What Kind Of .22 RF Ammo Should I Buy?

[HB of CJ 1,263]

New topic. Thank you everybody on the excellent reasons why to buy now. I am getting pretty low on .22 rim fire ammo. The "special needs ammo" quantity for the serious use of my suppressed stuff is still very adequate.

 

However; I need some plinking or just fun or range ammo. The two .22 rf firearms I have, a tuned Sig Mosquito and a SBR Ruger 10-22 will shoot anything and everything. Do you people have any specific recommendations?

 

What should I consider? What should I reject? Been awhile since I bought any .22rf ammo; the quality and accuracy may have changed. I do not know current ammo trends. What is the best choice? HB of CJ (old coot)

 

The usual thinking here. I do believe NOW is the time to buy lots of different stuff. All US Codes And Laws And All NFA Rules Apply

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

for me,  I like the REMINGTON hollow point  ammo that is brass  jacketed,  unlike exposed lead rounds the bullets doesn't get dinged up and the brass reduces lead build up in the barrel. comes in 525 round boxes. functions great in my GSG and STG .22

Edited July 9, 2014 by Matthew Hopkins

[james lambert 3,059]

I prefer CCI its about the cleanest

I avoid all the cheap lead stuff with all the lube

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

.22LR? Just about anything I can find that is affordable!

 

I've run the 525 boxes of Remington and the white box Winchester without any problems. I'm sure the CCI is nice but its a little too costly for my taste for plinking.

[XD45 7,124]

Anything less than a dime a round that will function in a 10/22.

 

I gave up buying 22 for now.  I don't have the time to perch like a vulture on the ammo sites waiting for a fucking brick of 22 to pop up.

 

I'm not buying 22.  I'm not shooting 22.  I'll just sit on what I have and wait for any of my backorders to pop.  Fat chance I know.

[james lambert 3,059]

Anything less than a dime a round that will function in a 10/22.

 

I gave up buying 22 for now.  I don't have the time to perch like a vulture on the ammo sites waiting for a fucking brick of 22 to pop up.

 

I'm not buying 22.  I'm not shooting 22.  I'll just sit on what I have and wait for any of my backorders to pop.  Fat chance I know.

Back orders can come true

 

I just got 16lbs of ramshot tac it was B/O at Graff and Sons

 

Thats enough to make several 3gun matches

[Bigtwin 219]

Anything less than a dime a round that will function in a 10/22.

 

I gave up buying 22 for now.  I don't have the time to perch like a vulture on the ammo sites waiting for a fucking brick of 22 to pop up.

 

I'm not buying 22.  I'm not shooting 22.  I'll just sit on what I have and wait for any of my backorders to pop.  Fat chance I know.

 

Same for me! If the .22 is coming to the range it is because I am bringing a new shooter to introduce them to shooting. Otherwise the .22 is on hold and I will have to be happy with the last remaining 5 bricks I bought at $16.99ea.

[jerry52 893]

I will not be using my new Ruger 22/45 just went back to Bass Pro this after noon which means I have to start people on 9mm.

When these guns shoot they shoot but when they don't they are a pain in the rear. There is 22 out there but after shipping it will be about 12-15 cent a round

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

I will not be using my new Ruger 22/45 just went back to Bass Pro this after noon which means I have to start people on 9mm.

When these guns shoot they shoot but when they don't they are a pain in the rear. There is 22 out there but after shipping it will be about 12-15 cent a round

 

I'm a little confused... Are you having problems with your 22/45 or just don't want to burn the .22LR? For the record, my 22/45 has fired every type of cheap .22LR ammo I ever put through it. The field strip procedure on the gun is crap though.

[james lambert 3,059]

I shoot ruger rimfire matches, along with several members of the family, and a bunch of friends.

State championships and national events.

 

We shoot 2245s and 1022s highly modified I admit

 

These guns wont make it through a stage with cheap ammo much less a match

Its worst when its hot and the lube is sticky

 

Thats not to say they wont shoot it, they will

But they get so dirty so fast and the malfunctions that come with that make it impossible to compete.

