When I bought my Ruger MkIII Hunter last week at FSG, the salesclerk grabbed 4 or 5 different 50-round boxes of ammo, put it on my stack of stuff to purchase, and recommended they I buy them all as a way to see if my gun preferred any of them more than another.
The gun appeared to eat them all equally well (which I suppose is good), but seeing the differences in price, physical appearance/feel, and package description made me wonder what all the distinctions of .22LR are.
For example, one brand had no extra designations. Another said it was "target". Another said it was "match target", etc. As for the cartridges themselves, all had bare lead bullets, but the cartridges in one or two brands felt greasy to the touch, while the others felt "normal". And there may have been some differences in the number/width of the "neck bands" in the bullet (for lack of a better term) near where the bullet joins the case.
Is there any standard meaning to "target" or "match target" ammo, or does it mean whatever manufacturers want it to? Does the grease have any pros or cons? And as (for now) a learning recreational shooter, how much should I care?
(and that's even before getting into the lead/FMJ debate
)
The gun appeared to eat them all equally well (which I suppose is good), but seeing the differences in price, physical appearance/feel, and package description made me wonder what all the distinctions of .22LR are.
For example, one brand had no extra designations. Another said it was "target". Another said it was "match target", etc. As for the cartridges themselves, all had bare lead bullets, but the cartridges in one or two brands felt greasy to the touch, while the others felt "normal". And there may have been some differences in the number/width of the "neck bands" in the bullet (for lack of a better term) near where the bullet joins the case.
Is there any standard meaning to "target" or "match target" ammo, or does it mean whatever manufacturers want it to? Does the grease have any pros or cons? And as (for now) a learning recreational shooter, how much should I care?
(and that's even before getting into the lead/FMJ debate
