Polymer coated .22?

[Waveski]

I strolled through the ammo section of a big farm supply chain store today and came across CCI polymer coated .22 in bulk boxes. 40 gr. bullet ; 1235 fps. I am not familiar with polymer coated , so I came here to ask questions.
What is the purpose of the plastic bullet coating?
Are there any drawbacks to this type of .22 bullet?
Does it feed well in semi autos?
Is this a legitimate bullet treatment or gimmick?

I swore off bulk bricks a while back ; I mainly purchase CCI Standard velocity and CCI MiniMags , with a preference for the latter. The MiniMags are nicely packaged and very reliable at about .08 to .09 per round. The polymer CCI is going for around .05 per , and despite being in bulk - and having red/white/blue coatings (silly , I think) , I thought that a CCI .22 product at .05 deserves consideration.

What does the collective think? (see picture above...)

 

[Jim Watson]

New to me. I have shot a good deal of coated 9mm and .45 with good results.
Maybe it will have advantages, maybe it is just putting .22s on the bandwagon.

 

[bbqreloader]

I just ordered 5 packs of it thru Palmetto State Armory for 12.99 ea. Love shooting it, my 10/22 eats it just fine. Seeing as the fps compares to the mini mag, I saw no reason not to order it for the new M&P 22 compact I have coming.
The polymer supposedly keeps the leading down on the barrel.

 

[tarosean]

Buy it and try it.. First hand experience will trump any answers you will find here...

 

[Odd Job]

I think it is a marketing ploy. They had red and green ones for Christmas last year.

 

[Labguy47]

Bullets have been getting coated for years, it keeps the micro-grooves in the barrel from leading up. If memory serves,

 

[sota]

I think the gimmick is pretty cool. If it sells ammo, why not?

 

[sparkyv]

Yup, just a novelty. Gave some as gifts. Not worth the price for my personal use.

 

[GarrettJ]

I bought a few boxes because it was inexpensive, and CCI generally works well. No issues in .22 rifles or pistols. It didn’t run in a full auto M11 .22 conversion, but that tends to be finicky anyway.

 

[RedlegRick]

Got a brick awhile ago and it shoots fine thru my Crickett and cycles about average through my somewhat fussy P22.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

For 22 LR the coating is mostly for looks. Five cents a round isn't bad but not a great bargain either.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I swore off bulk bricks a while back

Why?

 

[dogtown tom]

[
What is the purpose of the plastic bullet coating?

To prevent leading (excessive lead deposits) by high speed .22 ammunition.
Standard velocity rimfire doesn't need plating or coating, the wax serving as sufficient lubricant.

Are there any drawbacks to this type of .22 bullet?

Not likely.

Does it feed well in semi autos?

Probably better than plain lead or wax coated.
Winchester M22 Black and others are made with a polymer coating specifically for semi autos.

Is this a legitimate bullet treatment or gimmick?

Waxy rimfire bullets attract dust/dirt/grime/pocket lint that will build up and inhibit reliable functioning.
A polymer coated bullet won't.

 

[dogtown tom]

I think it is a marketing ploy. They had red and green ones for Christmas last year.

View attachment 815977

While offering the coating in red and green at Christmas is obviously "marketing"...……..the polymer coating doesn't have a thing to do with marketing but has everything to do with function.

 

[dogtown tom]

For 22 LR the coating is mostly for looks...

Wrong.
The external wax/lube/plating/polymer coating is FUNCTIONAL. As noted above it prevents excessive leading of high speed rimfire ammunition using soft lead bullets.

 

[reddog81]

It's just an alternative to the copper wash used on a lot of high velocity .22 ammo. I've tried it and it worked in my semi-auto's. I prefer the regular standard velocity stuff otherwise I wouldn't be opposed to using this stuff almost exclusively for .22's.

Powder coat / polymer coat / Hi-Tek and other similar coating are a fairly well regarded replacement for traditional bullet lube. I have probably shot over 10,000 rounds of powder coated bullets that I cast and coated myself over the last 4 years. I've load everything from light .38 Specials to .460 S&W and .even moderate 30-06 loads with powder coat.

 

[dogtown tom]

Why?

Because "bulk packs" are almost always lacking in quality and reliability compared to premium ammunition and are often the cheapest way to buy rimfire ammunition, and manufacturers use that to beat the competition on price.

The highest quality, most reliable ammunition (ala CCI MiniMags, Eley Target, Winchester SuperX, etc) are rarely packaged in bulk because the price wouldn't be competitive with the bulk offerings by CCI Blazer, Remington Golden, Winchester Wildcat or Federal American Eagle. Bulk packaged rimfire is marketed to plinkers.

 

[Elkins45]

The bullet casting crowd has been experimenting with a number of different coatings as alternatives to having to individually lube each in a lubrisizer. Polymer powder coating has been one of the more popular ones. Lots of people who used to use conventional bullet lube are now either powder coating or Hi-Tek coating all their pistol bullets.

I’ve experimented with Hi-Tek for cast subsonic bullets in my silenced 300 Blackout SBR. The coating reduces the amount of lead build up in the can significantly, so those of you with silencers might consider giving these a try.

 

[Elkins45]

Picture stolen from a thread on the Cast Boolits website http://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...tatic-Method&p=2470486&viewfull=1#post2470486



Yes those are cast lead hollow points, even the ones with the pentagonal cavities. They were cast from a mold made by MP Molds.

 

[MifflinKid]

I tried these polymer coated .22s in my AR-22 (DPMS heavy barrel upper) several months ago. Shooting at 19 yards, off a rest, with a Burris 3-9 MSR scope set at 3X they could keep 10 shot strings in .9 to 1.1 inch groups. The day was a little windy which may have affected the group size slightly. Feeding was perfect over about 100 rounds. I was using a CMMG magazine.

This rifle/magazine combination is picky about the nose shape of ammo. It has problems feeding "pointy" round nose and truncated cone style bullets. Rounds with blunt round nose bullets feed perfectly, though. The CCI polymer coated .22 bullets have a blunt round nose very similar to CCI's .22 Tactical rounds. This rifle shoots the CCI .22 Tactical ammunition even better but the .22 Tactical rounds cost about $.076 to $.085 each. So, at around $.05 per round the polymer version gets the nod from me.

Barrel cleaning was a snap. A few brush strokes, two wet patches, dry patch or two then finished with a patch dampened with Birchwood-Casey Barricade.

I have not tried them in my .22 pistols or revolvers.

 

[cougar1717]

What is the purpose of the plastic bullet coating?

The functional purpose of the polymer coating is that it replaces the bullet lube needed for 22LR (whether dry wax, lanolin, etc.)

Are there any drawbacks to this type of .22 bullet?

It's not the most accurate. However, most people purchasing HV 22LR bulk packs are not attempting to shoot tiny groups.

Does it feed well in semi autos?

Yes, it's round nose. CCI SV has the same profile, just dry lubed. CCI AR Tactical has the same profile, just copper washed.
It's CCI, so it feeds and cycles with few, if any, duds in the box.

Is this a legitimate bullet treatment or gimmick?

In 22LR, it's a gimmick.
In centerfire handgun, polymer coated lead bullets work great in comparison to lubed lead bullets. Accuracy is good and there is no leading in comparison. The shooter may experience a small amount of polymer fouling (the rifling has to grip and spin the bullet via friction). We have seen the market play this out with the Federal Syntech line and polymer coated lead bullets for centerfire handgun handloading.

But remember...
There's a reason that it's relegated to promotional bulk packs and no target or match 22LR ammo uses this technology.
Plink with it. Use it. Enjoy it in your semi-autos. Just don't expect it to outperform other CCI offerings.

 

[JONWILL]

I have never shot the 22. I do shoot my own Powder Coated bullets

I do find the smoke is cut way down over straight lead bullets with lube.

How does the 22 do in that regard?

 

[Odd Job]

While offering the coating in red and green at Christmas is obviously "marketing"...……..the polymer coating doesn't have a thing to do with marketing but has everything to do with function.

I understand why .22LR ammo is coated, and I'm sure CCI wouldn't just dip a lead round in paint and sell it. The obvious advantage of the polymer coating is the ability to colour it however they want, hence the Christmas box and the patriot box also (red, white and blue, as in the OP):



So to word it another way, what is the functional advantage of the polymer coatings over the copper wash for rounds at the same velocity, say 1235 fps? Why have CCI not extended this coating throughout their product line?

I've asked this question on the IAA forum also, since some of those guys have industry connections and can get the inside scoop from the manufacturer.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

the polymer coating doesn't have a thing to do with marketing but has everything to do with function.

Wrong

I understand why .22LR ammo is coated, and I'm sure CCI wouldn't just dip a lead round in paint and sell it. The obvious advantage of the polymer coating is the ability to color it however they want, hence the Christmas box and the patriot box also (red, white and blue, as in the OP):

Right

 

[reddog81]

I understand why .22LR ammo is coated, and I'm sure CCI wouldn't just dip a lead round in paint and sell it. The obvious advantage of the polymer coating is the ability to colour it however they want, hence the Christmas box and the patriot box also (red, white and blue, as in the OP):

So to word it another way, what is the functional advantage of the polymer coatings over the copper wash for rounds at the same velocity, say 1235 fps? Why have CCI not extended this coating throughout their product line?

I've asked this question on the IAA forum also, since some of those guys have industry connections and can get the inside scoop from the manufacturer.

I'm guessing it's either less labor intensive or cheaper than the copper wash. Federal which is owned by the same company as CCI has Syntech coatings on 7 different products in 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP.