Most Reliable Cheap .22 Ammo for Autoloaders?

[DougB]

Some friends and I recently bought Henry U.S. Survival rifles (the AR-7 clones that take apart and fit into their own stocks). They all came from the same place, same time, and were brand new. Anyway, mine worked pretty well (one minor jam in about 80 rounds). My two friends had much more frequent jams (at least one per magazine). Mostly "stovepipes." I'm wondering if it was the ammo. I was using cheap copper-washed hollow-point Remington (525 round wide, flat boxes). The others were shooting cheap Winchester and Federal. I've had more jamming problems with Federal in a couple of small handguns, so I buy the Remington because the pistols like it.

So, what inexpensive ammo has worked well/poorly for you in semi-autos? I think my small pistols also liked some old Blazer ammo I had.

Also, if anyone has other suggestions regarding the Henry rifles, I'd be very interested (they bought them at my suggestion, so I'm feeling a little guilty that mine works better than theirs).

Doug

 

[foghornl]

DougB:

I don't have a Henry, so I can't comment on that rifle. It has been my experience, though that .22LR's can be ......well, persnickety about their ammo.

The first .22 I had was a Remington Nylon 66. Shot everything well except the Rem "Golden Bullet" Hollow point. That particular round would be all over the paper, almost like you had taken a handfull of the bullets and simply thrown them downrange. My OLD Marlin 99 likes the Federal plain lead 40-Gr the best.

In short, buy a 50 or 100 round pack/box of all the different brands and styles you can find locally, and try them all. As an added benny, you get lots of cheap practice !

 

[Tropical Z]

This is always an interesting question.All of MY .22lr's LOVE Remington's Golden Bullet in the bulk pack and have issues with bulk Federal.Like its been said,find what works for you.I wont own a .22lr that wont shoot cheap bulk ammo! Thats the whole point of .22lr if you ask me.

 

[ocabj]

Yeah, every .22 autoloader is unique as far as what ammo it will cycle properly.

I have a 10/22 that likes Blazers, but won't cycle the Federal stuff (even the match grade). I tried the CCI Velocitor(sp?) ammo and it liked that,too.

Best bet is to try and get a sample of everything out there and test it in your rifle.

 

[David Roberson]

Yep, depends on the gun. Different .22 semiautos -- and this applies to handguns as well as to rifles -- have their own likes and dislikes regarding ammunition. You'll just have to do a little experimenting to see which ones the Henry likes.

 

[cratz2]

Yeah, different guns prefer different loads. My Dan Wesson 22 revlover loved the CCI Small Game Bullet. My 10/22 likes the Federal Lightnings at $.88 a box at Walmart. I've had good luck with the Federal Gold Match Target ($2.60 or so per box) in pretty much everything I've tried it in.

Best thing is to go buy a box of each and print off about 50 targets. Go out on a nice cool day with no wind and shoot up about 500 rounds.

Note - Take a cleaning kit.

 

[DougB]

Guys,

Thanks for the input. I should probably clarify that we are MUCH more concerned about reliability than accuracy at this point (these obviously aren't target rifles). Also, I realize that we could buy a bunch of different brands and try them. I was just hoping for some reports from people who have already done this about which low-cost .22 ammo has worked well for them (which several of you have reported - thanks again). Since most .22 semi-autos are fairly similar in function, I'm guessing that many jam-prone guns may like the same brands (due to bullet shape, being a little hotter or milder, etc.). It sounds like at least one other person here has had better luck with Remington than Federal, which was also my experience.

Doug

 

[JohnBT]

I'm not going to suggest a brand of ammo, just make a couple of general observations about autoloading .22s and ammo. Actually, I guess I'll just think out loud because I don't have a canned answer.

First, rimmed ammo isn't the best choice for an autoloader. (My bias against autoloading .22s is showing.) Manufacturers have been fighting the feeding problems for years. Try your magazine in their guns. They could have bad mags or a bad fit.

You could be keeping yours cleaner and well lubed and therefore getting better bolt speed and ejection. Or the pieces in yours just fit together a little better. Two guns with consecutive serial numbers are still going to be slightly different and possibly function differently.

(Is it possible to limp-shoulder a rifle? Just kidding.)

Cheap .22 ammo is famous, and getting more famous it seems, for dud rounds that barely make it to the target. This is a problem when you're shooting an autoloader because there isn't enough recoil to cycle properly.

Have you checked for burrs, a rough chamber or dings on the ejected brass?

If I owned one of them I'd shoot a brick of high velocity cheap hunting ammo through it and see if it smooths up. Not target or standard ammo, but something that says high speed or such. Not necessarily Vipers or Stingers though. Maybe something by CCI, although I understand that even their stuff has changed for the worse.

Drop by www.rimfirecentral.com and see if somebody has another suggestion either on the guns or the ammo.

I'm going to stop now and eat dinner. I'll check back.

John