I found this post in another forum and found it very interesting.

"...All 22 Short, 22 Long, and 22 LR ammo use very soft ... almost pure lead in their bullets (BHN5). This is necessary to force bullets to expand (obturate) in the bore to get a good seal. Without a good bullet-to-bore seal, pressure is lost when it "blows by" the bullet. Not only does this reduce velocity, it also causes the bullet to melt a little on the circumference and turn to lead vapor. Some of the lead vapor remains in the bore, solidifies, and collects in the bore's striations causing "lead fouling". As fouling builds up with each round fired, accuracy gets continuously worse.

With "bare lead" bullets, a heavy wax like lubricant was used on the bullets to prevent fouling. This works great in all types of 22 rifles and handguns except "blow-back" action semi-autos where some of the wax mixes with powder residue and is blown back into the action, which causes malfunctions. Wax lubricants were used since 22 rimfires were invented and are still used by some manufacturers. Wax lubricants have one serious disadvantage ... it melts when exposed to heat or rubs off the bullet when handled. The biggest improvement in 22 rimfire ammo was a technique called "washing" which is very similar to plating but results in a much thinner brass or copper coating on the bullet. All 22 rimfire lead bullet you see that are brass or copper colored use the "wash" process. Some look dull and some have a heavier coating making them look shiny. Copper or brass washed lead bullets are still very soft so they will obturate but because the thin coating is harder than lead, it tends to control fouling better in the bore. Many ammo companies use a dry powder lubricant or light wax lubricant on their washed bullets to reduce fouling even more. The down side to washed bullet is the plating actually adds weight to the bullet and because the wash process is far from perfect, there can be a notable difference in weight with bullets in the same box of ammo.

Traditionally, standard production 22 rimfire barrels often have rough bores with lots of striation marks (scratches from the machining process). As each round is fired, these striation marks work like a file and remove a little of the bullet's circumference. After several shots, the striation marks fill in with copper or brass coating, leaving a nice smooth surface that enhances accuracy. Many people will fire a half dozen fouling shots from a clean bore to "condition" it before competing or sighting in a scope. If the bore has excessive striation marks, fouling will build up, even with washed bullets and are especially bad with "bare lead" bullets.

Nearly all "match grade" 22 LR ammo uses traditional bare lead bullets with a light lubricant and are loaded to standard velocities (1140 fps in a rifle) and use 40 gr bullets. Using bare lead allows the manufacturer to keep the bullet weights exceptionally uniform, which keeps muzzle velocity more uniform, and in turn makes accuracy better. You would think this very expensive ammo would shoot better than non-match grade ammo but that is rarely the case with standard production 22s. Match grade 22 rifle, pistol, and revolver barrels have polished bores. If you inspect the bore on a clean match grade barrel, you will not see any striation marks ... just a very shiny surface that looks like it was chrome. So when you shoot bare lead match grade ammo in a match grade barrel, there are no striation marks to cause fouling.

So here's my recommendations: if you have a standard production 22 LR rifle, pistol, or revolver ... you will likely get your best accuracy and minimal fouling with copper or brass washed bullets. If you have a match grade barrel, your best accuracy will be with match grade "bare lead" ammo. Bare lead non-match grade ammo such as Federal Champions, Remington Thunderbolts, or Winchester Wildcats are not recommended in newer guns with low round counts unless the bore has been lapped and polished. After a 22 has been fired thousands of rounds and has been cleaned frequently, striation marks eventually wear thinner and don't foul as much so bare lead bullets may work OK. Don't waste your money on match grade ammo if you have a standard production barrel.


The "normal" ammo stocked by most stores is "high velocity", which is available with several different bullet weights ranging from 32gr to 50gr with 40gr solid points or 36gr hollow points being the most common. HV ammo with 40 gr bullets are rated at 1255 fps from a rifle barrel. Stores that maintain a large inventory of ammo usually stock "standard velocity"(ie CCI Green Tag), which are rated 100 fps slower than HV ammo. Nearly all "match grade" ammo is also "standard velocity" and with rare exceptions, are only available with 40 gr bullets. Hyper velocity ammo uses lighter weight bullets, typically from 26gr to 32 gr and can reach velocities as high as 1650 fps (CCI Stingers).