Plink with whatever you can get

 

I dont know why 22 is still so high priced, I quess cause people will pay it

[Capt Nemo 882]

If you want dirty, get the standard velocity crap the military buys from Olin!

 

One brick got my 10/22 so dirty the firing pin stuck forward!  Open bolt uncontrolled full-auto!  By the time we shot up the second brick, the magwell around the Bingham adapter was full of unburnt powder.  About half the powder would actually burn.  Took forever to get that gun clean.

[VR762Shooter 838]

I have never had a problem with Federal 22 running in my Marlin 60. Wife's 10/22 prefers the CCI. I also have 1k rounds of the M22 Winchester I haven't tested in either gun but I doubt it is any different than the CCI or Federal. Only thing I have noticed is the Federal is usually easier to clean than Winchester white box and the CCI is pretty easy to clean but haven't put enough rounds down range with the 10/22 to know if it can go as long without cleaning as the Federal does in the Model 60. Best recommendation is that you should just shoot whatever you can find and whatever your gun likes stick with.

[jerry52 893]

No! the 22/45 has got some form of trigger sickness and has stopped eating 22 ammo.

Did not have time to play with a new gun , so Bass Pro is sending it in to Ruger.

Mag would not go in, trigger would not engage the firing pin and the take down pin cannot be taken out(super stuck0.

It cannot be taken apart . Also it was light striking.

I know how to get it apart but for a new gun its their problem.

For a clean 22 use Frog LUBE

[pjj342 632]

I see some recommendations for remington, but Im not a huge fan.  If its for the most leisurely plinking, cool.  I dont seem to get alot of duds with them, but I find the powder charges to be inconsistent.  I particularly dont like the golden bullets, as ive had bad luck with their bulk packs.  They are not awful, but are not good either.  Thunderbolts, subsonics, yellow jackets, vipers, 'cheap' targets, and cyclones are mostly decent. 

 

Winchester is better, but still not great.  I was absolutely floored by the performance of my first 333 bulk pack, they were great, however when I bought them again they were a big disappointment and never got better.  The 555s were never great from the first purchase.  The 100rd plastic packs of winchester are pretty good though.  Ive had very few misfires and the powder charges are consistent.  

 

I recommend CCI everything.  Blazers, minimags, stingers, and velocitors are the best out there (non match), standard velocity are good, but have that gross wax coating.  Ive never had enough issues with them to find a pattern, which is what I look for in all ammo.   It costs more, but you get what you pay for.

 

I used to love federal automatch, but its horridly expensive now.  I was just as impressed with federal blue bulk packs as I was with golden bullets, which doesnt say much.

 

Oh yea, im using a 10/22 with a camfered and polished bolt, and polished contact surfaces.  It also has a bull barrel with a benz chamber, for what its worth.  

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

I shoot ruger rimfire matches, along with several members of the family, and a bunch of friends.

State championships and national events.

 

We shoot 2245s and 1022s highly modified I admit

 

These guns wont make it through a stage with cheap ammo much less a match

Its worst when its hot and the lube is sticky

 

Thats not to say they wont shoot it, they will

But they get so dirty so fast and the malfunctions that come with that make it impossible to compete.

Plink with whatever you can get

 

I dont know why 22 is still so high priced, I quess cause people will pay it

 

That's very surprising. My gun is totally stock and I'm not sure how many rounds a stage or a match requires, but my 22/45 has gone 200-300 rounds in a single day on 525 box without any issues at all (it WAS really dirty though). In fact, the gun has only failed to fire 1 bullet ever out of a couple thousand. Struck the case good so the round was just junk for whatever reason (525 box round).

 

Do you think it is the nature of the high performance customized guns combined with the cheap ammo or just the ammo?

Edited July 9, 2014 by Maxwelhse

[james lambert 3,059]

I think our rifles are more prone to fail than the Pistol, but its true for both.

In a match, on each stage you shoot 5 strings each at five steel targets.

Each stage is different but all have five targets, one is the stop plate, and must be shot last.

You start from a low ready position, when the timer beeps, you engage the targets as fast as possible.

If you miss you re engage untill all targets are hit, or take a penalty.

