadays we are spoiled with so many powerful pistol calibers, we forget not that not long ago many small calibers were considered sufficient or self-defense. Just think about how just a few decades ago, 38 Special was king and now it’s considered lowly compared to everything else.

[@kennethrisner8648]

@@texmexshoots points well taken

[@cervus-venator]

Thanks Tex Mex for the video. That little 21a is just a point and shoot gun, but based on hits you were certainly in the target even with the hard to see front sight. I have a box of the Federal punch and of course the Singers too, but other than my Ruger SR22 I don't really have a small 22lr. I should compare my three different 380 pistols (Ruger LCP, Bersa Thunder, and CZ70) to see how they all do with different defensive ammo. Again, thanks for the video. EDIT: the CZ70 is 32ACP not .380

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks Cervus. A 380 defensive ammo comparison would be great! That little 21a was my first pistol, so I did carry it for some time. Reliable and more accurate than you would expect from such a small frame. Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

[@frankhinkle5772]

I had a Bauer .25ACP pistol that I really liked but had to let go. The sights were really tiny, but it had a raised ridge that was serrated running down the top of the slide. The pistol was all stainless and in the sunlight it was bright. I ended up painting the front sight and the front half of the ridge red. From then on I had a really good sighting plane to reference while shooting it. This wasn't a gun in a collection, it was my hideout gun while on-duty, and I shot it every time I went to the range. I paint almost all of my black or plain stainless sights red.

[@texmexshoots]

@@frankhinkle5772 I've been using nail polish for that sort of problem since the late 80's. And now they make some crazy bright neon colors that work well to help contrast the front sight. Those Bauer's look nice. They resemble the baby browning 25acp

[@ronchappell216]

Enjoyed the video. Recently got the .32 Tomcat and followed it quickly with the Bobcat - both the Covert models. Beautiful little pistols. And, they go well with my older .380 Beretta 84. Such nice pistols. All three a pleasure. Thanks for the video. Not many problems feeding with either but I'm still enjoying playing with different ammo.

[@texmexshoots]

Beretta's designs are some of the most beautiful in the industry. I'd own all of their models if I could. The 84/87 models have that classic look. And nothing looks more 1980's than the 92F

[@J.R.F.23]

With aging eyes I usually put a dab of White Nail Polish or White Out on the front sight of pistols with black sights. It definitely helps and its not permanent; should you want or need to remove it.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for the tip Robert! Back in the day my father would do the same thing. I just need to find some bright white or orange nail polish and get my daughter to buy some. Or just go through the embarrassment of buying it myself 😅

[@Valorius]

@@texmexshoots Testors blaze orange model paint is fantastic for painting front sights.

[@texmexshoots]

@@Valorius And less embarrassing to buy than nail polish 😅

[@Valorius]

@@texmexshoots 🤣

[@davidpritchard604]

I used stark white model paint on my CZ83 sights using a very fine brush. This worked out very well with no need to buy new sights.

[@Bush63Master]

Nice job!!! I believe your 1st shot ftf's were due to too much oil in the breech. As a competitive shooter and enthusiast, whenever zeroing a weapon after cleaning, you don't count the 1st or 2nd rounds fired as the weapon needs to burn off the heavier oil residues after cleaning. After that the accuracy and shot groups are much more consistent. I would love to see you try out the Keltec P17, and your elderly family members would surely enjoy the ease and lightweight, as well as the 16+1 magazine capacity. It's by far the easiest weapon I have ever handled as far as breakdown for maintenance, as well as super easy to rack the action. And with It's green fiber optic front sight post, as well as fully adjustable rear sight...you won't have to search for the sight post as you did in this video. I've had a couple of these and they are solid, reliable performers, shooting anything I load without issues outside of a faulty round on occasion. I'm so impressed by my experiences with it I recently gave mom one, and she was estatic with It's simple design and ability to work the slide, along with the bright front sight. She's a young 83 with eye and hand issues.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching Bushmaster! What a nice gift for your Mom. I'm sure she really appreciated it. I'll keep in mind for the future to shoot off a couple of rounds before checking of accuracy. I learned at a young age to keep the chamber and barrel free from excessive oil to avoid any pressure issues with ammo. That being said, I'm sure a bit always gets in there as I clean my firearms. So it's good to know I should shoot a couple of rounds to burn that stuff off.

