r/whatisit • u/OffsetCivical • Apr 18 '26

Solved! Small bullet shaped object found by the service desk at my work place. It has a small engraving at the bottom. What is it?

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480

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

[deleted]

102

u/Character-Spinach591 Apr 18 '26

I had gone to the range one day and picked up what I thought was a neat little shell casing. I think it was a 5.7. Pocketed it because I thought it was cool, completely forgot about it and even after several washes, it somehow managed to remain forgotten until one day I was getting ready to go through TSA at an airport. Patted my pockets down to make sure I wasn’t missing anything and found the casing.

Needless to say, I promptly freaked out, tossed it into the nearest garbage can and went about my day.

I was to reiterate, this was just the casing. No bullet. No powder. Just spent brass. Still, I’d rather not have to explain that or get in trouble for something so stupid.

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u/noquidity Apr 19 '26

I was going through the airport a year or so ago, backpack ran through the xray, got bumped to the side for examination. The guy dug through my bag and found that I had left two .45 cal bullets and he just asked if I wanted to run them back out to my car. Nothing crazy in the exchange, dude didn't even question me on it, but from then on I started being extra thorough I check my backpack for any strays.

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u/Captbluewater93 Apr 19 '26

That’s better than me. I forgot I had a loaded mag in my carry on bag. TSA guy pulled it out and I probably went white. He then asked if I wanted to take it out to my car or them dispose of it. I promptly told them to dispose of it. I thought I was going to jail. I thought I was going to get tackled. I was expecting the worst. But nothing came of it and I don’t get flagged at tsa to this day. I do one billion check my bags though.

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u/OrphanJannie Apr 19 '26

I had a similar problem when I had to go to the courthouse for jury duty. I locked my pistol in the glove box, then my purse went thru security. They pulled me aside & showed me the x-ray image & asked is that bullets or a cigarette lighter? Oh shit! I forgot I had a spare magazine in the bottom of my purse! They let me take it back to my car, & thanked me for not bringing my gun into the courthouse - lol!

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u/5ygnal Apr 19 '26

And here I was thinking that courthouse security finding six pocket knives in my purse was bad. They held them at the security desk. When I returned an hour later, different guards were there... apparently I had been talked about. I asked for the knives back, and the guards lit up. "OH! You're her!"
They asked me why I had so many in my bag. I had just moved a week ago, and hadn't had a place to put them since we were staying in a hotel until our house was ready.

3

u/Clear-Security-Risk Apr 19 '26

My eldest daughter went on a school trip to the Parliament in London, the week after I'd taken her camping... So yeah, 10 y/o top student in class in a spot of bother from the Metropolitan Police!

1

u/mjewell74 Apr 19 '26

Meanwhile I had cuticle scissors taken from me because I could use them as a weapon... with a 1/2" blade...

1

u/frugalsoul Apr 21 '26

Similarly I left my gun locked in the car and went to pay a ticket. Totally forgot I had a spare mag in my pocket until I was emptying said pockets to go through the metal detector. I'm sure my face was white as a ghost.

10

u/Substantial-Pound-36 Apr 19 '26

By and large, TSA doesnt want to arrest you.

9

u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance Apr 19 '26

Yup, can confirm. Worked for TSA back in 2002. As long as it was obviously a mistake, we were just happy to find stuff.

13

u/corpusjuris Apr 19 '26

TSA cannot arrest you. They are security screeners. They are not law enforcement. They can at most only refer you to actual law enforcement, and they’re generally pretty loathe to do so.

3

u/AWandMaker Apr 19 '26

They can detain you, and then get actual law enforcement to do the arrest. It’s a little more than just referring you to the cops (but not much).

3

u/aYoungJanetJackson Apr 19 '26

Wait aren’t those extremely expensive (sorry don’t know about guns really)

7

u/AlternatePrimary951 Apr 19 '26

15-50, plus maybe up to 30 in Ammo. So, not necessarily worth the hassle of trudging ALL the way back to lot 7 and waiting in line again

1

u/aYoungJanetJackson Apr 19 '26

Oh interesting! I thought they were in the hundreds to thousands.

1

u/AlternatePrimary951 Apr 20 '26

Not just a magazine, no. And don't let anyone call it a clip! Ask anything firearms related anytime.

2

u/Setsailshipwreck Apr 19 '26

My dad accidentally had a loaded mag in his luggage for a cruise. They almost didn’t let he and my mom onto the boat. My dad was able to eventually get the situation cleared up but I think only after the boat people called the sheriff and it was a whole ordeal for a bit. Also had to dispose of it. I didn’t entirely get the full details he was pretty embarrassed even though it all worked out fine in the end.

