Looking for most accurate .22 hunting ammo...

[achildofthesky]

What do you use for hunting with the .22? Bulk Remmy and Federal leave alot to be desired accuracy/consistancy wise. The rifle is a Marlin M39 Mountie the game is mostly squerlz and rabbits...

Thanks for any and all replies.

Be safe.

Patty

 

[SoCalShooter]

I suggest that you go to midway.com and buy several different types. i find that for my Ruger MKIII the best ammo for it is the Aguila Golden Eagle match target its not for hunting but its a 40gr round nose and should work just fine.

If you are looking for accurate HP you are going to need to get out of the bulk stuff and get into the match stuff. However that can be expensive. I have tried over 15 different kinds of .22LR ammunition through my Ruger to see which one had the least FTF to grouping to price ratio. Get a couple of differerent brands about 100 rounds of each brand should tell you what the gun likes best.

ALL GUNS WILL SHOOT ALL AMMO's DIFFERENTLY.
Same goes with centerfire ammo, you have to test several kinds if you really want the most accurate and least FTF for your gun. Believe it or not its kind of a science.

 

[Chrome]

I've never had a problem, accuracy wise at least, with Remington Yellow Jackets. However, the bullet design does not cycle well in my 10/22. Many times it gets caught on the feed ramp and requires me to forward assist the bolt.

Now, I've used the CCI Stingers with good results. I've never shot them on paper, but I've hit squirrels with them no problems.

Later,
Chrome...

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Try as much ammo as you are willing to spend. Personally I've had nothing but bad luck with remington's famous golden bullet. When I was a kid that's all I could find and I thought missfires were supposed to occur. I don't shoot competion, but I sure like hunting with a good .22. The best bulk ammo I've found to date is federal 38gr. h/p. It's decent ammo and goes bang just like ammo should. Another good one from federal is their champion brand, 40gr, lead round nose. As I recall it was the most accurate ammo I've shot to date, or maybe I was having an outstanding day at the range. One way that I judge the quality of .22 ammo is I see how well the bullet is crimped. If you can turn the bullet in the case very easily I just use if for informal plinking. Don't know if that holds water or not, but that's my observation.

 

[Bartkowski]

For my gun, the remington thunderbolts easily shoot 3 moa at 100yards if I am doing good. I have tried a few types of ammo and these are great out of my marlin 25n. I don't know if that is accuracy you are looking for, but for me its great. Ammo that I didn't like at all was remington golden bullet, and some federal copper jacketed bullet. Just try all sorts of bullets/manufacturers.

 

[skeeter1]

Be sure to check out some CCI Mini-Mags. Probably the most accurate and reliable in all of my .22s, including the 39D. With the relatively heavy hammer fall in the Marlin, a failure to fire is never an issue.

 

[22-rimfire]

Definitely check out the CCI Mini-mags. Cost more, but most everyone has pretty good luck with them.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

cci--they make a low-cost entry in the 'Blazer' line now--below the mini-mag standard (maybe)--but who cares if it costs .02 or .10 to kill a rabbit anyway??
Splurge on the Mini Mags--let the small fury guys know that you care.

 

[CB900F]

Achildofthesky;

I'll second what SoCalShooter stated. It isn't just the ammo, it's the combination of your gun and the ammo. In order to get the best accuracy, you've got to be willing to do the testing to find the best fit for your gun.

That being said, try Winchester's PowerPoints, they give near match accuracy in two of my .22's & are devastating as hunting bullets.

900F

 

[22LongRifle]

First of all, what are you hunting and what are you hunting with.

My favorite flavor right now is my 10/22 carbine, completely stock. I've got a BSA reddot on it and its a squirrel killing machine!

I've got the reddot sighted in at 25 yards, not long distance, but for a quick shot at squirrels and bunnies, its a good starting point. I went today and tried out no less than 11 differnet brands and models. I had a cheaper than dirt group: Blazers, Zappers, Federal Bulk, ThunderBolts, Winchester Widlcats (old box). The next two groups were mid range: Scoremaster, Moderrators, Remington Subsoncis, adn the high dollar stuff: Eley's, Federal 510, and something by Auglia(sp?). Anyways, from a rest and shot a full 10 round magazine, I shot alot if rounds at both animal heads and targets. I had better groups on the animal heads than the target. Why, cause I get bored looking at those circles. I like the real thing! Well, after shooting on a nice rest, I found out I really couldn't tell the difference in any of the ammo! Now granted, my reddot is covering just less than 1" at 25 yards, but I was getting nice .7" groups. Damn near, .55" all the time with the animal heads! And no, the high price stuff didn't do anything for my shooting arm or my "game". In fact, Thunderbolts and Federal Bulk had the smallest grouping! Eley's came in next, but I can get 550 rounds of Federal for what I paid for two boxes of Eley!

Also, when you are hunting, you need to be able to hit the animal's CNS to put it down. And you don't need one hole groups to do it with. A squirrel hit in the eye is just as dead as one hit between the eyes.

