I recently became the owner of a Model 17-2 and in my recent range trip tried various types of ammo including CCI-SV, Mini-Mags, Aguila HV, Blazer and SK Flat Nose. At 15 yards they all will group at about 1" for me from a rest. I can't wear my regular bifocals cause I can't get a crisp sight focus so I wear readers to focus on the sights and that leaves the target a little blurry.
Regardless of that issue, my question is about match ammo versus "regular" ammo in a 22LR revolver......since a revolver barrel does not have a "match chamber" like a semi-auto pistol does, is it a waste of money to buy match ammo for a revolver?
I know match ammo has better quality control and therefore is more reliable and consistent but would there be a difference in mechanical accuracy ?

Get a box and try it over a good rest and see if your gun favors that or not.

Randy

Try a variety of ammos and shoot benchrested groups at 25 yards. You'll quickly separate accurate ammo from poor ammo; very difficult to do this at fifteen yards where everything shoots well.

And growr hit my point: each .22 is a law into itself and likes what it likes. Experiment!
That said, the pricey match stuff I buy (I've got a few dozens of types of .22 ammo) generally perform better than the bulk stuff.

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How God has blessed us!

Well, the answer is…….yes and no. 😁
.22lr firearms can be fussy. As a rule the higher priced .22’s will shoot better than CCI-SV. But not always and different brands of the “good stuff” will shoot real well in one gun but not the other.
Rimfire benchrest shooters spend a lot of money finding just the right ammo for their rifles, then order a case of it.
If your shooting at 50’ bullseye match with a pistol only you can decide if the extra cost over a season is worth the extra $$.

I can't speak authoritatively to .22 handguns, but my belief is that unless you are already an Olympic-level competitive pistol shooter, it's not worth the cost of using match-grade ammo.

Some (many) years ago I did a fairly thorough test of grouping performance (10-shot groups) of a large number of brands and grades of .22 LR ammo using my Winchester 52B at 25 yards using my Unertl 10X target scope from a bench rest. The ammunition included several match-grade brands such as Eley and Western. At that time, I found that plain CCI and Remington SV were the winners, and even the bulk-pack Federal and Remington stuff wasn't too far behind. Nothing I tried could be called terrible. Results could easily have been different had I used a different rifle, but the Model 52B is the best I have.

You just have to find out which works best for you and your pistol.

Something I always throw out. If you REALLY want to know how well your gun and ammo shoot, you are wasting your time and money if you fire groups of fewer than 10 rounds. And fire at least five such groups.

Are you shooting matches where money is on the line for the winner? If so, then yes, it is probably worthwhile. Or are you just shooting soda cans and clay birds set up on the berm with the kids? For this activity, no, not worth the extra cost.

Every time I get a new 22 rifle I test it with a variety of ammo. Last year I bought a Thompson center clone of a Ruger 10/22 with carbon fiber barrel, decent 3x12 scope and to my surprise the best groups came from cheap Walmart bulk pack Federal. It consistently shoots sub MOA groups with it. I’m testing at 50 yards and getting groups on average of .35”.

I have a precision Ruger 22WMR and Hornady VMax is distinctly better than any other brand or bullet also shooting sub MOA at 100 yds. All on a totally calm day of course.

I think it comes down to no two barrels are the same. To me finding that magic combination is part of the fun.

Want a ammo “ fussy”pistol, try a Hi Standard Supermatic Citation.

And to show that "you just never know", I had a Remington 581 that favored CCI Blazers over anything else.

I tried about a dozen types of ammo in my scoped Ruger MK II. Yes, CCI Pistol Match was about the most accurate, group average of 0.46” at 25 yds. But Federal Auto Match shot 0.75” at about 1/6 the cost, which was good enough for me. I suggest you try several brands and see if you prefer accuracy over cost.

With a 6" revolver and iron sights..........
good luck with 25 yard accuracy, let alone 50 yard hope & pray shots.

I only had a Ruger .22 & Mag when I was young and it took a lot of ammo
and practice to get almost good with it.

Past 25 yards the Magnums were my go to load but they cost a lot for a kid tossing newspapers
so I shot a lot more super-X long rifle back in those days.

Today I like the Federal standard grade and the cci 40gr sub-sonic for tight groups.

I have a Ruger 10/22 and American Rimfire and they shoot great with
CCI-SV, Aguila and Blazer. Higher velocity stuff like Mini-mags or Velocitors are not as accurate. I figure since they are not precision rifles with match chambers and I don't compete with them I don't need high dollar ammo.

Good summary, .22 ammo shoots differently from different guns/barrels, it’s a trial and error effort. That said, I’ve found some brands shoot consistently better than others in a variety of .22 guns. And, the awesome thing is when you find that .22 that loves a particular inexpensive.22 ammo!