Gun manufactures such as Ruger, design their 22 LR rifles, revolvers, and pistols around "high velocity" ammo .... specifically with copper or brass washed bullets. As such, they don't waste any time polishing the bore and they use recoil springs in semi-autos that are designed for the thrust of HV ammo. It is not unusual for semi-autos to malfunction with "standard velocity" (or match grade) ammo because the weaker ammo does not develop enough thrust to cycle the slide or bolt. It's also very common to see match grade barrels with tight chambers intended for match grade ammo with .221" bullets. The standard for 22 LR HV bullet diameter is .222~.223" or .221" for match grade, however it is not uncommon to to find bullets as fat as .224". Bore diameters in standard production rifles and handguns is .221~.223" whereas match grade bores are usually .221". One notable exception is a Ruger Single-Six where bore diameters are .224" to accommodate 22 Mag ammo with .224" jacketed bullets. Further, the long accepted barrel twist rate for 22 LR pistols, revolvers, and rifles is 1:16 and was geared for 40 gr HV bullets.

Because there can be a couple thousandths difference in bore diameter and chamber diameter from gun to gun and bullet diameters can vary from brand to brand and even lot to lot, it becomes quite a challenge to find ammo that best matches bore diameter to bullet diameter for optimum accuracy and chamber diameter for best function. This is why you frequently see comments like "22s are ammo fussy" and it is very true. Using a bullet that is too fat will often result in failures to feed plus they are more likely to foul an undersized bore. Under sized bullets will feed better but because they don't get a good seal in the bore, they will also foul the bore and won't be as accurate.

Just for grins, I measured several of my 22s and here are the results:

10/22 Carbine, made in '74; .222" bore, .225" chamber
10/22 TD, made in 2012; .222" bore, .225" chamber
10/22 DSP, .223" bore; .225" chamber
10/22 with Green Mountain match grade barrel; .221" bore, .223" chamber

MK III Slabside Competition; .222" bore, .224" chamber
MKK III Target Bull; .222" bore, ,225" chamber.

S&W Mod 18 revolver; .221" bore, .223" chamber, .224" throats
S&W Mod 17 revolver; .221" bore, .223" chamber, .224" throats
S&W Mod 41 pistol; .221" bore, .223" chamber

Ruger OM RSS5 Single-Six (22 LR only); .222" bore, .224" chamber, .224" throats
Ruger NM Single-Six (22 LR/22 Mag); .224" bore, .224" chamber (22 LR), .224" throats

Savage Mark II Target rifle; .223" chamber, .222" bore
CZ 452-E2 rifle; .223" chamber, .221' bore
Marlin 39A rifle (micro groove rifling); .224" chamber, .223" bore

As you can see, there is quite a variation in this small sample. For the rifles and handguns with .221" bores, match grade ammo shoots best. For all others, CCI Mini-Mags seem to shoot quite well and cheap Federal bulkpack 22s are great for plinking. Years ago I went on a quest to find the most accurate ammo for each of my 22s. It didn't take long to give up because I would need a lot of different ammo and since then, I have accumulated even more 22s."

The original post was on a Ruger Forum and the poster's name was "IOWEGAN". I saw he was a retired gunsmith and he may be a member here as well. His post answered a lot of questions for me and I thought members of this forum might like to read it as well.

-Dave

The original poster uses generalizations as fact, never a good idea.

The OP is wrong on match grade ammunition. The vast majority of rifles shoot best with match grade ammo although there are exceptions.

Remington first introduced the high velocity long rifle loading in 1930. Maybe newly designed firearms are designed around that loading, but that was not always the case.

Other than that, it is informative.

As well, all barrels have "striations" due to whatever rifling process. As well, steel is porous. Finally, bore condition is NO indicator of how well a gun will shoot. Some rifles have rough bores and are "hummers" while others are smoother & shoot like a musket. As the late Clyde Hart of Hart Barrels said: great rifle barrels are "found" and not "made", or else all the barrel makers would win all the matches.

"IOWEGAN" is a member of many forums, including this one, and also a fellow SWCA member. He is also a gunsmith and knows his stuff.

I have found that my Ruger, Kimber and Mossberg rifles do quite well with CCI minimags but my "ammo budget" doesn't. S&W M41 (2), M17 / 617 (3), and Ruger MK II (2) shoot CCI Blazer better at 50 yards than the rifles did with MiniMags @ 50 yards.

