While at Cabela's last week, I picked up a carton of the CCI AR Tactical .22LR. I took it with me to the range today and after working through some hand-loads for my M&P15, I switched over to the M&P15-22 to see how this CCI ammo worked.

The 15-22 had been cleaned prior to the last range trip and had not more than 100 rounds through it.

I fired a string of Walmart obtained Federal Bulk ammo to establish a baseline for how things were working today.

The Federal ammo clocked in with a 10 shot group at 1193 FPS, SD of 25.7 FPS, and an extreme spread of 70.6 FPS.

The AR Tactical ammo clocked in with a 10 shot group at 1154 FPS, SD of 7.9, and an extreme spread of 21.9 FPS.

Without going any further, it is easy to see that the CCI ammo is much more consistent than the Federal.

The orange target dots are 1" in diameter. They provide a reasonably small target for 50 yard shots with low magnification scopes.

My M&P15-22 is equipped with a Millet DSM-1 1-4x optic. I was running it at 4x for all of the shots fired. 10 rounds were loaded into a 25 round magazine. I used a GripPod for the forward support (I need to get a short 10 round mag) and used the green sand bag for rear support.




Here is the Federal Bulk target, shot at 50 yards. I checked my records and this particular string was a bit on the larger side (by slightly less than 1") than what I have shot before at 50 yards with this rifle, albeit I was using a Leupold scope at 7x. The problem with Federal is that it is not really consistent, as was proven by the above chronograph numbers.




Here is the CCI AR Tactical ammo, shot at 50 yards.




Here is the CCI AR Tactical ammo, shot at 25 yards.




No, I didn't monitor the temperature, barometric pressure, note the altitude, or even stick up a wet finger for a relative wind direction indication.

I now do know that this new CCI bulk ammo runs better in the 15-22 than any of the other bulk ammo I have tried. It is NOT as accurate as some of the ammo I have previously tried, but then again, the Ely target ammo is about 4 times more expensive and only bested the CCI by about .4".

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Stu

excellent thank you I have been waiting for this for a while now. very nice standard deviation numbers. close to its 1200 advertised also.
Now what would be really interesting is how well it does compared to mini-mags; does the more expensive minimag beat it out, or does the lower velocity provide the tactical better accuracy. thanks again for the writeup.

THX for the review. Havent seen the CCI's yet but I gotta get me a Few boxes when I go to the Valley. Whats the damage for a box of these?

right now cabelas has it exclusively for $19.99, sometimes theyll have a random sale for $17.99. 375 rd per box. sometime in 2011 it should be available at other retailers.

I picked up a box at Cabela's a couple of days ago for $17.99....a box has 375 rounds in it.

I'll use them for certain stages of my regular carbine training drills....those areas where the lesser accuracy of the Federal makes no difference will get those rounds.

If someone wishes to send me a few cases of the other CCI ammo, I'll run them over the chronograph too.

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Stu

Very nice. Thank you for posting this information... esp since you have a chronograph too!

Good job on the review and tests. It's no surprise they did better than the Federal. Federal is what it is, but CCI is a level up on every level....but it is a level up in price which to me is totally worth it. I shoot CCI only (my Walther P22 LOVES it, so it sold me long ago which is why I use it in my S&W)

Am I the only one that wishes CCI put the tactical ammo in the same plastic containers that the mini mags come in?

higher packaging costs means more expensive product. You could always take them out and put them in your minimag cases yourself if you so desire. I'd rather the bulk pack price stay cheaper however.

Those containers are nice, but they aren't free.
Actually I half-expected the tactical to turn out to be CPRN MiniMags without the boxes, but it's beginning to sound like it really is a different product. However with a 20mm ammo can full of MiniMags and a bunch of Fed bulk it'll be awhile before I try them. By then hopefully this strange honeymoon with Cabelas will be over and I can pick some up locally.

I agree I want to see these at walmart or a sporting goods store soon.

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Gun control means two hands

I use empty minimag boxes to hold my opened boxes of Federal AutoMatch (also in 375-round boxes).

Winchester SuperSpeed RN also comes int he plastic boxes like the CCI stuff. I just got 500 rounds of it at Walmart for $30.

