As we all know, all 22LR ammo is not created equal. So, as a helpful guide for current and future owners of the 15-22 rifle, which brands and grade of ammo have you found that just simply does not work well in the 15-22?

cci minimags, Federal bulk work great from what ive read, and from what ive read, stay away from Remington bulk.

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

From personal experience, the Federal bulk works good. I have had Remington Golden Bullets (bulk) start out working good, but by the second or third magazine problems start to develop in feeding and ejection. Also, some Rem GBs just fail to go bang, regardless of how hard the primer is struck.

I had to polish the feed ramp to get unplated bullet's to feed. After that the only ammo with issue's is the Remington Golden's, most will not chamber at all.

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Stay safe people!

I've shot lots of Federal and CCI Blazer bulk pack with no problems. Also a 100 rds. or so of Winchester Super X ran fine. Have read in this, and other, forums that the Remington ammo doesn't shoot well in the 15-22.

I've had good results with:
CCI Standard Velocity
CCI Mini Mag
CCI Stinger
Winchester Super-X
Federal American Eagle
Federal Gameshock (bulk pack stuff)
Aguila Super Extra Standard Velocity (smells funny but shoots good)
Aguila SSS (you can feel the recoil on these. The bolt really slams back.)

What didn't run good:
Subsonic ammo. Tried Remington and Aguila. It doesn't have the energy to cycle the bolt.
CCI Shotshells. (No recoil to work the bolt, but they fed great as a straight pull bolt action.)
Remington Thunderbolt (lots of misfires, lightly loaded rounds, and feeding problems.)
Remington Target 22 and Golden Bullet didn't run that well either.
I did run a box of Remington Yellowjacket with no problems though.

Remington bulk ammo had a hard time cycling in mine.

Winchester wildcats seemed to cycle just fine.

Just order a brick of federal and i'll let ya know how that shoots.

I ran 5 mags of Remington Bulk through mine today and had about 15-20 that failed to feed, failed to fire, etc... Accuracy however was pretty good.

Ran a bore snake through it twice during these magazines with little improvement.

Switched over to CCI Mini Mags and ran 1 mag through without cleaning and without a single issue. 25 yds in a single hole about the size of a dime.

Ran the bore snake through it and then 1 mag of Federal Bulk again without a single issue and had the same accuracy as with the CCI.

I will just use the remaining Remington I have in my pistols and use the Federal and CCI in the M&P...

Hope Walmart gets both in stock again soon I am down to about 2,000 rounds and feel like I'm about out.

Bill

just ran 35rds through my 15-22, 25 Federal Bulk pack, and 10 Winchester SuperX SuperspeedRN High Velocity 1300fps. Ran flawless.

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

Both my Colt/Umarex and my M&P 15-22 choke constantly on anything Remington...

Like others said, stay away from Remington. I took out to mags today to sight in my 15-22, i had a mag full of Federal bulk pack, then another mag with 10-15rds of some old Remington ammo i had left, well, started out with the remicrap, first round fired, second went click...so i knew then what i had heard about remington was true, so i took that mag out, put in the full mag with the Federal ammo in it, ran flawless, as it always has since ive used it since i got my gun back.

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

I bought a box of the CCI minimags roundnose today at walmart for 7 bucks even. Loaded 10 or so in the mag for a quick test, shot them no problems at all.

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

I have had the same experiece with each.

I've had my Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22 for a couple weeks now but shot it for the first time a couple days ago and was a bit concerned because the only 22lr ammo that I had was Remington Gold bulk that everyone seems to be panning. I put 200+ rounds downrange without an issue and was very pleased. Perhaps it's not the ammo, I did fine with the Remington bulk.

I would hate to be forced to buy premium priced ammo because my rifle could not tolerate a certain (inexpensive) brand.

Glad your 15-22 tolerates the Remington GBs. Most of the problems I have with the Remington GBs is failure to go bang regardless of how many times the cartridge is struck by the firing pin. I do think there is some variation in different lots of the Remington. Some guns just refuse to feed or fire the GBs.

