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Best .22 LR ammo?

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CALL911 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Best .22 LR ammo?
    Posted: March/14/2010 at 10:36
What do you guys prefer ammo wise for .22 LR?

Even the higher quality ammo is cheep for a .22

Mostly the .22 is used for target practice and small game. Do you reccomend hollow point or high velocity?
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The Apostle View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Apostle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2010 at 10:54
Originally posted by CALL911 CALL911 wrote:

What do you guys prefer ammo wise for .22 LR?

 
.22s are well known for being fussy as far as ammo is concerned and it's best to try atleast a dozen different brands of ammo before settling on the one brand. Try different priced brands (both cheap and expensive) and also brands that go different speeds (subsonic, standard and high velocity).
 
Originally posted by CALL911 CALL911 wrote:

Mostly the .22 is used for target practice and small game. Do you reccomend hollow point or high velocity?
 
The most accurate .22 rounds are the generally subsonic rounds due to the fact the bullet stays subsonic during its flight and doesn't get affected by the change from supersonic to subsonic speed like you would if you were using standard velocity or high velocity.
 
Have a look through this thread: http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=22159 and also the .22 Long Rifle article on Wikipedia.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote neilbilly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2010 at 12:33
Totally concur with Apostle.

You're going to have to experiment with your .22 to find for yourself what your gun likes the best. "basically there is no universal best bullet, only a bullet your gun likes the best"

As you pointed out .22 is cheap enough to do that without breaking the bank. "and it'll be fun"

Keep us posted as to what make and model your .22 is and what you find works best for you.
If God didn't want me to play with it, he'd of made my arms shorter.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2010 at 12:37
There will be a very indepth review on 22lr ammo coming up within the next couple weeks.  I am stock piling a bunch of different brands and will have target results as well as chrono results soon.  Keep watching the thread that was linked in AK's response for the results or the link to the review thread
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/14/2010 at 12:59
Thanks for the info. I'll start off with some subsonic ammo and let everyone know what I end up with.

BTW, the rifle is a Remington 597.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Longhunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 00:25
Eley Ten-X will show you what your .22 rifle really can do.
 
Then you can check other brands for accuracy in your particular rifle with a benchmark to measure against.  Normally, you would pick high-speed hollow points for small game hunting.
   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Average Joe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 08:52
No .22 ammo is best it all depends on what your gun likes and dislikes.
My volquartsen loves Fed Bulk copper coated.(around $20 a box of 525)
I will NOT use Remington Thunderbolt ammo due to the high rate of failures and the excess wax coating,this kind of ammo will gum up the 2 guide rods and block on the 597 so i only use copper coated or non waxed ammo.Open a box and check them out before buying.
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:14
  My old bolt action Marlin likes 38gr Federal Game-Shok's.  Squaks don't though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:16
22's are some of the most finiky ammo eaters there are.  Some will run anything you feed them and be accurate, some won't.  Thats why its best to buy as many small packs of different ammo you can and test each one for your guns liking.
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:29
Thanks for the info. I'll probably start with some sub-sonic ammo.

Do you reccomend hollow point or regular for just target shooting?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:31
Eley and Federal Gold Medal Ultra Match are considered top of the food chain but are expensive. I've had pretty darn good accuracy with Winchester Power Point and CCi Green Tag also.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:34
i was at my local walmart the other night and i was looking through the .22 ammo they had and they wanted over $3 for a box of 50 remington subsonics!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:49
Originally posted by pyro6999 pyro6999 wrote:

i was at my local walmart the other night and i was looking through the .22 ammo they had and they wanted over $3 for a box of 50 remington subsonics!
 
Thats actually not bad especially if you can find the stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 09:50
Originally posted by CALL911 CALL911 wrote:

Thanks for the info. I'll probably start with some sub-sonic ammo.

Do you reccomend hollow point or regular for just target shooting?
 
For target plinking not worried about pinpoint accuracy, i would try the different bulk boxes availible first then if none of those satisfied you go to the testing phase of others
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 18:12
Most of the local gun shops have a very large variety of ammo, so I'd like to have some idea where to start.

Again, does anyone reccomend hollow point, or just the regular ammo for target? Does it make any difference?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 18:24
  Most of the more accurate target grade .22 rimfire ammo does not have hollow points; in rimfires the hollow points serve to facilitate expansion for hunting purposes. Avoid hollow points in rimfire ammo as a GENERAL rule to obtain the very best target accuracy.
 
  BTW, this does not apply to CENTERFIRE cartridges in which the reverse is often true...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 18:28
The Remington 597 I am using this thread for is definatly a rimfire.

Thanks for the info, I'll stay away from the hollow points unless I am hunting squirrels.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 19:55
The Winchester Power Points shoot great in all the .22's I have, bolt and auto loader rifles and revolvers. The .22's can be finicky but I think those silver box Winchesters are a good starting point.
The Remington sub-sonic also groups pretty close to the Winchesters up to about 25 yards.

Doug
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CALL911 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CALL911 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/16/2010 at 19:59
Sweet. I'll have to see if the local shop has any of those.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/17/2010 at 12:03
Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas M, and Federal Gold Medal match have given the best accuracy in my rimfires that are accurate enough to take advantage of them, with CCI Green Tag close behind those.  However, as Tahqua mentioned above, I've had pretty good to great accuracy in all my .22's from the inexpensive silver box Winchester Power Point ammo, and it is what I use for general plinking and hunting.  I haven't had good luck with any Remington rimfire ammo I've tried.
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