[bondjb]

Hi all,

I am looking for a good-grade, clean 22LR for general target/range shooting. When I go to the range, I like to shoot a ton. It will be with both a 10/22 Takedown rifle and an SR22 pistol.

Last outing I used some Federal 22LR in the blue box. It was ok but seemed kinda cheap. I would rather pay a few dollars more for a box of 500 and have it be of decent quality and keep my gun cleaner.

Thanks for any input you might have!!!

James

 

[Nick0410]

I liked Win, I had and continue to have problems with Federal. Got 3 boxes of the Blue during mid summer and it ran great actually, but the red stuff, only local, has been terrible for me. Dirty and amazing amount of FTE, FTF, especially during the colder months, just bought a box and I was cursing the Federal name often. I like to spend the extra 2 bucks and get Win 555 white box. I'm sure youll get a lot of Mini Mag answers here, havent tried it personally, always hear good things, but I've only ran thousands of rounds worth of cheap stuff.

Fed .22 and 9mm tend to be real dirty for me, my reloads run 1000x cleaner in the chamber than Fed, they just dont get good chamber pressure and dont seal quick enough to burn clean

 

[DevB22]

Recently I went out to break in the new barrel, and shot about 350-400 rounds.

I used two different types of CCI (not mini mags, but standard velocity I think), and the bulk Federal (gray box) and I do like the CCI rounds better, but they can get spendy when you are looking to buy more than 100+ rounds

The Federal rounds did well for me and I had one feeding issue using the BX-25 magazine, but other than that I haven't had any issues.

When I first picked up my 10/22 I shot bulk Remington and boy was it dirty, but no FTF or FTE issues.

I haven't personally shot any Winchester rounds yet, but might try them on the next outing.

In any case, the "cleanest" round I have shot has to be the CCI rounds, but at roughly $8 for 50 rounds versus $20 for 500 rounds you can be the judge.

Good shooting!

 

[bondjb]

Thanks guys for your feedback. Good to hear about the Winchester and CCI ammo, those will be next on my list. I'll probably stay away from Remington as I've had other gun enthusiasts tell me of multiple instances where the casing has cracked while firing or even left a round in the barrel, plus it's dirty as you say.

The stuff I had purchased before was the Federal blue-box '745 Champion' 22LR, 36Grain round-nose, 525rds for $21.

There is some CCI 'AR Tactical' 22LR on sale near me, 40Grain round-nose, 375rds for $23. So it bit more per round but if it's good ammo that's alright with me. I believe the Winchester 555 near me is about $27. So that's not bad either.

The CCI Mini-Mag seems cool but a bit pricey for the quantity I'm looking to shoot.

Thanks again guys!!!

James

 

[jaxrider14]

"...CCI 'AR Tactical' 22LR on sale near me, 40Grain round-nose, 375rds for $23..."

I bought that same CCI AR Tactical 22LR ammo and it ran quite well in my somewhat finicky Ruger Mark I and in my semi-auto Winchester Model 190.

 

[Nick0410]

I liked Remington for years, mostly because thats what I bought new first shotgun wise and shot many boxes of Rem shotgun shells. The Golden Bullet stuff was always super reliable for me, but it is dirty, and the "New and Improved" stuff was reliable, but still dirty.

While it would be great if we could all agree on one ammo here, you will get different results depending on where you live, temperature, and atmosphere conditions. As I said, the Blue Box Fed was good for me, but the Red Box Fed is the worst I have ever experienced, especially when it gets colder, I have never seen so many malfuntions in a .22. After I shot up the 3 Blue Boxes I ordered online, I got a Red at Walmart, shot it side by side along with my friend who has the Win and he had no problems, I had many FTE, FTF. Ive had issues with many boxes of the Red box. The weird thing is....people claim that they are the same ammo as Blue! Try Wins and CCI Blazers, see how the round reacts with your climate and let us know what you like!

I'm shooting near sea level, humid area

 

[DevB22]

There is some CCI 'AR Tactical' 22LR on sale near me, 40Grain round-nose, 375rds for $23. So it bit more per round but if it's good ammo that's alright with me. I believe the Winchester 555 near me is about $27. So that's not bad either.

Good prices!!! I haven't found any CCI bulk near me yet at a reasonable price.

That same box of CCI 'Tactical AR' .22LR' 375 rounds is on sale for $94.99 here...LOL!!!

Enjoy!

 

[James6591]

Probably CCI here.

 

[ditto1958]

Surprisingly, American Eagle. My LGS has 500 round boxes of it for $14.88. The dirtiest I have tried is Federal bulk.