I used to do rimfire benchrest rifle competition. In my experience, what the match ammo delivers is more consistency from round to round. Once you’ve got your rifle dialed in, in terms of accuracy (the right action, trigger, barrel, tuner etc.), figure out how to shoot with wind, and find the right rifle rest and scope, the wild card to the game was always if you’d run across a “flier” during your string of shots.

The expensive match ammo shot better and had fewer fliers than the less expensive fodder. Eley Tenex and Eley Match were the standard. When we found a brick that shot consistent, with little to no fliers, we’d look at the lot number on the box and figure out what particular machine that ammo was made from. We’d then connect with the specialty ammo distributor/retailer that could get that particular ammo, and order a couple of cases of it. All around, it’s an expensive proposition.

All of this said, OP, do your shooting needs with your pistol sound like they match up with this level of attention and expense? If you’re doing bench rest pistol competition, then probably. There’s a lot to gearing up, equipment wise, for rimfire pistol competition. Those guns can really see the benefit of match .22 pistol ammo. If you’re not going down that road, and looking to just shoot your 17-2 well, I personally wouldn’t mess with it. There’s a lot of good, accurate ammo that will work very well, you just need to experiment a little bit. I love my 17s, and have never had the need to feed them the super premium ammo. I’ve found CCI SV is pretty consistent, as is SK, Norma, and Wolf. I’ve also had good luck with Aguiila. YMMV...

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NRA Life Member

Until I get better than the hardware, I'll stick with Automatch and CCI SV or Blazers.

Just my opinion. My bullseye leagues are 50' indoor rimfire.

I went through the .22 ammo evaluation drill some time ago. Tried most of the well regarded match ammo in my S&W 41 and High Standard with Douglas match barrel. The 41 tended to be picky in what it liked while the custom High Standard was like Mikey, it liked everything. Both were very happy with CCI Pistol Match and it is my go-to .22 ammo. Higher priced than regular CCI SD velocity, but about half of the high price stuff.

Clamp that sucker in a Ransom Rest and shoot at 25 yards if you really want the answer to mechanical accuracy of your firearm and ammo combination, but it seems like you have more pressing issues:
[QUOTE=MTC(SS)Ret;141259671 I can't wear my regular bifocals cause I can't get a crisp sight focus so I wear readers to focus on the sights and that leaves the target a little blurry.
[/QUOTE]
If you are having trouble with sights, it's time to get some sighting aids. I find the Merit Optical Attachment to be very satisfactory for it's ~$40, but there are cheaper and more expensive solutions that might work for you.
The eyepal is half that price EyePal | Get back on the Range with EyePal
A Gehmann Adjustable Iris is about $20 the other direction and is a little nicer quality.
All of them are cheaper than a decent range trip and well worth being able to see your sights again!
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Several years ago, I got samples of around twenty-five different .22 LR cartridges, standard and high velocity. I used two rifles and two handguns, all good quality guns - Ruger, Winchester, and S&W, and none of the lesser brands (despite the fact that some of the latter may shoot very well). Guns were pretty much straight out-of-the-box except for scope sights on the rifles.

The ammunition included the kinds most of us buy from the cheap bulk stuff on up, but no expensive target ammo. With each rifle, I fired five, five-shot groups at fifty yards and averaged them. Same with the handguns, except the groups were fired at twenty-five yards.

My results probably would mean little to someone using different guns and different ammo lots, but they did indicate the testing was very worthwhile for my purposes and I know what shoots best in my guns.

CCI SV is usually a standout overall in handguns and rifles, but may not be the most accurate in a particular gun. If you have a bunch of .22s, however, it's a good choice and simplifies ammo buying, at least for me.

I've read recent comments that the newer CCI SV has occasional misfires and doesn't have the accuracy potential of the older ammo, but those reports are from the Internet and they be nothing more than erroneous statements that are repeated by people who have little or no experience with the ammo. Or the reports are factual; hard to tell.

I also found in my testing a few of the "poorer" LR cartridges often criticized shot pretty well. Though, here again, that was in my guns only.

I'm not suggesting anyone buy twenty-five varieties of .22 LR (especially these days) and test them, but, if you're serious, you'll shoot groups with as many ammunitions as you can find.

I shoot in a bullseye league and have used CCI standard velocity almost exclusively. I used to spring for a box of Green Tag once in a while and always felt like I was shooting better. The reality is that there was no difference that I could see. It was more placebo effect than anything else. If you are shooting a really good rifle from a good rest, you might see some difference. I think there are very few people who shoot well enough to tell one from the other.

