Good 22LR ammo

[Dogga85]

Hey guys,

Ordering a Tikka T1X MTR. Chasing recommendations for a few different types of good ammo that's a reasonable price, I want some that's decent for range shooting ~100m, some decent subs for plinking around a rural property in QLD and some recommendations for small pest/game hunting?

[bladeracer]

Hey guys,

Ordering a Tikka T1X MTR. Chasing recommendations for a few different types of good ammo that's a reasonable price, I want some that's decent for range shooting ~100m, some decent subs for plinking around a rural property in QLD and some recommendations for small pest/game hunting?

Grab a box of everything your dealer has and find out what shoots best in the rifle, then order a case of it.

CCI Std Velocity shoots great in my rifles, I use it for everything up to foxes.

[DaveZ]

CCI Standard is a great round for quiet target shooting/plinking. My favourite for sure.

Cheers,
Dave.

[rc42]

22LR is funny, two rifles one after the other on the same production line will likely work best with different brands of ammo and even that can vary by ammo batch.
More expensive target rounds will probably be more consistent but a cheap bulk ammo may give very similar performance if you can find the right one. Unfortunately, the results that others get will probably be meaningless as every rifle is different.

I'd suggest trying all of the bulk ammo types that are available in your area, I have a high end Olympic grade 22LR which loves Eley Std bulk ammo but is terrible with CCI Std, other rifles are completely opposite.

I've recently had good results with Federal Suppressor which is a 45gn projectile at 970fps but other federal bulk ammo has been all over the place.
CCI Quiet is a good plinking round as you might not need much ear protection, that's a great round for teaching the kids to shoot.

[Oldbloke]

Hey guys,

Ordering a Tikka T1X MTR. Chasing recommendations for a few different types of good ammo that's a reasonable price, I want some that's decent for range shooting ~100m, some decent subs for plinking around a rural property in QLD and some recommendations for small pest/game hunting?

Grab a box of everything your dealer has and find out what shoots best in the rifle, then order a case of it.

CCI Std Velocity shoots great in my rifles, I use it for everything up to foxes.

Correct. However generally subsonics provide better accuracy.
RWS Club and Target perform best in my 2 Brno M2s. I tried 12 different ammo brands

[Hatchet Jack]

CCI won't shoot worth a pinch of ****** in my rifles. Every gun has its own likes.

[Dogga85]

Thanks heaps for the advice guys. Will grab a few different boxes and trial them, definitely including CCI by the sounds

[Bello]

Hi mate
The CCi standard worked well in my 22LR for target work
I ilke the Winchester 40gr Power point for hunting.
But i agree with those who say that you have to try several different ammos to see what shoots best in your set up.
When the kids join me, I get the cheap Federal 22LR bulk packs. They can be inconsistent, but are cheap for plinking.

[in2anity]

I regularly shoot 3-p comps at 100m, walkdown style (100m prone, 75m sitting/prone, 50m standing/sitting/prone). CCI-SV is more than adequate to shoot a 150/150, with decimals on top of that, if you're doing your part. Wind plays havoc on 22lr groups at 100m.

[bladeracer]

I regularly shoot 3-p comps at 100m, walkdown style (100m prone, 75m sitting/prone, 50m standing/sitting/prone). CCI-SV is more than adequate to shoot a 150/150, with decimals on top of that, if you're doing your part. Wind plays havoc on 22lr groups at 100m.

This could be useful info, if we knew anything about the competition
Open sights or scoped?
What size is the target?

[bladeracer]

Hey guys,

Ordering a Tikka T1X MTR. Chasing recommendations for a few different types of good ammo that's a reasonable price, I want some that's decent for range shooting ~100m, some decent subs for plinking around a rural property in QLD and some recommendations for small pest/game hunting?

Grab a box of everything your dealer has and find out what shoots best in the rifle, then order a case of it.

CCI Std Velocity shoots great in my rifles, I use it for everything up to foxes.

Correct. However generally subsonics provide better accuracy.
RWS Club and Target perform best in my 2 Brno M2s. I tried 12 different ammo brands

Standard Velocity is subsonic.

[Noisydad]

“Good ammo” is accurate ammo. There are plenty of silhouette shooters that are knocking down steel chickens at 200 m with sub sonic ammo and iron sights on .22s. You’ll probably try a half dozen types to find what your rifle likes.

[in2anity]

This could be useful info, if we knew anything about the competition
Open sights or scoped?
What size is the target?