Your 4 best times are added to give your stage time.

 in general you would shoot a number of stages with pistol, then move back about 15 yds and re shoot the stages with rifle.

 

he with the qiuckest or smallest total time wins.

 

a malfunction can take you from number one to number 40  its a small window at the top.

 

We shot mostly with our grand daughters and son.

I shared my rifle and pistol with one,  wife shared her rifle and pistol with the other.

My son shoots a third set of gear.

 

one match could be a thousand rounds between us all

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

one match could be a thousand rounds between us all

 

OK! Gotcha! After 200-300 rounds mine was pretty dirty. I'm not sure what it would look like after 1000. Makes sense that you would have problems.

[Voltia 375]

My stock 10/22 loves CCI Blazer and no malfunctions after a brick over a weekend of an Appleseed.

 

Appleseed consensus seems to be whatever works, just no Remington Thunderbolt

[storm6490 2,768]

I love to shoot cci stingers that have been laying around for many years. they are a little different than the current production stingers. Take a coffee can of sand and shoot it from 20 feet with the new production stinger and then the old vintage stinger you found at a garage sale or gun show that has been sitting on the shelf so long the clear sliding top of the blue plastic hard case it turning yellow. I think they tuned them down because they were being used in old shitty .22lr rifles.

 

Aside from that, I buy whatever .22lr I can get my hands on. It's like a teen trying new cigarettes! I will shoot anything and analyze and enjoy it!

 

Favorite target round is the Green Tag.

 

Thanks for the reminder to buy some .22 and look at the new target rifles.

[Spacehog 2,218]

Federal 40gr Automatch, but it is hard to find these days. Walmart used to carry it for 14.57/ 325rds, and as stated CCI anything. Both have performed flawlessly in my 10-22, 22-45Lite, and TacSol AR-22.

[Vance665 225]

I guess no one told my 10/22 it wasnt suppose to get dirty. I use to get whatever bricks Walmart had in stock, usually Federal champion. I could shoot a brick every weekend for the whole summer and only run the bore snake through in between. Once or twice a year I do a full tear down and thorough cleaning. I put a small amount of oil on the guide rod and surfaces the bolt rides on. All factory 10/22, my only modification is a fancy poly stock. I have had some feeding malfinctions but discovered I wasnt counting how many rounds I was loading. Once I stopped putting 26 rounds in my mags it has worked flawlessly. Like others I refuse to pay what 22lr ammo is going for so all my 22 shooting is on hold.

[thebuns1 4,323]

Stingers.

[patriot 7,197]

Don't buy any. Let the shelves re-stock, then the price will come back down.

[Wolverine 10,360]

Don't buy any. Let the shelves re-stock, then the price will come back down.

 

Only if most or everybody follows and holds off buying until prices come down.  Then the race will begin again until production meets demand and price stabilizes.  Price has been high for quite some time.  I'm not hopeful it will come down and stabilize anytime soon.  Too many hoarders and re-sellers.

[XD45 7,124]

Somewhere there have to be warehouses full of 22lr.  The factories are producing at record rates.  No goddamn way it's all being shot.

[Sdustin 578]

None is being shot it's being bought and resold.

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

Resold to who? I'm blaming hoarders 100%. At the same time, good for them if they want it worse than me. I'm not going to setup a tent in a Walmart parking lot and stand in a line at 5am for 2 boxes a day.

 

At the end of the day, I bought .22LR guns because they're fun and cheap to shoot. If they never become cheap to shoot again I'll sell them and buy more ammo that I CAN find. 9mm is almost always in stock at my Wally world these days and the prices aren't bad. $16/50rds.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Maxwelhse

[james lambert 3,059]

Hoard all they want at 50.00 a brick

 

I think I will just wait a little longer

[XD45 7,124]

Right now SGA has 9mm for $12/50. I just got a case.

 

Oops sold out.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Darth Saigus

[patriot 7,197]

Somewhere there have to be warehouses full of 22lr.  The factories are producing at record rates.  No goddamn way it's all being shot.

I know for a fact the .mil (never mind which branch) has a warehouse full of the stuff here, and no weapons to shoot it with.

They'll probably blow it up.

 

Call tinfoil all you want, but it's a fact.