Re: 22lr hunting ammo

[bladeracer]

What are people's favourite hunting ammo disregarding what suits your personal rifle the most, I guess I am asking all things considered and disregarding the actual rifle, what do people find best.

My vote would be CCI Velocitor HP 22 LR 40 Grain

I use CCI Standard Velocity for rabbits and foxes, and the occasional bird.
Why would you disregard the ammo that your rifle prefers best?
I don't believe you can disregard the rifle. Yellow Jackets kill very nicely but if they're not accurate in your rifle then they're no good for hunting, for you. Accuracy is what gives you clean kills, not bullet design.

[mchughcb]

I've got a whole bunch of eley target left over from competition. After 10,000 rounds at the range I can say, until you start shooting sporting ammo at the range and see how badly it groups with unexplained flyers you will be kicking yourself how you missed.. The accuracy at 50m wasn't good enough to consistently hit a rabbit in the head. If you are shooting for meat and have a reasonable rifle and scope then target ammo is the go.

[No1_49er]

My main interest lies in hearing what people generally find effective for hunting, as this can serve as a foundation for testing and utilizing other types of ammunition.

I don't think you are going to get the answer that you are looking for.
How many times does it have to be said that ammunition and 22LR 'arms are never remotely and consistently good bed-fellows. As said above, all ammo' needs to be tested in your rifle. It simply does not matter what performs well in my, or anybody elses, rifle.
Go and visit your local ammo suppliers and buy several packets of every type of ammo that they have in stock with the caveat that if, after you've done your testing, you'll be able to return and buy at least a case of the same batch of that which performed to your expectations. You sure are going to find some that shoots like a shotgun - maybe even the more expensive variety, and other cheap s**t that is a tack driver.
I have two 22 competition rifles that only perform well with their own selected case of ammo and both of them perform disastrously if fed the other type.
I could say that CCI Std velocity is the "go to", but that's not really helping you. You have to test everything that you can get in your rifle.

[mchughcb]

That said, any target ammo is better in accuracy.

[bladeracer]

I recommended setting aside the rifle as it introduces a variable into the equation. What shoots accurately in one rifle may not perform as well in another. This is a factor that requires testing with your specific rifle. My main interest lies in hearing what people generally find effective for hunting, as this can serve as a foundation for testing and utilizing other types of ammunition.

Simple, test everything you can get hold of, use whichever turns out to be most accurate. Rely on shot placement rather than relying on the bullet to work some sort of magic when it hits the target.

[bladeracer]

I could say that CCI Std velocity is the "go to", but that's not really helping you.

I would suggest the same thing, CCI SV shoots extremely well for me, but I know people that don't like it. Other good choices would be some of the ELEY's - except their Standard which is too unreliable for me to use on live targets (after burning through more than two cases of it). Lots of people swear by SK Rifle Match but it doesn't perform well for me. And Federal's F510 shoots very well for me for a high-velocity round, but hasn't been available for at least a couple of years, and it's very, very cheap.

I also found that ammo testing in a new rifle can be a wasted effort as my rifles didn't really "settle in" until I had 1000rds down the tubes. So get some bulk cheap stuff that shoots well enough that you can enjoy lots of plinking while you stockpile a variety of ammunitions for testing. You'll become more familiar with the rifle during this period as well which will all help when you start testing ammo.

When I was a kid my choices of ammo were very limited, to what was available in my local area at the time, and what I could afford to spend on it. I did manage to get the Hyper Velocity ammos of the day, the Stinger, Yellow Jacket, Xpeditor, Laser and another that isn't springing to mind just now (was the Viper around in the eighties?). I expected great things from them but was disappointed with their accuracy. The Yellow Jackets weren't bad for me but were too expensive to use regularly. My main ammo was the Aussie Ammo made by Winchester, a simple semi-hollow-point 40gn bullet, no idea what their velocity was. It was cheap, my local Elders kept heaps on the shelf, and it shot sufficiently well to head-shoot rabbits and foxes, so it ticked all the boxes for me. I never felt any need for anything more than a simple round-nose bullet to the brain. My father-in-Law took rabbits for the pot here for decades with Winchester T22 target ammo.

[Jorlcrin]

Same for me; Of the 4 .22LR firearms I have here, they all have different ammo preferences, so the firearm itself has to be a factor in the evaluation.

I am amazed at how well the CCI Velocitor ammo shoots through my 10/22.
I've repeatedly nailed rabbits at distances that I hadnt thought possible in a .22LR reliably; let alone a semi-auto.

Also, the CCI Mini-Mag's (38gn HP) is another round that performs well in the 10/22.
When I was a kid, we we almost exclusively using Winchester 'Rabbit Ammo', which was quite steamy, but worked well in everything.

I've not fired enough target ammo to be able to appreciate its' more consistent accuracy.