When the MiniMags ran out, I switched to CCI Blazers as my standard 22 LR ammo and never looked back. I maybe a lone voice in the wilderness, but am very happy with group size and cost of ammo.

__________________
S&WHF 366

Geeez.......whatever happened to click....bang 500 or 600 rounds. Then clean your gun?

^^^^^ Attention to detail or the pursuit of perfection. My results tend more towards "Close Enough".

__________________
S&WHF 366

Very interesting post. Normally when I see a LONG post I skip it. Thanks for reposting.

That's been my experience, as well. I've always read that the stuff is not very good, but I've had great results with Blazer. Across my various .22s (a lot of .22s...), it is consistently the most accurate of the 'bulk-type .22 ammo, and definitely more accurate than the mini mags.

If I'm looking for excellent accuracy I use my stash of Wolf .22. In benchrest .22 rifle competitions I use Eley Tennex, but the Wolf is really just about as accurate for me, sometimes a little more prone to a flier, depends on the lot.

Also, OP, thanks for the post, very interesting/useful information!

__________________
NRA Life Member

I've heard of this mythical 22 long rifle ammunition of which you speak, but it's been many moons since I've seen any in the wild.

Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

I have found that some .22's can be ammo picky. Just figured it was the nature of the beast. Interesting, Food for thought.

Numerous articles in "Precision Shooting" have indicated that some of the fussiness in 22s for a particular brand and lot# of 22LR ammo can be cured with a barrel tuner. At least this is claimed to be true for the 22 rimfire benchrest rifle. Tuners may also work with sporters.

Very interesting and informative post.
I've found that Wolf .22 match and CCI Std. Vel. are the most accurate in my guns. The Wolf sure smells funny, though.
It's not at all unusual for std. vel. to be more accurate for target shooting, in target guns. In target shooting you're hoping for accuracy over take-down ability. Faster isn't always better. As always, matching the ammo to the barrel is the best way to accuracy.

__________________
Fight socialism. Never stop.

I've often wondered how much of the "ammo picky" stories can be traced to cleaning habits. Everybody seems to enjoy bragging that they clean their .22s every Feb 29th whether it needs it or not. I can see where crudded up extractors & firing pins can cause problems. I keep my .22s very clean & oiled & have experienced none of the problems many people report with Remington bulk ammo. In fact it's one of the most accurate in my 10/22 and one of the few bulks that reliably cycles my wife's Mosquito.

I have, however, quit using a brush in my .22 bores. Solvent patch , dry patch, oily patch & that's it.

I've read that the different lubes can cause accuracy problems when switching ammo brands in mid session. Wouldn't know for sure.


SSSHHHH! The stuff is hard enough to find now without telling everybody else about it!

It has long been known that 22's are very ammo specific/picky. I always take at least 10 types of 22 LR ammo with me to the range whenever I am trying out a new to me 22.

I clean my guns as well as anyone does (and not once every four years), and the Remington bulk ammo that has been sold ever since the original obummer scare happened, functions quite poorly in every 22 rifle and handgun I own except one, and that's quite a few of them, and I own them in all action types. My neighbor I shoot with and one of his old retiree friends also own quite a few 22's, and they are having the same issues. We get far, far more misfires with it than with any other brand/type now. The stuff sold in actual bricks, including the Remington Golden stuff (when you can find it), works quite well though.

A lot of guys don't like Cyclone or Thunderbolt ammo. Thunderbolts don't shoot well in any of my guns, yet Cyclones are scary accurate in all of them, especially considering that they are basically plinking ammo. Go figure. Cyclones average right at 1/2" at 50 yards for 10 shots from my Remington 541T with the std barrel. Sometimes they go well under that for 10.

The International Union for Conservation of Shooting just labeled 22LR as extinct in the wild in California. In the rest of the US it's largely critically endangered except in a very few areas where the population has recovered to endangered status.