Lol, yeah fair call Blade. Here yu go, using CCI-SV here's my last target from a 100m 3-position timed, walk-down match, telescopic sights permitted:

100m - Figure13

figure13.jpg (422.97 KiB) Viewed 15520 times

That's a miniature Figure 13. I think the V is around 4 inches across? Windy conditions that day; blows the shooter as much as the bullet! Especially from standing. The 4s were all from standing, and frankly not good enough fair, but not good shooting, in my eyes I did not "clean" it.

The point was, whether I had of used Lapua Center X or CCI-SV, it would have made hardly a difference. Error came from me, and my inability to adapt to changing conditions.

[bladeracer]

Wow! That is impressive alright, and your point is valid, which I realised immediately after asking

This could be useful info, if we knew anything about the competition
Open sights or scoped?
What size is the target?

Lol, yeah fair call Blade. Here yu go, using CCI-SV here's my last target from a 100m 3-position timed, walk-down match, telescopic sights permitted:

figure13.jpg

That's a miniature Figure 13. I think the V is around 4 inches across? Windy conditions that day; blows the shooter as much as the bullet! Especially from standing. The 4s were all from standing, and frankly not good enough fair, but not good shooting, in my eyes I did not "clean" it.

The point was, whether I had of used Lapua Center X or CCI-SV, it would have made hardly a difference. Error came from me, and my inability to change adapt to changing conditions.

[No1Mk3]

s-l300.jpg (7.98 KiB) Viewed 15503 times

When everyone had to use only this for comp!

[Bugman]

CCI SV has worked well for me in the past.

[No1_49er]

Hey guys,

Ordering a Tikka T1X MTR. Chasing recommendations for a few different types of good ammo that's a reasonable price, I want some that's decent for range shooting ~100m, some decent subs for plinking around a rural property in QLD and some recommendations for small pest/game hunting?

The question of “what shoots best in your 22?” comes up time after time after time, ad nauseum, on probably every shooting related forum world-wide. There is ONE answer, which should perhaps be copied/pasted every time that question is asked, on any forum.

If we divert our train of thought for a while, it will be realised that for those of us who also shoot centrefire, we work up a load that works in MY rifle. The variables will be: - projectile, powder type, powder charge weight, primer, seating depth/distance to lands, case make, case preparation procedures, to name but a few. We will finally arrive at a “recipe” that works well in MY rifle. That same combination could shoot like sh-t in my buddy’s rifle; it could even be dangerous.

Extending this philosophy to rimfire poses a problem. The only thing we can do is purchase manufactured / unalterable ammo’. Where does that leave us? Go and buy a box of ammo and try it. If you’re happy, buy a brick or two and continue with your happiness. But, if you are ultimately looking for the most accuracy that YOUR rifle can deliver there is only ONE WAY to find out. Find a friendly dealer who is willing to sell you a brick of every type of ammo that is available to him, with this caveat; if you find a “recipe” that works in YOUR rifle, he must be able to supply you with maybe 5 – 10,000 rounds FROM THE SAME BATCH. You then buy them – all that you can afford. Which presents you with another possible fly in the ointment. The stuff that really turns you on might cost $15 a box, so you might have to settle for second or third best. But, you might strike it lucky and find SK/Lapua 500 Magazine does the job. But you have to test, test, test.

That’s the approach I had to take to find something the way I wanted it to work at extended ranges. I probably ended up with about 3,000 rounds that will eventually be used for plinking, but amongst it all was a winner. I bought a few cases.

It all comes down to how precise you want YOUR rifle to be and how much effort you will put into finding that goal.

[rc42]

One final thing that I'll add regarding 22LR selection is to be sure that it matters to you.
I use an Olympic grade Walther KK500 for 50m small bore competitions at 50m and have access to a test frame that clamps the rifle but has rails to allow recoil, it's designed for ammunition testing and I've put a lot of different brands and batches through it.

The results are that really good ammo will create a 10 shot group as a large hole around 10mm in size, most ammo creates a hole around 15-20mm in size often down to one or two flyers and poor ammo will create a group around 25mm which is visible as separate holes in the target.


At 100m you can at least double those figures but consistency of hold and the ability to read wind will be far more important with 22LR than any difference between the best ammo and something that is just 'OK'.
The really cheap crappy super-sonic stuff like Remington 'Golden Bucket of Bullets' or Winchester 'Super X' will be all over the place at 100m, it's barely usable at 25m in any rifle and amazing how every round can be a flyer in a different way.

