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Aguila's innovative RimFires:
check your dealer's shelves, odds are the Eagle has landed. by David M. Fortier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anyone in the industry will tell you competition among ammunition manufacturers is quite fierce. This is especially true in certain popular military calibers where the Russians have made aggressive efforts to dominate the lucrative American market.
In order to be competitive in this industry, you must either make a product superior to your competition (the Gold Medal Match approach). Sell your product at a price your competition simply cannot match (the Russian approach). Or come up with a proprietary design no one else has (the Winchester Short Magnum approach). Of these three methods the latter, of course, is the most difficult. Recently I was invited to tour a company that has taken this latter approach. The invitation came from the Mexican firm of Industrias Tecnos, known for their Aguila brand of ammunition. Of particular interest to readers of GUNS magazine is Tecnos' wide variety of proprietary .22 rimfire loads. No newcomer to producing ammunition, Industrias Tecnos S.A. De C.V. was founded in 1961. The plant is located 71 miles outside of Mexico City in Cuernavaca, in the scenic state of Morelos. The plant first began production with a staff of 70 people who received their training from Remington. Indeed, originally the plant produced ammunition for Remington and some in the industry still refer to it as "the Remington plant in Mexico." However ownership of the plant has changed and today this is no longer the case. Production began with a line of .22 rimfire ammunition, later expanding to include centerfire rifle, shotgun and handgun cartridges. Tecnos' production capacity is impressive, as demonstrated by their completion of an order for some 70 million rounds of 7.62x51 NATO ammunition for the Mexican Army. Today Industrias Tecnos competes in the world market with their Aguila (Eagle) brand of ammunition. They sell ammunition not only domestically and in North and South America, but in Europe and the Middle East as well. In addition they supply ammunition to the armed forces of several countries. Current production consists of 15 different types of .22 RimFire ammunition as well as blank and industrial loadings, shot-shells from .410 to industrial 8 gauge, and 13 centerfire handgun and rifle calibers. Included among these offerings is a line of proprietary 1 3/4-inch 12-gauge Minishells, and Aguila's IQ line of high performance self defense ammunition. All in all, a fairly diverse line. It Starts With A PlanHowever competition for a share of the U.S. market is considerable. So five years ago Industrias Tecnos began aggressive R&D work with the intention of designing innovative loads the likes of which no one else was producing. Since the company had its origins producing rimfire ammunition, they decided this would be the logical place to start. The first design challenge was to create the fastest .22LR in the world. They accomplished this with their Super Maximum, which drives a 30-grain bullet at a scorching 1,750 fps. Having successfully defrocked the CCI Stinger from its speed throne they expanded their line by designing more proprietary loads. The end result was securing for themselves a niche market producing high quality ammunition of unique design and capabilities. This approach has proven so successful that Tecnos maintains a large R&D budget in the constant search for new and better products. First Hand LookTo visit Industrias Tecnos Emily and I boarded a plane in Bangor, Maine, and flew down to Mexico City. There we were met by Javier Elizalde, the general director of Industrias Tecnos. During the hour or so ride through the picturesque Mexican countryside Javier filled us in on the history of the company and answered our many questions. At the plant Em and I were introduced to Francisco Rivera, the plant engineering manager, Jorge Torres, the operations plant manager, and Efrain Peralta, of the research and development department. During our time at Tecnos these three men acted as our hosts and guides as we toured their facility. Every area of the facility was made open to our inspection. Nothing was held off limits. Working our way through the plant I was impressed by the amount of modern machinery they possessed. Our hosts were particularly proud of the equipment used to load rimfire cartridges. And justly so. It wasn't just good, it was absolutely state-of-the-art using the ELEY prime process. Tecnos is the only company in North America with this capability. Not only does the ELEY prime process produce more consistent ammunition--it's also safer from a manufacturing standpoint. As Em burned film through her Nikon and I examined the different loading stations, I inquired about the quality control procedures. The answers were impressive. Their methods were well thought out, their records meticulously kept and updated hourly, and their reject rate low. As we asked questions Efrain, Jorge and Francisco took us through all the different stages in the production of a .22 rimfire cartridge, step by step. We watched as the cases were formed and primed, the projectiles made, and finally the cases charged and topped with a projectile. Impressed by the production facility and assembly procedures we worked our way over to the ballistics laboratory run by Pablo Torres. He was kind enough to demonstrate Tecnos' testing methodology by firing a 10shot group at 50 meters with their .22LR Match Rifle target load. As he discharged the bench mounted Anschutz action I watched the computer screen displaying the velocity and pressure of each round. At the same time the grouping was monitored by closed circuit TV. The end result was a target with one ragged half-inch hole. All test equipment is very modern, and their safety procedures preclude the possibility of a round being fired while someone is downrange. From the indoor ballistics laboratory we headed to the outdoor range. Here we were treated to a demonstration of the capabilities of the various Augila loadings. This included vaporizing cans of soda and fruit as well as target work demonstrating accuracy. At this time I had the chance to test fire a variety of their rimfire loads. I came away impressed by Tecnos, its employees, and the rimfire ammunition they produce. From Wild To MildSo what about their ammunition makes it unique, you ask? Lets take a brief look at just a small sampling from their extensive rimfire product line. First up is their .22LR Super Maximum. This is the big dog on the hyper-velocity .22 block. To earn this prestigious title it hammers a 30-grain HP or RN lead bullet at a nitrous oxide snorting 1,750 fps. This is good for a whopping 204 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. To put this in perspective, the .380 ACP cartridge generates only 188 ft-lbs at the muzzle. At the 100-yard mark this load still has 95 ft-lbs of energy. This is 1/3 more energy than the .25 ACP has at the muzzle. What I liked best about the Super Maximum is that not only is it fast, but it's accurate as well. Test firing from a Sako P94S topped with an 8x56 scope; 5-shot, 25-yard groups as tight as 1/8 inch were the result. Performance wise, the lightweight HPs literally vaporized oranges. This is a good load to reach for when you have a varmint in the garden. It is however too destructive for use on edible small game without very careful shot placement. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the Super Maximum are Tecnos' Colibri and Super Colibri. Colibri is Spanish for hummingbird and these loads are similar in concept to the old .22 BB Cap. Each features a light 20-grain bullet loaded into a standard .22LR case. However the projectile is propelled without gunpowder. The priming of the Colibri drives its bullet at 375 fps and the Super Colibri clocks a bit faster at 500 fps. These loads are intended for indoor target practice, plinking, or putting an end to annoying pests without disturbing the neighbors. While not powerhouses, the virtue of these two loads is immediately apparent after firing them from a rifle. From the Sako P94S test rifle the Colibri was actually quieter than firing subsonic .22LR ammunition from a suppressed rifle. The smack of the bullet striking the target is actually louder than the report. Of course you're not talking about a lot of power here. The Colibri generates a mere 6 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle while the Super Colibri hammers out a whopping 11 ft-lbs. Through the scope, I could actually see the Colibri's bullets streaking towards the target. The Super Colibri proved a little louder but was slightly flatter shooting and less affected by wind. Both these loads shot into 1 1/8 inches at 25 yards in less than perfect, windy conditions. While these loads will not cycle a semiauto they will reliably feed up through the magazine. Both these loads proved accurate while plinking with a Ceiner conversion unit-equipped M1911. A quick tug of the slide ejected the empty and loaded the next round. These loads are perfect for short-range target practice or plinking. However don't let their low velocity fool you, they can still be quite dangerous. Subsonic A SpecialtyTecnos makes a particular specialty of subsonic loads designed for more serious work. The star of this line is their .22LR SSS Sniper SubSonic rimfire load. This little beauty is specifically intended for use in suppressed weapons. For certain situations a suppressed .22 rifle or handgun can be an invaluable tool for law enforcement or military personnel. This can be seen by the Russian's development and adoption of the SV-99 sniper rifle, which is