[mchughcb]

I have found I you must use a hunting round then eley subsonic is a very accurate.

[on_one_wheel]

My .22 is mainly used for rabbits at ranges from 25 to 50 metres, sometimes a little further.
90% of my .22 hunting has been done with Winchester power points, lately I've been using Winchester subsonic.
To be honest other than the 10 clicks elevation change required on my scope, they both shoot and perform well with the power points causing slightly more damage.

[Mattraff]

For me it is always subsonic ammo in all my 22lr rifles. I have found Eley to be extremely consistent in all of my 22's. I don't use high velocity as I see no benefit for me.

[safeshot]

For me it was RWS HVHP. But it seems to have dried up as so many things have. (Brno2)

[Bello]

Hi mate

I have to agree with the above posts.
Find what shoots best in your particular rile and use that.
I have more 22LR rifles than a man could use, and I find that the target ammo is usually more consistently accurate.

But to answer your question: I have used the Winchester 40gr Power Point ammo for hunting, with great success on rabbits and foxes within reasonable distances, even got a pig once.

I don't do much 22 LR hunting these days. Don't see too many rabbits about where I hunt.
I hope I have helped.

[Lazarus]

CCI Segmented Hollow point subsonics.
Barely make a pop, but the Rabbits go down

[straightshooter]

Long time ago I settled on T22. Worked really well with a true 50 meter zero for head and upper body shots with the benefit of low noise.
So I bought a case.
Alas about 15 years ago Land Care demanded ripping up warrens and with the help of Myxo and Calici we haven't seen a rabbit since.

[deye243]

Long time ago I settled on T22. Worked really well with a true 50 meter zero for head and upper body shots with the benefit of low noise.
So I bought a case.
Alas about 15 years ago Land Care demanded ripping up warrens and with the help of Myxo and Calici we haven't seen a rabbit since.

Same here I even sold my much loved la101 17hmr and 5000 rounds as I haven't shot a rabbit for about 3 years
I have even been contemplating selling my cz 457 and 2 cases of tac22 ammo as it just sits gathering dust .
Funny thing is there are about 50 rabbits running around town every night just not on the farms I shoot on

[Larry]

Well back on topic 40 years ago I used to use and like Winchester Power Points I then switched from the hollow points to solids and they both worked a treat. These days I would choose to use SK rifle match I know exactly where the shot will go so the projectile construction is not important its 40grns going at 1000fps right to the kill spot and as they say Game Over.

[Biglyndo]

Great question. Hollow point subsonics. Usually quite accurate in most .22's. Quiet doesn't spook the game. Kills rabbits well with with chest shots up to 50m. On foxes "high velocity" HP's (not hyper velocity). If hyper velocity shoots well you're lucky & would certainly extend the versatility. Of note is that longer barrels in a .22 are noticeably quieter.

[Latitude37]

With rimfires you can't ignore the rifle. The Winchester rounds others have mentioned are all over the place out of my Tikka. But cheap n cheerful CCI Standards give consistent MOA results. The hollow point CCI is almost as accurate, so that's what I prefer for rabbits. I've found Aguila HP (1400 fps copper hollow points) to be accurate, so that's my ammo choice for fox, but I've not hit one yet!

[Cooper]

Winchester 555 (or 333 packs same stuff) High velocity Hp is the stuff I use the most for hunting. The best subsonic stuff I have used is the Eley subsonic Hp.

[Bugman]

Must admit, the humble CCI standard has served me well over the years. Tried other ammo but always came back to these.

[mickb]

I like velocitors also for the punch they provide and also happen to shoot the best of HV ammo in my Ruger 96/22, For interests sake here is a test I posted a while back on different forums for hyper velocity ammo, advertised versus real velocity in an 18" barrel

CCI Stinger, 32 grain
CCi Velocitor, 40 grain
CCi segmented 32 grain
Remington Yellow Jacket 33 grain
Aguila Interceptor 40 grain
Aguila Supermax 32 grain
(Also tried to find some of the CCI copper at 1850fps but couldnt)

Gun was a 96/22LR lever action with 18" barrel, Prochrono chrony, cant remember temps but probably 30c. 5 shot strings, ES is extreme spread. Its open to debate how much velocity is gained from a longer barrel, some say 22Lr gets close to top velocity in 18", some say you still get gains past 20". If I can line up a longer barrel 22 I might compare sometime.

Results below in order of power, lowest to highest.

Remington Yellow Jacket 33 grain, 1500fps claimed. Actual 1303fps and ES 82fps 124ftlbs
This had the greatest difference from box claims, almost 200fps slower. Recoil and noise was a level below the other types, more like CCI minimags.

Aguila Supermax HP 30 grains, 1700fps claimed. Actual 1595fps and ES 87fps. 169ftlbs
This had the highest box claims which I was excited to put to the test but fell quite short , 105fps under. Perhaps would do better in a 20-22" barrel.

