Was given some neat old ammo

jacotsmith

jacotsmith

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A relative came across this stuff in their travels and handed it off to me, as I am “the gun guy” in the family.

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Looks kind of neat. The ammo itself looks nice and clean, must have been stored properly.

Anyone know much about it? The rounds are very small.

Is it worth anything to a collector? Can I use it in my kid’s Savage Rascal for pop cans?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking!
 

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The boxes look nice. The ammo itself looks like this RWS 22 BB Cap below.

They were designed and used primarily for indoor use as in gallery shooting, where low-powered ammo was desirable. They may also serve as a pest control round. They can be expected to have more energy than many airguns and require attention to safe use.

 
We bought them when I was a kid at the local hardware store I don't think we were 13 years old. No questions asked back them we paid 25 cents a box and shot starlings and pidgeons with them out of our single shot winchester 67's. Don't throw the box away.
 
I used them back in the 60s , only 1 box and I still have the empty box.

I had been using the RWS BB and CB caps in an unlocked breech Flobert and, on seeing the CIL product at the local hardware store, decided to try them. They were anything but "SuperClean". They had a light powder charge, some kind of grey flake that burned incompletely and really left a mess.

The RWS were powered by primer only and I much preferred them. The CIL cases were a bit longer than the RWS but shorter than a short. I think I might have a couple still kicking around.

Anyway, that is an interesting find, thanks for posting.
 
BattleRife said:
BB (Bulleted Breech) rounds were little more than a primed base crimped onto a very light bullet. Used for indoor gallery games and cheap plinking.
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Yes, when there were still real shooting galleries at the county fairs, I remember them being quick loaded into the tubular magazines of the gallery rifles, Browning pump actions I believe, the carnies sort of poured them in from another tube. You could get a heck of a lot of shots from a single reload, seemed like around 15 or 20, that was the other thing impressed me.
 
Raton57 said:
Dad used them many many years ago for grouse in northern Sask.
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As did my Dad in mid-1930's - between Big River, Sask. and the National Park. He said he shot many red squirrels and bush rabbits. He was quite sure they would not reach to the top of tall spruce tree - missed many red squirrels that were looking down at him, and he claims there was just no way he could have missed at that range ... It was apparently, by far, the cheapest ammo for their thumb fired single shot .22 that they could get to buy, then and there.
 
grauhanen said:
The boxes look nice. The ammo itself looks like this RWS 22 BB Cap below.

They were designed and used primarily for indoor use as in gallery shooting, where low-powered ammo was desirable. They may also serve as a pest control round. They can be expected to have more energy than many airguns and require attention to safe use.

Click to expand...

If I recall right, around 1963 or so my Dad also used them as stun gun rounds in a country slaughterhouse. Cheap, quiet and if in a rifle enough power to penetrate a beef skull at point blank range. Part of that memory is his constant repeating to my brother and I to "put that down, they're not toys" ( but they were so cute
 
Big Bad said:
Yes, when there were still real shooting galleries at the county fairs, I remember them being quick loaded into the tubular magazines of the gallery rifles, Browning pump actions I believe, the carnies sort of poured them in from another tube. You could get a heck of a lot of shots from a single reload, seemed like around 15 or 20, that was the other thing impressed me.
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I am pretty sure my Rossi pump held something like 22-23 "shorts". BB/CB would keep you plinking all week.
 
bogozzo said:
If I recall right, around 1963 or so my Dad also used them as stun gun rounds in a country slaughterhouse. Cheap, quiet and if in a rifle enough power to penetrate a beef skull at point blank range. Part of that memory is his constant repeating to my brother and I to "put that down, they're not toys" ( but they were so cute
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The .22 BB Cap was typically a primer-powered cartridge, meaning it was usually without any other propellant. It had a MV up to about 700 fps, with an energy level of 20 - 26 fpe, depending on the weight of the "bullet". It's curious that anyone would prefer this type of indoor gallery round for dispatching cattle in a slaughterhouse. The .22LR round has much more energy at over 100 fpe.
 
B said:
CCI "CB" run about 700fps and definitely have some smokeless powder in there.
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There are or were .22 BB Caps and .22 CB caps.

The common.22 BB Caps, which are the OP's subject and shown in his pictures, are without powder. This is confirmed by information readily available online.

For readers in general, according to Wikipedia, the .22 CB cap differs from the .22 BB cap. The .22 CB was designed to be a cross between a .22 BB cap and a 22 Short. It seems American ammo makers stopped making the CB cap in the late 1940s. Apparently in Europe both these cartridges are referred to as the 6mm Flobert.

Nevertheless, regarding its source of power, Wikipedia notes that "The .22 CB cap has a very small propellant charge (usually no gunpowder, just the primer), resulting in a low muzzle velocities of between 350 and 853 feet per second (107 and 260 m/s)".

For information on the .22 CB cap, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_CB

For more on the .22 BB cap, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_BB
 
B said:
I didn't need an attempted lesson in response to the small bit of information I decided to share. You aren't teaching me anything here.
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No doubt. Readers in general will understand you aren't the only one seeing the thread. Teaching you may be at best an unexpected biproduct.

In any case, it isn't about you. It's about the .22 BB Cap in the OP.
 
I’m of two minds. I’m not a collector, I believe God invented ammunition for it to be shot. But it seems a shame to use this stuff up.
 
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