I never had a custom or "Target" pistol or rifle to see what a "real shooter " could do for me.

Therfore I never spent money on any of the "Blue Chip" target ammo that was said to be the best for tight groups.

I just shot Win. , Rem, and Federal stock ammo in my weapons and saved the misfires for another try, later at targets, if I was on a hunting safari.
It was not until much later in life, that I got to try out the fancy CCI stuff.

My largest trophy was a large Porkupine that was chewing on the summer cabin, back in the 60's.

For most folks the answer is No. Most folks do not have to discipline it takes to get the most out of a gun, let alone a match worthy gun. The best thing to do is get several different brands and bullet weights and try them in your gun. See which ones shoot the best. Work with these until you are shooting the smallest groups that you can. Then move up to the target ammo and see which ones that your gun likes best. If the groups do not improve then go back to the cheaper stuff. Not every one is a bullseye shooter, some of us are just shooters.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

After years of trying different ammunition in a variety of guns I proved to my satisfaction that to truly test different 22 rimfire ammo I needed to shoot each through a clean bore. Cleaning and then firing fouling shots made what I thought was the worst for accuracy in a TC Contender into one of the better performing rounds. Actually discovered this in a 617, applied the same process to the TC and the results were nothing less than amazing

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kbgrips.com

This is apparently sometimes the case, but there are many exceptions. This reasoning is along the same lines as cast bullet rifle shooters cleaning between shooting cast and jacketed bullets or vice versa. Many have shown this "rule" often doesn't hold water. Same for cleaning when a different bullet lubricant is used.

For those who have actually found cleaning between .22 LR ammos makes an accuracy difference, I'd certainly stick with that procedure. No argument here.

If you do not clean after each testing of a certain ammo type before trying another you are fooling yourself. Lubricants will foul the barrel causing the next loading to pick that up. In our .22 heavy barrels we only clean when the accuracy of our preferred loading falls off. Then it may take as many a 50 shots or so to "season" the barrel to get it back to shooting what is considered match quality.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

MTC(SS)Ret, a lot of good answers. If you are going to shoot Bullseye matches get some and see if the gun likes it. For plinking I wouldn't waste my money on "match" ammo.

I shoot rimfire Steel Challenge matches RFPO, RFRO, RFRI and RFPI and shoot whatever ammo I can get. My rimfire guns will run what ever I feed them.

I do not shoot any bullseye any more except for fun. Quite a few years ago I shot IPSC with an M1911 in .45 ACP. Now I shoot rimfire Steel Challenge once in a while to hear the steel clang when I hit it (maybe it is just to prove to myself I can still do it). When I shoot I usually use Golden Bullets and Automatch in a Browning Buckmark. Nothing fancy.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

At 15 yards bench-rested the answer is NO! At 25 yds. or more match ammo may group better if the gun itself is good enough. I shoot revolvers a lot.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I have no current plans to shoot any matches and when I can get to the range again with my Model 17 I have about 10 types of non-match ammo to test. The premise of my question was this.....which pistol, revolver or semi-auto, because of its design and engineering SHOULD be the most accurate?

It depends on the design and quality of manufacture. I have a Walther OSP in .22 Short, I have a Browning Medalist in .22 LR and I have a Model 17. All are more than I am, especially now that I have put on some years. I have a couple other .22's that aren't far behind in accuracy. One of my favorite to shoot is a Sig Saur P220 in .22 LR, it is just fun to shoot. Hits the target every time too!

If you were a bit further south I would invite you down to shoot.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I guess the only thing left for me to do is buy a Model 41, get a couple bricks of expensive match ammo and have a shoot-off with my Model 17!!! I haven't been down in your neck of the woods since I retired from my driving job

Don't really need the expensive stuff. Just some good SV ammo will do. Since you are not shooting matches why spend the extra funds? I only shoot against myself nowadays. Model 41's are nice, had a couple over the years. Have other autos that I like better and of course my 17.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Pistol match .22 LR ammo is a waste of money for you since you only shoot at "15 yards from a rest". That quality of ammo is made for Master class Precision Pistol shooters who test and compete at 50 yards.

This is from my life long experiences. For me, "match ammo" has never beaten regular ammo with the one exception being .38 special Remington 148 grain Wad Cutters made in the 1960's fired out of one of my Combat Masterpiece Revolvers. Other than that, the only thing specific "match ammo" has done for me is drained my wallet faster.

I'm sure others have had contrasting results (especially with 22 ammo) but for me that has simply not been the case. Example: Eley 22 match grade ammo has been a disaster for me and less accurate than even some cheap promo ammo. What can I say? It all depends on your individual pistol or rifle.