The nearest Cabela's for me is about 1.5 hours north. I want some of the CCI Tactical AND the Aguila SSS subsonic stuff to try out.

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*Aim small, miss small...

ht tp://www.outdoorproducts.com/family-camping/dry-storage-family-camping/watertight-box---small/3/23/187

i have 4 of these , they hold aprox 700 rnds 22lr each, a couple silicone packs from shoes or cloths keep moisture in check. found the first 2 at walmart second 2 at dicks

cal

That's the irony though... as it is, the CCI Tactical from Cabela's costs more than CCI MiniMag 40gr in most cases. Hopefully once they up production in 2011, we'll see it at more vendors, and hence, at lower prices.

You can get CCI Mini-Mag for under $6/100rds these days pretty easily.

I've only seen it (shipping included) under six bucks per hundred once. That's at Gander Mountain (if the free shipping is still going on) and if you buy 1500 rounds at a time (averaged out to $5.66 per hundred which is the lowest I've seen in over a year). You can't just go out and get 100 Mini Mags for under six bucks. But by all means, if you can, post it up cuz there's lots of people out there who can't stomach spending $100 plus bucks a shot in ammo.

Well, to get the best prices you have to buy in large(r) quantities. Even CCI Tactical bulk packs from Cabela's start at 375 rounds each for ordering, but orders require you to minimum of a case of 1500 at a time or whatever.

Anyhow, here is one source (out of stock) for CCI Mini-Mag 40gr that I've used at $5.88/100. You just gotta poke around and there are other deals to be had from other vendors too, I'm sure.

$20/375 = .0533 cents per round; cci tactical.
$6/100 = .06 cents per round; cci minimag.
the only time you'll see $6 a box is when you buy in large bulk as mentioned, or gander has one of their $5.99 in store sales. otherwise it is usually 7 cents a round, or more. most gun shops sell it over $8 a box per 100.

MidSouthShooters is a good outfit. They sell CCI MM for $5.69/100. If you buy $120 worth they have free shipping. (Not sure how long the free shipping will last)

I just bought a bunch of CCI standard velocity from them which is kinda hard to find right now.

Here's a link to the CCI MM. Midsouth CCI AMMUNITION 22 LR 40 GR HIGH SPEED MINI-MAG 100 RDS

I've bought the 375 box of Tactical from Cabelas, 2 box plus shipping was around $48.00.
First 2 boxes came torn open and they sent me another 2. They get beat up in shipping. I have since ordered the dry box with 4 boxes -free shipping.

Isn't CCI Tactical $25/box from Cabela's (barring the recent "in-store only" sale for $17.99/box)? e.g. it's 4 boxes for $99.99.

That makes it $25/375 == 0.06666666 (repeating of course) cents per round. Most of the time, you can get free shipping from Cabela's, so it's not a huge amount more than that usually.

Ideally, because CCI Tactical is bulk-packaged, vendors other than Cabela's MSRP action will price it better once it's more widely available. As it is now, it's a Cabela's exclusive. As it is, it appears my 15-22 actually runs really really well on Federal AutoMatch 40gr... I put in a few magazines worth the other day and it can make holes within holes at 25yds as long as I do my part. I can't say that about the CCI Mini-Mag or Federal Champion at this point. I was pretty amazed really.

That said... by then, the CA ammo ban will have kicked in and I'll be SOL for online .22LR ammo if the politicians decide .22LR can be classified as a "handgun caliber"

Which reminds me, I should get a couple thousand more rounds of 9mm before it's too late!

it should be $19.99, you're gettin ripped off. it might be because you're doing the dry box "Deal". Which is hardly a deal, all they do is add in the price of the dry box. I really hate dishonest practices like this, however consumer beware.

Is there a URL for the $19.99/box deal on the website? I can only find the drybox "deal" for 4x boxes plus dry storage for $99.

Geez.....all these math calcs makes my head hurt....just go out and shoot the stuff!

Back to the topic....which was about how the Tactical rounds perform....and not about how much they cost.

Was at the range today and used another 100 rounds. (yeah, I know, that isn't much....but I don't plink with it....I practice specific drills with it).

Out of the 100 rounds, had two failure to fire. In both cases, I rotated the round around to a fresh area of the rim and it ignited on the 2nd try. That is about the same failure rate I get with Federal bulk.

