.22 LR questions

[spirit4earth]

Hi! I just ordered my first .22----an M&P 22 compact. There seems to be a bit of a 22 ammo shortage around here, but I did pick up some Remington and Winchester to try. I won't get any large amounts until I know what pistol likes.
I'm wondering if you know some good places to order 22 online, and also, what do your M&P 22s like? I know CCI MiniMags are popular, but I haven't seen any around here yet.
Also, is the DeSantis holster the only one available for this gun?

Thanks for your input!

[29aholic]

Federal Auto Match bulk pack shoots pretty good in most of my guns and it is starting to come down in price.


Bullets.com or The Ammunition Store are good places to try.

[papalondog]

Academy Sports and Midway have sales on Mini-Mags periodically. If you hit it right you can get free shipping.

[Jim1392]

If you have a Gander Mountain near you they have Federal Auto Match & CCI AR Tactical online. You can have them shipped to the store for free and just pick them up.

[MajorD]

For best results even in plinker grade guns such as yours for best results avoid cheap bulk ammo which is notorious for inconsistent loads and highly variable quality control. My go to is mini mags for guns that need high velocity ammo and cci standard velocity for pistols that will run on it. While there are exceptions for best accuracy usually you are going to find standard not high velocity is going to be best. Most of the modern "combat trainer" type pistols will usually only run reliably with high velocity however

[Louchia]

I would suggest you stay away from Rem Thunderbold. They are very dirty and will lead up the barrel.
Most anything runs well through my M&P22.
Cabelas is another place that has a good selection of ammo. Prices are fair.

[tops]

Federal Auto Match 325 rds., $22.99, eligible for free shipping, Targetsports ammo. Larry

[Steve K]

I was out shooting my M&P 22 this afternoon. It liked everything I had: CCI SV, Remington White Box, Aquilla SV... I use a Blackhawk Serpa for all my M&Ps and it works well.

[Vigo]

I haven't had CCI Minimags in awhile, but they were good the last time I used them, which was a couple years ago.

I stocked up on CCI Standard Velocity back when Dick's Sporting Goods had it locally for $20 per brick. I am still using up that stock in my Savage 1919 NRA. I prefer the Standard Velocity - my experience has been that it's very accurate.

[spirit4earth]

Unfortunately I don't have a Cabela's, Academy, or Gander Mountain near me. I got Remington Goldens and Winchesters at Field & Stream, just to try them. I ordered some Mini Mag solids and some Mini Mag SVs from Cabela's. I hope we can get some good stuff locally. In the NC mountains, people strip the WalMart shelves quickly.
I'm going to try all of these and see how they do. I thought I'd have more ammo around with the 22 than the 9, but we actually have a lot more 9 available!

As for holsters, I only know about the DeSantis and the above-mentioned Serpa.

[spirit4earth]

What hollow point do you like to use?

[2ffat]

Since you are in NC, I would try Outdoor Limited. They frequently have sales so I would sign up for their newsletter. For example, this weekend they have Aguila 22LR Standard Velocity at $0.06/rds for 500rds.

[Ptarmigan]

You should always browse Academy.com online when you are looking for ammo, whether .22 or otherwise. They will ship ammo FREE for any order over $25. That is unheard of in the free world.

They don't sell all the ammo they carry online--it seems some of the very best deals are in the store only--but if you want to sample a variety of goods while you experiment with what your gun likes you can't beat that deal.

[spirit4earth]

I think I might make a road trip to Greenville, where I can check out an Academy and a Cabela's. Cabela's online didn't have horrible pricing, but shipping makes it add up. It was still cheaper than gas to Greenville. I'll drive down there just for fun and see what's in the stores.

[FifthWheel]

Originally Posted by tops

Federal Auto Match 325 rds., $22.99, eligible for free shipping, Targetsports ammo. Larry

Beat me to it. Also Dick's sporting goods has had some deals om this occasionally. Recently got some there for $17.95 last month.

[Ranger17]

i tend to get my ammo at Cabelas or Gander; i have both stores minutes away so the "free ship to store" is easy enough. Cabelas also has a tendency to have "$20 off $100" type sales and they dont exclude ammo so i can usually bundle up some .22 and 9mm to get what i need and save some coin as well. Both stores will have mini mags available at different times, and Cabelas will have free ship or $5 ship as well at times.

One other option is to get on Palmetto State Armory's email list. Normally their .22 can be high but they'll run Daily Deals where its at a reasonable cost and free ship with a few boxes ordered.
They recently had the Fed auto-match 325ct boxes for $19.99 and free ship with 5 boxes. They may not turn orders as fast as some other sites but it is an option to consider.

My Compact .22 has had 0 ammo issues, and I've ran different Federal and CCI thru it.

[spirit4earth]

I want to find a small box of Federal Auto-Match to try before I get 350. It's tempting, though, since it's a pretty good price.

Do most of you use CCI hollow point? The 36 gr?

[Ranger17]

Originally Posted by spirit4earth

I want to find a small box of Federal Auto-Match to try before I get 350. It's tempting, though, since it's a pretty good price.

Do most of you use CCI hollow point? The 36 gr?

i dont know if i have ever seen a smaller box of the auto-match (at least in my 4+ years in this hobby).

For me and the mini mags, i use both 36 and 40gn; whether packed as mini mags, the Troy Landry marketed packs, or even those under the 'AR Tactical' packs. While my Compact .22 has been fine on any ammo so far, my Buckmark is more picky and prefers mini mags. So those tend to be what i try to stick with on any purchase. But for my range plinking i dont see a real difference in the 36-40 gn versions.

[StakeOut]

I prefer the CCI AR Tachtical and Mini mags.

Gander just had $25 off a $100 purchase so I got more.

Almost every day I get an email from GM(Coventry Bank) about some kind of special sale since Black Friday.

[Old cop]

I've had my M&P .22C for about a year and it shoots any brand of 22LR you can stuff into the magazine. It's more accurate than I am and lots of fun at the range.

[revolver_ph]

My 22 revolvers and pistols like the Fed AutoMatch. Mass Ammo and Target Sports are good sources.

[spirit4earth]

Has anyone shot Eley?

[one eye joe]

Originally Posted by MajorD

For best results even in plinker grade guns such as yours for best results avoid cheap bulk ammo which is notorious for inconsistent loads and highly variable quality control. My go to is mini mags for guns that need high velocity ammo and cci standard velocity for pistols that will run on it. While there are exceptions for best accuracy usually you are going to find standard not high velocity is going to be best. Most of the modern "combat trainer" type pistols will usually only run reliably with high velocity however

I HAVE TO ROLL WITH Major D. MY AMMO OF CHOICE IS CCI MINI-MAGS. IT HAS BEEN VERY SCARCE, BUT IT CAN BE HAD ON GUN BROKER, FOR EXORBITANT PRICES. BE AWARE THAT CCI MINI-MAGS CAN BE HAD IN A 36 GR HOLLOW POINT, OR A 40 GR SOLID. THE 40 GR SOLIDS ARE THE HARDEST TO FIND. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE .22 LR HOLLOW POINTS DO NOT EXPAND, OUT OF A HANDGUN. THE MINI-MAGS ARE COPPER PLATED, AND SHOOT VERY CLEANLY......

CCI MAKES A "TACTICAL" .22LR, THAT APPEARS TO BE FASTER THAN THEIR STANDARD VELOCITY, 40 GR AMMO. I HAVE HAD NO EXPERIENCE WITH THAT LOAD. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GLEAN SOME INFO ABOUT IT ON YOU TUBE.....

I AM CURRENTLY AWAITING A SHIPMENT OF REMINGTON "GOLDEN BULLETS", WHICH ARE 40 GR, COPPER PLATED SOLIDS. THEY ARE READILY AVAILABLE, AND MORE REASONABLY PRICED. ALL OF THE REPORTS SPEAK VERY HIGHLY OF IT. A FRIEND OF MINE SHOOTS IT IN A S&W SEMI-AUTO (M22A), THAT PREVIOUSLY ONLY FUNCTIONED RELIABLY WITH 40 GR CCI MINI-MAGS.......

I PLAN TO TRY IT IN MY 8 3/8" M617, WITH AN "ULTRA DOT", RED DOT. THIS COMBO SHOOTS LIKE A RIFLE. IT IS AN EXCELLENT PLATFORM TO TEST THE ACCURACY OF AMMO. I HAVE NO INTEREST IN FIREARMS THAT ARE NOT ACCURATE, OR AMMO THAT DOES NOT WRING THE MAX OUT OF A WEAPON.......