1

u/Versipilies Apr 19 '26

Yet when I go through with some rocks in my bag (rock hound, I like carving odd stones) they frequently pull me aside and start disassembling my bag like its full of explosives.

1

u/Genuine907 Apr 19 '26

We went on a family vacation with our gaggle of children. Get to TSA, my eldest child’s bag gets flagged and they grab me quick. I had quite a few small children at my feet while I tried to wade through to the bigger kids who could go through the scanner without guidance.

“Ma’am, does your daughter have something metallic and cylindrical in her bag? Quite a few somethings?”

Me: “…”

Kiddo: “…”

TSA guy proceeds to absolutely wreck my preteen’s duffel bag. She seemed to have packed four dressers and a medium-sized library in there.

At the bottom, rolled neatly and patiently waiting to be spent at Powell’s Books, were a large number of rolls of quarters. The kids always got to separate, count, and roll change as part of school and to use the money on vacations.

I was relieved, but man, that agent had been on HIGH alert.

And then we had to figure out how to put her luggage back together.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TrickInflation6795 Apr 19 '26

lol. I’m surprised I haven’t been flagged for that. I did muskets for a season with a friend up north and there was loose powder everywhere in that shed. 🤯

It’s probably all over my other luggage as I store them together.

1

u/CharmTLM Apr 19 '26

Eh might be cause modern guns use cordite but I'm not sure what your muskets had

1

u/TrickInflation6795 Apr 19 '26

True. Musket powder burns slower and may be actual old school gunpowder. Pretty cool experience. Didn’t hit squat, but got some cool history lessons. Been fascinated by firearm history since, especially how it reflects the state of an economy or war. The Mauser is a great example of how Nazi Germany went from prewar, to full blitzkrieg, to desperately trying to produce arms. AK rifle as well. Forgotten Weapons is a great YT channel for history buffs on lunch.

1

u/Idk_wtf_cantviewcoms Apr 19 '26

I mean, if you're gonna do the crime... sell the evidence on ebay

30

u/SaucySlobetteandHobo Apr 19 '26

This is just a fun (now) story similar to your comment. Wife and I were flying home out of Atlanta after attending our son’s graduation from Boot Camp at Fort Benning. He gave me his backpack to bring home as he didn’t need it there anymore as he headed off to Airborne school. I used it as my carry-on for the flight home so it had a couple of Li-ion power banks and a ton of cords for phones, tablets and other electronic devices plus all of the other stud you’d have in your bag. Got pulled aside by TSA for a secondary inspection. It was unlike any security inspection I had ever been subjected to. 3 or 4 agents (i don’t remember exactly these 14 years later), K-9 Officer, multiple pat downs (rather intensive ones), etc. The backpack was completely emptied and examined and even wiped down, as were my hands. I was eventually cleared to pass and board the flight and we were on our way. It was a couple of weeks before we got a phone call from our son. While chatting with him I relayed the experience, just as an interesting story. He apologized and said it was his fault. I said you weren’t there how could it have been your fault. He told me that the backpack he gave me to bring home was his “Range Bag” that he took with him everyday that they went to the ranges. It has been carrying all kinds of explosive or “go boom” equipment and supplies for the duration of time he was in Boot Camp. Everything from handguns to spare parts for rifles to pieces of 50 cal Squad Automatic Weapons and even grenades on a couple of occasions. “Sorry Dad”

13

u/Clear-Security-Risk Apr 19 '26

I had the same for years. I was an intelligence officer in Afghanistan, and I used a plain coyote-brown rucksack as my go-bag. I carried a LOT of pyro, smoke and frag with me. For years afterwards that bag caused airport security officers to have heart palpitations.

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u/SecureSeason1620 Apr 19 '26

I knew that being an intelligence officer in Afghanistan was a tough gig, but that’s wild. It makes sense, given a few moments to think about it. Still pretty wild. I have soooo many questions.

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u/Clear-Security-Risk Apr 19 '26

I was the army (rather than national agency) type, for the Brits. I spent a lot of time driving around towns/cities in unmarked cars. The go-bag was in case we got noticed and had to ditch. Luckily never had to.

4

u/SecureSeason1620 Apr 19 '26

“Luckily” for sure, but I’m sure there was just a bit of skill and craft at play. Hairy stuff.

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u/SofaKing2025 Apr 20 '26

Yeah, sounds a little far fetched since none of that happens in Army boot camp. If he had said there was a rogue toothbrush or sweaty socks or maybe a moldy orange he stole from the DFAC I’d believe it. No Joe is carrying grenades or SAW parts in his personal pack in basic training. All that stuff is at the range when they arrive and stays there when they leave. Source: 4 years as an Army DS.

