Favorite .22lr ammo

[steve white]

Lapua. The old Lapua Gold I wish I could still get. Eley has been plenty good enough for squirrel head shots, too. I shoot the most of CCI shorts, but that is for quiet, close in backyard squirrels on the bird feeder and trap dispatches. I have dedicated guns sighted in for both.
There is an extremely quiet Aguilla, but I never see the squirrels fall with it, tho they may die elsewhere, so I have discontinued use.
For years I shot the cheapest possible bricks of Win Dynapoint, and made some incredibly long shots on turtle heads in ponds over run with the critters, but that was before I discovered the better brands.

 

[Challer]

For everyday, CCI mini mag solids are very reliable.

Eley for serious target work

 

[Altitude sickness]

For some reason I didn’t complete my earlier post.

My daughter used Eley and Lapua the most while competing in NRA matches. They had far fewer occasional flyers. One flyer will take you out of the competition.

 

[Daggaboy375]

I got some Eley bulk ammo from CMP a couple of years ago that shoots rather well.

I think it is ELEY club. I think I paid around $300 for a case(5K).

My Annie and CZ 455 love it. I like the smell.

DB

 

[skydiver386]

My squirrel rifle is sighted in for CCI Quiet, and it shoots that very well for head shots out to 50 yards. The slow speed and rainbow trajectory can make range estimation critical. I buy all I can when I can find it.

CCI Green Tag used to be a decent practice round for some of my mid grade rifles, but the price has increased beyond what I think the quality commands.

For my Match rifles S&K is great practice ammo, but is greasy. Both the grey box Semi-auto and the Red box Match from S&K group really well in my rifles. The secret seems to be shooting enough of it to season the bore. Between 50 and 100 rounds, the group sizes shrink more and more. Matter of fact, several other shooters at my local Club noticed the same thing.

I have one rifle that loves Eley Tenex, but I keep that in my "Special Reserve".

 

[AZDAVE]

SK long range and Lapua Midas shoot well in my precision rifles. and In the plinkers Like @mdwest whatever box is open from the rounds purchased over the years.

 

[D.M.V]

This company went out of business long ago but I got my hands on some South African game warden surplus years ago. I still have quite a few boxes of it. My boxs are plane white and written in Afrikaans but same as this stuff in the pictures. It's incrediblely accurate in my CZ 455, like 5 shots 1 ragged hole accurate. So I don't shoot it anymore and save what I have left and shoot other brands. So this stuff is my favorite.

 

[deewayne2003]

Federal 22 Auto Match for bulk ammo and CCI Mini Mag RN for hunting.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

The secret seems to be shooting enough of it to season the bore. Between 50 and 100 rounds, the group sizes shrink more and more. Matter of fact, several other shooters at my local Club noticed the same thing.

Rimfire requires a number of procedures to get the most out of it. While it does take a few rounds to "season" a rimfire bbl, it should not require 50-100rds to do so. I know some people claim that they do not clean their 22's or do not clean them often, that is not the best way to get precision from them. But, the way you clean them is also important. You only clean the chamber area and the first few inches of the bbl and try not to remove all the lead and wax from the remainder of the bbl. Avoid lead or copper solvents as well. Only carbon solvent with a wet patch to remove fouling then soak the chamber with carbon solvent and brush it with a bronze brush only for the first few inches. Then run a wet patch. If badly fouled after a long match you can clean further with a quality bore polish like KG#2. Most rimfires with begin to shoot well after this within 10 shots. After cleaning I run a patch with Kroil down the bbl to prevent rust. Exceptions are my hunting rifles which get fouled at the start of season and do not get cleaned until end of season since they do not digest 100's of rounds during that period. You clean your other rifles, so clean your 22's as well.

 

[Bandera]

i shoot Rimfire Challenge matches. I need a round that is reiable.
I shoot a bunch of Federal 22LR 40 grain @1200 fps. Around 4000 rounds this year. They run great in the match guns.
I also shoot the Aguila ammo. One rifle will stove pipe the third round of the magazine at different times. Shoots the other 9 rounds fine.
My CZ457 likes SK Long Range Match. Shoots Sub MOA at 100 yards.
The Federal Auto match has worked well for me.
Last year I shot a bunch of the Norma TAC 22 with good results and then it disappeared from the market.
In the Rimfire Challenge world the CCI Mini Mag is well respected.

 

[skydiver386]

Rimfire requires a number of procedures to get the most out of it. While it does take a few rounds to "season" a rimfire bbl, it should not require 50-100rds to do so. I know some people claim that they do not clean their 22's or do not clean them often, that is not the best way to get precision from them. But, the way you clean them is also important. You only clean the chamber area and the first few inches of the bbl and try not to remove all the lead and wax from the remainder of the bbl. Avoid lead or copper solvents as well. Only carbon solvent with a wet patch to remove fouling then soak the chamber with carbon solvent and brush it with a bronze brush only for the first few inches. Then run a wet patch. If badly fouled after a long match you can clean further with a quality bore polish like KG#2. Most rimfires with begin to shoot well after this within 10 shots. After cleaning I run a patch with Kroil down the bbl to prevent rust. Exceptions are my hunting rifles which get fouled at the start of season and do not get cleaned until end of season since they do not digest 100's of rounds during that period. You clean your other rifles, so clean your 22's as well.

Most of this is right on the money, and well proven over the years. The lube used on the S&K seems to add something different into the mix.

When I ran rimfire matches at a local indoor range, Eley, Lapua and Federal Gold Medal were the go to ammo choices. Most have a dry lube or plating on the bullet to prevent oxidation, v the greasy lube on the S&K and Wolf Match. Guys that shoot muzzle loaders can be very picky about their cleaning methods and lube and seasoning their bore for the same reasons. Change lube, and everything changes.

There are probably 20 of my friends shooting the S&K now, and close to 50 individual rifles that my friends are testing this ammo and bore seasoning in, so give it a few months and we'll see what the consensus is.

BTW, Wolf Match, and some Eley are made in the same place. S&K and Lapua are now combined, and making great ammo. Wouldn't it be nice if a U.S. ammo maker could give us some serious match 22 ammo?

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Change lube, and everything changes.

BTW, Wolf Match, and some Eley are made in the same place. S&K and Lapua are now combined, and making great ammo. Wouldn't it be nice if a U.S. ammo maker could give us some serious match 22 ammo?

Your comments are quite correct. When we change brands of ammo the different lube will affect the accuracy. Sometimes good, but mostly bad since it adds another variable that is not well controlled. If I change from Eley to Lapua during a range session or match, it is ideal to clean the bbl first. Otherwise the consistency of the rifle is affected for many shots. Since SK and Lapua use the same cases, powder, bullets and lube they can be interchanged. Same with Eley and the latest Wolf ammo as you said. I think RWS and the Norma line of 22lr are also in the same family.

I agree that a USA mfg should be able to make a decent match ammo but we have had none since the old Federal Ultra Match was discontinued.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I shoot a lot of CCI Subs and Quiets myself.