.22 LR - Remington Thunderbolt versus CCI Blazer?

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Navy_Guns

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Sportsman's Guide has Remington Thunderbolt at $177.62 per 5,000 and CCI Blazer at $170.97 per 5,000. Both are listed as 40 grains and 1,255 ft/sec (140 ft.lbs.).

Is there any real difference here or is it a no-brainer (go with the Blazer)? http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/45826-56267-303.html

Am I the only guy thinking that .22LR is a great way to go now that ammo prices are through the roof?

EDIT - a few more options in the same price range from Cheaper Than Dirt:
Federal Champion Target (1260 fps, 36gr plated HP) = $184 for 5,250 http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/12843-13879-301.html
Winchester Xpert (1220 fps, 36gr lead HP) = $169.20 for 5,000 http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/67636-6709-303.html
Winchester Dynapoint (1155 fps, 40gr plated HP) = $174 for 5,000 http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/68091-6627-303.html

Hey - this is looking more like a poll, any way to add one to a thread after the fact?
 
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You sure aren't the only guy. I shoot a 1911 therefore I went ahead and purchased a Ruger MKIII 22/45 5-1/2 bull barrel.


I would stick with the CCI... That thunderbolt stuff sucked the last time I shot it... (Don't know if it was a bad batch but Im not willing to find out...)
 
Avoid the Thunderbolt at all costs. Total crap. I tested it through a number of guns and it was wildly inaccurate and velocity variation was astounding, like 200 FPS up and down.
 
I second SaxonPig's comment. Rem Thunderbolt is dirty, inaccurate, and unreliable.

CCI wins, hands down. All of my .22lr ammo (both for plinking and heavier hollow-points for "other" use) is CCI Something for a reason.
 
Thunderbolt ammo has been very accurate in my marlin 25n, about .6" at 50 yards is my best with a cheap tasco scope. Average is about an inch at 50 yards. I haven't tested velocity, but if it does vary, it does not vary enough to affect accuracy.

And I have only had 1 round out of 2000 fail to fire which is better than the other ammo I buy for the same price. You may want to look at wal-mart if you just want cheap plinking ammo, they have cheap federal bulk packs for $12.
 
CCI Blazers cycle very well most of my pocket guns, larger .22 semi-auto handguns, and rifles. They are pretty much as reliable as CCI Mini-Mags. Good for plinking and hunting...at least for me.
Sportsman's Guide wants $171 for 5000? Natchez has them by the 50-round box for $1.79 if you don't want to buy 5000 at once. Sportsman's is only an $8 savings on a 5000 round quantity buy.
Thunderbolts do not cycle any of my semi-auto guns reliably and I get many failures to fire with them. I have several boxes which are now only used on tin-cans in lever guns or revolvers. Even then I hesitate to use it because the stuff is so dirty. After I use those, I'll never buy another box of Thunderbolts.
I have pretty good luck with WallyWorld Federal bulk ammo. Blazers seem slightly more reliable.
And nope, you aren't the only person shooting (and buying) more .22's than anything else due to the price of ammo. I look for .22LR guns first. About the only centerfire guns I buy now are pocket pistols in .25acp or .32acp.
I've bought 7 guns so far this year; 4 are .22's, and the other 3 are .25 pocket pistols. I also love 22's because I can use .22 CB's and .22 Shorts in the manually cycled guns for different purposes outdoors, and I can shoot them in my basement with Colibri's and Super Colibri's.
BTW: Now I shoot .25acp's in the basement also. I load the cartridge with only a primer, then put a 24 grain .25 caliber air gun pellet in them. Works great at 7 yards from a pocket pistol and is only about 6 cents a shot. The "Colibri" of .25acp. :)
Jack
 
Remington .22LR (be it the Thunderbolt or Golden Bullets), although it can be rather accurate in some guns (mine were), is horrendously low quality. Failure to ignite ran between 5 and 10%. I won't buy it again if I have other choices. I currently use the Federal bulk packs, and that seems to run 100%.
 
Techno - by Federal value pack do you mean this stuff?
 

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I'm a Remington fan, but I don't like the Thunderbolts. They had pretty bad accuracy in all of my guns. I'm one of the few GB fans, though. They're far more accurate than they should be for the price.

Any of the W/M bulk packs should cost less than ordering online. No shipping charges.

5500 rounds of GB should be around $150. 5000 Federal should be less than that.

CCI Blazer has been fine for me, and accurate enough for plinking.

Get 50 of each one you're considering and make sure functioning and accuracy are adequate in your guns. Then stock up.
RT
 
by Federal value pack do you mean this stuff?
Click to expand...
I prefer the 550 count brown Federal bulk pack at Walmart over the Federal Champion bulk pack (525 count?). I have had better cycling with the ammo from the brownish-red 550 count packs. I believe it is exclusive to Walmart.
Jack
 
The plain lead 'Thunderbolt' is the only ammo that ever caused my MKII Ruger to choke.

CCI all the way. Federal Bulk Pack and Fed "American Eagle" good stuff, too.
 
Navy_Guns, that looks like the stuff exactly. While I find it costs another buck or two per box over the Remingtons, I have yet to have a failed primer ignition, something that happens all to often with the Rem bulk packs.
 
Thunderbolts = nnnnnnasty. Yuck.

Every 22 I've used it in has jammed. Marlin 60, Henry 'AR7', Ruger 22/45's.

But they're great teaching aides on how to clear malfunctions!
 
Thunderbolt seems to work great in a Marlin 60 according to all reports I've heard, except the one above...lol

About a month ago, I bought 500 Thunderbolts at Wal Mart in the $14 range. (For 5,000, that's around $150.) Price went up I guess. I prefer not to buy ammo online whenever possible because the shipping usually evens things out.
 
If you do have any Thunderbolt, just use it on a bolt-action rifle. That is all I ever used it for, was cheap target practice for a Remington. That, if anything is all it is good for. Never use it on pistols, very unreliable.
 
The three additions to the list sound like good bets.

Agreed on the FTF on the Thunderbolts. I've just gotten used to hearing 'click' every 2nd or 3rd magazine. They feed great in my stuff so I still use them.

I had occasional feeding issues with the blazers, but they fired just fine otherwise.
 
The cci blazer ammo is not made by CCI it is made with cci primers. It is junk after about 15 rounds the barrel is about halfway full of lead fouling and the gun is quieter.:eek::what: Buy something copper plated like American eagle.
 
Navy_Guns - he means Golden Bullet.

rem_gold.jpg

Brass plated lead hollow-point if I remember correctly.
 
Remington Golden Bullet it is...

You guys were right - mail order was NOT the way to go. The local Walmart had 7 boxes of 550 rounds in stock for $13.68 per box, so I stocked up.

BTW - Gander Mountain, what's up with them? The ammo aisle at my local store looks like it was stocked by monkeys. The sad thing was that the $22.99 price tag on a 525 round box of the SAME Federal 36 grain Golden Bullets was not an error. :scrutiny:
 
I've seen SOOOO many misfires, over SOOOOO long of a period of time that I won't touch Remington .22lr. Aguila tends to run large in case diameter, but it almost always goes bang. 99% of my .22 shooting is in bullseye matches and practice. I stick with CCI Standard Velocity for that, admittedly expensive for plinking ammo.
 
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