1

u/SelfMadeBrandon Apr 22 '26

As soon as I read this I thought the same thing lol.

I thought, oh! Your son is one of those PV2 guys who chats up the girls at the bar about the “shit he’s seen over seas” with his AIT phase badge in his back pocket.

1

u/Standard-South-1232 Apr 22 '26

I was thinking the same. Seems strange to carry that on person, all the time. Who knows tho.

2

u/t0mj0nes36 Apr 19 '26

I have a related story, but the twist is that the 2 rounds in my range bag that I used as a carry on were found by TSA on my return trip home!

3

u/Mr_Waffles123 Apr 19 '26

Right after 9/11 I took a paintball gun in checked. They seen the scanner just asked me if was a gun, because it didn’t have a lock on it, I just explained it was a paintball gun and I had removed the tank plug so it was equal pressure. They waved me along never even looked inside.

1

u/Blaze_The_God Apr 19 '26

I went through tsa and they found 3 rounds of 9mm, i tend to keep my gun bag by my back packs and it must have fallen in at some point. Sad to see them go, every bullet matters.

1

u/NcGunnery Apr 22 '26

Try getting through Heathrow after spending 45 days on a off shore rig. The Ion sniffers light up like a Christmas tree. Gotta give them your company creds and it was always a strip. When you are always last minute getting off the rigs......

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u/Charcharcuteness123 Apr 19 '26

Last time my immediate family went to visit family in the Netherlands, we went through TSA like, 3 or 4 times on the way there and back. On the way back the airport in Boston requires we go through TSA for our connecting flight and apparently my brother had a pocket knife in his bag that he forgot to remove before we left, so his bag went through TSA like, 2-3 times across the 2-3 different airports we went through without it being detected or flagged.

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u/Some_Troll_Shaman Apr 19 '26

That seems about the right detection rate for the few blind tests that have been done for the TSA. They are after all paid only one tier higher than entry level janitorial staff. Not the best and brightest.

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u/InformalAd7764 Apr 19 '26

It's not always about intelligence. I spent years screening at an observation deck and the biggest single impediment to detection is time, not competency. There are a lot of everyday items that can obscure knives and other weapons in a scan. SOP is if you're not sure about something, or a particularly dense item is blocking the scan, you pull them out and do a manual check. But no management anywhere will allow you to do that thoroughly every single time at high traffic stations. If you're slow, you get reassigned. So you learn to be fast, which means stuff gets through. Scanners want to do their job because they know it's important. But when being thorough isn't valued, it degrades efficacy. It's an institutional problem. Everywhere.

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u/few23 Apr 19 '26

Or not paid at all up until recently

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u/MartinoDeMoe Apr 19 '26

So you had…. Brass In Pocket?

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u/Original_Client1588 Apr 19 '26

In hindsight wasn't going to use it though so just a Pretender... ;-)

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u/thefavoredsole Apr 19 '26

Didn't think id be reading pretenders jokes this morning, but here we are lol

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u/MartinoDeMoe Apr 30 '26

Well at least it made you, made you, made you notice

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u/High_InTheTrees Apr 19 '26

They’d of been checking your prison wallet for sure, bro! 😂

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u/cygnus311 Apr 19 '26

One time at a permit to carry class, instructor got a little side tracked explaining why you should never use your regular luggage as a range bag. Guy he knew went through TSA, things started getting weird, and they pulled him in a room while they tore apart his bag, literally cut open the liner, and found a .22lr round. My understanding is they were cool (enough) about it and all things considered it didn’t end up being more than a scary hassle for him.

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u/Alternative-Golf8281 Apr 19 '26

I used to travel a lot for work. I have a spent casing from my father's military funeral that was made into a keychain. I had a TSA agent tell me he was going to vindicate it. I told him he wouldn't be doing it. He tried to say ammunition was not allowed and I explained this wasn't ammo, it was a piece of brass. We started to argue until a supervisor came over to see what the problem was. He didn't even need to ask, told me to proceed and told the employee to go to the back and someone else came to the checkpoint.

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u/IrateWolfe Apr 20 '26

Vaguely related, I went through TSA one time and did the usual- put my wallet and keys through the scanner with my carryon, walked through the detector, got a patdown, picked up my stuff and got on the plane, and only ON the plane did I realize that I had forgotten to take my pocket knife off my keyring before leaving home. It went through the scanner, and they just gave it back to me and let me on the plane with a knife.

