22 rimfire ammo

[270man]

Double-Deuce Shooters,

I read the posts on Federal Lightning 22HV ammo and would like to expand the discussion to more brand and types. We all have to accept that different firearms (rifles and handguns) seem to like one or more brand/type ammo better than others. Also, a newly manufactured lot of ammo from the past may not give the same results as an older lot.

Since I have a large supply of Win Super-X purchased years ago, and since it works so well in my firearms, it is my favorite ammo for small game hunting and general shooting/plinking. I prefer the 40gr solid bullet but the hollow point seems to be just as accurate.

Several years ago, I competed in the NRA indoor postal matches and also in informal matches at my local gun club. Most of us used stanard velocity ammo for these matches. Over a period of several years, we gravitated to Federal Champion SV (solid bullet) and Win T-22 (solid bullet) -- because they worked well and were fairly inexpensive. Remington's "Target" SV ammo was unreliable and we could count on several misfires in every box of 50. This wasn't just a fluke. We had at least 5-6 competitors with different rifles and handguns who experienced the failures. I hope Remington is now doing a better job with their quality control.

My competition days are about over but I still enjoy SmallBore Silouette rifle matches at my club. You can see almost every brand and type of ammo at these matches. Most of the shooters avoid the extremely expensive ammo from RWS, Lapua etc., in favor T-22, Federal Gold Metal Target, Lapua SK and other similar types that fall in the mid-range of cost.

What really bugs me about Federal is that they play a "name" game. I have some old Federal "Champion" SV ammo that is almost as accurate as T-22, Lapua SK and Federal Gold Medal. Federal dropped the Champion several years ago but I recently saw some advertised and was ready to buy until I found that it is now High Velocity ammo. The Federal Gold Medal Match that I currently use is nothing more than the old Federal SV ammo (711B).

Comments on these brands/types are welcome, as well as those on others. Aguila, Wolf, CCI and many others may be favorites for many of you.

270man

[buckhunter]

Over the years and thousands of rounds later I find the Winchester Power Points work well in my hunting 22'. I recently bought some remington bulk 22's (during the shortager) and they are aweful. I'm finding a lot of misfires in the batch. After I use them up thats it. I have enough power points to keep me going and I plan on visiting Kittery Trading Post Sunday and hope my fathers day present is a brick of Power Points.

As far a trarget, I have thousands of CCI standard velocity 22's. These work well and rarely a misfire. I'm not a competive target shooter but do shoot paper and these are fine.

[Jack]

Each 22 firearm seems to have it's preferences.
I've been lucky- Winchester T-22's and Wildcats shoot well in all my 22's - those are cheap ammo, so that's what gets used for targets and casual use. I'm not a competitive shooter, so they fill the bill.
For hunting, the Winchester Power Points do quite well for me.
A friend of mine bought a nice Ruger target model 10/22. I helped him find a good scope for it, and then we took it to the range with a box of every 22 LR brand we could find. After a lot of testing, his rifle prefers American Eagle HP's - a cheap brand sold by Federal. In his gun, those outshot everything else.
So, you never know what will work, until you try them.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I've been shooting .22 rimfires for about 35+ years.....I started out shooting CCI mini mags (both solid & HP versions) because they were usually on sale at the local Kmart; if not, then I was shooting Federals (Lightnings? Power flites? Cant remember for sure). Since that time, I've tried a lot of different rounds...but the CCI's have not only been accurate, but consistant from lot to lot (I usually try and buy .22 ammo in bulk).
Federal American Eagle ammo runs a close second....accurate in all my rimfire firearms.

My Uncle used to swear by Winchesters, but I swear at Winchesters! Of all the ammo I've tried, these were the ones that had the most failures to fire.....good ammo, if you shoot it from a slingshot! I've had good luck with the Remington "golden bullet' rimfires, but the plain lead bullet (Peters as well) had too much 'gunk' (lube?) on the bullet, and the powder leaves a lot of residue, gumming up my semiautos.
I've also tried a lot of foreign makes, but the problem with them is that they are there one day and not the next.......had some good stuff from Czechleslovakia, but couldn't find it again.

I'm sure we've all had issues with one of the many 'promo' (i.e. bulk loads) from the various manufacturers....stands to reason, as the stuff is made to be cheap, so quality control isn't as good as it could be. Not a big deal if you are popping cans or paper, but when I'm hunting with my .22, I want it to go "BANG" all the time.

BTW: the same follows for all my .22 magnum as well.

[popplecop]

Have quite a few .22 rfs and am lucky that I have several that favor the same ammo. For just plinking I am have good results ith Federal bulk HP. For hunting I prefer CCI Small Game Bullet. Funny when I started shooting .22s CCI didn't even exist, bben then again I guess I'm elderly. I have a Ruger Bearcat that just loves Aquilla Super Sniper 60 grainers, very accurat at 15 yds.

[Joe Boleo]

I have been shooting Federal or Winchester bulk pack ammo for years and have never had a problem. Take care...
Joe

[jefferson herb]

I wish I had bought more Russian Ammo when it was being imported.I have enough ammo for my Kimber 82 govt if I don't use it for practice ammo[fed 900b],now price is
20.00 a box for equivilant quality ammo.

[Rapier]

The reason every 22 seems to like different ammo is the guns are by and large cheap and the bore diameter on almost every gun is different. Only with the expensive guns do you get consistent match barrels.

If the bore is large, the gun will shoot HV ammo best, as the bullet obturates to fill the bore. A gun with a proper match barrel, will shoot SV ammo like a house a fire.

The old Federal Classic and the CCI Mini Mags work in the most guns, over all, as both are fairly consistent, are HV and fill the bores. The 40gr solid delivers the most energy at 75 to 100 yards as they simply weigh more at a near enough velocity to overcome the difference in speed. Four grains is 11% of a 36gr HP bullet.
Ed

[jefferson herb]

Something the bench shooters stay away from is cleaning rods.It's been speculated that a cleaning rod causes more wear than shooting it,many opinions on that.I've been using a pull thru made out of heavy weedeater line,mushroomed on one end and sharp on the other,and slide a patch on.
Yes ,I think highly of cci mini-mags,and less of stingers if you want any penetration at all.Stingers blow up even in handguns to include pocket autos.
Some folks just don't give the lowly rimfire the credit due.It's highly accurate with ammo it likes,and within it's range is quite deadly.
My Nephew killed his first buck with my .218 BEE,He was afraid of recoil and liked this gun[like his bb gun],neck shot at 117 yds from a prone rest.As a teen on my first ranch job I used a rem 511 with deadly precision out to 150 yds with a weaver duplex 2-7 scope.Ground Squirrls got to running at the sound of an engine.
I just bought a brick of blazers to try again after years,have to be better than rem bulk.