.22LR Ammo Packaging

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444

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Why do you suppose ammo manufacturers package .22LR ammo in quantities of 50 or 100 ? Who goes out and shoots 50 rounds of .22LR ? I buy primarily Wal Mart "bulk packed" .22 ammo. I don't buy it because it is the most accurate, it isn't the most reliable either, but it comes in a reasonable sized package. I often go out and shoot several hundred .22 rounds in a session. Even if I buy other ammo by the brick I now have a whole bunch of small boxes littering up the back of my pickup truck. Worse are the plastic containers that hold 100 rounds with the sliding top. You burn up three boxes of that stuff and now you have something that will take nature a thousand years to break down.
What is wrong with just having 500 rounds loose in a carton like Wal Mart sells ? Why doesn't every ammo comapany offer all their variations in this packaging ?
 
I got some bulk Remington ammo at Big 5 (box of 525, I think) and it misfired about every other round. I stick woth good ammo, like PMC Zapper or Federal High Velocity, and have had no problems.
 
Combat-wombat, you missed the point. Why doesn't every manufacturer sell all their ammo in bulk. Why can't you buy a bucket of PMC Zapper or a carton of Federal High Velocity that hold 500 or more rounds without all the packaging ? Why do they insist on putting it in those little boxes of 50 ?
 
Most practice their sport to improve.

Remington, Federal, Winchester, etc, all have bulk packaging.
I believe most of the bulk fails quality control so they dump it in a box for cheap.

Just examine the bullets and measure powder weights.

Why use ammo that is neither accurate or reliable.
All that boils down to is pulling the trigger to hear a bang.
A cap gun will do the same.
 
You worried about the box littering up the enviroment, but your not concerned about all the lead you've just dumped on Mother Nature???

Most serious target shooters use soft lead outside lubricated rounds that get both deformed and sometimes gritty in the bulk packs. The really serious shooters also weight and measure every .22 rimfire round and then put them in fancy jewel box like wooden cases before matches.

Elliot
 
E357, where do you think the lead comes from in the first place ?
Actually, I am not all that worried about all the packaging, I just don't see the point of it.
I admit that I am not a serious match shooter with .22s. And I also admit that I don't examine every bullet on the end of every case I put in my gun. But I have never noticed any damage to them. I suppose if you were trying to squeeze the last little bit of accuracy out of whatever you are shooting, this might be a concern, but not to me and I am sure not to a lot of people. If serious match shooters want to weigh each loaded round, measure rim thickness etc. and then put them all in a nice wooden box, what difference does it make how they were originally packaged ?
The complaints about the Wal Mart or Big 5 bulk packed ammo is one of the reasons I bring this subject up. If you had a broad selection of bulk packed ammo, then maybe the complaints would go away. I personally have shot many, many thousand of the Wal Mart Federal and Remington bulk ammo. I never noticed that it wasn't accurate, but then again, I wasn't trying for 1/4" groups at 100 yards with it either. I have shot smallbore silhouette matches with it and even won a couple which is good for the vast majority of .22 shooting I do. My shooting technique was the reason I didn't shoot a perfect score, not the ammo or the gun. I have had autoloading guns that wouldn't run on one brand of Wal-Mart bulk ammo. For example, my Ciener converson won't run on either the Federal or the Remington. I have an AMT Small Game Hunter that I used for silhouette that wouldn't run on the Remington. But, obviously it works great in my revolvers and I don't have an issue with it's accuracy in them either.
I do own a professionally tuned Ruger 10/22 with a Weaver 36X scope on it and a match chamber. I don't shoot bulk packed ammo in it. For that, I buy only the best ammo. But, that is a very small minority of the .22 ammo I burn up.
 
E357, where do you think the lead comes from in the first place ?
Click to expand...
Well, since you asked: Most lead comes from the cooking of either lead sulphide or lead oxide ores - a very nasty business that accounts for a lot of acid-rain. Plastic boxes are not much better but as you pointed out the breakdown products, while unsightly - don't enter the food chain. One of the worst poisions is lead oxide in the air, water supply and marsh lands. At my outdoor range we shoot lead into ground limestone berms to keep the EPA out of our hair - as they come around every few years to check the ground water levels.

Elliot
 
I don't shoot bulk ammo, but here are some of the reasons I learned to dislike the giant economy sized box o' bullets.

The bullets get all dinged up & it does make a difference to me.

I've seen a few bullets bent in the case.

The lube gets all over the cases and then me and then the gun.

I prefer the small cardboard boxes, but the plastic boxes are useful for storing small parts and mailing things. They also make it easier to dump out a presise number of rounds.

I frequently go out and shoot 50 rounds each of different brands, or lot numbers, to see what a rifle likes. Ten tubs of .22 ammo would weigh too much. I'd rather carry 10 boxes of 50.

Big containers won't fit in my jacket pocket. I have the same problem with shotgun shells.

John
 
might be the (traitorous)BATF requires them to package them the way they do. Why do arrows get sold in packs of 3?
 
