Thoughts on ammo

[Tommy Kelly]

What are your thoughts on ammo for a 22. I personally shoot wal-mart bulk ammo in my 22's I have several rifles and a few handguns in 22. I have very good luck with this ammo and shoot some impressive groups using it. I took my cz 452 22 rifle out the other day and shot a 5 shot group at 25 yds with 4 of the 5 into about a 30 cal hole size group and the other shot cutting into the hole but mostly out. Still well under 1/4". My cousin only shoots high dollar target ammo in his gun and pays about $13.00 for 50 round box of eley match ammo. where I pay about $16.00 for 550 rounds. My rifle shoots just a bit better with the high dollar ammo but not enough to justify the price difference to me. I enjoy shooting and use my 22's all the time without getting expensive in the ammo dept. I also have a anshutz match rifle that shoots the cheaper ammo fine and a 10/22 that I built up years ago that will cut the same hole most every shot. for my handguns I have a MKIII and 2 single sixes they all shoot fine with cheap ammo. I cant see where the high priced ammo is practical for me to use. Maybe if I were shooting match cources yes but for hunting and plinking the cheaper ammo is what I use. I buy whatever is in stock when I go. I have remington Federal winchester just whatever I find.

 

[1gunsnotenough]

I shoot mostly Federal Bulk for plinking. And informal target shooting.
I Tried all the Fedral ammo at the range one day but can't remember if it was in my 40X or 52C I tried them in. But not a difference in Federal Bulk, Champion, Lightning or Gold Medal. But when I got to Federal Ultra groups tightened up. With the others I would usually have a flier. But not with the Ultra. I have tried Wolf but was not that impressed with it. It shot okay.I have shot some CCI Target out of my Magnum Research and it shot pretty well. I actually swapped the last of my Wolf MT for some CCI Green Tag but haven't had a chance to get to the range with it. I have tried a lot of the higher end target ammo but I have found the Federal Ultra hard ammo to beat. But as far as bulk ammo it's hard to beat Federal. I gave away the last brick of Remington to a friend and kind of felt bad about doing that to a friend. Winchester is okay just to dirty.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

I have had great luck with the CCI Blazer 525rnd bulk pack. It is a 40g lubricated LRN bullet but it seems to be very accurate in my 22/45. Now that it has about 1,500 rounds or so through it, I should shoot some more 40g, copper washed LRN Winchester Super-X rounds as well as some target rounds. And...I will do it from a rest! :)

 

[polseszczyk]

Just to put some rounds through my gun I use Federal Champion. More serious shooting I go with CCI Mini Mags. They both seem to shoot very well.

Samuel

 

[polseszczyk]

Just to put some rounds through my gun I use Federal Champion. More serious shooting I go with CCI Mini Mags. They both seem to shoot very well.

Samuel

 

[Del J]

Tommy Kelly

I am on the same page as you with bulk ammo. Why shoot high dollar (match is high dollar today) for the type of shooting you are doing. I don't shoot any matches with a rimfire so I don't feel I need match ammo. My CZ 453 FS and 77/22 groups great with federal bulk, Marlin lever guns not as well but still good.

 

[Baldy]

I like CCI Blazer for my pistols a 22/45 MKIII and a MK-III Target. I haven't had a chance to use it in my new 10/22 rifle yet but that will be cured shortly. :)

 

[jimd441]

I too shoot bulk ammo (Remington, Federal, and Winchester) as well as CCI MiniMags through my guns and am happy with the results for the most part. My 1022 DSP and Remington pump can't seem to tell the difference, but my Marlin 39a has fte isssues with bulk ammo, so I stick to the MiniMags for that gun. Given that my shooting is primarily offhand plinking, the limiting factor on accuracy isn't the ammo. Now, if my shooting was benchrest competition, that wold be an entirely different matter....

Jim

 

[ZVP]

When shooting my Single Six with the .22 Magnum Cylinder, I use Winchestar SuperX .22WMR. It's proven to be my revolver's favorite Magnum ammo and power-wise it seems to have the biggest "Bark" and hardest hit!
Using the .22LR Cylinder I get the best results shooting bulk Boxed Winchester Wildcat ammo. Pricewise the Winchester Wildcat compares toother bulk boxed LR's.
To get the maximum preformance from the .22WMR I feel that the minimal extra expendature and search to locate the ammo is worth it!
Same goes for locating the Wildcat .22's
ZVP

 

[45flattop]

Some years ago I bought a new M77/22 R and set out to find which
ammo it seemed to like best so I bought some of every brand and
type my local dealer had from Eley Match down to bulk stuff from the
various major makers. After shooting some of all of it a good deal,
I discovered that the smallest tightest groups I could get came from
two sources, the Eley Match already mentioned and a tie between
W-W Power Point and ordinary W-W HP high velocity, so go figure.
Runners up mostly came from some Lapua match(though the precise
variety name may be in error) and CCI Green Tag. All my testing
was done shooting off of a Sinclair/Hart bench rest at 75 yards and
some of the groups I've gotten were well under 1/2 inch. If I could
get some of the groups scanned, I'd post them but for now, sadly,
no go.