 

[heymatthew]

My Ruger 22/45 Mark III and Ruger 10/22 (Tactical Solutions Barrel) both shoot really well with either the Federal Blue Box or the CCI AR Tactical. Actually, my 22/45 has a few little issues with the CCI AR Tactical, but the 10/22 loves it. They're wax-coated and pretty heavily so. I noticed after loading about 80 rounds of it, my fingers were a little sticky. That may be why the 22/45 didn't love it.

I've very rarely had any issues with the Federal Blue Box. My LGS here carries the Federal Blue and they charge a little more for it than online, but after shipping, it comes out to a wash.

 

[jon p]

federal 525 or 550 bulk

these are the same round, you just get 25 more when you get the 550 at wally world, red box. i just shot about 300 through my sr22 and 22/45 lite last week and both pistols were extremely CLEAN when i finished!! i couldnt believe HOW CLEAN. this is what i am sticking with for sure. i get the 525 blue box at ACADEMY when WW is sold out, same price.

 

[jaxrider14]

Good prices!!! I haven't found any CCI bulk near me yet at a reasonable price.

That same box of CCI 'Tactical AR' .22LR' 375 rounds is on sale for $94.99 here...LOL!!!

Enjoy!

$94.99 !!! Does it come with a free gun? I'm in California, so I expect to be gouged on ammo prices, and I paid $24.99 at Bass Pro for 375 rounds.

 

[NY Ruger]

I love this stuff...

AMM-060 - Ammo .22 LR Aguila Target Lead Round Nose 40 Grain 500 Round 1100 fps Great for Plinking Eley Primed

very very accurate, been through 1,000's, all have gone bang and feed well in all my 10/22's and my 22/45. As clean as it gets for a 22lr.

It's most definitely a notch above the the bulk box stuff... and while it's not HV sexy type ammo, it's accurate and consistent 22LR ammo that goes bang all the time.

 

[Storm40]

My SR22 pistol runs great with the Federal Red or Blue and after a box the pistol is still clean. There was another thread about the differences of the two and Federal itself said they were the same. I did not like the Rem Golden's. Just loading left my fingers golden and the bullet was loose from the casings.

 

[bearcatter]

I'm all rimfire except for one LCR, and I've run a lot of different brands. I've settled on Federal bulk and CCI Mini Mags. I don't see a significant difference in how dirty any 22 ammo is.

I buy Federal bulk for function. I may get a few more FTFs, but otherwise it functions well in all my guns, so for the cost I love it.

CCI is just as good with fewer FTFs, but three times as pricey. I only use it when FTFs would be a significant problem.

 

[Quiet 1]

I recommend and have always had excellent results with CCI Standard Velocity 40 gr. round nose.

I purchase it by the case. (10 bricks per case, 10 boxes of 50 per brick, total 5000 rounds.) Cost, including shipping, is $5.46 per 100. They work well in everything I shoot them through.

 

[jsiberians]

The most reliable and cleanest I've found are the CCI mini mags and the CCI stingers which I keep loaded for SD.
For practice I found that the Win. 555 , 333 , 222 (all the same ammo packaged different quantities) Cycle well in semis and are very clean and at a low price.
Our 21a bobcat loves em and it's a picky eater. I'd say the Win. dynapoints were also clean but 120psi lighter.

 

[Jack D]

I've tried (recently) Federal bulk, Remington Goldens bulk and CCI Blasers bulk. They are all dirty, but function well in my guns. The Blasers are wax coated and especially sticky. For clean shooting, I favor the Mini Mags and for clean power, Stingers.

Not sure what OP meant by "cheap".......price??? If it's price, I'd say that's a good thing. If it's something else, I'm puzzled.

 

[Iowegan]

All blow back semi-auto rifles and pistols get very dirty from any brand of ammo. Some are worse than others. I've found CCI Mini-Mags foul the least and all bulk pack 22s are the worst with Remington bulk packs being the worst of the worst.

I wouldn't get to excited about it ... go for the ammo that cycles good and is accurate in your gun. Again, CCI Mini-Mags seem to work best for me. I do shoot a lot of Federal Bulk pack ammo ... not quite as accurate, not as clean, but it's cheap and functions well in all my 22s.

 

[Dsteele]

I go for the best of both worlds. CCI Blazer. As far as I can tell its exactly the same as a Mini mag, but with a plain lead RN bullet. No copper wash. A little dirty but very reliable for me. That being said my 10/22 is NOT picky at all. Ive only had a couple issues on Thunderbolts.