How do the manufacturers who sell the same ammo both ways know which rounds are "good" and which are "bulk-worthy"? I know there are higher-end products that happen to be sold in small boxes, but if they put the same ammo in a 500-round package would it automatically turn it into crap?
I feel that this is an argument over words and definitions. What constitutes "bulk ammo?" John, you are right that the same ammo has no change in performance if only the packaging changes, whether that is in a tray of 50 versus a loose box of 500. For example, Remington GB's are packaged in many various ways - trays of 100, boxes of 550, buckets of 1400. In this instance, most shooters would consider all these "bulk ammo" even though there are trays of 100.
Conversely, there are some 22LR ammos that most shooters would consider "bulk" that are packaged only in 10 trays of 50, making a brick of 500.
But I have one box of CCI "AR Tactical" bulk .22 and one of the "Choot 'em" (whatever the heck that is). I haven't opened them yet, but I have to wonder how they differ from the small plastic 100-round boxes, other than the projectile.
When you open them, you will see that there are three trays of 100 rounds each in the cardboard box. These products are different in the big box vs small box debate. The CCI AR Tactical does not come any other way - there are no small containers of it. The CCI mini mag does come in boxes of 100. The Choot'em pack is just buying three 100 round trays. In this case, the mini-mags are the same, regardless of 100 round or 300 round containers.
Let's go back to general terminology first. Bulk is the lowest grade, Target is next, Match is next, then Competition ammos at the top. What a person is really purchasing is consistency.
Remember:
1) Just because ammo is more expensive, does not mean it shoots better in your rifle.
2) Rimfire is "consistently inconsistent". As you climb the terminology ladder from bulk to target etc, manufacturer's grade their ammo. Lot number can make a big difference as to how consistent a certain ammo is - not so much with bulk, but with higher grades.
Bulk ammo is relatively inconsistent. It usually has a wide velocity variation extreme spread (ES) of approximately 100fps (or more) and standard deviations (SD) of 25fps+ or so.
I'm not going to type out all my data here, but in my chrono testing, these would include ammos like:
CCI Tactical, CCI Minimag, Winchester Xpert, Remington GB, Federal: Value Pack, Automatch, 510, etc.
Target ammo costs more but has better consistency. Typically ES 60-80fps, SD mid to upper teens. These would be products like:
Federal Target 711B, Norma Tac22, SK Standard+. There is wide variation here because some lots grade better than others, which is why some brag groups come from these ammos.
Match ammos cost even more, but have even better stats.
The competition ammos are very expensive and very consistent. These are the R-50, Lapua X-act (and similar Midas), and Eley Tenex. A 40fps ES would be a disappointment. More like 25fps. These **should** exhibit single digit SD's.
All that to say, there is wide variation in the type and quality of 22LR ammos.