 

[blume357]

Tommy Kelly,

I think you are fine with what you got... I do the same thing... but I think the difference would be more extreme between the cheap 22 and expensive stuff if you stepped out to 75 or a 100 yards...

I don't think 25 yards is far enough for any or most of the problems with cheap ammo to show them selves... anyway 1/4" at 25 yards is 1 MOA and that's what you are shooting with your current ammo and rifle, which is dern good... is that from a rest or a free style like standing, kneeling, sitting or prone?

 

[Dan in MI]

Some years ago I bought a new M77/22 R and set out to find which
ammo it seemed to like best so I bought some of every brand and
type my local dealer had from Eley Match down to bulk stuff from the
various major makers. After shooting some of all of it a good deal,
I discovered that the smallest tightest groups I could get came from
two sources, the Eley Match already mentioned and a tie between
W-W Power Point and ordinary W-W HP high velocity, so go figure.
Runners up mostly came from some Lapua match(though the precise
variety name may be in error) and CCI Green Tag. All my testing
was done shooting off of a Sinclair/Hart bench rest at 75 yards and
some of the groups I've gotten were well under 1/2 inch. If I could
get some of the groups scanned, I'd post them but for now, sadly,
no go.

I did the same thing with a couple of my match guns years ago. Found out what shot and then bought a bunch of it. R-P golden bullets in the "milk carton" (80's vintage) shot within a hair of three or four of the high dollar brands. I bought a couple cases of the best shooting high dollar for really serious shooting and as much as I could find of the same lot milk carton ammo.

 

[DVRich]

My Mark III using 40 gr lead bullets will jam once every 20 rounds but with the Winchester copper plated 555 bulk from Walmart I have never had a FTF or FTE in over 1500 rounds fired. The Federal copper plated HPs are just as good and rarely jam.
The absolute worst jamming happens when I use CCI Blazers and cheap Remington Thunderbolts.
Everytime I go by Walmart I always pick up a couple of the copper plated bulk they have, federal and Winchester.
I only go to Walmart for ammo and oil/oil filters so don't even think I buy Chinese crap from Wallyworld. :wink:

 

[cbass]

i have pretty good luck with the federal and Winchester bulk but I also buy some of the high dollar Remington stuff when i want something super super reliable and accurate. The Fed and Win stuff isn't quite as tight as the Remington for me.

 

[toysoldier]

After the weather warms up a bit, I plan to get to the range and try some higher-priced ammo in my .22's. For now, the only difference I know for sure is that my High Standard Sentinel revolver won't chamber outside-lube rounds without forcing them in. Plated rounds drop in nicely. It's the only .22 I have that hs this problem.

 

[Cholo]

Tommy, I love bulk ammo and can't get enough of it for plinking. Glad it shoots the best in what you have. I don't have anything it shoots the best in for me, but I can't beat it for kicking cans around! I give it a thumbs up when I'm not trying to shoot tiny groups with off a bench. In all fairness, I'm using mostly handguns.

 

[Rick Courtright]

After the weather warms up a bit, I plan to get to the range and try some higher-priced ammo in my .22's. For now, the only difference I know for sure is that my High Standard Sentinel revolver won't chamber outside-lube rounds without forcing them in. Plated rounds drop in nicely. It's the only .22 I have that hs this problem.

Hi,

That's been my only complaint about CCI Blazers: my Mk II doesn't like 'em when it gets cold (down in the '30s or so) and the lube builds up on the feed ramp. In warm weather, it loves 'em. My much looser 10/22 has no problems w/ it warm or cold. And it's the most reliable and accurate "inexpensive" .22 ammo I've used (in MY guns! We all know how .22s can be...)

So I started shooting Wally World Federal bulk stuff one day, and continue to shoot more of it than anything else. It's "minute of soda can" accurate, and, in the right rifle/pistol, even more so. 'Tis a bit less reliable and consistent than "good" stuff, but a couple of failures out of a box isn't earthshaking to me.

If I were shooting for score, I'd explore the "better" stuff...

Rick C

 

[Bucks Owin]

Rimfires can be finicky, but all my .22s like Amer Eagle 38 gr HP on the "cheap and darn accurate" side, and Wolf M/T on the "tack driving" side....
Worst? Wally World bulk Federal and most all Rem....(but the bulk WW is OK)

Your results may vary... :wink:

 

[Rick Courtright]

The absolute worst jamming happens when I use CCI Blazers and cheap Remington Thunderbolts.

Hi,

As mentioned before, my Mk II feels the same way about Blazers, but only when it's cold and the lube builds up on the feed ramp. A Q-tip w/ some solvent is one "fix" that's worked for me when I couldn't just switch ammo. It helps to hit the feed lips on the mags, too.

Rick C

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I took my CZ out yesterday and have a group that I shot with the remington bulk ammo. At 25 yds the group is about the size of a 30 cal. bullet hole. This is 5 shots at 25 yds with a bolt action 22 using cheap ammo. It's hard to believe that the group could be better with high dollar ammo.

 

[AJMD429]

Paco Kelly's "Acu'rzr'" cut my groups in half with the Single Six, and enables "bulk" .22 LR to perform more like "premium" in the 96/22 and 10/22's.

http://leverguns.com/store/acurzr.html