CCI 22 Standard Velocity

I have been shooting CCI SV through my 617-6 pretty much exclusively after trying numerous manufacturers offerings to see what worked best in that gun. I settled on the CCI Standard Velocity .22 in large part because they always go off when I pull the trigger and they are a good deal more accurate than I am.

So my log book said I had a bit more than 16,000 rounds through the gun when it all of a sudden began to extract really hard - but it would be fine for the first 20 or 30 rounds and then by the time I got to 100 rounds in a session, I had to use a piece of wood or the edge of the shooting table to push on the extractor rod or else I was afraid I would just punch a hole through my palm.

All the usual fixes were attempted - scrubbing chambers with every kind of gun safe solvent I could think of. I couldn't see any issues with any of the chambers, so at the end of the day I was pretty sure it wasn't the gun. So I tried with Federal cartridges and there was zero problem with extraction.

Contacted CCI via their web site and explained the problem. They wanted the lot number (B25ZA02) - when I gave it to them, they said that their tests during manufacturing had indicated no extraction issues and they had received no complaints about them since that run of ammo (about a year ago). So I explained that the only ammo I had that was being hard to extract was THIS lot of CCI ammo, they asked me to send a couple hundred rounds to them for testing and they sent me a TAG so that UPS could pick them up at their expense.

I heard back from them today with this:

"Your ammunition was tested and the cause for your issue we found is excessive wax that goes further up the casing than specification will allow and with this we see an issue with extraction in a revolver much like you are seeing and we want to get the remainder of this lot back and have it replaced for you. With that I am sending a call tag the same as before. I am sending a Call Tag to have a UPS driver come and pick this up to bring it back here for replacement. "

So I boxed up the 3250 that I had left from that lot and it is sitting here waiting for UPS to come by and pick it up.

Truthfully, I never saw any issue with the wax coating and I still can't see anything on the ammo before I boxed it up. Very glad that they are taking care of this as it was pretty unpleasant to use - not to mention that pushing that hard on the extractor rod can't be a great thing to do over the long term.

Edit to add:

They sent me new ammo to replace the lot number that was bad - they did not replace the 200 rounds of ammo that I sent in for testing, but I guess that is a relatively small price to pay to get the replacement ammo -

Well, that's pretty great service. Sorry you had the issue, but I sure appreciate your having taken the time to tell the rest of us about it.

Within it's price category, CCI SV remains better than most of the other ammos with regard to functioning, firing, and accuracy. After shooting several cases of this stuff over a long time, I've had one round that wouldn't fire on the first pull of the trigger. That's been in the last few months and it was quite a surprise.

I quickly tired of the real cheap stuff that doesn't fire regularly, doesn't properly function an action, and is inaccurate. It's a waste of money regardless of how cheap it is.

Staying in its price class, CCI SV won't provide the best accuracy in every gun, but, from an overall perspective, it will give good to excellent accuracy in a greater cross section of guns than will its competitors. I'm speaking here of out-of-the-box, unmolested, good quality .22s, not match guns.

PASS ALONG

Will pass this along to a group of range buddies who use this stuff. I dont myself but good info to pass along to those that do-- I assume they fixed the problem?? THANKS

Interesting post.
I had trouble loading another brand. Only bought a box of 50 and they are gone. Maybe that's what was wrong.

I think I have 5000 or 6000 rounds of the CCI SV ammo left but it was bought many years ago. I agree, it's some of the best 22lr ammo in it's price range available today.

Thanks for the post. That's good info for everybody else. It's too bad you have to hassle with that, but it sounds like everything will work out ok for you.

Over the last Decade or so when I gave up buying Remington & Winchester ammo, I have been using CCI Rimfire almost exclusively in my rifles, pistols and revolvers. I mainly use the standard velocity 40 grain and their 40 grain Mini-mags but on occasion I will shoot Shorts, CB's and Velocitors.

Federal and American Eagle rimfire are also excellent and almost just as reliable however I find the CCI brand to be a bit more accurate. Now that the prices have dropped substantially, CCI is all I'll buy.

Up until about 2 years ago, I don't recall ever having a CCI "Dud", but I have had 2 or 3 since that time. So while there record is no longer perfect for me, it is far and away still the most reliable, most accurate and most consistent grouping Rimfire ammo I have ever used.

In my CZ 453 American (Mini-mag CCI) and S&W M41 (Std. Vel. CCI), I have way better accuracy than any of the Eley ammo I've tried. While many (probably most) have great luck with Eley, the 6 different variations I have don't perform well at all. For me, CCI is the Cat's Meow!!!!

Thanks for posting about this. CCI SV is my "go-to" ammo. I buy it by the case. Two anomalies: My Model 41 won't function with it - Eley is trouble free. My Model 17 suffers hard extraction with CCI SV, just like you did. It has never liked it, no matter what lot I've used. So I shoot SK standard in the 17 without issue. I'm not about to ream the charge holes like some folks have done. I just have accepted that CCI SV is a good, low cost ammo that works in most, but not all, guns.

Some competitive shooters I know will wipe the wax off the CCI rounds for using in semi auto's. I don't wipe it and not had an alibi malfunction in the last several years I have been using it.

I use my 617-6 in competition and I've noticed with certain brands such as Aguila super extra, the cases will stick after firing and be very difficult to extract after a couple cylinders. But they work beautifully in my semi autos...

The only ammunition I use in my Ruger Standard Model is the CCI SV, mainly because it is the only brand I have tried which gives 100% reliabile functionality. Regarding grouping, it doesn't seem to be much different from any other brand.

I have some CCI SV left from a few years ago...great ammo. lately been shooting some AGUILA SV with good success also

I have a couple thousand rounds of CCI Stv that I bought mainly to use
for plinking ammo in m41 but have used it in 17s,18s and 34s with no
problems. Any more it seems CCI is the most dependable RF ammo in any
of their line.

Now days money's tight & I shoot CCI SV in my Bullseye 22's . I also don't shoot as well as I use to either , but it's not an ammo issue just getting old . If I'm having a good day I can still clean a 50yd slow fire target , X count aint as high . So I shoot what I can afford CCI SV , Wolf MT or SK std , Eley Club or Target when I catch them on sale . The 10 or 12 extra points that better ammo would give still aint gonna win me a match now days . Aguila SV or Golden Eagle while accurate is also inconsistent in powder charges though even cheaper than others above it aint worth the aggravation . Once shot a 50yd 10X with it though in a 41 after I relined it , fixed the extractor & trigger . It too aggravated me & it found a new home . So wipe the excess wax off or buy other ammo .

Way back in the late 1960s I coached a junior rifle team for about three years, and we won a lot of matches. I found that CCI SV was pretty good stuff to use for that level of competition. I tried out several other brands, Remington and Federal, but the kids seemed to do a little better with the CCI SV. The boxes looked a lot different back then, cardboard, not plastic. I think I still have a brick of that old CCI SV somewhere.

The plastic pack of 100 shoots better for me than the paper pack of 50 . Haven't seen the plastic pack for sale for some time though .

I use CCI SV in a 41 and also in a 17. Excellent ammo. Dave_n

There is always one guy at the local gun show who sells CCA SV for $30/brick OTD. Not bad for quality ammo.

A brick of the old CCI SV ammo from the 1960s I mentioned above:

Perhaps off-topic; CCI is offering attractive rebates on their ammo. SG Ammo has CCI SV for $219.50/5k. The CCI rebate amounts to 20% off which takes you down to 3.5 cents per round.