Good/Best .22LR? - New to .22

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Finally ordered my first firearm in .22LR. I'm getting a Savage Mark II FV-SR and ordered up a Mueller APV scope. It will mostly be a 50-100 yard target gun just for fun.

I searched around on here and didn't find much that's specific to this question, and Google mostly returned cases where a single person tested a selection of ammo through a particular gun in one set of conditions. I'm hoping to get a more broad sense of peoples' experiences.

Who likes which round and why? Accuracy is my first priority, and an accurate subsonic will be a later priority since I plan on getting a suppressor for it.

Ideally I'd like to end up with a list of 3 or 4 decent rounds to keep an eye out for on the shelves.
 
I've never before seen it so hard to find .22 at a decent price. Remember to thank Obama for the ammo hoarding crisis mentality. Word on the street is that production will catch up maybe around the end of the summer.

I've seen CCI mini mags at Walmart for $7.50 / 100. That's a good deal in today's environment.
 
Seriously, tho...

A bolt action will not be nearly as ammo sensitive as a semi. It should eat whatever you feed it.
Generally the higher the velocity the better your results will be (YMMV of course) and absolutely, the more consistent the manufacturing the more consistent the results.

I have a new Remington 597 and I noticed tighter groups going from GoldenBullet bulk to Viper HV. The latter grouped pretty nicely... this was at only 25 yards, during my sighting-in session:

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CCI Minimag or CCI Standard Velocity is what I have seen as the most popular, likeable brand. Relatively common to find everywhere when the stars align.

I'm sure there's maybe better, Wolf, Ely, Aguila, but personally I don't see those too often nor do I have experience with them.

My small experience with shooting under 10,000 rounds of 22LR is that any copper jacketed ammo is preferable and will shoot cleaner and you'll have less lead buildup.
 
So, so far I'm hearing CCI Standard Velocity and CCI Mini Mag. Also I don't care about price much. As long as it's on a store shelf it seems to be much better priced than the Winchester 555rnd box I just got on GunBroker for... wait for it... $78...

Just picked up 300 rounds of American Eagle 40gr LRN at Walmart at $0.05/rnd. Anyone have any experience with that?
 
And sorry you are new to .22.......these are troubling times in the kingdom.

Didn't grow up with guns and I'm young (can only grow the safe by about 2-3 guns per year and haven't been at it that long). First priority was fighting guns and I only really see .22 as a for-fun caliber unless you hunt with it. Glad to be getting one though, now that I have most of the "necessity guns" out of the way.
 
CCI SV, Wolf MT, Aguila Target or Match Rifle have all worked very well for me in a Savage Mk II, and are all subsonic. Sadly, it's whatever 22LR you can find right now. CCI MiniMag is excellent ammo, and one of the best at making finicky semiautos run, but has never been as accurate out of a bolt action for me as it's SV brother. Also, not subsonic. You will need to figure out what your rifle likes - it's common for accurate 22 rifles to have favorite ammo. Try anything you can get your hands on.

When you get bored with 100yds, add a 20 MOA scope mount or use Burris Signature rings to get more elevation, and try stretching to 150 or 200. It's not easy, but it's fun.

[smile]

The RimfireCentral forum's ammo board is well worth checking out, too.
 
Over the last 20 y or so, I have shot 80% 22 LR - strongly prefer it to center fire shooting, but YMMV. Of course getting 22's is tough now, buy whatever you can, but my experience is Remington ammo is garbage - I typically get 1-2 misfires per 10 rounds with various different guns ( SW 617, Ruger Mark III, Ruger 10/22, CZ 452, 22 conversion for AR and 1911's.....) and various Remington ammo. I left the last 3 boxes Rem ammo I had at the range, I hate it that much. ( for use in pistol classes, where FTF is a good training drill). I will never purchase another round from them.

For bulk ammo I prefer Federal, but wouldn't hesitate to buy Winchester or many of the European or Russian brands. I shoot RWS in my match pistol, and used to shoot Wolf in it - very accurate stuff $$$$. I love CCI standard velocity and their mini-mags are outstanding as well - great quality control.

John
 
Yes the red box. Only concerned with accuracy since a bolt action should feed any ammo that isn't physically deformed.

I purchased a ruger single 10 for my son this Christmas (.22lr single action revolver) based on the fact that .22 ammo is hard to get and knowing auto loaders can be finicky I went with the revolver figuring I would be able to shoot whatever the hell I can get my hands on. Shame to have to select a plinking / first hand gun for my son based on availability of .22LR for crying out loud. But.........honestly that single 10 is a cool little revolver.
 
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This was a 10 shot group at 50 yards with federal champion out of the same rifle you have. I had good luck with just about everything I put through it with the exception being remington golden bullets.
 