I am kind of surprised that so many people like the way .22 ammo is packed currently. I never brought this up with anyone before, I just knew I didn't like it.
I went out and opened a Wal-Mart box of Federals. I dumped a handfull out. I couldn't see any that looked like they were damaged in any way to me; certainly nothing with a bullet bent in the case. I have fired at a minimum, ten thousand rounds of this stuff and never had a round that appeared damaged to me.
Oh well, I guess this isn't really even an issue with me since I do 90% of my .22 shooting with Wal Mart bulk ammo; somewhere around 1k/month.

This is also how I have handled my handloaded ammo for the last 20 years. I put it all in zip lock freezer bags. I KNOW I have never damaged a round by doing that.
 
I have god knows how many thousands of .22 rounds packed away. I just can not walk away from a good deal on bulk ammo.

I don't shoot my .22s much anymore, I have several 10/22, a really nice old Stevens semi auto, a very accurate Remington 521t, and a few others parked her or there. Bet I have not shot 100 rounds all year. When I do go out to shoot, its usually the CCI mini mags in the plastic box. They shoot best for me. For tree rats, its Ely match ,and the old Remmy.
 
The companies sell ammo the way people want to buy it. Market forces dictate how companies package their products.

You may shoot enough strictly plinking to purchase bulk packs but very few people do.

Novice or average shooters are not into match ammo or bulk packs. They'll go in and purchase what looks best. They don't have enough skill or care enough to search for the best ammo for their firearm. May not even know how. They'll be there looking for a small pack of .22s and buy what looks best. For them a 50 round box may last years.

To the match shooter, he will not purchase bulk packs. He knows enough to select the best "match" ammo for his firearm and no way would one of the bench rest guys buy bulk packs with all the ammo banging together and getting dinged up.

Me, I buy both. I like to plink with my .22s and I buy the cheapest bulk packs for that. When I purchase match ammo for a target rifle or pistol, I buy the individual boxes. I may purchase several boxes, but I want each round separated so they don't get dinged up. I'm about to try weighing each round to see if that affects accuracy. BTW, I also have separate pistols and rifles for target shooting and plinking.

edited to add: BTW, buying ammo in bulk is also unusual. I had never heard of doing this until I got to these forums. Before the internet I was a casual shooter, when I wanted a box of ammo, I just went and purchased a couple of 50 round boxes. When I got into IPSC I reloaded. With the advent of Internet access being so common I've learned a lot and now know to purchase ammo in bulk.
 
I couldn't see any that looked like they were damaged in any way to me; certainly nothing with a bullet bent in the case. I have fired at a minimum, ten thousand rounds of this stuff and never had a round that appeared damaged to me.
Click to expand...

Same here. I wish I could buy Mini-Mags by the 500. I can put them in an old plastic container for the field.

might be the (traitorous)BATF requires them to package them the way they do. Why do arrows get sold in packs of 3?
Click to expand...

They do? :confused: :scrutiny: IME and AFAIK arrows are sold by the dozen. Maybe half dozens.
 
The little 50-100 round boxes server a very useful purpose. They allow you to try out several varieties of ammo in your new firearm in reasonable quantities. I would hate to have to buy 3-5 bricks when I get a new .22, just to see what it likes.

Once I have determined what flavor of .22 ammo my firearm likes, then I'll buy bricks.

I also like the boxes of 50 with the plastic inserts. I re-use them. Refill them from a brick and toss them in the range bag(s). That way I always have some .22 with me, and don't have to haul around a brick.
 
I've run through countless thousands of rounds of the Federal "Wal-Mart" ammo with no problems at all. It's certainly not match ammo, but for $8.96/550, I don't expect it to be. It's plenty accurate for my purposes, and it's been totally reliable.
 
I've also gone through thousands of rounds of bulk pack Federal, Remington, and Winchester. Maybe 5 out of 500 will be true duds. (Other FTF's are my fault...I typically haven't cleaned the firearm adequately.) Duds give me a great opportunity to practice the "tap, rack, bang" drill with my Ruger Mark II.

I have 9 mags for my Ruger. Typically load them up before heading to the range. Then I literally grab a couple of handfuls of bulk pack cartridges and drop them in a resealable sandwich bag, then throw them in a pack.

Bulk pack is plenty adequate for most of my recreational shooting: shooting at 5 - 10 yards, rapid front sight acquisition, good trigger control, and good recovery for follow up shots.
 
I’d be willing to make a small wager that the companies do not realize the cost savings that’s available by using an alternative packaging method.

A few years ago I did had a summer internship with the Illinois EPA Office of Pollution Prevention. It’s amazing the amount of waste that occurs in packaging and shipping. It’s equally amazing the amount of savings/cost avoidance available with a little creative thinking. From what I’ve seen this problem isn’t limited to .22 ammo.

Of course that's my opinion and I could be wrong.

six
 
Good point re: packaging, six 4 sure.

444, I also think that CCI and others don't bulk pack because it might damage their carefully marketed image. After shooting thousands of rounds of bulk pack, I don't believe this equation:

bulk = low quality

Most do.
 
Ok, maybe I was't out to lunch. There are a few people that see what I am talking about.
 
Bulk Pack is the Way!

My only 22 is a Ruger MkII target pistol and I go through Remington 525 packs and Federal 550's like water . . . The Rems have a failure rate of about 1%. The Federals at about 1 per pack, that's less than 0.2%. The Federal groups a little better. About like the Federal Match. At a much lower price. Try it, you'll like it!
 
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