My buddy likes shooting the $$$$ stuff, because it groups better at 200 yds

I shoot whatever I can find that’s reasonably priced and will shoot minute of squirrel.

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213th FBINA

Following the discussion prompted me to look into the safe for some 22LR ammo that I bought during the previous shortage when you bought whatever was on the shelf. Have 100 rounds of CCI Green Tag, 100 Rounds of CCI Select and 50 rounds of CCI Pistol Match. All say competition on the label. Never shot it or compared to other ammo. I am a causal target shooter and do most at 50 yards from a bench with scoped rifles. Found that the most accurate of "regular" 22LR out of my rifles at that distance is the CCI Mini-Mag 40 grain round nose. (MP15-22, Marlin Golden 39A, Remington 572 and Marlin Model 60)

Next range trip will take some of the match ammo and do an informal comparison. Thanks OP and others for the motivation!

I use the Ely standard velocity in my Model 17, along with high Velocity Winchester and CCI mini mags. The extraction is much easier with the standard velocity ELY. Also the Ely came from CMP at seven cents a round :-)
I cannot detect any difference in accuracy, they all just rip one hole at 30 ft when I am doing my part. It is a big hole, about an inch, but one hole.

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Kind regards, Heinz

Across the board - .22's of all types can be all over the place with what they like or don't like.
Guess strangest I've seen is my Ruger 77/22 SS/laminate .22 rifle that for reasons totally unknown shoots Remington Yellow Jacket hyper velocity LR's like it's match ammo.
That's NOT supposed to happen.

And once I was trying a real hodge-podge of ammo in my S&W K22 6" (c.1952) Of all things, it shot some old Federal .22 Longs into tight little groups. That's NOT supposed to happen either.

So - the rule is - there's no rules.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

22lr accuracy testing........if you're going to go through all that do it @ 50yds & either a Ransom Rest or very least off sandbags . Most 22 pistols are capable & round itself for sure is . Best for a particular gun can only be determined by careful testing , 22's notoriously so . Beauty is finding that it likes dirt cheap Aguila SV better than $ 15 a bx Euro stuff .
Expensive stuff is more consistent with tighter quality control , something appreciated in tighter chambers . I've tested a bunch over the years & with 22's find something they all shoot reasonably well that you can afford . If one shoots consistent Master class scores then buy the best for each gun . Most can't take advantage of that extra 10 points or a couple of X's .

Before all this craziness started, the LGS had bought an estate and there were 5 bricks of Remington Yellow Jacket. I bought them for $20.00 a brick. I use them in my Sig P220 .22 LR. All stay in the black at 25 yards off hand.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Lost out one time for High Shooter. The guy that beat me had one point more. The real irritant was I had several more X's than he did.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

And don't forget ... once you find the "right" ammo .. there can be variances from one production batch to another ...

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- Geo. P Burdell

In my opinion, maybe. The problem with pistol shooting is most people simply aren't that good. Even good ones are likely not as good as their gun/ammo combination. In other words, a shot that lands 4 inches low and left is not the result of non match grade ammo, it is the result of you jerking the trigger.

However, mindset is very important in competition. If shooting match grade ammo means that your mind is worrying about one less thing, than it is absolutely worth it.

I think it was the great Jim Clark that said "If you THINK it matters, it matters!"

You think folks are not natural born shooters?? One look at our pistol range will confirm that for you. Holes in the target carriages, baffles, overhead and benches leave no doubt in my mind!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I think it is--for Bullseye match shooting.

I found an online dealer selling selling Eley Club and Eley Target for about $7 a box so I ordered a few just for the heck of it to see how they shoot in all of my 22's. If nothing else I'll have some good sighting-in ammo.

As I mentioned above, without cleaning and firing fouling shots my results were about the same with most types tried with a few even more disappointing results, a couple even with premium ammo.
My method with the TC was to clean the bore, dry it thoroughly, fire five fouling shots. Then fire five shot groups with the rest of one 50 round box, resting between so as to not hurry the process. In all types I would see the groups start large and shrink, usually settling down at four or five groups. I used a 3x12 parallax adjustable scope set at 10 and adjusted for parallax. Target at 50 yards was a 2-1/2 circle, the outer edge being 1/4 inch thick with center left white, subdivided that into four sections with crosshairs.

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kbgrips.com

For most of my guns and most of my shooting, not really. No ammo is going to make my Remington Model 12 competitive with the BSA Model 12.

I don't clean the barrels of my .22 LR guns. I do clean the chambers. I used to do a lot of machine rest testing with my Hammerli 208s until I found a consistently good grouping ammo that was reliable and functioned reliably. All the tests were done at 50 yards using a Ransom Rest. I never use copper plated or copper washed .22 LR ammo.