[in2anity]

One final thing that I'll add regarding 22LR selection is to be sure that it matters to you.
I use an Olympic grade Walther KK500 for 50m small bore competitions at 50m and have access to a test frame that clamps the rifle but has rails to allow recoil, it's designed for ammunition testing and I've put a lot of different brands and batches through it.

The results are that really good ammo will create a 10 shot group as a large hole around 10mm in size, most ammo creates a hole around 15-20mm in size often down to one or two flyers and poor ammo will create a group around 25mm which is visible as separate holes in the target.


At 100m you can at least double those figures but consistency of hold and the ability to read wind will be far more important with 22LR than any difference between the best ammo and something that is just 'OK'.
The really cheap crappy super-sonic stuff like Remington 'Golden Bucket of Bullets' or Winchester 'Super X' will be all over the place at 100m, it's barely usable at 25m in any rifle and amazing how every round can be a flyer in a different way.

completely agree. on the contrary to field positional, If i'm shooting a smallbore comp, with a target rig, in a relatively windless environment, then yeah having that super consistent ammo is an absolute must. You won't shoot a string of 10s with budget ammo.

[SwissMiss]

5 shots into a single hole at 50m with a 0.2 MOA spread would be a once in a lifetime result, from any rifle, it would be statistically less likely than winning the lottery, I would have bought a ticket that day if it happened to me. Are you sure that you didn't miss the entire paper target with 4 of those shots? (/s)

The results for the best batches of Eley, Lapua or RWS ammunition shot on their own wind free test ranges from a vice clamped action don't even come close to that sort of consistency over 10 shots, it's beyond what is possible for 22 rimfire.

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

https://www.bleiker.ch/files/images/Mun ... t_ELEY.jpg

[SCJ429]

5 shots into a single hole at 50m with a 0.2 MOA spread would be a once in a lifetime result, from any rifle, it would be statistically less likely than winning the lottery, I would have bought a ticket that day if it happened to me. Are you sure that you didn't miss the entire paper target with 4 of those shots? (/s)

The results for the best batches of Eley, Lapua or RWS ammunition shot on their own wind free test ranges from a vice clamped action don't even come close to that sort of consistency over 10 shots, it's beyond what is possible for 22 rimfire.

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

https://www.bleiker.ch/files/images/Mun ... t_ELEY.jpg

Welcome to the forums Martina Hingis, I did not know you were a rimfire fan.

[rc42]

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

Here's the shocking news for you, the difference in accuracy/consistency between an $8,000 Walther a $12,000 Bleiker or a $16,000 Grunig fitted into a test rig is nothing, some top shooters use Beliker because they are already good shots and likely to make finals so they are given one free and maybe even paid to compete using it for marketing purposes. Other shooters are given Walther or Grunig but the shooters don't care because there's no advantage to any one over the others. Those are the three manufacturers that currently dominate international finals and you can't call who is going to win based on the rifle that they are carrying as they walk in.

However, they do understand the importance of matching ammo batches to get optimal results so they probably spend more time testing ammo than practicing and they get access to the best batches from Eley, RWS, Lapua that never make it to retail shelves, the ones we get are the reject batches that nobody else wanted.

Also with shot group statistics groups of 10 shots will be prone to variation, a very tight group could be followed by another twice the size and the next group tight again or somewhere in between, even with the same ammo batch and the same conditions. This was clearly visible with Eley's public batch test results before they took the website down. No 22LR rifle/ammo combination can shoot every group at the tightest size.

You might also note that an 11mm group is "around 10mm in size" which is the sort of result you can get in a single 10 shot group with any high end rifle if the quality ammo being used is matched to it.

[SCJ429]

My own observations is that any number of companies can make a good action but most guys use aftermarket barrels to have their rigs shooting 0.120 of an inch at 50. I have seen some flash actions like Turbo getting cleaned up by an Anschutz Supermatch. Might have something to do with the nut behind the butt.

The best shooting I have ever seen at 200 metres was shot with an Anschutz.

Funny how so many guys can get their rifles to perform with Eley Tennex.

[Gamerancher]

I have friends in the U.S who's son and daughter are in college on shooting scholarships. They travel to a Lapua testing facility where their rifles are tested with various types/brands/batches of ammo to work out one that gives the best results for that particular rifle. They then buy a pallet of that batch.

[SwissMiss]

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

However, they do understand the importance of matching ammo batches to get optimal results so they probably spend more time testing ammo than practicing and they get access to the best batches from Eley, RWS, Lapua that never make it to retail shelves, the ones we get are the reject batches that nobody else wanted.