I've been running CCI through mine and not a single hiccup. The way I look at it, if I only run the expensive .22 ammo I am still hundreds of dollars ahead compared to shooting my .223 AR and the 22 ammo inventories are finally back in my area. I feel like I have been set free to shoot again.

CCI is the way to go!!

The CCI Mini Mag ran through my 15-22 w/o a problem. Federal bulk gold plated rds did ok, but not consistent. Std Remington, Winchester 22LR does not work well at all.

Will stay w/the CCI Mini Mag for consistentcy & accuracy. {:{)}

Only a couple boxes of each so far, but no issues with CCI MiniMags and Blazers at all, only 2 fail to feed with Federal Champions (stovepiped, worked fine on try #2). Remington Goldens are iffy in many guns, I quit using them. These were the first rounds through these particular magazines and they may smooth out with use. I want to try some of the weirder stuff, like Yellowjackets and the like, but I'm not holding my breath. CCI and Federal are common in my area.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! Semper Gumby كاف

Out of all the Federal bulk, cci Minimags and Winchester SuperX SuperSpeedRN ive used, no issues at all, all flawless. Only hicups ive had is with a couple rounds of Winchester Wildcats and when i tried some old remington ammo i had.

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

Howdy Beck, I shoot a lot of 22LR in my pistol and know what you are talking about. I get dud rounds once in a while with the Remington, but I also get duds with the Federal bulk. I've not had any other issues than that from either and it's not that big of a big deal to me. I'll keep buying the economical stuff for plinking around but for hunting of course I'll pick up the pricier and more dependable rounds. Nice rifle though, I'm pleased.

My first outing with my M&P 15-22 I started off with 100 rounds of CCI MiniMags which seem to be the gold standard of 22lr ammunition, Functioning was perfect. Next up was Federal 710s which was also flawless and the most accurate in my rifle. Then tried some Federal 550 bulk pack which was also flawless. So far in 2 range sessions I have yet had a failure of any type, I love this rifle. I even posted a YouTube video mixmatching ammo trying to get it to jam.

ive probally have seen it, but do you have a link to your youtube vid??

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Smth & Wesson M&P AR15-22

I had my first 2 FTF today with CCI mini-mags of all things. Mine loves the Winchester 333 red boxes.

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Let go...Let Gun

Was that failure to feed or fire?

Feed...I ususally refer to didn't fire as a misfire. I had one of those the other day but it was obviously the round, the firing pin put a nice dent, it was just a dud round. Even with the 2 FTF's today though I'm cool with it, its so cheap and fun to shoot. If you told me the zombies would be at my house somewhere around 4:30 this afternoon I wouldn't be reaching for the 15-22 anyways!!!

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Let go...Let Gun

Do many of you see the Winchester boxes I'm talking about? I think they are super x's...its a red bulk pack and it says 333 on it. My rifle loves em and they are really clean burning/accurate.

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Let go...Let Gun

No where near as common as Federals and CCI up here.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! Semper Gumby كاف

I have some but have not tried them in my 15-22 yet. I picked some up a couple of months ago at a WallyWorld. I have not seen them for sale there now for a while. As Mark said, Federal and CCI more common also in my area.

Mine doesn't like Remington Golden Bullet and Viper. It works great with all CCIs and Wolf.

remingon bulk--terrible remington thunderbolts--terrible federal bulk--almost perfect ( mostly failure to feed ) cci standard velocity---almost perfect ( mostly failure to feed ) My rifle is going back to smith. I can understand a few dud rds but I want this rifle perfect.

Has anyone tried Fiocchi ammo?

I'm beginning to wonder if the bulk boxes of any brand ammo have issues. I just got my 15-22 and started off using the federal bulk box as recommended by S&W. Stove pipes approx 10% of time. Switched to CCI Blazer bulk, same issue. Purchases CCI Mini Mags, in a box that protected each round a little better. No issues. To rule out a faulty mag. Tried all three in a friends 10-22. Stovepipes approx 1 - 5% of the time. Mini Mags - No issues. I know that Mini Mags have a little more power to cycle the bolt but this seems like more than just a coincidence. Needless to say, switching to the mini mags. If it starts to have issues again, I'm sending it into Smith for the Miracle Adjustments referenced here.