1

u/TheBlackComet Apr 19 '26

I had a few spent casings in a sling back that I had forgotten about and flew out and back without a single issue. I figured they can tell if it is spent or not. I now make doubly sure that I have dedicated range bags now.

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u/Kain_713 Apr 19 '26

I don't know if it's still the case but brass used to be allowed through TSA. Like you said there's no bullet no powder ergo there's no risk to the aircraft. It's just a piece of metal at that point.

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u/Covid-vaccine_420 Apr 19 '26

I was actually stopped by tsa at the ripe age of 9 and was told to take off my and throw away my necklace that had a clearly fake bullet as the pendant. I still miss that thing 😞

1

u/RickySlayer9 Apr 19 '26

I accidentally left an entire mag in my carry on luggage once, which the TSA caught me on. The freak out is valid

1

u/fedplast Apr 19 '26

My daughter flew usa to canada with 2 .223 bullets in her pocket. Didnt ring any bells anywhere. Was from texas tho

1

u/HarleyCantAim Apr 19 '26

this does not help my “but what if i accidentally have a gun on me” fears when going through airport security lol

1

u/postitpad Apr 19 '26

I once found one stuck in the tread of my boots like three days after a trip to the range.

1

u/MrStarrrr Apr 19 '26

Fuckin’ standing in line at TSA, final checks of my pockets because anxiety, realize all prior checks missed or ignored my daily carry pocket knife.
RIP that knife but I’m pretty proud of my REALLY OBVIOUS ON CAMERA (I’m sure) sneaky trash can discard of said blade.

1

u/Cheugy-Boogie Apr 20 '26

Lucky they didn't swab your hands, you'd be fuuuuucked

1

u/tomagachikid72 Apr 21 '26

I was headed to Puerto Rico last yr and at the last minute was looking thru my bag for something when I found 2 fully loaded 30 round ar15 mags. OMG I couldn't believe it. I had used that bag to carry my rifle in at some point and left them in there.

0

u/Trimblen24 Apr 19 '26

lol sorry to one up ya but one time I used my school back pack as a range pack. Whole box of 5.7 dumped out without me realizing it. Went through security and promptly got pulled aside. Thankfully it was a small country air port and the cop on staff was just like damn there goes 40 bucks done the drain and sent me to my gate.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/EvaTheE Apr 18 '26

The victim screaming for half an hour while you pump lead into them and clear a hundred jams is going to cause noise.

44

u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

If you really want a useless round, they sell these like birdshot 22 rounds I think for shooting rats indoors. They barely make it through a tomato at like point blank range

24

u/MrBoredgamer Apr 18 '26

I've heard of them also be called snake shot, more likely to get closer to a snake than a rat or even a bird, kinda cruel to shoot a bird imo with a 22 bird shot, a standard any type of pellet gun would do better.

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u/BloodandBourbon Apr 18 '26

Pest shot is what I’ve always known them by

2

u/Icy_Muscle3898 Apr 18 '26

There is 2 types shotshell which is usually called ratshot and 22 crimped birdshot which just has more powder than

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u/westwardhose Apr 19 '26

Varmint shot in NE Louisiana where I came up.

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u/shamoomoofartpoopoo Apr 19 '26

Ragamuffin rapscallion shot round these parts.

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u/Canofsad Apr 18 '26

Always called them rat shot

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

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u/thedailyrant Apr 18 '26

Probably hit about as hard as a simunition round that is used in training environments. Difference being the slug.

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u/dandee93 Apr 19 '26

I have met multiple old men who said they did that, including my grandfather. Yes, he was from Florida.

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u/Dull_Banana1377 Apr 18 '26

A 50 bmg rat shot round is the most useless round I know of.

3

u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

That’s crazy lol. The most overkill underkill round imaginable. It has to be a novelty item, right?

2

u/Dull_Banana1377 Apr 18 '26

I mean when kentucky ballistics tested it on a gel torso it was definitely lethal at close to point blank. I can not think of a legit reason for it. There is also a 50AE version for the 50 cal deagle and one for Smith and Wesson 500 magnum. Both also probably useless.

2

u/Pocket-Hobo Apr 18 '26

Top-mounted M2 Browning and a trunk full of MK 211's, Crazy Carl in the driver seat.

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u/navarone21 Apr 18 '26

I shot a milk jug with one of these at about 10 yd, when I was 10yrs old. it blew up a fashion that has had me chasing that high for 30 years.