Do you honestly think that Niccolò Campriani spent more time testing ammo than practicing? Then he must of been lying in this video,

https://youtu.be/Sx2kdLAsKxo?t=180

LOL at owning an KK500 and knowing nothing about your own sport. Perhaps you should spend more time 'practicing'.

[rc42]

LOL at owning an KK500 and knowing nothing about your own sport.

I thought you were here to argue that only a Bleiker could ever put 10 shots close to an 11mm group, anywhere, ever.

LOL at being a ****** that believes all of the marketing hype about which rifles are the best, perhaps you should spend some time learning about the subject and come back when you think you have something useful to offer.

[jpsauer88]

I have tried almost everything out there in HV HP except SK.
In my cz452 lux and cz455 varmint
Best group was s&b HV HP followed closely by RWS HV HP

Again didnt try the RN type just HV HP as i was looking for an accurate round for hunting. Cant believe the accuracy of the S&B HV HP for $65 a brick

[Biscuits]

5 shots into a single hole at 50m with a 0.2 MOA spread would be a once in a lifetime result, from any rifle, it would be statistically less likely than winning the lottery, I would have bought a ticket that day if it happened to me. Are you sure that you didn't miss the entire paper target with 4 of those shots? (/s)

The results for the best batches of Eley, Lapua or RWS ammunition shot on their own wind free test ranges from a vice clamped action don't even come close to that sort of consistency over 10 shots, it's beyond what is possible for 22 rimfire.

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

https://www.bleiker.ch/files/images/Mun ... t_ELEY.jpg

Welcome to the forums Martina Hingis, I did not know you were a rimfire fan.

Err, am I missing something here? There is a 6x5 (six cards of five shots) on snipershide.com

The best 50 yard average (admittedly this will be better than 50m) entries are about 0.13 inch or under 4mm average across the 6 cards at 50 yards. I do about 10mm out of a Tikka hunting rifle. 0.2 MoA is a regular appearance as the best single card.

This is center to center, so if you are measuring the size of the hole you would subtract a bullet diameter/5.6mm for equivalence. It’s also shot ant way you like, so the best results will use a bipod.

[Wyliecoyote]

5 shots into a single hole at 50m with a 0.2 MOA spread would be a once in a lifetime result, from any rifle, it would be statistically less likely than winning the lottery, I would have bought a ticket that day if it happened to me. Are you sure that you didn't miss the entire paper target with 4 of those shots? (/s)

The results for the best batches of Eley, Lapua or RWS ammunition shot on their own wind free test ranges from a vice clamped action don't even come close to that sort of consistency over 10 shots, it's beyond what is possible for 22 rimfire.

I highly doubt your KK500 can repeatedly group 10 shots at 50m within 10mm.

Bleiker, the premier rifle used by the top olympic rifle shooters can only shoot 11mm or larger

https://www.bleiker.ch/files/images/Mun ... t_ELEY.jpg

Welcome to the forums Martina Hingis, I did not know you were a rimfire fan.

Err, am I missing something here? There is a 6x5 (six cards of five shots) on snipershide.com

The best 50 yard average (admittedly this will be better than 50m) entries are about 0.13 inch or under 4mm average across the 6 cards at 50 yards. I do about 10mm out of a Tikka hunting rifle. 0.2 MoA is a regular appearance as the best single card.

This is center to center, so if you are measuring the size of the hole you would subtract a bullet diameter/5.6mm for equivalence. It’s also shot ant way you like, so the best results will use a bipod.

Just yesterday i received a target from an owner setting his tuner on a Copperhead/Shilen Ratchet rifle that measured 0.454" outside to outside for 25 shots to replicate an IRB match. Ammo used was Eley Black. The first 2 shots were the extreme, the rest were inside that. Superimposed on an IRB target it would have netted about 247.xx. Just an average score and certainly not up there with the 250.20x i saw shot over the weekend. Last weekend another 2500x/Lilja rifle shot a 0.201" five shot group at 100 yards in some very testing conditions. Rimfires have come a long way in recent years with actions, barrels and tuners. The biggest issue is batch lot..

[Lazarus]

Don't know if this is possible for every brand but when I recently bought a new La101 I discovered they use Lapua Center X as their testing ammo because that's apparently the cartridge that the action was designed around.

True or not, I don't care, they give me one 8-10mm hole at 50 and every one in the brick weighed 51.9gn and that's good enough for me.