CCI Stinger 32 grain, 1640fps claimed. Actual 1571fps and ES 57fps 175ftlbs
This had the most consistent velocities of the test, only 57fps variance.

CCI Segmented EX HP 32 grain, 1640fps claimed. Actual 1602fps and ES 68fps, 182ftlbs
CCI Velocitor 40 grain 1435fps claimed. Actual 1421fps, ES 98fps 183ftlbs
Aguila Interceptor HP 40 grain, 1470fps claimed. Actual 1447fps and ES 159fps(!) 186ftlbs

I grouped the three above together as power levels are all within a few ftlbs average of each other.
CCI velocitor shoots the most accurately in my rifle and is my go to for supersonic 22Lr hunting. It also felt the most powerful recoil wise.
The aguila interceptor had by far the least consistent velocities, an extreme spread of 159fps. It also had the most powerful load on the day. One round clocked 1606fps and 229ftlbs! Too much variance for my liking and would be interested to see the effect on accuracy some time

[bladeracer]

CCI Copper-22 gave me 5rd averages of 1707fps (ES 118fps) in a 470mm (18.5") barrel (Henry H001) and 1824fps (ES 42fps) in a 640mm barrel (25-1/4") (BSA Sportsman 5). Higher velocities tend to be optimal in longer barrels. Standard velocity ammo (high subsonic) tends to reach optimal velocity in the 18" to 22" range, but CCI Standard velocity gave me the same velocity in 18.5", 20" and 25" barrels.

Copper-22 hasn't been on CCI's website for some time now, I think it was quickly discontinued as a flash in the pan idea. I wouldn't be surprised if the new Uppercut doesn't go the same way as it doesn't seem to do anything the Stinger doesn't do already. Anybody seen Uppercut here in Oz yet?

I like velocitors also for the punch they provide and also happen to shoot the best of HV ammo in my Ruger 96/22, For interests sake here is a test I posted a while back on different forums for hyper velocity ammo, advertised versus real velocity in an 18" barrel

CCI Stinger, 32 grain
CCi Velocitor, 40 grain
CCi segmented 32 grain
Remington Yellow Jacket 33 grain
Aguila Interceptor 40 grain
Aguila Supermax 32 grain
(Also tried to find some of the CCI copper at 1850fps but couldnt)

Gun was a 96/22LR lever action with 18" barrel, Prochrono chrony, cant remember temps but probably 30c. 5 shot strings, ES is extreme spread. Its open to debate how much velocity is gained from a longer barrel, some say 22Lr gets close to top velocity in 18", some say you still get gains past 20". If I can line up a longer barrel 22 I might compare sometime.

Results below in order of power, lowest to highest.

Remington Yellow Jacket 33 grain, 1500fps claimed. Actual 1303fps and ES 82fps 124ftlbs
This had the greatest difference from box claims, almost 200fps slower. Recoil and noise was a level below the other types, more like CCI minimags.

Aguila Supermax HP 30 grains, 1700fps claimed. Actual 1595fps and ES 87fps. 169ftlbs
This had the highest box claims which I was excited to put to the test but fell quite short , 105fps under. Perhaps would do better in a 20-22" barrel.

CCI Stinger 32 grain, 1640fps claimed. Actual 1571fps and ES 57fps 175ftlbs
This had the most consistent velocities of the test, only 57fps variance.

CCI Segmented EX HP 32 grain, 1640fps claimed. Actual 1602fps and ES 68fps, 182ftlbs
CCI Velocitor 40 grain 1435fps claimed. Actual 1421fps, ES 98fps 183ftlbs
Aguila Interceptor HP 40 grain, 1470fps claimed. Actual 1447fps and ES 159fps(!) 186ftlbs

I grouped the three above together as power levels are all within a few ftlbs average of each other.
CCI velocitor shoots the most accurately in my rifle and is my go to for supersonic 22Lr hunting. It also felt the most powerful recoil wise.
The aguila interceptor had by far the least consistent velocities, an extreme spread of 159fps. It also had the most powerful load on the day. One round clocked 1606fps and 229ftlbs! Too much variance for my liking and would be interested to see the effect on accuracy some time

[mickb]

great addition Blade, its one i never tested. i will have to rerun my other tests in a longer barrel sometime.

[straightshooter]

There was a big test of about 70+ varieties of rimfire cartridges in Guns and Game about 10 or 15+ years ago.
Interesting reading if you can find it.
The testing methodology could have been better but the usual suspects were the winners. No surprises but if I recall correctly there may have been one.
Quite a few years ago I did some testing of various brands of target ammunition in a small bore rifle fixed in a machine rest at 50 meters with 25 shot groups. That was an eye opener.