Winchester rimfire ammo really let me down.

[LiveLife]

Federal 36 grain HP ammo does not feed in any semi-auto firearm I own, but is reasonably accurate in Mossberg bolt rifles and S&W revolvers.

Current production ammo by Federal, Remington, and Winchester, in my experience, has all the problems.

My experience is quite different than yours.

During the past 2 years, over 10,000 rounds of various brand ammunition were fired in different firearms that were purchased during this time with few boxes of leftover ammunition from the "Great Shortage" of 7 years ago. Firearms used were 20+ year old factory stock 10/22, new 10/22 Take Down, several 16"/18"/20" ARs with 1:7/1:8/1:9 barrel twist rates using CMMG conversion bolts and GSG 1911 - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/10-22-takedown-vs-standard.863145/page-2#post-11385486

In the "real world" ammunition comparison thread where every 5/10 shot groups were captured and documented (current round count close to 3000), a brand new 10/22 Collector #3 was used testing 20+ ammunition brands and lots purchased within the past 2 years with most within the past year and more than half within the past 6 months - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...rrel-ruger-10-22-collector-3-break-in.859106/

I ordered a Thompson Center TCR/22 and will be conducting another "real world" 20+ ammo comparison.

I have recently bought current production ammo at the Wal Mart ... firearms include S&W revolvers and M41 pistols, Ruger Mk II pistols, Kimber 22 LR conversion kits, S&W Walther P22, Sig 1911-22, Mossberg 1950 rifles, and a custom Ruger 10-22.

Federal 36 grain HP ammo does not feed in any semi-auto firearm I own

Federal 36 gr CPHP Value Packs of 525 rounds (blue box) and 550 rounds (Walmart only red box old and new packaging as shown in above picture) were the best feeding ammunition in my firearms using factory Ruger 10 round magazines, CMMG/Black Dog magazines and factory GSG 1911 magazines.

Federal 36 grain HP ammo ... is reasonably accurate in Mossberg bolt rifles

Why I use 10 shot groups for accuracy testing - I now prefer 10 shot groups over 5 shot groups for accuracy testing as 10 shot groups provide much more target information as many of my 10 shot groups started out with nearly half the size of final 10 shot groups.

During my 25/50 yard testing with 10/22 Collector #3, Federal 36 gr CPHP 550 round (Walmart only red box bought within the past year) produced average best of 1" 10 shot group at 25 yards (3/4" with V block shim to free float the barrel) and 2"+ groups at 50 yards. 525 blue box bought within 2 years produced average 1.5" 10 shot group at 25 yards and not tested at 50 yards.

50 Yard groups

Current production ammo by Federal, Remington, and Winchester, in my experience, has all the problems ... Quite simply, manufacturers don't make ammo like they used to 15+ years ago.

My experience is opposite. Current production Federal/Remington/Winchester ammunition purchased within the past 6 months to a year all have been consistently reliable, firing without misfires and cycling 10/22 bolt which was cleaned around 1000 round count during the 3000 round break in.

I have yet to experience a misfire with even the dreaded Remington Thunderbolt bought within the past 6 months (Which I wrote off in past years due to misfires, etc.). The only ammunition I have experienced issues with has been Winchester M22 40 gr black CPRN bought more than a year ago that continues to produce several misfires per bulk box of 500 rounds in 10/22 Take Down and Collector #3. My GSG 1911 and ARs with CMMG bolts seem to like the hotter loading so I now shoot M22 mostly in these firearms.

For me the most accurate ammo is CCI Blazers.

Aguila ammo purchased in the last 2 years has easily chambered, accurate, and been bargain priced.

During 10,000+ and 3,000 round comparison tests, CCI SV and Blazer 40 gr LRN continue to produce smallest groups. Aguila 40 gr LRN and CPRN, both ELEY and Aguila prime (Now all Aguila prime), have been producing consistent smaller groups with reliable ignition without any misfires and no cycling/feeding issues. Behind CCI SV/Blazer, Aguila have been the next most accurate for me.

CCI Blazer 10 shot group at 25 yards - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-than-15-20-500-shipped.853059/#post-11166144

As below 25 yard comparison targets show, CCI SV produced consistently tight bottom right 10 shot group followed by Aguila LRN/CPRN groups just to the left. Suprisingly, currently the cheapest Armscor CPHP produced very respectable 10 shot group above the CCI group.

And as you can see below, current production Federal Walmart 550 round red box group is significantly smaller than older production (2 years old) Federal 525 round blue box group. While Winchester CPHP 555 round (and XPert LRN) did not experience any misfires and cycled the 10/22 bolt reliably, group size averaged larger than Federal 550 red box groups. And Winchester M22 CPRN not only experienced the only misfires during the 3000 round comparison test, it produced poor group sizes on par with Federal 525 round blue box.

The Sig 1911-22 (after $225 in after market parts) is accurate only with Remington Standard velocity ammo bought a month ago.

While Remington Golden Bullet produced consistent size groups, surprise came from Remington Thunderbolt both bought within the past 6 months. While Golden Bullet produce around 1" 10 shot groups, Thunderbolt (depending on the handful of ammo grabbed from the box) would produce significantly smaller groups on occasion (see bottom right group)

My factory stock GSG 1911 bought last year has been reliable with various ammunition and accurate even with the cheapest ammo, Armscor 36 gr CPHP bought for around $16.50/500 shipped - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...15-20-500-shipped.853059/page-3#post-11359991

 

[TTv2]

Current production ammo by Federal, Remington, and Winchester, in my experience, has all the problems identified in this thread. Quite simply, manufacturers don't make ammo like they used to 15+ years ago. Aguila ammo purchased in the last 2 years has easily chambered, accurate, and been bargain priced.

I can't help but agree about this, it seems there's always one .22 I have that will be picky with any one of the big 3 brands. CCI is generally reliable and because I can get CCI Standard for $25/500 or Aguila for $20/500, there's no reason for me to buy loose bulk packaged boxes of Federal, Winchester, or Remington ever again.

I think it's safe to say any manufactured product in the US today is not as good as what was made 15 years ago. Those loose bulk bricks were good ammo back then, but companies are cutting corners to save fractions of a penny.

 

[slickracer]

Winchester rimfire is absolute garbage.