.22 rimfire, which ammo is good/not good?

[Varminterror]

For any rimfire competition I have done over the years, my ammo has always said Eley on the box, whether Black, Club, Tenex, or pistol, just depending upon what the particular firearm liked the most.

For plinking and most small game hunting, like a few others mentioned above, I do a LOT of shooting with Remington Golden Bullet. Tens of thousands of them. I run CCI Mini-mags as my "better" ammo for hunting and plinking, and Eley Black.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have also used some Eley for competition, but have also had good luck with some Lapua ammo and Federal Ultra Match....Anything but benchrest, I can get by with much less costly ammo

 

[ChanceMcCall]

For range fodder or to stock up on, what is good, inexpensive .22 rimfire ammo? Also, what is the stuff to avoid these days, if applicable?

Pay attention to the other posters who have said you should buy and try with the gun or guns you want to use before stocking up.

I have a Marlin 39A that loves Remington Golden Bullets when it comes to accuracy and doesn't like CCI mini mags. It also likes the two high end versions that Winchester puts out.
My Ruger 77/22 All Weather prefers CCI Mini Mags but also does very well with Remington Vipers and Yellow Jackets.

It is valuable to know that Remington also puts out seconds in large tubs. CCI also puts out seconds of their Min Mags. Remington does not mark theirs as seconds but CCI does. Unfortunately, some retailers remove the second labels from the CCI rounds. Federal and Winchester also put out seconds usually in larger quantity paper boxes but also do not mark them as seconds. In my opinion, buying seconds is not a good idea because of both the hassle and squibs.

They all offer cheaper ammo. It too has its problems, especially FTF and lousy accuracy. I know there is always a trade off with accuracy vs price which is why I don't own much Eley, but there are limits. In the end, you get to make that choice. The cheap ammo is, as other posters have noted, very dirty even by rimfire standards, making cleaning a more intensive chore.

 

[ChanceMcCall]

I have a good assortment of 22 ammo. Whenever I find it on sale I try to pick some more up.
I do like to try different loads in a rifle to see what shoots the best. Sometimes it's worth spending just a little more for the ammo your gun likes.
Here are 12 different loads I shot from my Marlin XT25 at 50 yards. I only shot one five shot group with each load and all were under an inch. I guess I was having a good day.
The price range on the ammo pictured ran from $0.03.5 to $0.07 a round.

Wow! You went to a lot of work to answer the question and you did it right! I'm impressed.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Wow! You went to a lot of work to answer the question and you did it right! I'm impressed.

I like to do that with 22 rifles. With iron sights I shoot at 25yds, and 50yds with a scope. Once I find the ammo that shoots the best, I order a thousand or more rounds for it. The Marlin XT25 really likes the CCI Standard Velocity so, I ordered another thousand. My CZ 514 Farmer likes Federal Champion.
Now I do buy Federal and Winchester bulk pack ammo for just playing around, but I like 50 or 100 round packs better. Most often I will start out with lower cost ammo then work my way up till I find what the rifle likes.
I have a notebook that has info on most of my 22 rifles and what they shoot best with.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

The problem is changing lot numbers of a particular brand often gives different results.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

The problem is changing lot numbers of a particular brand often gives different results.

This is true. That is why I buy a thousand or more of a type of ammo at a time. But most often there is very little change.
I have a few rifles that will shoot just about anything you feed them, but then I have a few, not as many, that are picky eaters,
I have found that the bulk pack Federal Auto Match shoots very well in just about all the semi-autos I have shot it in. My Remington 597 loves it. And at $0.04 a round it's a pretty good deal.
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/fed...mmo-40-grain-lead-round-nose-am22-p-1967.aspx
Geco 22lr Semi-Auto is another good one at $0.05 a round.
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/gec...-grain-lead-round-nose-259940050-p-53185.aspx
If you want to try different types of 22 ammo, now is the time. You are no longer forced to take what you find. The prices are down and ammo is in stock. If you can't find ammo locally, order from Target Sport or one of the other dealers on line. Then go out and have fun.

 

[fpgt72]

I have a good assortment of 22 ammo. Whenever I find it on sale I try to pick some more up.
I do like to try different loads in a rifle to see what shoots the best. Sometimes it's worth spending just a little more for the ammo your gun likes.
Here are 12 different loads I shot from my Marlin XT25 at 50 yards. I only shot one five shot group with each load and all were under an inch. I guess I was having a good day.
The price range on the ammo pictured ran from $0.03.5 to $0.07 a round.

I have done that but not taken photos.

You....being not you...but you in general...will find some guns don't care, and some are very picky eaters....a little like children. My kid was a garbage disposal, ate everything....me not so much....even now that I am old and can 't taste anything.

But some guns just love everything, some there are better then others...in my book lots better. But I have several guns that the holes would get messed up with other ammo being tested on that target. Others will swing way left or right and still be a good group, just about an inch+ to the left or right.

Point is you gotta test.

 

[wanderinwalker]

As has been said, you have to try a bunch to see what works well for you. Then hope is hasn't changed next time you buy more.

Since my primary .22 rifles lately have been bolt-actions, I like CCI Standard Velocity for "just shooting." It costs a bit more than the loose packs, but the accuracy is usually enough of an improvement to make up for the price.

My 10/22 used to get along great with Federal Automatch. Then I got into some lots of AM that were horribly inconsistent. You could hear the different muzzle reports telling you not every round was the same speed.

I may have to retry Remington Golden Bullets after the posts here. My memory of 15 years ago was that it was the only .22LR ammo to experience fail to fires in my Single-Six revolver. And several rounds keyholed. I haven't bought any since.

For when I want accuracy I can count on, the ammo boxes have to say SK, RWS or Eley.

 

[peacebutready]

If you want to try different types of 22 ammo, now is the time. You are no longer forced to take what you find. The prices are down and ammo is in stock. If you can't find ammo locally, order from Target Sport or one of the other dealers on line. Then go out and have fun.

Good point. Also to stock up in case there's a consumer raid on ammo like a few or so years ago.

 

[peacebutready]

Thanks so much for the posts, all.

 

[Walkalong]

Fed Auto Match shoots well/very well in my Buckmark, and Trailside, but my S&W 41 hates it. Like folks say, you just have to try stuff in your gun.