Ammo

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noobwitha22

New member
So as most of you know I am very new to the forums and firearms. I am narrowing down my choice of gun and it will definitely be a .22lr. Is there certain types/brands of ammo I should be looking for? I have read that semi-auto guns should get semi-auto ammo? Is one brand better than another? I have seen a lot of review videos and the guns I am considering seem to be able to handle inexpensive to mid priced ammo pretty well.

I am assuming inexpensive ammo means possible reliability problems, like duds and the like, can these types of rounds be dirtier and leave more residue? What other issues if any could there be?

Sorry if my questions have been answered else where. I try to search for my questions before posting and nothing seems to come up, or at least not exactly what I am looking for.
 
It will probably work better if you settle on a pistol first and then start shopping for ammo. Some guns have definite ammo preferences.
 
Hello noob, each semi-auto pistol seems to be almost a world onto itself. You just have to experiment to determine which ammo works well in your particular gun. Inexpensive ammo might work just fine in the pistol you pick, or not. I've used most of the major US brands. I don't shoot much .22, but when I do it's usually a Ruger 22/45. It has an inexpensive red dot optic on it, and I have sighted it in for the CCI Stinger ammo. Shooting carefully from the bench,it's almost like a little ray gun out to about a hundred yards.....
 

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I agree with John. Get the pistol first. Once you've done that, buy a variety of different ammos and try them out. If your pistol has a preference, it will show up.
 
"Get the pistol first. Once you've done that, buy a variety of different ammos and try them out. If your pistol has a preference, it will show up."
I generally agree with this BUT will point out that a brand new pistol may NOT give you this information right away. Lots of 22 semi-auto pistols need a break-in period in which they choke, jam, possibly aren't terrifically accurate. My suggestion is to get 500 rounds of brand name high velocity ammo and just shoot it. After a few sequences of shooting and cleaning, your pistol may begin to show an ammo preference.
I have a couple of Ruger 22/45 pistols that are fairly accurate with multiple ammo brands/velocities but the point of impact varies with ammo changes.
 
Some common & reputable manufacturers: Federal, CCI, Winchester, Remington*, Aguila.

(*=I've seen lots of complaints about the "Golden Bullet," though.)
 
Another vote for CCI. I can't remember the last time CCI has given me a hard time out of any semi-auto 22lr.

Some match grade stuff includes Eley, Wolf
 
"...semi-auto ammo..." There's no such thing. With any .22 you must try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your firearm will both shoot well and cycle the action if it's a semi-auto. The price of that ammo means nothing.
The most important part of buying any handgun is the fit to your hand. Go try a bunch on for size, but decide on a budget first.
There's no such thing as a 'break-in period' either.
"...assume the gun manufacturers make..." Most of 'em do not, but most are owned by holding companies that also have an ammo company in their stable. Vista Outdoors is one holding company that owns Savage Arms, but also owns Federal ammo, RCBS, Alliant powder and Speer. Among others. That makes no difference whatsoever when it comes to rimfire ammo.
 
22 semis can, and I stress CAN... Have ammo preferences.

This isn't always the case, some models have reputations for working well with most ammo, others are known to be picky.

I have not heard of the Ruger Mk, Buckmark, or S&W Victory being ammo picky. At least in general... As individual guns can vary, but in all likelihood, if you go with one of those, you shouldn't have any big issues.

Don't let this thought discourage though, once you get out of rim fire and into center fire, like 9mm... Ammo pickiness decreases drastically in models from the well known manufacturers. To the point I don't even think about it...


CCI ammo is basically the gold standard of your everyday 22lr ammo... Once we start talking match grade, it's a different story.

Buy a few hundred rounds of CCI Minimags for your initial break in of the pistol. 22 semis do like a few hundred rounds through them before they smooth out and run their best. Though this need usually diminishes with the quality level of the gun in question.

Minimags are reliable and good quality, without breaking the bank... After a few hundred rounds of the better stuff, you can try out some cheaper stuff.


Many big brands also have budget sub brands... A couple examples are... CCI makes Blazer, and Federal makes American Eagle.


The two biggest problems I have seen with cheap ammo...

Loose projectiles, in that... The bullet spins and wobbles in the case. This can lead to a feeding g issue, where the bullet is bent where it goes into the case, and jams the gun.

Cheap ammo sometimes has poorly applied primer in the case rim... Leading to dead spots, where the bullet will not fire when strick by the firing pin. Usually trying again with the bullet rotated in the chamber so a fresh area is hit, will allow it to fire.

After the break in, if you bought a good pistol, likely the cheaper ammo will work well enough... But some brands do have a spotty reputation... Remington Golden bullets and Thunderbolts have mixed results. Basically, if it is cheap bulk Remington, it is hit and miss... Their non bulk stuff tends to be fine though.


Aguila standard ammo is lower cost, but I find it to be good quality.

Keep in mind, CCI Stinger will not work in all 22 firearms... It is a specialty ammo designed to go as fast as possible, and is essentially out of spec, as it uses a short bullet but a longer case... It's not really a plinking or target type ammo anyway.


Another thing about reliability is lubrication... After a few hundred rounds, I find that the dirty nature of 22 ammo starts causing reliability issues. These are usually remedied with a few well placed drops of lubricant. No disassembly, just squirt it in where it is needed.
 
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22lr in general is dirty and unreliable...compared to centerfire. Reliability can vary even from 1 box to another of the same brand. If you're on the market for a semi-auto, avoid low velocity or "quiet" rounds. They'll fire just fine, but most likely won't cycle the action. Look for standard or high velocity. CCI has been one of the most reliable for me, but each individual and each firearm exhibit different results. You'll have to experiment with different brands.
 
I have read that semi-auto guns should get semi-auto ammo?
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure what that is.

I have never had more of problem with "cheap" ammunition than with "expensive" ammunition. "Duds" do occur but in my experience they are very rare.

During the great .22 shortage of the 2010's, I read a lot of reports about problems with the Remington "Golden Bullets" which were had metal plated bullets and were often sold in bulk containers. At various times I bought a total of 5,700 rounds of it. I'm about 500 rounds into it right now and while it is nothing to write home about, it hasn't been much more trouble than other .22lr cartridges I have used. I could be that the problems were confined to certain lots and I have yet to reach it on the next box.
 
I got to shoot my buddies new S&W Victory 22 today. He reported 0 problems with federal bulk after 100 rounds, but we both experienced FTE's with Remington golden bullet. It was right outta the box new today and hadn't had a thorough cleaning yet. That Victory had a real nice feel to it. I liked it.
 
If you're looking at a semi-auto 22 the visit the manufacturer website and see what type of ammo they recommend (HV or SV). Some will recommend HV and some SV for reliable functioning.
I'm currently looking for one and am looking for a HV one since I have mostly HV ammo.
 
CCI and federal tend to be my .22 go to brands. I have a picky .22lr rifle that LOVES Norma Tac USA but they're a little pricey.
 
Yes, I figured I need to figure out what gun I am going to get. But instead of waiting until I have the gun I wanted to know what ammo may or may not work. This way I will have ammo ready to go when I get the gun. I will take the advice here and give a few hundred rounds of different ammo a test and see what works and doesn't.

I keep saying this but you all have been great. None of the cliquey stuff I have gotten on other forums. I am getting very informative answers. Thank you all.
 
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