And get off the bench! Get the rifle sighted in, then get up and start shooting. Get use to field accuratcy! A "game" we play is to get a target of animal heads posted at 25-35 yards. Then a guy will call out what animal you are to shoot at. You have three shots to get a kill. Truefully, I doubt you'll get three shots at some animals, but it keeps the heat on the shooter. you can use a field rest, post, sling, neeling, sitting, what ever you might use in the field, but you don't use a bench.

22lr

 

[Afy]

For hunting:
CCI Stinger or Mini Mags generally offer reasonably flat trajectories out to about 100 m.

Most accurate:

Lapua MatchKing, Dynamit Nobel or Eley Tenex

 

[rangerruck]

if we are talking about hunting, and not punching paper, and you watn some good 'whap!' power, then try Aguila hi velocity solids or hollow points, not hypers, they are fast and hit with authority. green and red box, respectively.
Also try cci, they have a round called SGB, which means small game bullet.
upon entry it breaks into 3 big pieces. Ouch!!! it is also pretty accurate.

 

[rangerruck]

ooh yeah, the best new round is the Aguila Interceptor, sold by
http://ammunitiontogo.com/
it is the fastest, regular size 40 grain round ever made. I have clocked it out of a 20 in , molyfusioned bbl, at 1500 fps!!!! That , with a standard size 22lr case, is some serious heat, babies!!!!
but be warned , it is so smokin, it may or may not like your rifle, the only thing I could get it to shoot through, was a old Remmy speedmaster. put them in the same hole at 50 yds. everthing else was shotgun pattern.

 

[M'bogo]

Don't give up on Remington just yet...Try a box or two of the Remington SubSonic .22 ammo. Its quiet and shoots much better than the bulk Remmy .22 ammo that the 'MARTS' carry. No misfires either.

If you need a little more power than the SubSonics provide give the Winchester PowerPoints a try.

M'bogo

 

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

I've never had a problem, accuracy wise at least, with Remington Yellow Jackets. However, the bullet design does not cycle well in my 10/22. Many times it gets caught on the feed ramp and requires me to forward assist the bolt.

Interestingly, my son's 10/22 loves Yellow Jackets...and cycles them reliably. They're also the most accurate non-match grade round he's put through it so far. He took his first squirrel with a clean single shot from ~60 yds. using a Yellow Jacket.

Of course, the standard advice is still the best, I think. Buy several brands, go to the range, fire them all at some paper and determine what your gun likes.

 

[dfaugh]

I use wahetever is most accurate in my gun--a Marlin Model 60....And the most accurate is Wolf Match Target....Since I can place my shots with great accuracy it works great. Kills as well as "hunting ammo". YMMV

 

[foghornl]

Buy a box of every brand and type you can get. Shoot each style untill you find what works best in YOUR .22

Generally, the Rem "Thunderbolts" are not good in my .22's, except for my OLD Marlin 99.

My first .22 I had was a Rem Nylon 66. Ate everything except for the Rem "Golden Bullet" 36-Gr Hollow Point...choked every time on those. A Rem gun that hated Rem ammo....figure that one out.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Another vote for CCI stingers, Either in my Marlin 39 or 60 on woodchucks and rabbits and even in my Kimber .22lr conversion on paper. They seem to be an excellent round for me with some pretty good spanking at the receiving end.

 

[achildofthesky]

OK, I gathered some ammo now off to the range...

I traded a couple boxes of 338 Win Mag I had laying around for the following 22 RF ammo:
PMC target
PMC moderator
RWS subsonic
RWS Rifle Match
Winchester silver box
CCI blazer
CCI stinger

I already have some:
Rem subsonic
Federal bulk pak
CCI CB long
CCI CB short
Rem bulk gold bullet

and I am going to stop by the store on the way to the range to get some CCI mini mags and anything else interesting and relatively inexpensive. I will go to the range tomorrow if I can and compare accuracy and consistency for the ammo and select something, possibly 2 to go with the CB's in my 22. I will then return to the store to try and buy more of the best from the same lot if I can. Perhaps 1000 or so for hunting. I will use up my Rem gold bullet crap for plinking... I didn't buy and super duper high velocity stuff (yet) as I figured that they would likely not be the most accurate. This should be interesting.

Any bets before I shoot as to the most accurate in an Marlin 39 with a 20" barrel???

Thanks again all and if you think of anything else either brands or what ever, let me know...

Patty

 

[atblis]

I've found

I've found the CCI Velocitors to be accurate and quite deadly (maybe a little too deadly). For edible game, I would probably use these over the Minimags. I believe the Minimags are intended more for varmints.

For rabbits and squirrels you don't need anything exotic. Subsonic lead solids work fine. If you're intending to eat them, you want to shoot them in the head anyways.