I have had my gun a little over 2 weeks now and found that CCI Blazer and Federal work great with less than 5% failure. Have not tried the Federal bulk pack yet. Tried Remington and had over 50% failure. Checked the manual that came with mine and discovered they tell you not to use Remington.

i just bought mine on the 25th, took it to the range yesterday for the first time. Tried out some Winchester X, Blazer, and CCI.
I had no issues with the cheap stuff, but out of a 50 pack, I had 2 fail to feeds with the CCI. The rounds stood straight up and took a beating. Looking to pick up a federal bulk tomorrow. I went through 250 of the Blazers with no issues. It seems to be a very consistant round.
I had heard a lot of people say the manual states to not use remington. I was kind of eager to see it mentioned, but my manual does not state it, but I will definitely be avoiding it.

I just got 2 boxes of the Winchester 333 and my rifle hates them. 9 misfires in one mag. one exploded out the port. they also caused my m&p 15 to "double tap". it runs flawless with cci stingers, mini mags, Federal 550 pack. Winchester HPs were good too, only very dirty.

Well over 1000 flawless rounds of Winchester "333" down the bore. Only recent failures to feed are all CCI.

Don't buy a lot of ammo until you find what your rifle "likes."



-- Chuck

My rifle had the same problem with the CCI's

I second that, dont put anything Remington in your gun.

My experience has been just the opposite!

Of course, nothing is as bad as the Remington Gold but the Winchester 555 did not perform (in my rifle) anywhere near 100%. I could actually hear the difference in some rounds of the 555- a couple to the point of breaking the rifle down to check the barrel for a stuck bullet.

So far, the Federal bulk has been very good. The CCI MiniMag has performed nearly flawlessly. I'm a little over 3,000 rounds now and my rifle has adopted my wife's philosophy--expensive is always better.

Chuck is right-find out what your rifle likes. If you've already bought a couple cases of MiniMags and your rifle doesn't like them, I'll make a cheap offer to help you out.

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Cogito, ergo armatus sum

Howdy a newbie repoting for duty. Have placed my 15-22 in layaway at Cabela's, and am waiting for my Discover Card Gift Certificates to arrive. Gun is costing me $15.00 plus tax. EEEhaw. Bought 2 boxes of Winchester Wildcat 22 HV to start with. Anyone know what the coating is on the bullet? Are these cartridges good, bad, or so-so? What's a good distance to start targets at? TIA

not sure what the coating is ? but they put a coating on the bullet so you dont get lead in the barrel as i know of?.

walmart had some tonight and i picked up 4 boxes to see how they will do. i will report back sunday.

Muzzle Velocity: 1255 fps Muzzle Energy: 140 ft. lbs.

here is a link i found testing all kinds of .22lr ammo

22 ammunition test


25-50yards is a good starting point.

i have shot all brands through mine flawlessly. Don't really care for the Remington ones cause all the gold (****) dust they have on them. But tried them just for a what the heck session at the range. it literally shoots any .22lr ammo i can feed it flawlessly.

Do not use Winchester 555 Hollowpoint. The length is just slightly too long and the HP is very blunt edged. It will cause FTL and stovepipe in the the M&P 15-22. Perhaps the round point version will work since it's a smooth and fairly clean round.

Hello all. I just picked up my M&P 15-22 today so I haven't had a chance to fire it yet but I saw this thread about ammo so I thought I'd post what my owners manual says about this.

I'll quote from the manual:
"Through our testing, Smith & Wesson has found that there are several brands and types of .22LR ammunition that do not perform consistently or reliably. Consequently, Smith & Wesson DOES NOT RECOMMEND that the following brands or types of .22LR ammunition be used in your M&P 15-22."

Remington Golden Bullet
Remington Target 22
Remington Thunderbolt
Winchester Wildcat
Any and all sub-sonic brands and types.

