Explain .22LR

R

REDBULL600

New member
Ok, So looking over my inventory this morning as I pack for a weekend of shooting with a Semi-auto handgun (Beretta Neos) and an old .22LR rifle (Marlin model 80DL) I noticed I have about 2 different types of ammo in .22LR; Standard Velocity (CCI) and Sub-sonic ( It has german and english on it but I can't remember what brand, blue and silver box, it was very expensive compared to all other the other ammo I have bought. $80 for 500, GS owner said is was high quality stuff and should work in my neos). Both I think are 40gr. I looked on the orginal box of 22 ammo I bought when I bought my Neos, Winchester super (white box) and it just says 36gr and 1237fps. This other stuff does not say what FPS they are.

What is the difference? I am buying the right stuff? I remember someone told to make sure I am buying Semi-auto .22LR ammo and I am telling the GS owners what I am using it for and they tell me it'll work, guess i'll find out tomorrow.:cool:

I know kinda a rookie/noob move But I guess I'll learn if its all wrong.:o
 
Some semi auto firearms are finicky. It is likely that your Neos will function properly with High Velocity ammunition. You may find that standard velocity in the same gun will shoot but will not reliably operate the slide. Only through testing different brands will you find what works in your pistol the best. Choose a bullet weight as your standard and only buy that weight from different manufacturers [CCI,Winchester,Remington, etc.]until you find those that operate the gun properly. After finding a good standard you can experiment. The bolt gun will shoot anything but here too you will find some brands will shoot better then others.
I personally only buy 40 grain bullets. It just makes my inventory easy to manage.
 
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It's a good idea to use high velocity 22 in a pistol, particularly if you're using a conversion kit (ie, 1911 + 22 conversion). My kimber has problems cycling with standard velocity. I'm surprised you actually found "standard" 22LR, almost everything is high-velocity these days.
 
The two firearms you mentioned shouldn't have much problem with any modern .22lr ammunition. .22s are notorious for "liking" a particular type/brand/weight of ammunition better than others and is almost always a matter of experiment with the individual firearm.

Some older firearms (including some really fine-quality precision pistols) should not be subjected to "high-velocity" ammunition.

It is a popular conception that, if you are looking for precision shot-placement (read; target shooting as opposed to squirrel shooting :D) then you need to use standard-velocity ammo.

Someone will be along soon who knows a lot more than I do and we'll all learn some more (This is a great site for learning gun-stuff).

Best,

Will
 
Use standard velocity .22LR in your Neos. Semi autos tend to work much more reliably with standard velocity ammo.

Use the subsonic rounds in the 80DL because they won't have enough power to cycle your Neos.
 
Try Them

With .22's, you never know what will be best until you try them. I have a Smith & Wesson 34 revolver that loves CCI HV Hollow Points. My Remington 513 cuts a ragged hole with Wolf Match Target. The Remington Nylon 66 is best with Federal Bulk Pak Hollow Points.

BTW, everything shoots Wolf Match Target well, but it is $.

Lock and Load! :D
 
Most folks don't use 22LR sub-sonic. It's a specialized ammo for extra quite shooting. It's often used with a silencer. Sub-sonic 22LR is difficult to make because of the low powder charge. A little too much and it goes past the speed of sound, too little and you can stick the bullet in the barrel.
Most semi-auto pistols like the hotter 22LR loads. My Walthers will only function with CCI Stingers. All of my other semi-auto 22's will work fine with regular bulk Remington 22LR.
Try the cheap stuff first. If it works, your good to go. If your pistol will not cycle, step up to the hotter loads. I find 22 rifles to be a lot more forgiving and will function with a broad range of ammo.
 
I personally wouldn't be blasting away with the RWS(?) unless you are testing or that firearm really likes it. The CCI Standard Velocity (SV) is excellent stuff and I shoot it a lot.

The Standard Velocity versus Subsonic has always confused me. Technically anything that is less than the speed of sound at the muzzle is "subsonic". But generally speaking, SV loads will likely be in the 1050 fps area and subsonic should be in the 900-950 fps or less. Hence, the subsonic may not cycle your slide in a semi-auto pistol or rifle. You just have to try. There is no standard for subsonic versus standard velocity. I think the subsonic naming is more marketing than anything else.

I would certainly get some lower priced ammo and try it out; CCI Blazers and Federal Lightning come to mind, but also bulk packs. Hard to find 22 ammunition right now priced at normal prices. The "new and improved" Remington Golden Bullets are much more reliable relative to pre "new and Improved". But I found that if a semi-auto is finicky with high speed LR ammo, the copper coated seems to feed better.
 
Ok, so I looked at the box of Sub sonic I have. RUAG is what is on the box, looked it up, wow this is some competition type stuff.
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Thanks for all the response guys.

I went out to the farm this weekend and did some shooting with a buddy, he had never shot pistols before so it was an educational shoot for the both of us. He has lots of High power guns for hunting so of course we shot them too.

Any ways, we shot about 50rds of each type of .22LR ammo I had. They all shot flawlessly through the Beretta Neos, cycling the slide well. The only issues we had was with a bulk box of remington he had that both the rifle and pistol had issues with. I think it was an age thing, he said it was an old box. About every 3rd round wouldn't fire, had good strike mark but no fire. We would just wait about 20sec then cycle it out.
 
I have found that subsonic ammo has better accuracy than typical high velocity ammo in a rifle. Any pistol with a 5" or shorter barrel will probably shoot high velocity ammo subsonic.

I use CCI std vel ammo in my suppressed rifles and CCI blazer in the suppressed pistols. Both combos give me about 1060 fps with about 1% of the Blazer going supersonic in the pistol; I can tell from the cracking sound on accasion.

My P-22, Buckmark and Ruger MKii all ****tion just fine with CCI std vel, but the blazer is cheaper and more powerful (std vel only about 900 fps in a pistol) and they are not accurate enough to justify the more costly ammo.

In the end pick one that operates best.

lark
 
[I have found that subsonic ammo has better accuracy than typical high velocity ammo in a rifle..[/quote]

I don't know that the accuracy is better, but I have not had a single complaint about the accuracy of CCI subsonic LR or shorts. I have done some good shooting with them. Most of it is finding out what your gun likes, my Henry doesn't like the strange Aguila super snipers that are like a long 60 grain bullet in a .22 short case and fires it subsonic. My Henry can't stabilize them and they keyhole.

Did you shoot the 80DL? If so, how did it do?
 
Did you shoot the 80DL? If so, how did it do?
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I did, it fired and was very accurate. :D My friend who shoots rifle way more then I have ever have or will, was hitting the bullseye with it at 50yds but anything past that was off as it was windier then all get out as we got further out from the protection of the bluff we were shooting below, but he was still on the paper with just iron sights. I was hitting the paper at 25 but nothing like he was. Past that I wasn't doing much to be proud of.:o

We shot the sub-sonics and the standards with it.

I didn't take my son out to shoot as it was way too cold for him (and me by that time) but we went over safety procedures again and how to/not to handle a firearm.
 
Good to know. Marlin has a great history of making accurate .22 rifles. For an old rifle it probably has quite a number of years left on it.

Guess the stock on it is a candidate for refinishing since the gun shoots and functions well. Good luck if you decide to refinish it, the whole process takes a little time but it is a pretty simple process. I encourage before/after pictures if you do it.
 
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