Personally, I will be using CCI Standard Velocity. Accurate, easy on the ears, and not too expensive. Can be purchased at Dicks.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

CCI Mini-Mags were the best a while back. Stingers are very fast but shoot a projectile which is only 32 gr. The CCI Velocitor has a 40 gr projectile and it travels 1435 fps from a rifle. If you are looking for an accurate killing round that's probably the best. If you are looking for a hunting round where you are going to eat the meat then try CCI's new SGB (Small Game Bullet) round. It also shoots a 40 gr bullet but the bullet is designed to kill with minimal damage done to the meat. http://www.cci-ammunition.com/ballistics/rimfire.aspx

All the above CCI rounds are accurate in most guns I shot them through, of course you will have to shoot them through your guns to find the best round. I'm sure Winchester and Federal have good hunting rounds too but they are surely not in Bulk pack form. Bulk packs are great for plinking but if you want good ammo you usually have to pay for it. 40 gr Winchester Super X Power-Point ammo is a good example.

 

[Jimmy Newman]

I've shot thousands of regular old Winchester Super-X lead solids through a bolt-action target .22. I can shoot (or could, it's been a while) NRA distinguished marksman qualification with them in 4-position smallbore. That's good enough for me . Maybe they just liked my rifle and vice versa.

 

[achildofthesky]

Finally went to the range today for the ammo shoot off...

And found a few big surprises. The top line is 25 yards second line is 50 yards, 3rd line is 25 yards and 4th line is 50 yards... Just a smidge of occasional,very light breeze and I had a comfortable, firm, steady rest but not a lead sled or the like (my range bag and a flat sided plastic juice bottle). I shot all groups as the gun was sighted and held dead on the bull for all shots. I ran a clean dry patch down the bore between all 5 shot groups. The targets are 3" across and the bullseye is 1" with a sub bull of 3/8". All shots were taken as slowly as I needed. 5 shots at all targets except for the 25 yard PMC moderators (forgot 5th shot, duh!), and the 50 yard shots on both of the CCI CB's as they drop so much after 30 yards or so they don't even get on paper at 50 yards. Strange note: the CCI CB longs can easily be seen in flight in the scope at 25 and 50 yards but not the CB shorts... Same bullet, same quoted velocity, go figure. Oh, yes, if you want a better view of the pix double tap on the lower right corner of the thumbnail pix after you menlarge it and the view tightens up more (but you prolly knew that).

As most everyone suggested, CCI minimags shot pretty well as shown in the pix enclosed at 25 yards and ok at 50. Being the first ammo shot I didn't see the first 2 holes and shot a test round in the middle of th target panel and shot 5 more at the top left target again. Plenty good for hunting I have to say. CCI blazer at 25 yards was very good and not too bad at 50. The first huge surprise for me anyway was the Rem subsonic, that is the tightest group I have ever shot (yeah, I need to get out more, I know) but at 50 it opened up and strung out. The second big surprise was the Winchester silver box hollow point, both at 25 and 50yards it was pretty darned consistant and definately earned a spot on my go to list. The PMC target and moderator subsonic stuff shot pretty well at 25 yards and spread unacceptably at 50. The CCI stingers that I didn't expect much from were a little better at 50 than 25 yards and quite acceptable for longish squirrel ranges. The extra velicity might be nice if I get a shot at a fox or 'yote at a reasonable range. Both RWS subsonic and rifle match were just OK at 25 yards but spread out too much at 50. I expected a lot more from them. Like many said certain rifles like some ammo and not others. Both the CB long and CB short CCI's shot fair at 25 yards but as I know the value for me is their supreme stealth and lack of going far on a miss and I only shot 1 each at 50 yards and neither hit the target so I saved the other 8 shots... The last group was Federal bulk pak, 550 to a box I had on hand and as you see it shot poorly.


The targets/ammo were as follows, left to right top to bottom:
Top row 25 yards:
CCI Mini Mags
CCI Blazer
Remington Subsonic
Winchester Silver box Hollow point
PMC Target
PMC Moderator Subsonic

Row 2 50 yards
CCI Mini Mags
CCI Blazer
Remington Subsonic
Winchester Silver box Hollow point
PMC Target
PMC Moderator Subsonic

Row 3 25 yards
CCI Stinger
RWS Subsonic
RWS Rifle Match
CCI CB long
CCI CB short
Federal bulk HP

Row 4 50 yards
CCI Stinger
RWS Subsonic
RWS Rifle Match
CCI CB long (1 shot missed target all together so I didn't try more)
CCI CB short (1 shot missed target all together so I didn't try more)
Federal bulk HP

I know the Marlin 39 mountie isn't exactly known for being a target rifle but the Remington subsonic group at 25 sure looks pretty good to me.

I will likely load my rifle for hunting as follows: CCI CB short or long, CCI mini mag or stinger. I am going to get a price check on the winchesters and if they are pretty cheap get a slug of them. I know the Rem subsonics are somewhat pricy around here but I am going to get at a few boxes of them too.

All in all a pretty fun experiment and a great way to spend the day... Be safe!

Patty

 

[AStone]

Thanks for this thread, Patty.

I'd overlooked it until you posted about it in the 39 Club.

Useful information here.

Nem