They still hold a tighter group.....but they do appear to have "some" of the traits normally found with bulk ammo.

Anyone else experience any failures to fire?

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Stu

there was a couple months ago, im not sure anymore. couldn't find one at first glance. i know in-stores, it is 19.99 though.

Interesting... and disappointing to hear. The other day, I had exactly 3/100 FTF with Federal Champion (525 bulk)... same deal, rotating the round and it fired with the 2nd try.

I had 0/60 FTF with Federal AutoMatch 40gr (325 bulk).

To date, I have had zero FTF with CCI Mini-Mag (nearly 1000 rounds total).

I had always assumed the hallmark of CCI ammo was the very low FTF rates. Hearing that your CCI Tactical had even that many FTF is a bit disappointing.

Thinking about it, the lower velocity on the CCI Tactical should theoreticallly keep the groups tighter than the higher-velocity CCI Mini-Mag. I wonder if the standard-velocity CCI Tactical even goes supersonic coming out of the 15-22. Anyone notice if they hear that second crack from the supersonic bullet using the CCI Tactical? I know it is very pronounced when using CCI Mini-Mag and Federal AutoMatch.

The velocity data, from my chorno, is included in post #1.

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Stu

CCI standard velocity shoots subsonic, cycles well, no FTFire, relatively clean and is more accurate than high velocity ammo.

I don't think Cabelas ever offered it online in single boxes, only the 4 box plus storage box "deal". It's always been $19.99 per box in the stores (except when it's on sale of course).

They did offer it by the box and I have bought it. At the time, I found it on a link on this tread. I didn't have any luck looking for it on the Cabela web site. I may take a ride out there tomorrow, its a 160 mile ride one way.

I took a 3.5 hour drive to Cabela's today, the place was mobbed and not worth the trip. Way too many people, you couldn't get near the guns without someone pushing you aside so they could look.
The bulk Federal was $18.99 for 500 and the CCI tactical was $19.99 for the 375 box. They has a ton of the Federal and only about 10 boxes of the CCI AR tactical. They probably has more in the back but were so crowded they most likely couldn't get to restock it. I only bought 1 box of the AR since I have 8 already, felt I had to buy at least 1. Won't be making that trip any time in the near future! I'll pay to have Brown deliver it.

No you are not the only one. Now there are two of us. LOL I don't care for all my 22cal. loose banging around in a big box during shipping and handling. I would probably buy this CCI tactical ammo if it were in the plastic boxes with some protection to keep the rounds separate. Not sure they are any better than the mini-mag just because of the Tactical logo on them. I will keep using the mini-mag as there is no sense changing cause if it works I am not going to mess with it. IMHO

I am not one that can afford to throw money around but I will pay good money for dependable, high quality .22cal ammo rather than cheap out just to get more ammo of lesser quality. But then maybe that is just me.

i don't think they are packed so loose they'll get damaged. you could always put them in any other cci box. i always put them in the stinger slide packs once i open the bulk box.

Good idea. Guess I will still stick to the Mini-Mags and I need the hollow points for gophers which is all I plink with my 15-22 or any 22 rimfire I have for that matter.

I have loved the CCI slider pack since I first saw them.
The CCI 100 round slidy-top plastic boxes are great to reuse. I put all my bulk pack in them even it they are packaged in plastic trays like Federal, or Aguila.
They are clear, so you get a good visual on numbers left. They will meter out 5, 10. 15, etc..., rounds into your hand with no spillage. They also fit great in any AR Mag pouch you have. I keep all mine,and look for additional ones in the thrash cans at any shooting range.
They will chatter some going down a rough road, or while running. I have been thinking about putting some cotton balls, or something in the bottom of the trays. Anybody done this???
Guy22

I ran CCI AR tactical through my gun for the first time today (mine is a performance center model) and I experienced a failure to feed from each of the two 25-round magazines I ran through. The bullet came partially dislodged from the case as it tried to feed. Previously I've only fired Remington bulk without any incident and today I also tried CCI Mini-Mags, also without problems.

How many rounds of the AR tactical should I fire before giving up? I've still got an unopened box that I'm considering returning if it's going to give me regular problems.