Also if you have the Performance Center Model it is equipped with a .22LR Lanley semi-auto match chamber which does not accommodate CCI Stinger brand ammunition. WARNING: Never use CCI .22LR Stinger brand ammunition in your M&P 15-22 Performance Center Model Rifle.

OK on to what they DO recommend.

"Based on the design and action of the M&P 15-22, Smith & Wesson recommends that you use the following brands and types of .22LR ammunition for optimal performance in your M&P 15-22 rifle".

CCI Standard Velocity
CCI Mini-Mag
Aguila Super Extra Std. Velocity
Aguila Super Extra High Velocity
Federal American Eagle
Federal GameShock
Winchester Super-X High Velocity

Sorry for the long post but I thought it might be a help to those wondering about what ammo to use.

I tried.

Federal American eagle

CCI mini mags

Blazers

And winchester 333 box.

All of them seem to work good except the Winchester. The bullet head it self is very loose on the casing so loose you can actually pull them out with you finger tips easily and the others wiggle around in the casing.

So far I only tried and had good results are Federal American Eagle and CCI Blazers.

CCI mini mags, and standard velocity---shoot great

Federal 550 bulk---shoots good, some duds.

winchester dynapoint 40 and 60 grain 500---shoots good, few duds

winchester 555 hollow point-----dont use. too blunt wont feed well, lots of duds. had a few lose the lead, not well made

winchester wildcat----dont use. spent and hour clearing lead out of my barrel. tons of duds.

remington golds---Crummy, messy, dud filled poo.

CCI mini mags or federal bulk, and you will do fine.

CCI for sharp shootin

federal for poking holes.

I have put about 1500 rounds thru mine since I got it last week. The ammo I've tried in order from best to worst: cci blazers
Federal american eagle
Aguila super extra std velocity
Cci mini mags
Winchester super X

Blazers american eagle and aguila shot perfect except for a few misfires. The mini mags have way too much wax on them. So bad I had to spend time peeling it off. I know they are coated but these were so thick with wax the tips were white and most wouldn't come out of the packaging box without force. After removing the extra wax they shot ok but did have some stovepipes and ftfeed. Super x was horrible. Constant stovepipes and some rounds didn't have any powder. I could hear a very small bang and had to check the barrel to see if the bullet made it out.
I am glad mine likes the blazers and the fed american eagle. They are the less expensive rounds and work flawlessly In my new 15-22 serial # DVP5XXX

So far i've put probably just under a thousand rounds through my new SW 15-22...btw this is my first post, i'll putting up a thread right after this about my new "toy" but this ties in well one of the pics i wanted to post!

First 550 were the standard Federal bulk ammo. Had maybe 2 FTF's and they occurred in one of the last mags where i was trying out a few quick double taps. Reloaded both and they fired fine.

Next up was a box of 333 winchester hollowpoints. Had only 1 ftf and it was a dud (perfect indent from the pin). Since then i've been using the same winchester 333 boxes with the exception of trying some CCI shorts and stingers... Definitely will not load shorts as expected! Had to try tho haha. Fires fine when inserted by hand but not enough juice to work the bolt.

I was incredibily amazed/disappointed with the CCI Stingers tho !! I honestly COULD NOT believe how bad they fired out of this gun. Been back home in Missouri for the last 2 weeks and we've had a "case" of stingers (10 boxes of 50) sitting around for a few years and never shot'em much... Literally these things were as inaccurate in this gun as i've ever seen ANY ammo perform before. No i don't have the performance model, don't know if it's the rifling or what but i'd be more confident with a handloaded CB cap than using this **** again...

Here's an example of what i'm talking about... Shooting off the hood of my car at 70 yds. Had the same thing happen with 5 rounds a few days ago but had to try again.


(The two "groups" on the left, if you can call them that were the stingers. Top right Winchester 333 HP)

Btw, quick comment of the rounds that did work...

The Win's i've been using seem to be waaay cleaner shooting than the Fed bulk? Get some weird reports tho every 20 or so rounds... Definitely not target grade but they're great for cheap reliable plinkers.