My modest captive population of 7k however is dwindling fast, has anyone figured out how to get them to procreate? Scented candles? Mavin Gaye? Gun Pr0n?

just for grins and giggles I took my BSA martini 12/15 to the range with 4 types of ammo. Russian brass cased "Junior", Winchester T22, Remington and CCI green tag. Plan was to shoot 30 rounds at each target and the winner would be the smallest group. And the martini was equipped with target sights. Well shot off all 120 rounds (a small fortune today) and the winner was the Russian brass cased "Junior" The reason I say brass cased is that at that time they did make a steel cased "Junior as well. Not really a scientific test but was kinda suprised that the CCI Green Tag didn't do any better than it did. That old martini which I paid a whopping $125 for shot better than many of the higher priced rifles at the range. Other shooters would shoot theirs and I'd invite them to shoot the martini. Think I made a few converts that day. Still got her after almost 20 years. Frank

IMO. High velocity means less accuracy. A .22lr will almost always shoot with more consistency using ammo that is sub sonic for the very reason that it doesn't break the sound barrier. I shoot factory class Bench rest with a modified CZ 453. Bedded, free floated. trigger at 3.8 oz's. 11 degree crown and so on. It's shoots best with Eley (black box) match. I have to try a sample from several machines.There are 6 of them with varying velocities for each. I then weed out which is more consistent and buy all I can. We shoot at 50 yards from the bench.
Our 10 rings are the size of a pencil eraser. That's,"minute of Chipmunk eye" every time. There are 25 bulls per card with a possible perfect score of 250. You shoot 2 cards. If you don't shoot a 247 or above for each card, your not even in the running. Those who have attempted to compete with high velocity ammo soon learn, it doesn't cut it no matter what it is.

Given that .22LR is mass-produced, it comes as no surprise that there are wide variations in manufacture, performance, etc. For 99% of uses -- recreational and target shooting -- bulk ammo does the job. I can put up with stovepipes and jams now and then rather than pay much more for so-called "match ammo." I don't notice much of a difference in groups except when using standard/subsonic vs. high-velocity. The latter, in my 10-22 and other rifles, is more accurate in my opinion. But these days I shoot whatever I can find as long as it's reasonably priced.

I've been using Remington and Winchester bulk ammo for plinking cans and whatnot with my Rugers and it seems to work fine and the accuracy is ok.CCI sv definitely groups better and that's all I use in my old Remington.Someday I'll buy some of the good stuff and give it a try.A little Ruger off hand at 50 yards is a hoot :-)

re: 12/15 Martini: I had one of those fine single shots and loved it. Somehow a buddy talked me out of it....slicked it up just a tinsy bit and claim 1/4 MOA in his precision bench rest matches....freaking out his multi$$$ modern bolt-action friends.

Cleaning:
I've found it works best for my hand guns to brush out the chamber now & then and at least chip the hard crust off the extractor/firing pin area.

My early enthusiasm for a 617 was suddenly jolted into a different gear, when trouble arose in closing the cylinder. Bit by bit it got harder & then imossible to close the crane.

Not only professing befuddlement but demonstrating shear ig'nance......I was shocked, shocked I tell you....to discover that after only a mere 3 or 5000 rounds unbeknownst to the clueless operator.....that crud/debris/hard crusty stuff had accumulate so heavily an actual accretion horn had developed, like a heel spur, on the crane rod/frame junction.

[Sound of one hand smacking forehead]...DUMMY!

Yes, all issues resolved including difficult loading etc.
What it was, was the exuberance of actually having run thru an extraordinary stash of 22LR fodder without stopping to clean.

The bore on the other hand, appears...well....boring.....no debris visualized.

__________________
Dum vivimus Vivamas

However, Iomegan is not a myth. He exists.

__________________
NFA CSSA CCFR (Canada), NRA

I also ran into difficulties to close the cylinder.
But it happened overnight.
Trying to narrow it down, I took the cylinder off the handgun and off the crane and placed it manually where it should go. Positioned this way, it would fire (I mean pull the trigger on snap-caps) twice and was unable to even cock the hammer for a third shot.

I sent it off to one of two S&W recognized warranty/repair centres in Canada. Still waiting to hear back from them.

__________________
NFA CSSA CCFR (Canada), NRA

I have always gathered what ever stock of 22LR I had on hand, my sand bags & bench tested every new gun I acquired. This very thought provoking discussion of 22LR ammunition may not be definitive but is a good place to start.
Yes, 22LR is one of the last hold overs for what was once he common "external lubricated" bullet types. It is wise to remember this.
I was lead to this post while investigating feed issues on a 22 cal pocket semi-auto. It had been a while since I dealt with this but I am going to change my policy. I am going to only use washed bullets in my semi-autos... I'll continue to accuracy test from the bench.

__________________
NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs