remington 22lr thunderbolt problem

[BCRider]

We just bought a case or two for my club's Jr .22 program. It doesn't matter to use since the kids are using single shot rifles. But it's amazing to hear big differences from shot to shot. Whatever it used to be like the latest fresh ammo is junk.

So when someone posts about problems in a semi? I'm not in the least surprised to read and nod in agreement.

 

[JJFitch]

Remington ammo is trash!

Our Gallery Pistol and Rifle leagues will not use the stuff, period. Too many misfires not worth the trouble.

Winchester Wildcat isn't much better.

Federal seems to be OK and no issues with CCI of high quality foriegn ammo.

 

[heycods]

Not a remington fan any more, I use to love the goldens, seems quality has dropped off, Prefer CCI if I can find it.

 

[loose noose]

My grandson's bolt action .22LR doesn't care for them however my old Winchester model 62 shoots them all without a hitch. I've shot some in my Browning Buckmark, and it shoots them most of the time, unlike my CCI or Federal which all my guns like.

 

[jrdolall]

We ran an entire brick of Remington Thunderbolts yesterday that I received from Cabela's on Monday. Multiple different firearms from Buckmark to AR conversion to 1911 conversion to revolvers. The only problems were with the 1911 conversion and a Phoenix HP22 pistol and both of them are problem guns anyway. The 1911 conversion really prefers the stingers and other "high power" 22 rounds and the Phoenix is almost a single shot gun. We did experience a few stovepipes in the AR conversion but not what I would call uncommon with bulk ammo. Kids were out of school and roads were a mess so we shot guns half the day. Didn't worry about messing up the deer hunters.

Not defending the ammo as Remington Golden and Thunderbolts would normally be the LAST bulk ammo I bought if given the choice. All in all it worked as well as I expected in the weapons I expected it to work in.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I have had certain lot numbers of thunderbolts that were more accurate and consistent than a lot of other ammo, and I have had lot numbers that were very bad.

 

[wally]

Then the next one does fire and a catastrophic case rupture happens which also clears the barrel obstruction.

If this was the situation there should be a "ring" in the barrel. I've had plenty of blown case rims with Remington .22lr ammo -- that and all the duds is why I quit buying it entirely.

I don't recall any blown rims with the Thunderbolt I had, but the leading I experienced could increase pressures if you failed to notice the total loss of accuracy and kept on shooting. I gave up on the Thunderbolts first, and all Remington .22lr a few months afterwards

 

[ford8nr]

I just had problems with REAL bad accuracy from a new box of Federal Auto Match shot out of two rifles. Emailed Federal customer service and they sent UPS to my house to pick them up for factory inspection and refunded me my purchase price +$ for the two boxes.

 

[il.bill]

When I worked at the S&W Shooting Sports Center, Thunderbolt was the only ammo we wouldn't allow in our guns: pistols revolvers or rifles.

Can you tell us the reason? For example, was it too many failures or problems with excess leading? Just curious, since that seems like a very firm stand for an industry leader's facility to take.

 

[TonyT]

I would not use Remington Thunderbolt ammo in revolvers unless you allowed the gun to cool after firing ca 25 rounds. I seriousy leaded a S&W K22 using that ammo. If you allowed the gun to cool between shot stings it proved to be reliable and accurate.

 

[Owen]

Quote:
Originally Posted by owen View Post
When I worked at the S&W Shooting Sports Center, Thunderbolt was the only ammo we wouldn't allow in our guns: pistols revolvers or rifles.
Can you tell us the reason? For example, was it too many failures or problems with excess leading? Just curious, since that seems like a very firm stand for an industry leader's facility to take.

It was filthy, and leaded terribly. It somebody shot Thunderbolt, we'd have to clean the gun as soon as they were done with it. It seemed like maybe 100-150 rounds of Thunderbold would be enough to cause M41s to start choking. Compared to the CCI and Federal we sold over the counter, we didn't generally have to clean for thousands and thousands of rounds.

And that doesn't even begin to cover the "your rental gun is crap because I'm having all these misfires! I'd never buy one of these!"

 

[donaldspark]

Thunderbolts are without a doubt the worse 22 ammo you can get , it was like that 10yrs ago , it is like that today.

 

[hexum77]

Wow thanks for all the replies guys!

The ammo was quite new; couldn't have been more than a few months old and stored in a dry, cool place. Here's a few photos of the ruptured rim

 

[C0untZer0]

My kids did an Appleseed shoot this summer.

I know you're supposed to use all the same ammo, but I was just scrounging at all the areas Walmarts every day to get .22LR ammo period.

So anyway I ended up with 2 boxes of Thunderbolts. They wouldn't feed in my kid's Marlins. We mangled 6 bullets in two Marlin 975s and then I set the Thunderbolt aside.

I had a lot of Winchester Super X fail to ignite. When we pulled the cartridge apart the primer was dry crystalline gunk.

Today we had a Winchester Super X faile to fire in a S&W Model 63, although it did fire and the second go-round

As much trouble as I had with Thunderbolts, the best ammo for my kid's rifle seemed to be the Remington Golden Bullets