There were several new rimfire product introductions at SHOT Show 2020, chief among them the new Clean-22 Steel Challenge offering from CCI. Similar to the original Clean-22 rounds that we covered in 2019, now you can have your favorite .22 LR cartridge with polymer-coated bullets and support the USPSA Steel Challenge all at the same time. This is because the high-velocity red Clean-22 round is the new official ammunition of Steel Challenge.
CCI Clean-22 launched last year with three .22 LR options for subsonic in blue, high velocity (supersonic) in red and another high velocity in pink. All three loads have a 40-grain round nose lead bullet and are sold in 100-count, clear-sided boxes. The CCI Clean-22 Steel Challenge box distinguishes itself by including the Steel Challenge logo.
The original Clean-22 red supersonic cartridges boasted 998 fps at 100 yards. We expect that the Steel Challenge variant (not pictured) will have similar numbers.
The high-velocity Clean-22 Steel Challenge round includes the aforementioned 40-grain round nose lead bullet that's polymer coated, which CCI says reduces lead fouling to a large degree in gun barrels. At 1,235 fps from the muzzle, the Clean-22 supersonic red cartridge is ideal for semi-automatic rimfire sports such as Steel Challenge.