[@Bush63Master]

@texmexshoots I forgot to mention that that the P17 has a "fixed" threaded barrel, with the thread protector installed from factory, but also gives you the thread adaptor & wrench, plus an Allen wrench for rear sight adjustments. It also comes with 3 16rd magazines. Best of all is the price tag...base black model can be had between $190-230.00, in tan or od green between $200-240.00, and it's made in the USA. It also is a hammer fired pistol with manual safety, and has and excellent cocked hammer indicator at the rear of the slide. The only caution would be to wear hearing protection the higher velocity atmosphere. I'm putting some subsonic ammo through it this week to see if that makes a noticeable difference...CCI Subsonic 40gr LHP. It shoots very nicely with winchester 36gr champion cphp 325rd value pack, as does everything I've loaded that ammo into. Very reliable and cost effective ammo. Sign up for RKGuns online for sale notifications, as well as sportsman's guide.

[@texmexshoots]

@@Bush63Master Thanks for the info! I'll head over to RK and get on the list.

[@RickJZ1973]

Nice informative video. CCI velocitors are also a good round for self defense purposes.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks Rick! I need to get some velocitors to try them out.

[@Brandi6666]

Those federal 22’s are pretty much sub sonic and the 21a really needs a more than standard fps ammo because of them not having a extractor, it depends on speed of blowback

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching Brando! That is good information to know.

[@phantomstrike3310]

I know everyone seems to love the Federal Punch, but my results are not good. I like the Bobcat covert for backup, and it hates Punch. I also have a PPK/S, and that thing is even worse. Nothing but malfunctions with the punch. Silvertips, MiniMags, and even the Browning BPR work amazing in both pistols. I think it has to do with the low grain bullet on the punch. Maybe the Taurus TX22 will eat the punch, because that thing eats anything, but I no longer have one. On the plus side, the punch works flawlessly in my Bergara BMR bolt gun, LOL. Im disappointed in the punch.........as a round basically designed for handguns, it is a fail in my opinion. maybe they come out with a 36 or 40 grain round? who knows

[@texmexshoots]

I appreciate the information. It's good to hear experiences good or bad, with these ammunitions. As it is, 22 pistols are usually picky about the loadings they like. Thanks for watching!

[@johnpower8356]

Punch and stingers dont cycle my 21A reliably. I love both rounds but i keep cci minimags in it for self defense. It works 💯% with minimags. Disappointing 😞

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching John! Sadly small rimfires can be very picky about the ammo they will cycle.

[@frankhinkle5772]

I would assume that the reason you had those FTF after the first shot was fired was the full magazine pressing up against the bottom of the barrel slowed down the slide during recoil, while the Stinger had enough euommph to still cycle the slide. I know that you shoot your guns with different ammos, so I'd expect that if that was a problem with either of these pistols that it would have happened before. Both of these are really nice pistols. I am envious. Thanks for taking us out with you.

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching Frank! Hadn't thought about the magazine being the issue. Makes sense! I was surprised how well the segmented silvertip ammo grouped. I probably wouldn't feed a steady diet of stingers through either of those pistols. Especially the 87. But they still are a great go to if you only had a 22 to defend yourself.

[@tomsherwood4650]

Terminal performance is the goal, function is the first step. Next gel it?

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks for watching Tom I think I may have to start doing gel tests. Haven't made any yet. Need to find rectangular tubs and mix some up.

[@3Pillers]

👍

[@texmexshoots]

Thanks 3Pilers!

[@3Pillers]

@@texmexshoots love the 21A, have one. Would love to have an 87 cheetah. I’m a big Beretta fan.

[@texmexshoots]

@@3Pillers The 87s are great! I got this one used on a trade. No box or papers and only one magazine, although I was able to get an extra mag. Beautiful pistols that are fun to shoot!