.22 CB

.22 CB Cap (Conical Ball Cap) is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition which has a very small propellant charge (usually no gunpowder, just the primer), resulting in a low muzzle velocity of between 350 and 700 ft/s (110 to 210 m/s). This is similar to the muzzle velocity produced by a low to mid-power .22 pellet gun, however it should be noted that the bullet from a .22 CB cartridge is significantly heavier than a typical airgun pellet and therefore carries more energy. Due to their low power, CB rounds can be trapped by most pellet gun traps and are nearly silent due to the lack of residual pressure at the muzzle (see Internal ballistics). CB rounds are often used for indoor shooting practice or for small pest control in areas where a limited range is an advantage due to crowding. Care should be taken when firing CB rounds indoors, since the priming compound used in most cartridges contains lead compounds. Lack of adequate ventilation can lead to inhalation of the lead compounds in the soot, which in the long term can lead to lead poisoning. Since CB rounds have little or no gunpowder to generate the high pressures and large volumes of gas found in normal ammunition, the soot from the primer is more heavily deposited in the barrel and chamber and on the fired case. Firearms should be cleaned, and the user's hands washed carefully to remove this residue.

The original .22 CB cartridge has the same case as the .22 BB, but there are now low-power .22 rounds sold as .22 CB Short and .22 CB Long which come in the more common .22 rimfire cartridge cases. The longer cases will allow the rounds to be fired in magazine fed firearms, in which the tiny CB Cap cases would jam.

Specifications

• Case length:
  • CB: 0.284 in (7.2 mm)
  • Short: 0.423 in (10.7 mm)
  • Long: 0.595 in (15.1 mm)
• Bullet weight:
  • 20 to 29 grains (1.30 to 1.88 g)

See also

• .22 BB
• .22 Short
• .22 Long
• .22 Long Rifle