Just found a box (325) of Federal Target Ammo. What is the difference between Target and regular ammo? I noticed they are not copper plated looks like a lead bullet? Is that true? Is there more wear because not copper plated?

No additional wear, I've never seen a .22 worn out from shooting....I've put well over 20K through a Ruger 22/45 and there was no visual wear in the bore. The trigger was loose and you could see where the bolt kept hammering forward but it still shot great groups.


The only way I know of to completely ruin a rimfire is by dry firing it or having it rust....you're never going to shoot it out.

One other way to ruin a 22RF barrel is frequent and improper cleaning, induced cleaning rod wear. I doubt you could live long enough to shoot enough 22RFs to wear out a barrel, but it does not take that long to do it through improper cleaning practices.

Are these the Federal Lightning 40gr? I bought some of these at my local WalMart not too long ago. It's what was available at the time. I haven't had the chance to use them yet. I usually shoot the Federal 550 bulk packs, which are 36 grain copper plated HPs.

yes, those are the ones from walmart

They cycle through my 15 22 with slide fire just fine. I did have a couple duds in a 325 round box though.

Federal Target or Match ammo is not the same as their Bulk Pack ammo. For starters, Target ammo will have a more consistent casing rim thickness, more consistent bullet shaping, and will be sub-sonic in the 1070 fps range. Fed Bulk will be just that - bulk ammo. Probably a little of the stuff that didn't make the cut as far as "quality" ammo is concerned. And Bulk is going to be high velocity in the 1250 fps range, generally speaking. Federal Bulk does seem to be the front-runner in bulk ammo for the 15-22 for most people in terms of accuracy. Federal Target would probably give you even more consistent shot patterns, but will be more expensive. And it may not cycle your rifle, that's something you'll have to try for yourself. I've not had any issues with CCI subsonic in my rifle, FWIW. But these days, ammo is ammo, so if it's available and you're willing to purchase then go for it.

fwiw, I've put a few bulk packs of Federal Automatch 22LR through my 15-22 without issue. Pretty accurate too.

Thr bulk Federal automatch runs great through my 15-22 as well!