IF THE GOLDEN BULLETS WORK OUT, THEY MAY BECOME MY NEW "GO TO" .22 LR ROUND.....

[GypsmJim]

CCI Mini-Mags have been my standard for 40 years. The current Federal bulk has been equally as good.

Winchester bulk is iffy, and please take heed to avoid ANYTHING that says remington on it.

[spirit4earth]

I decided to get the 22 before I replace the 9 that I had to sell a couple years ago. I figured the 22 would be cheaper to shoot, which it is, IF there's ammo. Last time I had my 9c, there was no 9mm ammo, now I have the 22, and there's 9mm all over, but no 22!

[flat_topp]

My M&P22 full size likes CCI minimags, CCI ar-tactical, and Aguila Super Extra. But, the pistol has had numerous malfunctions with Federal Automatch and Federal Champion (failures to feed, failures to extract), so I only use that stuff in my Ruger 10/22.

I've purchased 22LR online from MidwayUSA (a case of minimags were on backorder for 14 months!) and SGammo (Aguila is available off and on). The CCI ar-tactical will sometimes show up at the local Gander Mountain store.

[Salty RI]

Our local LGS sold nothing but CCI, the last few years with 22's hard to find I shot anything I could get my hands on, I like the Fed automatch, I bought some American Eagles and they shot great in all my 22's, but now they are hard to find, I can get all the CCI's I want now but can't find any American Eagles.

[RV4driver]

Some of my semi-autos don't like hollow points, but most of my guns don't care. Because of that, I try to get only round nose so I don't have to try to remember what guns don't like HP's. Target Sports has regular deals on bulk buys of .22, and their case prices include shipping.

[spirit4earth]

My CCI will get here tomorrow, but my pistol won't arrive at the LGS until Thursday. From all I've read online, it seems like I should break in the pistol with the CCI, then try the Remington and Winchester that I have. With shipping, the CCI wasn't a great deal from Cabela's, but still a lot cheaper than 9mm!

[hoc9sw]

My .22 compact runs great with CCI SV or mini-mags. I prefer the solid point, as I did have issues with the HP hanging on the feed ramps of some other 22s. The SV is also a little easier on the recoil spring.

The CCI AR tactical works great, and is solid point.

I have nothing but trouble with the recent production of the Federal automatch, and the more generic Federal & American Eagle. Winchester is equally bad.

As already mentioned, the Remington Thunderbolt is not the best stuff out there. At 100 rounds my barrels lead up so bad that lead comes out in threads when cleaned. It is really last-ditch stuff. I've had better luck with the Golden Bullet, but I still prefer CCI.

The money saved on the cheapest ammo just isn't worth the extra time to clean out the mess some of these leave.

[Brasky]

Cabelas has many flavors for $0.06 a round currently

[DWalt]

Originally Posted by 29aholic

Federal Auto Match bulk pack shoots pretty good in most of my guns and it is starting to come down in price.

At the local gun show weekend before last, one guy was selling that for $18 (bulk pack of 325 rounds) tax included, not much over a nickel per shot. I bought two boxes, would have taken more except I already have a healthy supply of .22 ammo.

[Dave_n]

Originally Posted by spirit4earth

Has anyone shot Eley?

That was all I used to shoot in 0.22 in the UK before I headed West in 1968. Still excellent ammo but expensive. If you are shooting competitively (using an M41, Pardini or similar), then worth it. For plinking, anything works. Dave_n

[TANKLEGACY]

I buy online...CCI and Aguila Super extra are my "go to's"....I can get the Aguilas cheaper, and they actually have more velocity and muzzle velocity than CCI's

I order 5 to 10,000 at a time online.

[swsig]

They're hard to find, but high velocity CCI Stingers are the most accurate .22lr rounds I've ever shot. Better even than Mini Mags.

[rlongclu]

Originally Posted by spirit4earth

I want to find a small box of Federal Auto-Match to try before I get 350. It's tempting, though, since it's a pretty good price.

Do most of you use CCI hollow point? The 36 gr?

FWIW I have put over 3000 rounds of Fed Auto Match through my M&P 22 compact without a single failure.

[spirit4earth]

Wow! You guys have done some serious shooting with your 22s! I get to pick mine up tomorrow, but I won't be able to shoot it until Monday. I can't wait!
I'm thinking about getting a Cook's trigger guard holster for it---kind of like a Raven Vanguard 2. I just want to have a holster option on hand if I need it.