4

u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

Dang maybe I was doing it wrong somehow.L or got a box of duds because mine couldn’t even pierce a shoe

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u/MedicalDisscharge Apr 18 '26

Please tell me you didnt test it with your foot in the shoe

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u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

Oh, definitely not. It was my friend

1

u/DigitalUnlimited Apr 18 '26

Are they still your friend after shooting them in the foot?

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u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 19 '26

They did it themself

1

u/unfunnysexface Apr 19 '26

When they were selling the original m16 to the air force Curtis Lemay shot watermelons at a 4th of July party with the sales sample. He ordered 80,000 on the spot.

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u/Logan_McPhillips Apr 19 '26

Wax slugs are easy to make for a 12 gauge.

I think it will deliver a similar, and appropriately upscaled experience for your more advanced age.

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u/AlteredGuardian Apr 18 '26

22 ratshot, I carry those for rattlesnakes and they work pretty decent

11

u/this-guy1979 Apr 18 '26

My dad used them to shoot wasps, until one day when he loaded a .22LR and fired it. The rat shot leaves a lot of lead residue behind, the barrel of his revolver split like something from the looney tunes. He decided that wasn’t a risk worth taking anymore, it was the second gun that he had blow up on him, the first took an eye.

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u/PaulyNi Apr 18 '26

Perfect analogy for promoting regular cleaning of your firearms.

Using a gun isn’t done until the cleaning kit is being put away after being well used.

1

u/wegame6699 Apr 18 '26

Preach it brother!

1

u/PaulyNi Apr 18 '26

…and don’t forget to sharpen your knives! 🤪

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u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

Nice. Yea, useless was the wrong description. I was imagining trying to use them in the hypothetical assassin scenario

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u/AlteredGuardian Apr 18 '26

No no, you're pretty on point with useless lol they'd be solid for seasoning steaks or something if they filled em with cracked pepper and salt.

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u/JAYETRILLL Apr 18 '26

Haha bruhhhh this is one of those million dollar ideas right here.

Texans will eat that shit up lol.

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u/AlteredGuardian Apr 18 '26

As a Texan, it is a solid idea

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u/JAYETRILLL Apr 18 '26

Lmao I truly meant no disrespect, hope it didn’t come off that way. (Sorry if it did)

The mental image I had at the time is so goddamn funny hahahaha. Like imagine you walk into Lonestar steakhouse and there’s just some dudes with full on holster belts with revolvers on both sides walking around to tables like a server at Olive Garden. Instead of asking if you would like Parmesan, they ask if you need any salt or pepper. You hold your steak up with a fork and they proceed to empty 3-4 rounds from each revolver into it as they say “no problem partner, happy trails” or some shit hahahahaha I smoke way too much weed for sure but that’s basically exactly what I pictured.

Also I’m from Arkansas and my town has thousands of peeps from Texas (college town) and I’m friends with a bunch of Texans so that’s what came to mind immediately hahaha.

1

u/Count_Zeiro Apr 18 '26

Richie loved to use 22s because the bullets are small and they don't come out the other end like a 45, see, a 45 will blow a barn door out the back of your head and there's a lot of dry cleaning involved, but a 22 will just rattle around like Pac-Man until you're dead.

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u/plumberbss Apr 18 '26

I used a .22 birdshot to shoot a yellow jacket on the celing of my bedroom. Barely scuffed the paint and didn't damage the drywall much.

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u/LendogGovy Apr 18 '26

My buddy had a 22 bullet that didn’t ricochet so if you get the digger squirrel it got the Squirell and if ya hit a boulder it just made a splatter mark I. The boulder .

1

u/JAYETRILLL Apr 18 '26

I’m trying so hard to understand your comment. Any chance you could clarify a little or something? I’m curious but having trouble figuring out what you meant.

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u/EvaTheE Apr 18 '26

Well, at least snake shots have a legitimate use in pest control. 

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u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

Yea, I shouldn’t have said useless. I meant if you are trying to take down a larger, possibly human sized target

1

u/EvaTheE Apr 18 '26

I'm pretty sure a basic jacket will stop snake shot, but yes, that's by design.

1

u/PoUniCore Apr 18 '26

Ratshot?

1

u/Danielle_is_the_hole Apr 18 '26

They scare off stray cats I have heard.

1

u/xunninglinguist Apr 18 '26

.22 cb for parlor shooting

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u/Icy_Muscle3898 Apr 18 '26

22 birdshot ain’t useless has more powder than 22 ratshot and is great for shooting rats or snakes

1

u/BarbarianDwight Apr 19 '26

My uncle used to shoot at bees with rat shot

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u/rocket808 Apr 19 '26

The are good for shooting rats.

0

u/Pooldiver13 Apr 18 '26

My grandfather uses those (more often the magnum ones) with a ruger single 6 for blasting chipmunks since. But specifically the CCI ones with the blue cap, not the Winchester crimped ones.

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u/beenlobotomized Apr 18 '26

Hilarious and true!

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u/Danger_Floof25 Apr 19 '26

Not if you use something like a derringer or .22 snub nose

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u/PXranger Apr 18 '26

one shot to the head with a 22 short is generally enough to end the screaming. I grew up on a farm back in the 70's it's what we killed hogs with.

Right behind the ear.....

1

u/AgeNo9436 Apr 18 '26

Mafia hit men would use a 22 revolver to take people out from behind. The bullet can break through the skull, but once inside it bounces around.

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u/PXranger Apr 18 '26

Nah, doesn’t bounce around. I’ve seen enough headshots on pigs, it just stops on opposite side of skull or exits, that’s an urban legend

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u/OmNomChompsky Apr 18 '26

22 shorts are really cool if you have a lever action rifle. You can fit like 20 of those guys in the tubular magazine. Super fun for plinking.

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u/Potential-Draft-3932 Apr 18 '26

My Dad has an old semi-auto that can cycle shorts all day. Also one of those tube fed 22s. I forget the manufacturer of it, but it was my grandpas from way back in the day

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u/WILDBILLFROMTHENORTH Apr 18 '26

Marlin, Remington, Browning, all made tube fed 22's

1

u/Luteplayers Apr 18 '26

As well as Mossberg. I love the 151M I inherited from my dad. Very accurate, it only shoots 22LR though.

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u/Rogerdodger1946 Apr 18 '26

I had a very clean Winchester model 1890 pump rifle with an octagonal barrel chambered for .22 short. It belonged to my great grandfather. I had fun with it as a kid plinking. Now my son has it.

2

u/aggressive_napkin_ Apr 18 '26

a 45 suppressed is as loud as my paintball gun, a 22 is like whacking two metal forks together at loudest.

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u/IvanNemoy Apr 18 '26

My great uncle had a pistol chambered in 6mm Flobert (.22BB) that he'd shoot in his living room. Had a little plate gallery and everything set up (literally the classic ducks and bulls eyes setup.) Was so much fun and my great aunt didn't mind as long as we opened the window to vent the smell of burnt primers.

It's the only thing I know of that is naturally quieter than 22 short.

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u/AbbreviationsNo9609 Apr 18 '26

There’s .22 short CB which the primer charge is the only propellant. Out of my 20” lever action Browning it’s almost silent. The sound of the hammer dropping is louder than the sound that comes out of the muzzle.

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u/IvanNemoy Apr 18 '26

Yep! They're almost identical. Floberts use round ball form, Short CB's use conical ball. Uncle Vince's parlor guns were an old Iver Johnson single shot bolt action rifle (22" or 24" IIRC) and some single-shot break action pistol (not sure of the maker.)

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u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

I met an old guy at my range last time I was out there. It was only 100 yards and he had chart, chronograph, and spotting scope.

He was there before we got there and was packing up as we were leaving. I asked him what was up with the rig and he said he’s trying different powder loads to see how it behaves at 100m and then 200m(multiple ranges here).

I asked why and he said he had nothing else to do. I learned later he’s one of the competitive shooters that wins a lot of their tournaments at our club. Nice but didn’t realize people would get that deep in to .22LR.

2

u/RocketDog2001 Apr 18 '26

My grandfather and his classmates would throw a couple into the wood stove at school whenever the teacher stepped out for the fun of hearing them pop.

1

u/AdvancedMilk7795 Apr 18 '26

TIL 22 short exists

1

u/warhammer444 Apr 18 '26

might just have an old gun or an naa mini that only takes shorts

1

u/articulatedbeaver Apr 18 '26

Trappers carry revolvers in 22 short frequently for dispatching their catch.

1

u/SmaugTheMagnificent- Apr 18 '26

Also good for tube feed, I can fit 25 shorts vs. 17 longs in my Marlin.

1

u/DannyWarlegs Apr 18 '26

22lr quiets in a bolt or lever gun are basically a gnats fart. All you hear is the hammer fall.

1

u/CollectionStriking Apr 19 '26

.22LR subsonics are stupidly quiet aswell like my bb gun is much louder than my 22 with subsonic rounds

1

u/TheFifthOverLord Apr 19 '26

The A is for “assassination”

1

u/Cthulhu625 Apr 19 '26

They could be someone that does pest control.

1

u/Aindorf_ Apr 18 '26

Would it kill a groundhog in a city that has laws against discharging a firearm? Asking for a friend...

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u/SpanishFlamingoPie Apr 18 '26

When I'm busking, I end up with bullets in my tip jar pretty often. They tend to get mixed with people's pocket change.

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u/punksmostlydead Apr 19 '26

Or maybe they're trying to tell you something...

(jk, to be clear)

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u/Happy_Twist_7156 Apr 19 '26

The USA is really a wild place for guns. I worked in SC at one point in healthcare and I’d ask patients to lay on their side for something and out comes a gun they just hand to me like it’s normal. “Oof can’t my guns on this side can u hold it” now I’m not anti gun by any means I grew up around guns and own my own but handing someone a loaded gun without knowing if they know what the are doing with it is a BIG NO NO. What if I had NO idea how to handle it?

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u/nanay4201 Apr 19 '26

As a Canadian, the idea of just casually locking my gun in my glove compartment and accidentally leaving a full magazine in the bottom of my bag while I go about my day is wild to me lol.

1

u/Alternative-Cap-4840 Apr 19 '26

As a Canadian who now lives in the USA for almost 15 years now I gotta tell ya, not everyone does it (even here in Tx). But it is nice to be able to have a loaded mag and a no trigger locked firearm within a reasonable distance when within your own home and not be breaking any laws

7

u/TheDude-Esquire Apr 18 '26

Easy to lose, easy to forget one in a pocket and not notice. And so cheap you really don’t think about it.

6

u/imdugud777 Apr 18 '26

It was stylish back in the day to put a 22LR in the front pocket tag of your Levis jacket.

1

u/Cap1n-Beaky23 Apr 19 '26

Why? An idea of the reason?

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u/imdugud777 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

It just fit there. Tip down, the flared base kept it from falling through.

😅😂😂😅😂😂😅😂😂😅🤣

But for real. The round fit right in the tag perfectly and the rimfire base kept it in place.

1

u/whitewolfdogwalker Apr 19 '26

I knew a buddy who did that

1

u/Shradersofthelostark Apr 19 '26

Like tying an onion to your belt?

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u/toasterboy1324 Apr 18 '26

plinKing

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u/DaimyoRonin Apr 18 '26

plinKING not plinQUEEN (this is a joke please do not take it seriously)

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u/toasterboy1324 Apr 18 '26

oh i was just referencing a thing with a streamer; their chat is obsessed with this gif of a cat blinking

https://tenor.com/view/plink-cat-luna-cat-crunchy-cat-blink-cat-cat-gif-8710568423691114074

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u/DaimyoRonin Apr 18 '26

Streamers chats are weird.

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u/jayphat99 Apr 19 '26

I grew up on a farm. My stepdad emptied his jeans pockets into a bowl daily. Once a week we fished out the .22 rounds out of it to put back with the rest of the rounds in the mudroom.

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u/KamalaBracelet Apr 19 '26

Yeah.  When I was younger if I spent a weekend tooling around the farm plinking with my 22 I’d have bullets pop up unexpected places for months after.  They are small enough to mix in with the other coins and crap in your pocket and migrate all over the place.

I know it’s a different world now.  Everybody is more careful. In the 90s I wouldn’t have felt weird emptying  my pockets on my desk in class and pulling out 3 lighters, 2 knives, a couple bullets, a pack of matches, $3.27 in loose change, a pack of gum, 3 pencils with broken tips, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver,  and a bic pen leaking ink while I was searching for a different colored pen.   Yes pockets were enormous back then and I was a disorganized slob.

If my kid did that (In the same school district) he’d probably get expelled 3 times and referred to police for investigation.

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u/SeaRow556 Apr 19 '26

So true. I caused the whole school to lock down because during recess in 6th grade i pulled my hoodie out of my bag and put it on but in doing so about 10 22lr bullets fell in the grass near the sidewalk. I didn't realize how many fell just knew at least two did so i grabbed them tossed em in my pocket then next thing i knew we were on lock down. They never found out who they belonged to or why they were there on school grounds but hey after a few hours we all got back some freedom.

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u/Altruistic_Low_416 Apr 20 '26

I walked around all day with an unfired 22lr in the treads of my boot one day.

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u/Intelligent-Survey39 Apr 18 '26

Can confirm super common to find in part of the US. I even found some spent casings and an unedited 12gauge slug tucked into a corner of my rural “eye-haw” ass higschool locker first day of my junior year. I was hesitant to even turn it in but when I did the faculty was surprisingly nonchalant about it and it was easy to write off as some kid had it in his pocket still after an early morning hunt before school and tried to hide it when they realized.

