Favorite .22LR ammo?

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.22shooter

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
2
Location
California
Hello crowd!
I just bought my first gun last week (Mark III - Hunter).
I'm new to the board and this is my first post (after the introduction).
I'm new to guns and I have many questions... I hope I can find some answers. :)

I bought a box of 500 Remington Cyclone .22LR ammo and I took it to the range. I've been to the range twice, and I already hate this ammo. I don't think I'm going to use the remaining 50 I have.

I'll keep them as ammo for when I run out of ammo.

This ammo is dirty and it jams constantly (at least once every 30 shots). By dirty I mean my hands are BLACK after loading two clips (you can imagine after 200 rounds!) and the gun is really, really dirty when I clean it afterward. Although I expected this in the gun, not my hand.

I've been reading the forum looking for information on what ammo people use, and I see that there are many different opinions.

I would like to ask three things:
What is your favorite .22LR ammo and why?

What's a .22LR Mini-Mag and how is it different from .22LR ammo?

Does the Ultimate Cliploader really work with a Mark III clip?


Thanks in advance!


-Pablo
 

Snake45

Hawkeye
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
9,120
Location
+4020
My favorite .22 ammo is Winchester Dynapoints, as they shoot reliably and accurately in almost every gun I've tried them in (somewhere around three dozen rifles and handguns). Unfortunately, they've become much harder to find since I tested them in 2004, and when I do find them, they're expensive now.

The Federal Bulk stuff carried by Walmart is pretty reliable and VERY clean, and is also the cheapest .22 you can buy now (at about 3c per shot). Not the most accurate ammo but unless you're pretty good, you prolly won't be able to tell the difference in a handgun.

Walmart's Winchester XPerts might also work well for you. Some guns won't feed them; others run them just fine. They're not quite as clean as the Fed Bulks but in guns that will shoot them, they're usually a little more accurate.
 

ab4ka

Single-Sixer
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
255
Location
Lakeland, Florida
my favorite is whatever I can get my hands on. I suppose I've been fortunate in that none of my guns seem to be picky on ammo. Some may be more accurate than others, but I've not had any function problems.
 

flatgate

Hawkeye
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
6,784
Location
Star Valley, WY
It's all good after I run it through "Paco's Accurizer".

flatgate

PS Sure, some is better than others, but, the Accurizer sure works for me.
 

rugerlovah

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
196
mine likes CCI standard velocity ammo the best. $25 per brick, so it costs a bit more. but still not astronomical. likes the mini mags too, those are more like $30-35 per 500 IF you can find them at wal-mart

after that it feeds remington bullets the best. the golden bullets seem to be a little cleaner than the plain lead bullets (cyclone, thunderbolt).

it likes winchester the least. just doesnt feed those truncated-cone bullets well

accuracy-wise the CCI ammo is best, particularly the standard velocity. all of the bulk ammo does about the same in it from an accuracy standpoint.
 

Mr Jukebox

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
16
Location
Fort Rock Ohio
First the Ulitmate cliploader does work.

Second some Mark III just need a little time to get broke in and then they will quit all the jamming (Mine Did) If the jamming does not quit you might want to look into a new extractor you can find them at alot of websites just search ruger mark III parts on google.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
10,430
Location
Greenville, SC: USA
My MK III shoots about anything... but I really like most of the CCI stuff.

Remember, you often get what you pay for in 22lr.... sometimes a brand and weight will work and sometimes it won't .

My solution is to own 6-10 different 22lr guns, long and short, and thus when an ammo isn't working in one you try it in another. Heck, it's 22... you can spray it down range all day and not break the bank!
 

Three50seven

Buckeye
Joined
Jan 16, 2009
Messages
1,131
Location
Indiana
I like CCI Blazers for practice and CCI mini-mags and stingers for hunting purposes. I have a number of Ruger 22's and all of them seem to agree on anything CCI. I've had mixed results with Federal value pack and Winchester value pack stuff. My 10/22 doesn't like the federals, and my MK II doesn't like the Winchesters. My OM single-six will eat anything and spit out a nice group. :D
 

.22shooter

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
2
Location
California
Thanks for all the great feedback.

And thanks for the confirmation that the loader does work. :)

I'm going to go try out CCI and Federal today.

Cheers!
 

Wobble

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
45
Location
Georgia, USA
I have a recently purchased Mark III and the ammo I like best is CCI Mini Mag Hi-Velocity. It has never failed me in any way.

I put a few mags of CCI Velocitor hollow point through it and got failure to feed on the first round in just about every magazine. However, I have now made a magazine mod (see link below) but haven't been to the range yet to see if it corrects the problem.
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/mkii-magazine-tweak.html

I was advised to stay away from Remington ammo, but have never tried it.
 

mattsbox99

Hunter
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Messages
3,391
Location
Montana 'Merica
It depends, for target work I shoot Federal Gold Medal Match 1080 and 1200 FPS for long range silhouettes, for plinking I shoot Federal bulk pack, and for hunting I shoot CCI Velocitors. My one 77/22 really likes the Velocitors and if I am competing I will use the Velocitors, they are $60/500 so its pretty expensive to shoot them a lot.
 

bustamove

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
3
cabopc":y8bn0bek said:
I did an ammo test with my MKII and had best results with Federal bulk and Federal Lightning which is great because that's also the cheapest. My test is here:
http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showth ... p?t=290857

Very well done. I have to thank you for your time spent in trying to help us all who run lots of the .22 rounds through what-ever we shoot. With so many different types and manufacturers out there it's hard to pin point which is good, better and or no good for just about any handgun or rifle out there.

I have found on most of my handguns and simi auto rifles and handguns I do well using the CCI Mini Mag 40 grain LR. I've used some Remington and I regret buying the 550 round box. But at least they didn't cost that much. Plus I can use them in my Bolt Action Savage rifle without much of a problem. So all is not lost there.

Your chart will certainly help. A great job, Thanks.
 
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