I've probably fired about 750 rounds total through the gun and I haven't cleaned or disassembled any of my 3 magazines yet.

Thoughts?

how old are the mags? i always have issues with new mags.

I just purchased the gun (and mags) a couple of weeks ago. Each magazine has probably been loaded/emptied about 10x.

What seems odd to me if we're blaming the magazines is that immediately before and after the issues with the AR Tactical ammo, other types of ammo fired flawlessly.

I'm hoping to be able to head to the range again today, I'll see if I can get more data. Does the AR Tactical stuff have a waxy coating on it?

I have a PC to and the only thing that doesnt FTE FTF is the CCI tactical. Rem jammed and dont even get me talking bout the federal.. as far as the bullet dislodging i think you may have had a few bad ones. ive gone through close to 1500 of the CCI and havent had a single problem yet ( hoping i just didnt jinx myself)

I sure would be interested to hear how CCI Standard Velocity works in the PC.

I have a box of those, I will probably give them a try today and report back.

I suppose it's likely that the rounds where the bullet dislodged were just bad examples. I'll try to go through the rest of that box today and see if I have any other problems.

I think so honestly. Try the rest and let me know also i want to hear how the standard goes for ya.

Looks like my rifle is the bizarro-world version of yours. Everything I shot yesterday worked flawlessly, except for the CCI Tactical AR.

Out of 10 magazines of the Tactical ammo, I had 5 failures to feed (5 rounds out of 170, or 3% failure rate). All of the failures pretty much looked like the attached image when they came out of the gun.

I also shot CCI standard, Winchester Super X, CCI Mini-Mag, and Federal Bulk. None of them had a single problem. I shot about 100 rounds of each, except for the Federal. I think that brings my grand total of Federal bulk to about 1100 rounds without issue.

I guess the Tactical AR does OK, but I'll take flawless operation over 3% failure any day.

Unfortunately I shot from my bipod again yesterday and I wasn't consistent enough to determine whether one type of ammo was significantly more accurate from 50 yards than another. Everything seemed to have pretty similar groups, so I guess that's a good sign.

I think I'll stick with Federal for my cheap plinking and plan to do some more careful experimentation with others to pick a premium round to use. The unopened box of Tactical AR is going to be returned.

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hey im not mad you would choose flawlessly lol. honestly when i first saw the pic i was like ***. but whatever works for you use it, no sense on getting mad over a FTE or FTF while your trying to relax at the range.

Just bought my 15-22 this week. Picked up a box of CCI AR Tactical to start with. Shot maybe 100 rounds with 4 feed malfunctions. Sorry - not sure the proper terminology. The round would not feed properly into the chamber (stuck at an angle) and the bolt would then hit and deform the casing. Also have a box of Federal Game-Shok that I need to try. Hope to find the most reliable ammo and stick with it.

Cabela's CCI AR Tactical 22LR 1500 rounds with dry box on sale for 84.99, will pick up at store with no shipping charge.
That's 18.75 a box of 375, just ordered today. Cabela's is a 20 min. drive from Reno,NV.

Cabella's wouldn't let me return the 2nd box I purchased, so I went ahead and shot it. This time I had 2 failure-to-feeds out of the entire box, much better than the previous one.

I also shot another 1500 rounds of various other ammo, including some Aguila and even some Remington bulk my dad had, all without a single problem. My gun seems very forgiving

I've only got around 300 rds through my 15-22, but the CCI AR Tactical did the same on mine as yours (bent on feeding).

I shot CCI Mini-Mag, Win 333, and Remington GB round nose and HP with no issues at all.

Picked a couple boxes up a few weeks ago and had a chance to test them out this past Saturday. I sent all 375 rounds down range from one box without a single issue. They grouped very well and burned fairly cleanly. Of course I still have another box to try out which I may or may not experience issues. I'll know on Saturday.

Arizona98tj, great write up, pictures say it all. Been looking to purchase the CCI Tactical, but nobody sells it just the CCI Blazer lead bullet boxed and/or bulk. May have to purchase it on line.

just had to throw something in on this post been going for a while........CABELA'S oh how sweet, just came back from a trip and was at a cabela's in texas, i can't say enough, was my first time, i just wanted to roll out my sleeping bag, and open some c-rats.........................