Your best bet is to try as many types as possible.
Back in the day Ely 10x, lapua and the Olin "match" ammo was darn good. Lets say I never got to shoot as well as the ammo or rifles. Remgton 40x and 513t.
Back then I never heard of any one useing HV for target.
In the past 10 years no particular order and they all perform better in particular guns.
Wolf match,Ely match, Remington target, centerion target both long and shorts these shorts perform very well. In the past few years
Aquila extra and the centerion (made by Aquila) have been the over all best performer in all my guns. I don't shoot any where near as good as I once did so no more ammo specific to the gun shit for me.
22 shooting for tight groups at 100 yards is a challenge....good luck
 
As others have said, each gun will have its own favorite. Has something to do with barrel harmonics. The rimfire benchrest guys will shoot a bunch of different stuf then go back to the same store and buy all the can of the gun's favorite with the same lot code. Yes, for ultimate accuracy there is enough variation between manufacturing lots that you might see it when shooting at the benchrest level.

That said, my guns typically do well with Wolf MT. I haven't shot Remington in years, but I used to be able to hear differences from shot to shot. Horrible stuff.
 
Didn't grow up with guns and I'm young (can only grow the safe by about 2-3 guns per year and haven't been at it that long). First priority was fighting guns and I only really see .22 as a for-fun caliber unless you hunt with it. Glad to be getting one though, now that I have most of the "necessity guns" out of the way.


I was the same way, really had no interest in a .22 pistol but eventually got on just for practice and the cost of ammo.
It was funny because the guy in the shop could tell I wasn't to excited buying it. I was eye f***king a LCR .357 the whole time
 
No shorts for semi's. SHot competition and tried the usual rem, Win, Fe. but CCI was the only one I could count on not to give me duds and screw up my shoot.
 
CCI standard velocity, if it is subsonic, should be fine and you might just be able to find some. (The speed of sound ~1126 ft/sec at 68 degrees F at sea level, depends on temperature, altitude, and, atmospheric pressure. Standard velocity (subsonic) ammunition is preferred by target shooters for three reasons. The bullet (generally) has a higher ballistic coefficient at lower velocities, subsonic rounds are less affected by wind, and when a supersonic bullet slows down to subsonic velocity the bullet becomes less stable (inconsistent). Here is some data from Snipers's Hide forum:

Trajectory for CCI Rimfire .22 LR 40 gr. Mini-Mag at 1235 Feet per Second
The Firing Point speed of sound is: 1119.36 fps
The bullet drops below the speed of sound on the trajectory (1119.37 fps) at: 39 yards
Altitude: 235 Feet with a Standard Atmospheric Model.
Temperature: 59 F
Data Printed in English Units
Range(Yards) Velocity(Ft/Sec)
0 1235 135.4
25 1156.6
50 1092.5
75 1041.3
100 999

As you can see, the bullet goes from supersonic to subsonic at 39 yards. People who like CCI mini mags aren't wrong, especially if they are shooting it at relatively close range. At ranges > about 40 yards, the standard velocity will have better results. This is also true for center-fire cartridges. Cirincione in his book "Long Range Precision Rifle" states that the maximum effective range for a center-fire cartridge is the range at which it goes trans-sonic.

Be aware that if you buy very high quality .22 ammunition Eley 10X, Lapua Midas+, RWS R50 ($15.00++ per 50), you might not notice a difference. When better ammo does not produce smaller groups, you have reached the limit of your equipment/skills. With decent ammo, you should be able to get groups that approach 0.5 inch at 50 yards with your rifle. Getting consistent groups of 0.25 inches or less at 50 yards (0.5 inches at 100 yards) is where the whole rim-fire shooting game gets very interesting/expensive. Getting the ultimate accuracy from a .22 is a black art/science and not for the faint of heart.

I hope you enjoy your new rifle. Feed it what ever .22 ammo you can find. For the best groups, feed it the best subsonic ammo you can find. [wink]
White Feather
 
No shorts for semi's. SHot competition and tried the usual rem, Win, Fe. but CCI was the only one I could count on not to give me duds and screw up my shoot.

there are a few semi rifles of the past that could cycle shorts. Remington 552 i have from the 60s cycles shorts just fine. I dont know if the newer manufactured ones do. Nice little rifle though.
Theres also some "gallery" guns that shoot only 22s.
 
As others have said, each gun will have its own favorite. Has something to do with barrel harmonics. The rimfire benchrest guys will shoot a bunch of different stuf then go back to the same store and buy all the can of the gun's favorite with the same lot code. Yes, for ultimate accuracy there is enough variation between manufacturing lots that you might see it when shooting at the benchrest level.

That said, my guns typically do well with Wolf MT. I haven't shot Remington in years, but I used to be able to hear differences from shot to shot. Horrible stuff.


[rofl]

Dats funny......right now I bet they are taking what they can get.
 
I've also read reports linked here that confirm that SV point above. CCI SV outperformed a lot of other HV rounds, including minimags.

I like minimags because they shoot so much cleaner though, but if I'm having a 100 yard showdown with my buddy, I may now switch it over to the SV's.
 
Anyone get their hands on Ely "edge" ? I read about it last summer. Was tempted to try it.
 
Ya obviously what it will all come down to is what I can get. All told it seems the solution is basically whichever CCI round is best suited to the situation. SV for longer range, Mini Mags for sub 40 yards, Velociter if I want more punch.

Anyone try CCI Quiet? I'm sure it's rare right now but I watched some reviews and was surprised at the results.
 
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