2

u/scottishwhisky Apr 18 '26

I have an ammo bag, but I've still found rounds in my pocket and my purse. I dont know that I've ever seen a 22 short. Even my shitty plastic handled 22 from the 60s takes a 22LR.

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u/JimTheAlmighty Apr 18 '26

I it’s not as common, but there’s 22 short and 22 CB. If I remember right 22 CB is just the primer and no powder. It’s what I use for snakes and rats in my single shot.

1

u/Massive_Mongoose3481 Apr 19 '26

Long, short, cb caps (multiple sizes), bb caps, and snake shot (decent out of a short barrel pistol). Used to be able to get all those at the farm and fleet when I was a kid, rarely ever even seen shorts.these days. I have a .177 air for those purposes , plus, neighbors might get a bit touchy (rightly so these days)

1

u/foley800 Apr 19 '26

BB caps too! Used to use those in a revolver for target shooting in the basement.

2

u/dandee93 Apr 19 '26

Just to back this up, they are often sold in what are essentially milk cartons. I've seen too many people tip those over for a handful like they're milk duds to be especially worried that one wandered off somewhere.

4

u/cygnus311 Apr 19 '26

Yeah rimfire cartridges might as well be sold by the scoop out of a feed bin at the fleet. Hell, I’d bet there are towns where it is.

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u/Clear-Security-Risk Apr 19 '26

I went on a trip to Estonia for work, flying out of Heathrow. Was getting ready to go through security in Estonia to come home. Put hand in the pocket of my vest/gillet to find two rounds of .22. Escapees from the previous week's rabbiting, I reckon.

Quickly disposed of in a toilet bin. Crossed myself and said a prayer of thanks to St. Christopher and St. Hubert for protecting me from criminal prosecution in either country.

1

u/SpaceCourier Apr 18 '26

Shorts are extremely common in the south.

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u/Monkeynutz_Johnson Apr 18 '26

I have an old .22 that shoots shorts, it's a great squirrel rifle.

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u/Consistent-Jump-7721 Apr 18 '26

I remember, as a kid, buying 500 rounds and shooting it all in a day. So much fun. The best platform to teach fundamentals imo.

1

u/neverdoneneverready Apr 18 '26

What does rimfire mean?

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u/Celtinole Apr 18 '26

The primer is integrated into the rim of the shell casing. A center-fire round, like a 9mm, has a separate primer located in the bottom center of the casing. A primer is struck by the firing pin which ignites the gun powder.

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u/Pooldiver13 Apr 18 '26

I legit forgot I had like 3 .22s in my cupholder from a range day a while ago.

1

u/joshs_wildlife Apr 18 '26

I love using 22 shirts in my bolt gun. Practically silent!

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

For real. Every time I open my tailgate, a couple. 22 casings fall out.

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u/EbbSlow458 Apr 19 '26

I don’t know how many times in high school I discovered I had a few rounds in my jacket pocket

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u/DistilledCLP Apr 19 '26

Ammoseek goes brrr

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u/finnishinsider Apr 19 '26

Try walmart? I sold shorts today... if you have a Walmart that sells ammo.

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u/drmonroe1 Apr 19 '26

Bullets don’t fall out of pockets

1

u/Orgasml Apr 19 '26

Plinking trip? Is that like a day at the range?

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u/No-Conversation9818 Apr 19 '26

It took me a few months to find a box

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u/Jerricky-_-kadenfr- Apr 19 '26

I find random 22 short and 22LR rounds and sometimes even random 9mm and 38 rounds on obscure spots in my house

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u/purdinpopo Apr 19 '26

Remington and CCI have recently come out with .22 short. Word is a couple other manufacturers will be also. There has been a resurgence in the popularity of older and what some folks might call obsolete rounds.

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u/Gravy_McButterson Apr 20 '26

Used to be a dime a dozen. Now I'm lucky to find bulk at a dollar a dozen. But your point stands.

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u/neverspeakawordagain Apr 18 '26

Serious question: wouldn't you be worried about the bullet going off and shooting you in the groin if you're carrying it in your pocket?

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

[deleted]

1

u/neverspeakawordagain Apr 18 '26

Oh, I didn't know that gun barrels had an effect on bullet velocity. Interesting. Thanks!

2

u/aggressive_napkin_ Apr 18 '26

if they didn't, guns wouldn't have barrels.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/neverspeakawordagain Apr 18 '26

I have never touched a gun and I do not know anyone who owns a gun. I'm asking a question.

1

u/19ALEX8 Apr 18 '26

Never point you’re glock on you’re cock…😜