There was an article I had in my files somewhere, lessee.....here it is.
It's from Chuck Hawks site and some of the highlights might be of interest here:
"For a long time, Federal 36 grain copper-plated hollow point .22 long rifle ammo has been my standard fare. It has many attributes that I like:
1. It is bargain-priced, being packaged in five hundred + round, bulk containers. It used to come in a small milk-carton type container; now it’s packed in a box containing 525 rounds.
2. It shoots well in most everything, including the guns I personally own.
3. It cycles my semi-autos without any jamming or feeding problems. This is a real plus.
4. It has proven to be downright explosive on hundreds of rabbits and similar size small game, so I know it works.
I’ve bought so darn much of it, in fact, that it will continue to be the standard fodder around here for some time. For the record, this is essentially the older Federal load #730. I try to follow the name changes as best I can, but I'm not always able to keep up. As far as I can determine, this is currently Federal Rimfire Cartridge #745 , the “Champion Value Pack,” 22 Long Rifle, Copper Plated HP, 36 GR, 1255 fps, 525 Rd/bx. It runs about $10-14 at discount stores....
- The CCI “Velocitor” is billed as the fastest 40 grain .22 LR round available, and did quite well. Again and again, I had two holes either touching or close to touching, then threw the third shot off by a small amount. Why, I really don't know. But, for a 1435 fps, 40 grain .22 bullet WITH a reasonable price to boot, it is well worth a try.
- American Eagle (Federal) copper-plated high velocity HP. The econo-priced American Eagle did not perform as well as my trusty bulk pack #745 Federal, 36 grain loads.
- Fiocchi 22 LR, (current catalog number 22HVCRN. It’s a steal at $1.75/box, as of this writing - 05/13/07!)
The Fiocchi was quite a surprise, putting nine of ten shots in the same hole at 40 yards from the Savage MK-II BV. This is 40 grain, 385 m/sec. copper-plated round nose ammo. It also is available in HP configuration. It really was remarkable at 40 yards.
Out at 102 yards, the picture changed dramatically. The Fiocchi ammo opened up to an inch and a quarter (still decent results for any .22 hunting rifle/ammo combination, by the way. So don’t let that dissuade you if you want to try the Fiocchi, especially at the low price of the stuff).
So after all the testing, what did I find out? Well, first of all, every gun is different. Some of the ammo I found to be good, has been reported by others to be real stinkers in THEIR guns. Nothing new about that. What else?
- My standby load, Federal #745, is still darned good across the board. For the low cost and excellent results it gives, I’ll keep buying and recommending it.
- The Fiocchi was really good, too. Especially so when you consider the low cost. Get some and try it.
- CCI’s “Velocitor,“ on the other hand, gave good accuracy at nearly hyper velocities. A nice combination for small game, when combined with it‘s heavier, 40 gr. bullet.
To find out what ammo your individual gun likes best, you have to shoot it with lots of different ammo. That’s is pure fun and that, my friends, is what .22’s are all about!"
Keep in mind this was written about accuracy testing, but it should make the point.
