In search of 22lr training ammo comparison

M

Mr.RevolverGuy

New member
Over the winter I was able to amass a wide variety of 22lr ammo to compare. In search of good quality low cost -- less than $10 a box.

I shot 15 brands across 4 rifles.
Price.jpg


Results with plenty of pictures can be seen here
22 Ammo Testing
 
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Nice analysis!

Make one suggestion, use the same ammo list across the bottom of graph, that make a consistent reading of ammo type.

I shot prone match with a gent that would wipe his bore between matches, when he changed ammo for the different stages. It was the "Kleen-bore"
Lead-free yellow cloth, then five fouling shots.

Worked for him.
 
I used the same ammo listing just not in the same order and I believe that is what you are saying. It's just sorted from smallest group to largest, sorted the other way in which you are suggesting it was hard read and understand which ammo did best and which did worst.

But thank you for reading. I had an awesome time conducting the test, so much so I took a really old Marlin 81DL no serial number, so it was made before this was a law and gave it a try. I will be posting the results soon.
 
It should be noted that .22LR ammo varies considerably from lot to lot and that tests such of these are only a rough indication of what another person might discover with their own rifle(s).

Also, ammo testing in 7 mph wind, as noted, isn't a great idea. It's best to minimize all variables when making comparisons, especially wind.

Finally, the only way to find the best ammo for a particular rifle is to test several lots of each brand, type, in YOUR rifle. Chamber dimensions, barrel configurations, firing pin tip configuration and other factors vary considerably, even within brand/model.

The bottom line is...when you find a particular brand/type/lot of ammo that shoots well in your rifle, buy as much as you can afford, since the next batch may not shoot as well. I wish I could say that it hasn't happened to me, but alas; I've missed several opportunities to buy more of great-shooting, inexpensive ammo lots.
 
I agree with you comments "some what" :)

Again not meant to be scientific and I wanted to duplicate real world range conditions of which I would be shooting in.

"some what" :) = Not to turn this into a CCI is great thread but the results were very surprising. In my area with CCI being the cheapest from now on I will most likely start out with CCI SV in a new rifle -- sort of a baseline-- if not shooting like I believe it should then time to test all over again. As we both said each rifle will prefer its own brand.
 
Several of my .22LR rifles and handguns tend to like CCI ammo, in general.

Some batches of CCI SV have been stellar in some of my rifles. A certain batch of CCI, truncated cone, small game bullets (SGB) was as good as some great target ammo. The next batch I bought was terrible! I've bought it a few times since and haven't had good accuracy, so stopped buying it.
 
Batch is just as important which is why I bought as you stated as much of the eley tenex as I could afford which wasn't much :) when I found a company that sells by lot number.
 
When I was on the ROTC rifle team, we shot matches from a single case of ammo. If insufficient ammo remained in a case to complete a match(all shooters), the armorer opened a new case prior to the last practice to ensure our ammo was consistent and at least as accurate as the previous lot. I no longer require that much accuracy but I have noted some lots are more variable than others in current manufactured ammo. A 22lr comparison can only provide insight into the relative performance of the exact lot of ammo in the firearm used for the test.
 
In the 90's I was Jr. Riflr coach for 4H league...

my personal ammo that I used at that time was the PMC "SCOREMASTER" yellow box.

I would after a practice give the Jrs., ten rounds each and have them fire at the NRA symbol of the target page.

It consistently give them good tight groups, and the Jrs., were using different ammo. Federal match, Wolf, Remington Target,

Some ammo can be great through the lots , others vary.
 
PMC Scoremaster was pretty good ammunition. I have a fair amount of the PMC Moderators still which shoot pretty consistently. I pretty much only shoot them in my Thompson Lynx (similar to the R55 model), so they should last me years.

I agree with the OP, if I don't know anything else about a rifle's accuracy, my first choice is CCI SV. First choice on HV is CCI HV and second choice is generally my Federal Lightning's (510's) which are essentially promotional ammo. After that, comes the higher priced stuff and bulk.
 
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