Re: Federal .22 punch

2
Huh. Interesting. Punch is the brand Federal has been using for civilian-grade CC defensive ammunition. I guess you could call it second tier in their centerfire offerings - it isn't designed for penetrating automotive glass or other barriers, just the typical FBI gel tests. This is radically different from those, designwise.
Self-defense isn't one size fits all. Punch™ 22 LR from Federal Premium® uses a first-of-its-kind nickel-plated lead-core bullet pushed at maximum velocities to achieve the deepest penetration through short-barrel handguns. So, whether you want to carry a 22 LR pistol as a backup gun, don't feel comfortable with centerfire pistols, or simply want to get more versatility from your rimfire, Punch makes the 22 LR cartridge a viable choice for the first time ever.

Maximum velocity for energy and penetration; 1,070 fps through 2-inch barrel handguns, 1,650 fps out of 24-inch rifle barrels
https://www.federalpremium.com/rimfire/ ... D22L1.html
:blink:

29 grains is a light bullet, even for .22LR. CCI's Stinger weighs in at 32 grains, and BBTI only touched 1500 fps out of a 17" barrel with it. Hypervelocity rounds meant for varminting apparently open up too fast out of a rifle and lose a lot of penetration, and Stingers have that pesky extraction problem too, so this is an interesting approach. I'd like to see the gel testing.

Re: Federal .22 punch

3
Follow-up - Paul Harrell has a look at the Punch-branded .22LR offering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlL3uBoTrM8

In a related vein, he takes on Winchester's Silvertip .22LR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Qdw92KAzQ

TL;DW, they're accurate enough, but he's still attached to Stingers and Yellowjackets. I don't entirely get why. I kind of appreciate his target pack for evaluating defensive rounds - it's not really standardized, and it's actually a little gruesome, but it's less theoretical than gel testing. All of the rounds tested seem to do the basic job of poking holes deep enough into an upper-torso analogue, considering that they're tiny holes. The ones he likes are the ones most likely to overpenetrate, and recent events remind us that overpenetration is neither theoretical nor desired.

Here's an actual look at both in clear ballistic gel. From the 3" LCRx, Punch seems to have the best penetration I've seen for the caliber, and it mushrooms out of a rifle. Silvertips penetrate about as well as the HE fragmenting varmint rounds Lucky Gunner tested in their pocket pistol tests. No surprise - I bet they're the same bullet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qWdEAgeJR0

Re: Federal .22 punch

6
Follow-up - I like it. Did a function check with the MkIV on my last range trip - just enough to gauge accuracy and see if it would cycle properly, since it's not easy to find. Shot a better group than the CCI Clean-22, no problems cycling with either. Louder than your average .22LR, as you'd expect, with just enough recoil to notice. Saw a video where it hit 1580 fps out of a 16" barrel.

When sweeping up, I noticed that it uses the longer nickel-plated cases, like Stingers. Can complicate ejection. This is hot stuff and you'll probably notice a bigger difference in a smaller gun. I like it.

I picked up some Winchester Silvertip cheap last year, when rimfire was hard to come by and overpriced. I liked that at the time, but when I tried to shoot a group for comparison to Punch, I had a stovepipe FTE on the first round and two more light strike FTFs in the first magazine. Either this is a bad batch or the primers do not age well. Still accurate - when it worked - but the reliability has me concerned. Probably a reason it was cheap.

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