based upon a highly successful .22 biathlon rifle. Another country which has made widespread use of suppressed .22 rifles is Israel. The SSS was developed for such specialized use. The load itself consists of a .22 Short case topped with a heavy 60-grain RNL bullet. This gives the same overall length as a standard .22LR round. Muzzle velocity is 950 fps, generating 120 ft-lbs of energy. While this load starts out slow, the heavy bullet retains velocity well. Due to this it has 1/3 more energy at 100 yards than a conventional subsonic .22LR load, and almost as much energy at this distance as the blistering hot Super Maximum. In addition the heavy bullet has a lot of sectional density and should penetrate deeply compared to a standard 30 or 40-grain slug. Of special significance is the fact that the SSS will reliably cycle automatic weapons, something normal subtonics seldom achieve. Due to its very heavy 60-grain weight, a special 1:9-inch twist is required to properly stabilize the SSS. Centurion Ordnance offers not only the SSS ammunition but also match-grade Ruger M77 rifles (called the Poseidon) featuring the correct rate of twist. In addition, 1:9-inch twist barrels for Ruger 10/22 and M77 are available. Due to the Ruger's design these are easily mounted with only an Allen wrench. To evaluate this load I tested a suppressed Poseidon rifle/SSS combination at 25 yards from a rest. The rifle was topped with an 8x56 scope specifically calibrated for the SSS with rangefinding capability and holdovers out to 200 meters. While I have never been a fan of anything bearing the Ruger label, once settled behind it the combination of rifle and load proved capable of sub-1/4-inch, five-shot groups. From a Sako with a normal twist, groups opened up to 1 inches with yaw marks in the target. During testing I noted that the audible slap of the heavy 60-grain bullet on the target was noticeably more pronounced than with conventional subsonic cartridges. The last .22LR load tried was the Super SE Extra Subsonic. This load drives a 38-grain HP at 1,025 fps. Muzzle energy is 88 ft-lbs with 64 ft-lbs at 100 yards. While this load seems unremarkable, its accuracy is impressive. When teamed with the Sako P94S the best group of the day clustered 5 shots into a tidy one-tenth inch at 25 yards. While not labeled a match load, this level of accuracy says much for both Tecnos' and Sako's quality control. New Life For Old RiflesThe last rimfire load tested was Tecnos' new production of the .22 Winchester Automatic, a cartridge originally developed for use in Winchester's M1903 semiauto rifle, This early self-loader was developed at a time when black powder was still commonly loaded in .22 rimfire ammunition. Black powder was not desirable in an autoloading firearm; thus Winchester chambered the '03 for an entirely new cartridge to ensure only smokeless powder would be fired in the rifle. Called the .22 Winchester Automatic, it was loaded with a 45-grain conventional (rather than heel based) lead bullet. Tecnos' reintroduction of the .22 Auto will let many shooters put their old 1903s back to work. Using Tecnos' load I had a chance to do some plinking with an original Winchester rifle. The test rifle functioned flawlessly with this fine ammunition. Anyone who loves .22 rimfires would do well to check out the Aguila line from Industrias Tecnos. In addition to the loads tested they also offer a variety of match, standard, high velocity, and subsonic loads. Manufactured on state of the art machinery and reasonably priced, Tecnos' Aguila line is sure to have wide appeal. Acknowledgments:
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Related Article · [photos not avail] The machinery Tecnos uses to manufacture rim fire ammunition is all very modern. A look at some of the gauges utilized to ensure the cartridge casings are within spec at this production station. Supressed Poseidon/Ruger shot superbly with Aguila subsonic. A look at some of Tecnos's rim fire loads, from left to right, .22 Winchester Auto, .22LR Match, SSS Sniper SubSonic, Super Maximum, Colibri, Super Colibri. The Aguila rimfire line includes the fastest .22LR in the world, the Super Maximum, as well as the SSS Sniper SubSonic, the gunpowderless Colibri and Super Colibri, as well as Match loads and even the old .22 Winchester Automatic. Mike Realme fires a Winchester M1903 with Tecnos's .22 Winchester Auto load. This is a fun and accurate old rifle that just requires its unique ammunition for hours of entertainment. 25 yard accuracy with the Poseidon/SSS combination was quite good as this 5 shot group fired by the author attests. In addition to regular .22LR ammunition Tecnos also manufactures .22 Winchester Automatic ammunition for the old M1903 Winchester self-loading rifles. I made this table from (A) 22ammo.com (B) Aguila ShopPage
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